should I re-take the MCAT? nontrad w/uneven score..

[wolfley]

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I'm a nontrad student (26 years old) with a 3.64 BCPM GPA and 3.56 cGPA.

I received my MCAT score last week and it's an uneven 29 with a 7 in PS, 11 in VR, 11 in BS. My AAMC practice exam average was a 32 (under timed, test-like conditions)

I am looking for guidance and advice with regards to re-taking the MCAT and whether or not I should even bother applying to MD programs or should I only be focused on DO at this point.

other pertinent information:
NY resident
significant work experience and leadership roles
thousands of hours of both clinical volunteering and non-clinical volunteering
two research projects

My wife is a doctoral student in NY and so I would love to stay in NY, but I understand that may not be possible.

P.S- I posted this before in the "what are my chances" forum but was hoping to get more specific advice since I'm in a different boat than the traditional pre-med students.

Thanks

 

[spik]

Allright, I will go ahead and try to answer. I am not sure about retaking since it is not that far off your average score. My AAMC practice exam average was 37, but I scored a 35 on the real thing. Were you always weak on PS section or it was something random on the test day? If PS was always your weak section, it should be pretty easy to go from 7 to 9-10 after some additional studying; however, you are running a risk of doing worse on other sections and ending up with the same or even lower score. Also, will you be retaking the old or the new format?

I would still apply to low-tier MD schools in addition to DO schools.

 

[wolfley]

Allright, I will go ahead and try to answer. I am not sure about retaking since it is not that far off your average score. My AAMC practice exam average was 37, but I scored a 35 on the real thing. Were you always weak on PS section or it was something random on the test day? If PS was always your weak section, it should be pretty easy to go from 7 to 9-10 after some additional studying; however, you are running a risk of doing worse on other sections and ending up with the same or even lower score. Also, will you be retaking the old or the new format?

I would still apply to low-tier MD schools in addition to DO schools.

Thanks for your response. Yes, PS was always my weak area, but I worked hard to improve and felt good going in on test day. I did feel during my exam that the PS section was actually harder than the AAMC practice exams. I'm not just saying this because I didn't do as well either. However I thought I would at least get an 8 so I did not void.

If it helps, here are my practice scores. They were all timed and I even took them in the library with other people around to simulate the actual test day as much as possible.

AAMC # 3 – 7/12/10 (PS/VR/BS)
AAMC #4 – 8/11/10
AAMC # 5 – 8/14/13
AAMC # 7 – 8/12/12
AAMC # 8 – 10/13/12
AAMC # 9 – 10/11/10
AAMC # 10 – 10/13/11
AAMC # 11 – 10/11/11

It is a concern for me retaking it because I am happy with my 11 in VR and 11 in BS. I wouldn't be worried with retaking in regards to VR because that was my strongest area and I never scored less than an 11 on practices. For BS my practice scores ranged from 10-13

I was thinking about retaking the old version of the exam. People have told me not to take the new version.

I was planning to apply early in 2015 so I could theoretically take the new exam, but I have not yet taken statistics or psychology and those courses are needed for the new exam.

 

[spik]

It looks like you can score higher. I would probably retake the old version with some PS studying. But this is your decision to make since there is always a risk of doing worse.

Regardless, I would still apply to low-tier MD schools in addition to DO schools.

 

[aron123]

Thanks for share....

 

[wholeheartedly]

Plus, you also run the risk of only having the new exam as an option since a lot of people are saying the slots for the current exam have filled up.

 

[LingoLaine]

That 7 will hurt you. I would definitely retake after more studying.

 

[Bru]

A few questions come to mind:

How badly do you want to stay in NY? If you REALLY want to stay in NYC area, you are going to face stiff competition for MD spots and even for the limited DO spots.

Will you be able to effectively study for the mcat effectively in the time remaining? That is to say, did you use dedicated summer time to prep and will have much less time in the coming months?

Are you able to get a MCAT spot for the old MCAT at this point? Last I checked there were only spot in Guam...

 

[whatbout2morrow]

In terms of NY DO, you should be fine for NYCOM or Touro-NY. In terms of NY MD schools, you could try your luck with NYMC, Albany and perhaps the SUNYs if there is something truly unique in your app, but it will be a long shot.

 

[wolfley]

A few questions come to mind:

How badly do you want to stay in NY? If you REALLY want to stay in NYC area, you are going to face stiff competition for MD spots and even for the limited DO spots.

Will you be able to effectively study for the mcat effectively in the time remaining? That is to say, did you use dedicated summer time to prep and will have much less time in the coming months?

Are you able to get a MCAT spot for the old MCAT at this point? Last I checked there were only spot in Guam...

since my wife will be staying in NY as she is in a PhD program here, I very much want to stay here. This is where our home is. However, if I have to, I will move for med school. My wife understands and is supportive of me, but of course is hoping that I get into a school in NY.

