Should I retake MCAT without knowing my score

[Dagobert Duck]

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Hi everyone!

I just took the MCAT yesterday and was considering whether I should re-take the MCAT on 8/3 without knowledge of what score I got. I usually do well on the C/P section but made the mistake of getting hung up on 2 questions in a passage and losing track of time entirely so that I had to completely guess the last 6 questions. From what I read, most people thought that C/P was manageable on this exam or at least not terrible so I doubt there will be a good curve for it. I considered voiding my exam after C/P but felt good about CARS and B/B and meh about P/S, and in the end, decided not to void after all. The only reason I'm considering re-taking it blind is b/c I feel I can do a lot better on C/P just by managing my time better and figured that if I don't feel I performed significantly better on the re-take, I can always just void it, but I'm not sure this is advisable and if there are things I'm not considering here. I could also wait a month and determine whether I should re-take then, but at that point, I think it would be too late to apply this application cycle which I def. want to avoid. Any thoughts on what I should do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

My FL scores:
FL1 515 (129/127/128/131)
FL2 515 (130/129/130/126)

 

[workaholic181]

Hi everyone!

I just took the MCAT yesterday and was considering whether I should re-take the MCAT on 8/3 without knowledge of what score I got. I usually do well on the C/P section but made the mistake of getting hung up on 2 questions in a passage and losing track of time entirely so that I had to completely guess the last 6 questions. From what I read, most people thought that C/P was manageable on this exam or at least not terrible so I doubt there will be a good curve for it. I considered voiding my exam after C/P but felt good about CARS and B/B and meh about P/S, and in the end, decided not to void after all. The only reason I'm considering re-taking it blind is b/c I feel I can do a lot better on C/P just by managing my time better and figured that if I don't feel I performed significantly better on the re-take, I can always just void it, but I'm not sure this is advisable and if there are things I'm not considering here. I could also wait a month and determine whether I should re-take then, but at that point, I think it would be too late to apply this application cycle which I def. want to avoid. Any thoughts on what I should do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

My FL scores:
FL1 515 (129/127/128/131)
FL2 515 (130/129/130/126)

I think this is a totally natural reaction to the test. I'm sorry you felt like you didn't perform to your best on some of those passages, but this again is usually a reaction people have to taking the real thing.

If I were you, I would review the material lightly over the next few weeks and wait to get your score back. You could still take the sept 9 exam if you don't score how you would have liked. Most people it seems score close to their AAMC average.

The reason I would wait to get your scores back is you may have done well; and it would look odd if you got a 515 say on this one and then a 511 on this retake you're considering.

 

[mariposas905]

Hi everyone!

I just took the MCAT yesterday and was considering whether I should re-take the MCAT on 8/3 without knowledge of what score I got. I usually do well on the C/P section but made the mistake of getting hung up on 2 questions in a passage and losing track of time entirely so that I had to completely guess the last 6 questions. From what I read, most people thought that C/P was manageable on this exam or at least not terrible so I doubt there will be a good curve for it. I considered voiding my exam after C/P but felt good about CARS and B/B and meh about P/S, and in the end, decided not to void after all. The only reason I'm considering re-taking it blind is b/c I feel I can do a lot better on C/P just by managing my time better and figured that if I don't feel I performed significantly better on the re-take, I can always just void it, but I'm not sure this is advisable and if there are things I'm not considering here. I could also wait a month and determine whether I should re-take then, but at that point, I think it would be too late to apply this application cycle which I def. want to avoid. Any thoughts on what I should do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

My FL scores:
FL1 515 (129/127/128/131)
FL2 515 (130/129/130/126)

I felt the same way!!! My Fls were 516 but I think I screwed up C/P for sure because of timing. I was considering 9/9 but will spots even be open to sign up after august 22 (score release)??

Spots will almost definitely be open...there are always a ton of spots left open the week before. It sounds implausible, but my experience has shown otherwise lol Also, if you guys do end up retaking in Sept, are you still going to apply this cycle and just update schools with the new score?

 

[Dagobert Duck]

I think this is a totally natural reaction to the test. I'm sorry you felt like you didn't perform to your best on some of those passages, but this again is usually a reaction people have to taking the real thing.

If I were you, I would review the material lightly over the next few weeks and wait to get your score back. You could still take the sept 9 exam if you don't score how you would have liked. Most people it seems score close to their AAMC average.

The reason I would wait to get your scores back is you may have done well; and it would look odd if you got a 515 say on this one and then a 511 on this retake you're considering.

Thanks for your input! Yeah totally agree it's a natural reaction...it's just that I would have no problem if I messed up due to lack of content knowledge b/c it's highly unlikely I'll be able to move the needle in 10 days (assuming I take it 8/3 again), but what bothers me is that I made a test taking mistake and feel I can improve my C/P score without heavy studying.

The reason I wanted to take it before I see my score is that sept 9 is really late in the application cycle with the score coming out a month later and most schools will see my first MCAT score by then and probably won't review the sept 9 test. I feel like there's virtually no downside in taking it again on 8/3 (although obvs I could be not considering certain factors). Typically, I can gauge pretty well how well I do on each section and if don't feel a lot more confident than the first time, I can just void it. There's also the added benefit that I can take the second test with almost no pressure, knowing that I probably did ok on the first one, just not stellar.

I felt the same way!!! My Fls were 516 but I think I screwed up C/P for sure because of timing. I was considering 9/9 but will spots even be open to sign up after august 22 (score release)??

Did you take it yesterday as well? I don't think the passages were that hard, just a lot of calculations which I didn't expect and totally messed up my timing. I think there should be spots, but I live in a big city and they always have spots.

 

[OchemOficionado]

I don't think reactionary retakes are a good idea. The least we should do is wait for our scores and then prepare to do better.

That said, I took it yesterday. I felt ok after but after sleeping on it I think I'll have to retake 🙁 If so I'll take it in Jan.

 

[BrainFlakes]

No
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