retaking mcat...

[GuitarFreak]

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Hey Guys

I took the MCAT last June and did not do so well, so I'm retaking it on July 2nd. I am going to try to get my AMCAS in by mid June. The new MCAT results would not be in till August. How much would that affect my chances of getting in? I am going to mention on my app that I'm retaking the exam so they would probably wait till my new score comes in to make the decision (emailed a couple schools & they confirmed that) but would the older score be taken into consideration during the "screening" process etc?

Thanks in advance! 🙂

 

[Mattabet]

The new MCAT results would not be in till August. How much would that affect my chances of getting in?

All this kind of depends on the specifics of your application. Obviously being later in the cycle is not as good as being early, but if your first MCAT is a 12N, you're not really swimming in options.

I am going to mention on my app that I'm retaking the exam so they would probably wait till my new score comes in to make the decision (emailed a couple schools & they confirmed that) but would the older score be taken into consideration during the "screening" process etc?

You can mark on AMCAS that you're planning to take a future MCAT, and the date, so adcoms should know to expect another score. At just about every Allopathic school (though not all), those old scores are going to be taken into consideration along with the new. The manner in which they are considered varies from school to school.

 

[GuitarFreak]

gotcha ... I had a 24Q .. which is extremely low for allopathic schools (My cGPA is 3.6 and BCPM is 3.62, which are both also low) ... I just wanted to see if they'd judge my app before getting my new MCAT score...

 

[dynezxice]

gotcha ... I had a 24Q .. which is extremely low for allopathic schools (My cGPA is 3.6 and BCPM is 3.62, which are both also low) ... I just wanted to see if they'd judge my app before getting my new MCAT score...

You're joking, right? Low is 3.0 or below. The answer to your question is no, they won't look at your app until it is officially complete, and by that I mean when they get your new MCAT score, so go ahead and apply in june. Just mark down on your app that you'll be writing the july mcat.

 

[batman1983]

Hey Guys

I took the MCAT last June and did not do so well, so I'm retaking it on July 2nd. I am going to try to get my AMCAS in by mid June. The new MCAT results would not be in till August. How much would that affect my chances of getting in? I am going to mention on my app that I'm retaking the exam so they would probably wait till my new score comes in to make the decision (emailed a couple schools & they confirmed that) but would the older score be taken into consideration during the "screening" process etc?

Thanks in advance! 🙂

If you specify on your AMCAS that you plan on retaking the MCAT(checking the box), schools will not look at your app till your new score arrives. Now, taking it later will obviously hurt your chances as it will result in your app being reviewed later in the cycle. Nonetheless, depending on how well you do on the exam and because you will still have a completed application by August, you will still have a strong chance of getting in. I took the last exam of the year and was not completed at several schools till October-Nov, but was still able to get several interviews and a couple acceptances from those schools.

 

[GuitarFreak]

Sounds great ... Thanks everyone!

 

[ErikLen]

I posted a similar question a couple days ago, and heard mixed responses. I am in the same situation--taking the MCAT this summer and HOPING schools won't screen me until it is in. However, I am not entirely sure about the conclusion that schools will wait. Given the enormity of the application pool, I believe adcoms will review your application once and make a decision (especially good schools).

I think MCAT in hand makes for a strong primary application. If your AMCAS is complete (with the old score) it is complete. I believe the circumstance you are referring to, when schools wait for the MCAT score, is for students who do not have a score already and the MCAT section is blank. Other than that, I do not think schools will 'store' your application and wait for you to improve. It just doesn't make sense given the volume of students and the exception scores they probably already have on their table. My suggestion is to wait until you have your new MCAT in hand, so that they take your primary seriously first time around (ie do not screen you out).

This is a tricky dilemma no doubt.

 

[johncalvin]

I posted a similar question a couple days ago, and heard mixed responses. I am in the same situation--taking the MCAT this summer and HOPING schools won't screen me until it is in. However, I am not entirely sure about the conclusion that schools will wait. Given the enormity of the application pool, I believe adcoms will review your application once and make a decision (especially good schools).

I think MCAT in hand makes for a strong primary application. If your AMCAS is complete (with the old score) it is complete. I believe the circumstance you are referring to, when schools wait for the MCAT score, is for students who do not have a score already and the MCAT section is blank. Other than that, I do not think schools will 'store' your application and wait for you to improve. It just doesn't make sense given the volume of students and the exception scores they probably already have on their table. My suggestion is to wait until you have your new MCAT in hand, so that they take your primary seriously first time around (ie do not screen you out).

This is a tricky dilemma no doubt.

I'm one of those people who will be taking his first MCAT this June 18th. The AMCAS application instructions state that "Medical schools prefer that applicants receive and review their MCAT scores prior to certifying and submitting the AMCAS application."

Take that as you will.

