Should I Re-take The MCAT This April?

[AUDREYHEPBURNFAN]

I apologize for the redundancy of this question, but I need to decide soon if I want to re-take the MCAT. My mom paid for the summer Kaplan course and she already paid the repeat fee so I can take it again for the April 2002 MCAT. I
called the Kaplan center and they told me that I can still get a refund for the repeat fee, which was $300 or $400 (can't remember)or I can pick a course to enroll in. I took the August MCAT and my scores were not exactly superb (VR 9, P 10, B 10, and WR R), but I don't know if I can stand the stress of studying for it all over again. Initially, I wanted to take the MCAT early to get my feet wet to see what it was like. When I took it, I hadn't taken physics yet. I am taking physics this semester and next spring semester. However, I have a crappy professor and I really doubt that my physcial science score will change significantly after having physics. In addition, my confidence level is crummy and I struggled with Verbal and I am scared it will go down. This is my junior year and I will be filling out the AMCAS in June of 2001. Should I keep the repeat Kaplan course so I have access to practice materials or not even consider re-taking the MCAT at all? I was thinking about applying to osteopathic schools in addition to allopathic schools to safeguard myself. I am not expecting to get into the UC schools because I just seem to be plagued with this pessimistic outlook since many of my friends have received so many rejection letters this year. I have no idea why I have such a negative mentality, but I just always think the worse so I don't get my hopes shattered.

In addition, my parents just informed me that I have a new sibling on the way and he/she is due shortly after my 21st b-day in the begining of March. If I don't have to take the MCAT, I will have more opportunities to fly home for the weekend every now and then once the baby is born. I am in SF right now and it would be nice to go home to Huntington Beach every 3-4 weeks once the baby is born. If I am stuyding for the MCAT, I will miss out on family related matters once my mom delivers. To me this is a big deal and I am stuck in the middle. I want my score to go up, but I don't know whether all the stress is worth it. I have a strong science and cum GPA and lots of extra curricular activities. Could this make-up for the mediocre scores? What would some of you do if you were in my shoes?

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[none]

Do you have some sort of freakishly low GPA or a felony conviction? Why is it that you think a 29 is so bad, or a 9 verbal for that matter? The average score for acceptances is 29.5. And there certainly aren't a whole lot of 40's out there (contrary to what this board makes you believe!), so that means a good number of people got BELOW a 29 and still got into med school. It is VERY likely your score will go down or stay the same if you retake, particularly since you seem to be having a lot going on in your life.

 

[Keith]

Ask yourself if you gave yourself enough time to study and if you think you could do better. That test scared the hell out of me. I did a lot better than I thought I was going to. I have secondaries for 4 of the 5 UCs so far. The big question is, do you want to go to a UC? The lowest MCAT average for them is like 10.66, and they go up to a little over 11. Nation wide average for accepted students is 9.5, so your right in there. I am not saying you can't get into a UC, but your GPA and other factors will have to balance out the MCAT scores. A lot of people would like to have your scores. That one day of testing can easily go either way...the timing is so critical. I know exactly what you mean about verbal too; for most of my diags I was at 8 or 9. The best I ever did was a twelve. I wound up with an 11 on test day but it took a lot of timing work. If you have the time and KNOW you can do better, take it again. But if you already gave it 100%, I'd be reluctant to risk your current scores.

 

[Keith]

Also, to avoid missing the new baby activities, you could retake in August 2000, though many will argue that could hurt you at those schools that use rolling admissions. But if AMCAS doesn't get ALL THE KINKS worked out by then, it will be another atypical year and probably not hurt you at all. Plus, it would give you plenty of time to study.

 

[AUDREYHEPBURNFAN]

I have a lot going on in my life and I am just excessively worried. I admit, I am anal retentive. I do not have a freakishly low GPA. My cumulative GPA is 3.92 and I do not have a felony conviction. Quite the contrary. During the summer I volunteered at Juvenile Hall and I have worked with other programs geared towards kids at risk and Asian gang members for the last three years. I am just extremeley stressed because I wanted to withrdaw from school this semester because of a family emergency, but my genetics professor convinced me otherwise since it was so late into the semester. I have A's in all my classes at the moment, but I don't know what is going to happen when finals come around because I have to worry about my father's health. The reason for my pessimism is as follows: my cousins are really bright and they scored extremeley well on the MCAT and they keep telling me to take it over and they believe that I can improve my so called "mediocre" scores. I have four cousins who are doctors and an uncle who is an ob/gyn and they all attended a UC school. According to my "wonderful" extended family, I wouldn't be a competitive enough applicant. In addition, some of the people who posts on this forum and are currently applying gave me the impression that you need more than a 30 to get in. I just wanted to safeguard myself if I don't peform well during finals because I am quite distracted at the moment from worrying about my father and I have been missing many of my classes lately, which is out of character. I think I am just worried because my relatives have been condescending and as your post suggests, perhaps I shouldn't worry. I apologize for the long-winded explanation. I appreciate the things that you pointed out and I will take your post into consideration. Thank-you for taking time out to respond to my post. =)

 

[jmejia1]

Don't take the MCAT over again unless you are only willing to attend a top 10 school. with your gpa, mcat score and if you work-in your relatively unique work at the juvenille hall in your personal statement, you'll definetly get into medical somewhere, but if you're inclined into only getting into UCLA, UCSF, Harvard or Johns Hopkins then study your ass off for the upcomming MCAT.

 

[AUDREYHEPBURNFAN]

Thank-you everyone for your input and thoughts. I am not shooting for top tier schools. I just simply want to become a physician regardless of where I go. Since my life is so hectic, I realized that there are more important things in life than fussing over a standarized exam. I don't think I will take it this coming April and I will utilize this time to enjoy life a bit more. If I change my mind, I can take it August of 2002. After reading what everyone has to say, I decided I want to enjoy my spring semester of my junior year before I have to submit my AMCAS in June. For those of you who are currently applying, I wish yo the best of luck with interviews and secondaries! =)