Should I mention this in secondaries?

[LetsGo352]

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[dumbbell]

i would mention it in interviews, but i think in your case mention it in your secondary will help you get those interviews.

 

[greatdoctor]

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[NickNaylor]

Depends on how you present it. Your post makes it sound like an excuse/whining rather than something that legitimately impacted you. Be careful with how you phrase everything.

 

[MrCheetah]

I got a below average MCAT score (27) and a high gpa (3.9+). A couple of weeks before the MCAT, one of my grandparents was very sick in the hospital and passed away a few days after my test. Throughout the time, my mind really wasn't on the MCAT as I was really worrying about the illness and it probably affected my score a little. Is this something worth mentioning to schools or does it sound too much like an excuse?

Yes.

 

[LizzyM]

If you can work it into the theme of a particular essay question, then go for it.

Of course, you may wish to consider retaking the MCAT next spring if you haven't received any interview invites by late November. Doing far better the second time around would put to rest any concerns about your ability to do well on that kind of test.

 

[LetsGo352]

I know I phrased it like I'm whining in my post, but it's the real truth.

I definitely plan to retake the MCAT next spring should I not get any interviews. I was scoring a lot better than a 27. In terms of how to phrase it, I plan on answering it in the secondary questions that ask "Is there anything you would like the ADCOM to consider about your application?" and write a few sentences about it. However, I'm afraid if I'm too straightforward with it, they won't buy it.

 

[obgyny]

I got a below average MCAT score (27) and a high gpa (3.9+). A couple of weeks before the MCAT, one of my grandparents was very sick in the hospital and passed away a few days after my test. Throughout the time, my mind really wasn't on the MCAT as I was really worrying about the illness and it probably affected my score a little. Is this something worth mentioning to schools or does it sound too much like an excuse?

Hey LetsGo,

I'm in the same boat as you (3.9+ gpa and 28 mcat), but I don't really have a legitimate excuse for the score other than working full-time while studying for the MCAT wasn't as much fun as it seemed. I was also scoring much higher on the practice tests, so I'm not sure what happened. If I ever get asked about my low MCAT score in an interview, what would I say?

I'm also going to see how this cycle goes... and if I don't get any interview invites by the end of the year, I'll start preparing to retake the MCAT in the spring. Good luck to you!!!

 

[venacontracta]

Maybe you could schedule a retake and write a short, to the point explanation (phrased better than your first post, which comes across as whiny) of what happened and state that you are retaking it on ____ (date).

This might be enough to get someone to wait for the new scores and give you a chance when otherwise they wouldn't, and the fact that you're retaking them would make it seem less like you are merely using this as an excuse for bad performance on the MCATs.

 

[LizzyM]

The disadvantage of retaking during this cycle (in August?) is that some schools will hold your application from review until your new scores arrive (in October). That takes a perfectly good (early) application and makes it a late one. Whether that is better than a low(er) MCAT is debatable. If you could gain 9 points it might be worth the risk but if you gain 3 points or less it might be an even trade off or worse.

 

[LetsGo352]

Yeah, I have already decided to just suck it up and send everything in as early as possible. I've been killing myself all summer over that MCAT score, but hey, what can you do?