 

[ErikLen]

Exactly, so they do prefer the MCAT in hand rather than waiting on it. I think it's pointless to send in a primary that doesn't have your full credentials. What's the point? Just work on your secondaries while your new MCAT comes in then send them both very close to one another. You don't want to risk being screened out early, this outweighs the 'apply early' advantage.

 

[OTTO217]

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[Ged42]

I too am in a similar situation. Last year I got all my secondaries back (but no interviews, I was a ridiculously late app). I'm retaking July 18 and submitting the primary next week. I wonder if my MCAT score (32 - 11 11 10) will be sufficient once more to get me through to the secondaries which I can wait to submit after my new MCAT comes in?

 

[GuitarFreak]

Hmm ... I know what you guys are saying, but don't most medical schools send secondary apps to all applicants? So because of that, by the time the secondaries get in, the second MCAT score (reported in August) would be out too. So should it really matter if I apply with the bad score, since most of the schools I am applying to are gonna send secondaries no matter what?

 

[batman1983]

I too am in a similar situation. Last year I got all my secondaries back (but no interviews, I was a ridiculously late app). I'm retaking July 18 and submitting the primary next week. I wonder if my MCAT score (32 - 11 11 10) will be sufficient once more to get me through to the secondaries which I can wait to submit after my new MCAT comes in?

Assuming your GPA is fine and you are not a CA resident(ie, not applying to UCs), you should be fine with a 32 in getting past the primary screening.

I am in a similar situation, having scored a 28m previously. I was planning on taking the July 2nd MCAT, but am worried about being screened out early. Would it be more adventagous to NOT indicate on AMCAS that I was going to take a second exam, submit my primary tommorrow, and simply send my new MCAT score as an update with my secondaries? That way I would still have an early start. The only concern then would be having my application screened out. Does anyone have guidlines for the pre-secondary screening process? An answer from LizzyM or other authority would be greatly appreciated.

Few schools, with the exception of state schools(ex. CA) and a couple private schools, actually screen the primary apps. Most schools want you to send in secondary apps for the $$$.
Now, in regards to your questions, I cant say anything with certainity since I don’t know the process from the inside. However, I think it works to your advantage if you end up scoring higher on the MCAT. I did the same thing and ended up getting multiple interviews and acceptances.
For some context, I applied for the 2008 cycle with a 33R and only got a couple interviews and no acceptances. Most likely this was because I applied late in the cycle and was a reapplicant. Thus, I sought to improve my chances for admissions in the 2009 cycle by applying earlier and to less competitive schools(besides the UCs), as well as retaking the MCAT. I submitted my AMCAS app in late June with my original score of 33R and designated that I did not plan on retaking the MCAT. Based on that score, I made it through most schools’ primary screening (the only exception being UCSF) and was able to get interviews at Vermont, GWU, FIU by August/September.
At the same time, I spent that summer studying for the MCAT, which I retook in September. Upon receiving my new score of 38R in October, I sent update letters to all the schools I applied to in June as well as decided to apply to higher tier schools, which I completed from October-late Nov. I subsequently got a secondary from UCSF(but no interview offer), as well as interviews from several schools, including UTSW, Baylor, Harvard, UCLA, and UCSD. The only drawback for me was that several of these school interviews were late in the cycle (ie, Feb-April), thus making it harder to receive an acceptance offer from them.

 

[Nafis64]

I am in a similar situation, having scored a 28m previously. I was planning on taking the July 2nd MCAT, but am worried about being screened out early. Would it be more adventagous to NOT indicate on AMCAS that I was going to take a second exam, submit my primary tommorrow, and simply send my new MCAT score as an update with my secondaries? That way I would still have an early start. The only concern then would be having my application screened out. Does anyone have guidlines for the pre-secondary screening process? An answer from LizzyM or other authority would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Can someone give an answer to this because I am wondering the same thing. Also, is it possible to update your MCAT score later on through the AMCAS primary?

 

[batman1983]

Can someone give an answer to this because I am wondering the same thing. Also, is it possible to update your MCAT score later on through the AMCAS primary?

Yes. Its not really an update, as it get its automatically inserted into your electronic AMCAS app once the score is released (even if you designated that you didnt plan on retaking the MCAT).
The thing is that if you dont designate that you plan on retaking the exam, many schools' AdCom staff will use your original AMCAS app as part of your evaluation file, and as a result, base their decision on your original score. Some schools do update your file once the score has been released(apparently the AdCom staff gets some kind of notification that there has been a change on your app), but others dont. This is probably due to either having policies of reviewing each applicant's app only once(ex. Georgetown, BU), mismanagement(you will be amazed at how disorganized some of these schools are with application files), or being lazy given the large number of applicants. So, I would recommend taking the initiative and contacting schools directly to update them about your new score once its released.