Should I retake? 509 (127/127/127/128)

[Beezbear]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I understand that some people would be happy with a 509 but I am pretty disappointed as I was shooting for a 515 and was scoring in the 512/513 range on the AAMC Full Lengths. I studied while I was doing a full time research internship and could be a part time student in the spring to study for the MCAT of 2019 if I choose to retake. I have pretty good extracurriculars, but am also taking a gap year as a scribe to increase my clinical exposure and do even more volunteer work. My residency is in Oregon, but I go to a private competitive university in the south.

 

[vrazzles]

Your practice test scores weren't that much higher than your actual score. Without getting those up to like 515-520, it's risky. Another problem arises if you have already used up all of your AAMC full lengths. Those have (by far) the highest predictive power of all the full lengths available.

Hard to say on this one. Only retake if you are super sure you can do better.

 

[947830]

It all depends on what school you're aiming for. I know that it's always disappointing when you don't hit your target score, but 509 is not a bad score at all!
If you're aiming for top-tier schools and you have time to spare, you may want to retake the exam. But if you just want to get into any school, 509 is an okay score. Also, your resume seems solid! Not all hope is lost.

Does this help?

 

[947830]

Your practice test scores weren't that much higher than your actual score. Without getting those up to like 515-520, it's risky. Another problem arises if you have already used up all of your AAMC full lengths. Those have (by far) the highest predictive power of all the full lengths available.

Hard to say on this one. Only retake if you are super sure you can do better.

Agreed!

 

[Beezbear]

It all depends on what school you're aiming for. I know that it's always disappointing when you don't hit your target score, but 509 is not a bad score at all!
If you're aiming for top-tier schools and you have time to spare, you may want to retake the exam. But if you just want to get into any school, 509 is an okay score. Also, your resume seems solid! Not all hope is lost.

Does this help?

Best,
On the Waitlist Podcast.

How many points do you think I should increase for it to be worth it? Like if I retake and get a 512, will that be frowned upon?

 

[drhop]

Agreed!

Agree with previous assessments. You Have to remember that your time and again I have seen over the years that when you retake the exam, you are gonna land up to your current score with a few +/- !
I had been scoring on the practice all 513/512/516!!!!
And I landed with 507!!! Devastated!
But I have been accepted at twopjacrs already and have 22 interviews left.
You see the score is one and your to a is another " Number....That's it! They want you to think and want you to know whether are you gonna be a good doctor or one who's going have billboards of plastic surgery on your freeway!
I have been involved so much that the thinking in the Interviews has changed....so just my 2 cents. All the best whatever you decide...

Sent from my SM-J730GM using SDN mobile

 

[947830]

How many points do you think I should increase for it to be worth it? Like if I retake and get a 512, will that be frowned upon?

In general, because how error bars and statistics work, you want at least a 4 point increase for the admission committee to take the increase seriously. Anything within 4 points could be (not saying it will!) considered as natural fluctuations. Take this with a grain of salt though! I'm not on ADCOM.

Hope this helps!

 

[vrazzles]

How many points do you think I should increase for it to be worth it? Like if I retake and get a 512, will that be frowned upon?

It won't be frowned upon. Many schools average your MCATs so that kind of Increase would be pretty insignificant (1.5 points).

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

You are essentially at the median for matriculants. Not amazing, not terrible. Your practice scores aren’t that much higher. From a statistics point of view, your score range is from a 507-511, and your practice range was like 510-514/511-515. So while a 515 was within reach, a 509 shouldn’t be that surprising as it is only a point away from overlapping. Since your range covers both of those, I would be hesitant to retake unless you can get your practice average up to a 515 or 516. And even then, adcoms might tell you not to retake if the rest of your app looks good.

 

[drhop]

In general, because how error bars and statistics work, you want at least a 4 point increase for the admission committee to take the increase seriously. Anything within 4 points could be (not saying it will!) considered as natural fluctuations. Take this with a grain of salt though! I'm not on ADCOM.

Hope this helps!

In order to make an eye opening master stroke ...I feel you need to GET out of the AD if +/- 3....and go straight aiming at 515.That is noticeable number for the committee and give you the benefit of doubt of 509 as due to " other extraneous factors beyond the candidate's control "

Sent from my SM-J730GM using SDN mobile

 

[Goro]

I understand that some people would be happy with a 509 but I am pretty disappointed as I was shooting for a 515 and was scoring in the 512/513 range on the AAMC Full Lengths. I studied while I was doing a full time research internship and could be a part time student in the spring to study for the MCAT of 2019 if I choose to retake. I have pretty good extracurriculars, but am also taking a gap year as a scribe to increase my clinical exposure and do even more volunteer work. My residency is in Oregon, but I go to a private competitive university in the south.

We Adcoms do not like perfectionism.

We also don't like the "I know I can do better!" mindset.

Most people stay the same, go down or only improve marginally, upon retakes.

Stop thinking that your MCAT is a referendum on your character.

ALL medical schools are competitive.

Quoting the wise Homeskool: Taking the MCAT is like getting married: ideally you only do it once, and the more times you do it the worse you start looking to suitors with good judgment.

