Should I retake MCAT 3rd time?

[Lettucelvr]

Hello!! I'm currently in a gap year after graduating with a 3.3 cGPA 3.4 sGPA. I took the MCAT in 2015 got a 500. Retake in 2016 507. My study habits were really poor during my last two years because of stress at home and at school (i didn't take any practice tests and didn't bother even looking over physical science-125 on my most recent MCAT).

I'm confident I can go up a few point if I start studying now. Should I retake it a 3rd time or will retaking be seen as bad?

I am also applying for an SMP for next year so I can take care of my low GPA and planning to apply broadly to low tiers. Can someone give me some advice on this matter?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[medbunny56]

i feel that your gpa is more of a problem than the 507 mcat
try taking some post-bac classes this year to improve your undergrad cgpa and get in some research/good ECs

if you think you can hit a 515 then its worth retaking

 

[MareNostrummm]

i feel that your gpa is more of a problem than the 507 mcat
try taking some post-bac classes this year to improve your undergrad cgpa and get in some research/good ECs

if you think you can hit a 515 then its worth retaking

Depending on how many classes he has already taken, he might have to take a pretty significant amount of classes to raise his gpa even .1, but if he can get an upward trend it will help

 

[jkoby14]

Hello!! I'm currently in a gap year after graduating with a 3.3 cGPA 3.4 sGPA. I took the MCAT in 2015 got a 500. Retake in 2016 507. My study habits were really poor during my last two years because of stress at home and at school (i didn't take any practice tests and didn't bother even looking over physical science-125 on my most recent MCAT).

I'm confident I can go up a few point if I start studying now. Should I retake it a 3rd time or will retaking be seen as bad?

I am also applying for an SMP for next year so I can take care of my low GPA and planning to apply broadly to low tiers. Can someone give me some advice on this matter?

I was actually in a similar situation as you! I took the old one and got a 26 and took the new one not long ago and got a 504. BUT when i took it that second time, I was having some residual burnout and knew for a fact that I could do better. With a quick turnaround I was able to get a 513. My piece of advice would be to take it ONLY if you know you can do better. Taking it a third for a 1 point improvement won't be worth it. I definitely knew I could do better and I knew my second exam was not at all reflective of my preparation. That being said, I had a 504 and you are at a 507 which is not a bad score by any means! Also consider if you will be able to devote a lot of time to the MCAT during your SMP, that could get tricky. Idk how helpful this is but I thought I'd share

 

[prettylittlebird]

Take a prep course or make sure you have a rigorous study program you will stick to and go for it if you honestly know you can do better. I was in a similar situation and ended up bumping my score up 8 points (on the old MCAT).

 

[Lawpy]

Hello!! I'm currently in a gap year after graduating with a 3.3 cGPA 3.4 sGPA. I took the MCAT in 2015 got a 500. Retake in 2016 507. My study habits were really poor during my last two years because of stress at home and at school (i didn't take any practice tests and didn't bother even looking over physical science-125 on my most recent MCAT).

I'm confident I can go up a few point if I start studying now. Should I retake it a 3rd time or will retaking be seen as bad?

I am also applying for an SMP for next year so I can take care of my low GPA and planning to apply broadly to low tiers. Can someone give me some advice on this matter?

Skip the retake and SMP and focus on applying to DO. Maybe your state MD schools.

 

[GrapesofRath]

You should only retake the MCAT if you have a strong reason to believe you can do significantly better(ie 513+).
Me personally I would take care of the MCAT situation before doing an SMP. IF you dont get an MD caliber MCAT score(and 507 on multiple attempts with a low GPA isn't really a good spot for MD schools) then an SMP isn't really going to benefit you that much. An SMP wont do alot to make up for a below average MCAT track record.
If in fact you can get an MD caliber MCAT score the SMP route makes alot more sense to consider.
In general there's questionable info about SMPs/post-baccs that gets spread around on here and other places, I wouldnt really rely on it. I'd talk directly to those who have gone through that route in the past, those affiliated with an SMP you are interested in and spend significant time researching them on the post-bacc forum here and amongst other places. One major goal should be to get a good idea of how many people who went into the SMP program you are interested in ended up getting into a US MD school. This is an example of that type of info(https://med.uc.edu/msinphysiology/alumni/meet-the-class-of-2014) Because that's really what matters.

 

[Lettucelvr]

Thanks for the replies! I'm sticking with MD for now and will consider DO in the future. I'm planning to do the SMP next summer so I'll have many months before I plan to retake. I took the Kaplan MCAT course my Junior year but it didn't help me at all with my study habits, big waste of $2000. My plan right now is to apply for SMP in January, MCAT April/March, hopefully get accepted and take SMP the following year. Hoping to get a GPA and MCAT boost by the next cycle comes by!

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

Unless you can make a substantial improvement it's not worth it. Even at that please remember some schools take the most recent, some schools superscore, and some average. But all schools will see 2 retakes and it will raise questions if you don't knock it out of the park next time.

 

[Goro]

Beggars can't be choosy. Many med schools (mine included) average scores on the advice of AAMC. Avg scores are a good predictor than superscoring or taking the most recent or highest score.

You also may face the issue of your choice making; taking a high stakes, career deciding exam not once, but twice, isn't going to help your application. I have one Adcom colleague who would reject you outright for that alone.

Thanks for the replies! I'm sticking with MD for now and will consider DO in the future. I'm planning to do the SMP next summer so I'll have many months before I plan to retake. I took the Kaplan MCAT course my Junior year but it didn't help me at all with my study habits, big waste of $2000. My plan right now is to apply for SMP in January, MCAT April/March, hopefully get accepted and take SMP the following year. Hoping to get a GPA and MCAT boost by the next cycle comes by!

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Thanks for the replies! I'm sticking with MD for now and will consider DO in the future. I'm planning to do the SMP next summer so I'll have many months before I plan to retake. I took the Kaplan MCAT course my Junior year but it didn't help me at all with my study habits, big waste of $2000. My plan right now is to apply for SMP in January, MCAT April/March, hopefully get accepted and take SMP the following year. Hoping to get a GPA and MCAT boost by the next cycle comes by!

With your MCAT history an SMP still won't give you a great chance at MD. You really need to consider DO schools if you want to be a doctor. Don't forget that when SMPs tell you that X% of their graduates get accepted to medical school they are including DO schools as well. If you are most likely going to end up there anyway then there isn't really a good point for the SMP. If you do retake just increasing a couple points isn't enough. You need to really kill it for adcoms to look past two retakes, like 515<

 

[gyngyn]

I'm confident I can go up a few point if I start studying now. Should I retake it a 3rd time or will retaking be seen as bad?

I am also applying for an SMP for next year so I can take care of my low GPA and planning to apply broadly to low tiers. Can someone give me some advice on this matter?

A few points more won't matter. The same score or lower will.