retaking the MCATs with a high score

[premed67783]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I already posted this in the premed-allo forum, but i'd bet there are lots of non-traditional applicants who are in/have dealt with a similar situation:

I'm applying for 2012 matriculation, but so far I have 0 acceptances and 4 waitlists. My MCAT score expires this year (that 3 year rule is bs, btw), so I've already signed up to retake it on June 21. I did very well the first time (38Q, 10V 14P 14B), and I'd like to make sure I do just as well, if not better, this time.

Does anyone have suggestions of what study materials I should use? I used Princeton Review last time, and it was great, but I'd like to use something new, and maybe more in depth. I'm really looking to find what MCAT study materials would be best suited for someone who already took them and did well, but would like to do even better.

suggestions?

 

[dmf2682]

I already posted this in the premed-allo forum, but i'd bet there are lots of non-traditional applicants who are in/have dealt with a similar situation:

I'm applying for 2012 matriculation, but so far I have 0 acceptances and 4 waitlists. My MCAT score expires this year (that 3 year rule is bs, btw), so I've already signed up to retake it on June 21. I did very well the first time (38Q, 10V 14P 14B), and I'd like to make sure I do just as well, if not better, this time.

Does anyone have suggestions of what study materials I should use? I used Princeton Review last time, and it was great, but I'd like to use something new, and maybe more in depth. I'm really looking to find what MCAT study materials would be best suited for someone who already took them and did well, but would like to do even better.

suggestions?

Sort of unrelated but if I were you I'd spend some time finding out your applications weak spot. If a 38 got you nothing but waitlists that would seem to indicate something else you should fix before reapplying

 

[premed67783]

Sort of unrelated but if I were you I'd spend some time finding out your applications weak spot. If a 38 got you nothing but waitlists that would seem to indicate something else you should fix before reapplying

That was my initial thought. I asked a few advisors at my school as well as any med school that would speak to me. None of them could come up with anything i need to improve. There's nothing to "fix". I've been told it's just luck.

 

[dmf2682]

That was my initial thought. I asked a few advisors at my school as well as any med school that would speak to me. None of them could come up with anything i need to improve. There's nothing to "fix". I've been told it's just luck.

If it's nothing on paper, it could be your interview skills or personal statement.

Looking at the conversation in pre allo it sounds like your cgpa could use some work. Try taking a bunch of classes to bump up above 3.5, that should get you in.

 

[premed67783]

If it's nothing on paper, it could be your interview skills or personal statement.

Looking at the conversation in pre allo it sounds like your cgpa could use some work. Try taking a bunch of classes to bump up above 3.5, that should get you in.

trust me, ive analyzed this inside-out and upside-down. I asked anyone and everyone that would listen to me, and forced them all to analyze my application inside-out and upside-down. I won't go into detail here, but trust me, theres nothing I could do in a year that would make a significant difference, but I appreciate the advice nonetheless.

For this thread, I just want to know what MCAT materials would be helpful to a retaker shooting for 38+

 

[syoung]

Try TBR/EK combination, new TPR is what many people like.
For me, I'm retaking as well (2009) was my last one so my hand is forced. I plan to use the new tbr (cost me a pretty penny) but my old EK is still the "latest" on the Ek website

 

[premed67783]

Try TBR/EK combination, new TPR is what many people like.
For me, I'm retaking as well (2009) was my last one so my hand is forced. I plan to use the new tbr (cost me a pretty penny) but my old EK is still the "latest" on the Ek website

TBR for science, EK for verbal seems to be the consensus. I guess I'll do that.

 

[dmf2682]

By the by I like the avatar. I grew up watching star trek and always had a soft spot for it. Favorite characters were always the doctors and engineers.

 

[premed67783]

FYI--and you may already know this--

Your MCAT score is in the 98.5-99.1 percentile.

Did you see that?

99th percentile.

You do NOT need a higher score.

There are people with x<30 MCAT scores getting into medical school.

The challenge you're facing is one of an uphill sort. If you retake the MCAT now and DON'T get x&#8805;38 this time, you may be somewhat screwed. I don't think it looks particularly good to retake the MCAT and do worse than before. I'm certainly no expert here, but it is what I've read consistently.

Use the money you are setting aside for MCAT study guides, and spend it on applying more broadly. Again, a 38 is an insane score.

99th percentile.

I understand you just want to hear what materials to use to get a good MCAT. I just hope you see that MCAT is only one part of the application. You crushed this part of your application already, and didn't get in. You must see, being a clearly intelligent person, that your rejections and wait lists had nothing to do with MCAT.

You must see that.

You do, don't you?

Anyway... again, I am not an expert. I was just hoping to disseminate what I have read around, and the great advice I have been given.

I genuinely wish you the very best. Take good care.

haha yah i get it.

I'm not taking the test just to get a better score. I would just keep my 38 for next cycle if I could, but i took it in 2009 (3 years ago) so I have no choice but to retake the test if I want to reapply.

 

[pkwraith]

That was my initial thought. I asked a few advisors at my school as well as any med school that would speak to me. None of them could come up with anything i need to improve. There's nothing to "fix". I've been told it's just luck.

4 waitlists and 0 acceptance is prototypical for interviewing problems (By chance alone, you have a 93% chance of an acceptance out of 4 interviews).

There's really no point in looking for other MCAT prep material. Just review the same thing you always did. Obviously, it worked the first time, so why would you change it.

 

[premed67783]

4 waitlists and 0 acceptance is prototypical for interviewing problems (By chance alone, you have a 93% chance of an acceptance out of 4 interviews).

There's really no point in looking for other MCAT prep material. Just review the same thing you always did. Obviously, it worked the first time, so why would you change it.

Here's the problem with reusing the same test materials:

Let's say I reused the same physics book I used last time, for example, and I was rereading the section on electromagnetism and doing problem sets from the same book. It's highly likely that I'd gloss over the reading or practice problems without doing much thinking, because I'd already done it once before and I'm likely to have a lot of it memorized. I might get lots of problems right, but not because i UNDERSTAND them, but because I did them 3 years ago and I have the answer memorized.

I want new books so I don't run into problems that I have memorized and to force myself to rethink the material.

 

[Helen Wheels]

Here's the problem with reusing the same test materials:

Let's say I reused the same physics book I used last time, for example, and I was rereading the section on electromagnetism and doing problem sets from the same book. I might get lots of problems right, but not because i UNDERSTAND them, but because I did them 3 years ago and I have the answer memorized.

I don't mean to sound like a smart alec, but if you have the answers memorized for physics problems you haven't looked at for three years, I don't think you need much review.

 

[premed67783]

I don't mean to sound like a smart alec, but if you have the answers memorized for physics problems you haven't looked at for three years, I don't think you need much review.

haha i meant on a more subtle level. It's easier to solve a problem you've already solved before, even if you don't have the answer memorized. Bits and pieces of the problem solving process are bound to come back to you, even if it's years later.

Also, the MCAT is formatted so that it presents passages with material that you're completely unfamiliar with, and it expects you to read, understand, and analyze them. It's kind of cheating if all the problems im testing myself on are based on passages I was already exposed to in the past.