You are competitive for the following:
U VM
U Miami (maybe)
U Toledo
Rush
NYMC
Creighton
Tufts
Albany
Rosy Franklin
Drexel
Temple
MCW
SLU
WVU
Wayne State
Tulane
Loyola
Wake Forest
Loma Linda (only if you are SDA or a very devout Christian)
VCU
Netter
Seton Hall
EVMS
Oakland-B
Gtown
GWU
Uniformed Srvices University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Nova MD
Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, Nova, Wm Carey, LUCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide.
OR HS

 

[878956]

Agree with previous assessments. You Have to remember that your time and again I have seen over the years that when you retake the exam, you are gonna land up to your current score with a few +/- !
I had been scoring on the practice all 513/512/516!!!!
And I landed with 507!!! Devastated!
But I have been accepted at twopjacrs already and have 22 interviews left.
You see the score is one and your to a is another " Number....That's it! They want you to think and want you to know whether are you gonna be a good doctor or one who's going have billboards of plastic surgery on your freeway!
I have been involved so much that the thinking in the Interviews has changed....so just my 2 cents. All the best whatever you decide...

Sent from my SM-J730GM using SDN mobile

LOL, how have you been accepted at two places already. First day of decisions arent until October 15th? Either you are a liar or a liar...

 

[Fresc_0]

We Adcoms do not like perfectionism.

We also don't like the "I know I can do better!" mindset.

Most people stay the same, go down or only improve marginally, upon retakes.

Stop thinking that your MCAT is a referendum on your character.

ALL medical schools are competitive.

Quoting the wise Homeskool: Taking the MCAT is like getting married: ideally you only do it once, and the more times you do it the worse you start looking to suitors with good judgment.
HS

What's your opinion on going from a 508 - > 509.
Section wise (127, 126, 127, 128) -> (127, 128, 128, 126)
The difference is negligible, so I don't assume it would do me much good. But for some adcoms would this be a negative in any way?
There were some external factors on the second test day that definitely had an impact on my performance. However given that I did not necessarily do worse I did not find it pertinent to explain it in my secondary's.

 

[Goro]

What's your opinion on going from a 508 - > 509.
Section wise (127, 126, 127, 128) -> (127, 128, 128, 126)
The difference is negligible, so I don't assume it would do me much good. But for some adcoms would this be a negative in any way?
There were some external factors on the second test day that definitely had an impact on my performance. However given that I did not necessarily do worse I did not find it pertinent to explain it in my secondary's.

A 508 is a perfectly good score. There will be some Adcoms who might think "why is this kid retaking a good score?"
Your 509 will be treated like your 508.

"There were some external factors on the second test day that definitely had an impact on my performance." Given your first score, this says to me those factors were irrelevant and you are showing what your actual performance capability is.

Over all, your score is your score, what's done is done, so quit fussing about it an apply in the next cycle. If you've applied in this cycle, be patient and see how the cycle shakes out.

 

[Goro]

LOL, how have you been accepted at two places already. First day of decisions arent until October 15th? Either you are a liar or a liar...

Accepts at DO schools, most likely.

 

[Beezbear]

We Adcoms do not like perfectionism.

We also don't like the "I know I can do better!" mindset.

Most people stay the same, go down or only improve marginally, upon retakes.

Stop thinking that your MCAT is a referendum on your character.

ALL medical schools are competitive.

Quoting the wise Homeskool: Taking the MCAT is like getting married: ideally you only do it once, and the more times you do it the worse you start looking to suitors with good judgment.

You are competitive for the following:
U VM
U Miami (maybe)
U Toledo
Rush
NYMC
Creighton
Tufts
Albany
Rosy Franklin
Drexel
Temple
MCW
SLU
WVU
Wayne State
Tulane
Loyola
Wake Forest
Loma Linda (only if you are SDA or a very devout Christian)
VCU
Netter
Seton Hall
EVMS
Oakland-B
Gtown
GWU
Uniformed Srvices University/Hebert (just be aware of the military service commitment)
Nova MD
Any DO program. I can't recommend Touro-NY, Nova, Wm Carey, LUCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide.
OR HS

This is what I am confused about though, because schools like Georgetown have MCAT scores of 513, do I even bother applying? 4pt diff seems pretty significantly out of my range? How seriously should I be reading into the MSAR MCAT scores?

 

[Goro]

This is what I am confused about though, because schools like Georgetown have MCAT scores of 513, do I even bother applying? 4pt diff seems pretty significantly out of my range? How seriously should I be reading into the MSAR MCAT scores?

As long as you're above the 10th percentile you are in Striking Distance. If you are above the 25th percentile even better. The closer you are to median that's the best you can be

 

[sunshinefl]

I understand that some people would be happy with a 509 but I am pretty disappointed as I was shooting for a 515 and was scoring in the 512/513 range on the AAMC Full Lengths. I studied while I was doing a full time research internship and could be a part time student in the spring to study for the MCAT of 2019 if I choose to retake. I have pretty good extracurriculars, but am also taking a gap year as a scribe to increase my clinical exposure and do even more volunteer work. My residency is in Oregon, but I go to a private competitive university in the south.

I get it but also want to point out that your score is beautifully balanced. If you had 509 but a 124 in bio/biochem I would be more on board.

 

[Pharaoh95]

LOL, how have you been accepted at two places already. First day of decisions arent until October 15th? Either you are a liar or a liar...

Accepts at DO schools, most likely.

Next time, try to give people the benefit of the doubt before accusing them @H20_Jay .