I studied for the MCAT all summer and took a prep course (although I was also working during this time). I was able to get a spot for the old MCAT in January, so I have about 3 months to re-study. However, given my practice exam scores, I'm not sure what to do differently or what I did wrong on the actual exam.

 

[wolfley]

In terms of NY DO, you should be fine for NYCOM or Touro-NY. In terms of NY MD schools, you could try your luck with NYMC, Albany and perhaps the SUNYs if there is something truly unique in your app, but it will be a long shot.

Thanks for your reply. My main concern was whether or not it is even worth it for me to apply to MD schools at all, but I guess I have nothing to lose by applying.

I wish I could improve my chances for the SUNY schools. It would save me so much money if I could attend a state school. The DO schools in NY are expensive (NYCOM has a COA of nearly $89k per year). It is something I worry about, as I already have significant student debt from undergrad. I know I can't be picky at this point.

My application is probably more unique than most traditional students due to my work experience and leadership roles, but I don't know how much med schools will really care about that given how competitive it is. Also with my GPA and MCAT, couldn't I get screened out before anyone lays eyes on my application? Or am I above that threshold?

 

[whatbout2morrow]

....I studied for the MCAT all summer and took a prep course (although I was also working during this time). I was able to get a spot for the old MCAT in January, so I have about 3 months to re-study. However, given my practice exam scores, I'm not sure what to do differently or what I did wrong on the actual exam.

Go over your practice exams and try to figure out why you got stuff wrong and whether it was due to gaps in knowledge in physical sciences, thought process errors, need for more practice, or if you just got stressed out on test day. Use the time you have to practice, do all the practice questions that you can under timed exam-like conditions.

.... My application is probably more unique than most traditional students due to my work experience and leadership roles, but I don't know how much med schools will really care about that given how competitive it is. Also with my GPA and MCAT, couldn't I get screened out before anyone lays eyes on my application? Or am I above that threshold?

I don't know what the autoscreens of the SUNYs are like, perhaps you can find helpful info on the school specific threads. An 8 in each section is pretty much a standard expectation for MD admission though nowadays, so I'd suggest retaking and going from there.

I consider myself a bit of a risk taker, but I'd happily spend the few hundred involved in applying if it involved the slightest chance at one acceptance that would involve saving tens of thousands in the long run.

 

[ridethecliche]

I'm guessing you're applying next cycle, correct?

I would definitely do what @spik recommends and study your ass off for PS (use TPR/TBR) and keep the other stuff fresh.

Did you run out of time on the test? Your latter practice test scores (AAMC 8,9,10,11) makes it seem like the 7 was a fluke, but an 8 or 9 wouldn't have been unexpected. Looks like you barely made 10's when you took the practice exams and got a hard-for-you section on test day.

Good luck!

 

[wolfley]

I'm guessing you're applying next cycle, correct?

I would definitely do what @spik recommends and study your ass off for PS (use TPR/TBR) and keep the other stuff fresh.

Did you run out of time on the test? Your latter practice test scores (AAMC 8,9,10,11) makes it seem like the 7 was a fluke, but an 8 or 9 wouldn't have been unexpected. Looks like you barely made 10's when you took the practice exams and got a hard-for-you section on test day.

Good luck!

yes, I am applying next cycle. That was originally my plan - to apply to MD schools as early as possible in 2015.

However, when I got my MCAT score back, someone suggested that I don't apply to any MD schools and just submit my application now to DO schools only, so I could start a year earlier.

While I would love to start a year earlier, I felt very uncertain about doing this because even if I have a small chance of getting into one of my MD state schools, I would like to take that chance because it would save me around $25,000/year if I could attend a state school.
Perhaps this is foolish of me if my chances are so low, but I think it's worth a shot. I already have significant debt from undergrad and my post-bacc work.
My plan now is to retake the MCAT in January, apply to MD and DO schools next cycle and pray that I do get into a NY state school.

Thanks for the advice about using the princeton review/berkeley review for PS. I used kaplan and examkrackers material last time around. I didn't run out of time on PS, but it did feel harder for me. I did not feel as confident as I had on AAMC practices where I ended up scoring a 10 on PS. I was expecting it would be an 8 or 9 and was surprised when it ended up being a 7.

 

[ridethecliche]

You can still apply DO as well next year.

 

[wolfley]

I greatly appreciate all of the helpful responses I got on this thread.

I signed up to re-take the MCAT in January, but I'm not feeling very confident to retake right now. I know I still have some time left (2 months) and this may change. When I studied for the MCAT over the summer, I had more time as I wasn't taking any classes and I cut back my hours at work. Now that I am studying for the re-take, I have less time to study than I had over the summer. On my practice exams, I am still consistently scoring between 11-13 on the VR and BS sections, but my PS score has not improved to where it needs to be.

I'm not giving up, but my question now is - what happens if I can't improve my PS score? Also, how terrible of a position will I be in if I do have to apply with the 29, with the 7 in PS, as a NY resident?