Retaking the MCAT (highest combined score?)

[Tappinfool66]

I searched but only found threads about advice on when to retake the MCAT.

I have a friend (yes, really a friend - I'm not talking about myself) who took the MCAT on April 9th. He heard that adcoms will take his highest score from each section if he takes it twice (i.e. highest combined score) so he's planning to take it again on May 20th, even though he hasn't seen his score from the first exam yet.

I know med schools will look at both scores, but I haven't heard about them looking at your highest combined score like colleges do for the SAT. Before I talked to him, I wanted to see if this is indeed the case or not.

So, do adcoms look at your highest combined scores on the MCAT?

LizzyM, your advice is welcome and would be greatly appreciated.

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[eli20]

So, do adcoms look at your highest combined scores on the MCAT?

Just like for undergrad, this is going to vary heavily from school to school. I know it's kind of a noncommittal answer, but some will, some won't.

 

[patel2]

I searched but only found threads about advice on when to retake the MCAT.

I have a friend (yes, really a friend - I'm not talking about myself) who took the MCAT on April 9th. He heard that adcoms will take his highest score from each section if he takes it twice (i.e. highest combined score) so he's planning to take it again on May 20th, even though he hasn't seen his score from the first exam yet.

I know med schools will look at both scores, but I haven't heard about them looking at your highest combined score like colleges do for the SAT. Before I talked to him, I wanted to see if this is indeed the case or not.

So, do adcoms look at your highest combined scores on the MCAT?

LizzyM, your advice is welcome and would be greatly appreciated.

yeah he's wrong. He's an idiot if he actually sits in for another MCAT before getting his score back.

They look at each set of scores individually. Some schools consider all retakes and the original, but most place greatest emphasis on the most recent attempt. It's possible that a school here or there actually looks at the best from each section, but it's very much the exception and not typical of most places

 

[Barcu]

Some do look at your highest subsection scores. However, I think most do not. Of the 15 schools I applied to, pretty much all of them weighed the most recent score most heavily. Only one really did the highest subsection (which was George Washington if you/your friend are curious).

 

[farrago]

I searched but only found threads about advice on when to retake the MCAT.

I have a friend (yes, really a friend - I'm not talking about myself) who took the MCAT on April 9th. He heard that adcoms will take his highest score from each section if he takes it twice (i.e. highest combined score) so he's planning to take it again on May 20th, even though he hasn't seen his score from the first exam yet.

I know med schools will look at both scores, but I haven't heard about them looking at your highest combined score like colleges do for the SAT. Before I talked to him, I wanted to see if this is indeed the case or not.

So, do adcoms look at your highest combined scores on the MCAT?

LizzyM, your advice is welcome and would be greatly appreciated.

Totally idiotic.

If he doesn't do as well as he hoped, he can retake in June and still have his apps in on time. If he gets the same or lower score on the retake, it will look totally ******ed.

 

[DancingThruLife]

Totally idiotic.

If he doesn't do as well as he hoped, he can retake in June and still have his apps in on time. If he gets the same or lower score on the retake, it will look totally ******ed.

The last thing you want is to get a decent MCAT score only to re-take it for a lower score. Unless he didn't read any of the questions, was vomiting on the keyboard for 4 hrs., or was going into labor, I would say that he should wait for his scores to decide on the retake.

In regards to taking the best scores: as others have mentioned, certain schools (GW comes to mind) might take the highest subsections, but these are definitely in the minority. Some schools will average your scores (Jefferson comes to mind). Others will look at your most recent score only or weigh it more heavily. You have to figure out what the deal is with each school by asking.

 

[Tappinfool66]

Well, I think idiot/idiotic are harsh words to use. The pre-health office at our university has one person in it, and she was a kindergarten teacher before she came to be a pre-health advisor. And he also isn't on sdn so the advice he gets can be limited.

But thank you all for your answers.

 

[farrago]

Well, I think idiot/idiotic are harsh words to use. The pre-health office at our university has one person in it, and she was a kindergarten teacher before she came to be a pre-health advisor. And he also isn't on sdn so the advice he gets can be limited.

But thank you all for your answers.

He needs to see his first score. Re-take in June, if needed, and only if he's ready to get a *better* score.

 

[phnerd1105]

Wow, your friend has some guts. He should definitely wait, just like everyone above has said. Who knows, maybe he won't have to retake?