Forum Members Should I Retake the MCAT?

[SDN]

This is the Official "Should I Retake"" Thread Part 2
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This is an updated from: https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/official-should-i-retake-thread.412739/ (created on June 14, 2007 and retired on December 20, 2018) in favor of a post that is catered for Retake advice for the New Post-2015 MCAT!

For those of you who are trying to figure out whether you should re-take, this is the thread for you. Post your dilemma here if you want advice from other SDN folks. Please note that you should take the opinions you get from SDN as one source of advice; you would be wise to also consult your premed advisor before making this decision.

Template:

1. What are your previous MCAT Score(s) (with section wise breakdown):
2. What is your GPA (w/ Science GPA) (If relevant: trend, uGPA/grad GPA/postbacc GPA)
3. State/Country of residence (optional):
   
4. Ethnicity (ORM/URM?):
5. Goal Med school (Tier/goal):
6. Include ECs/Other Relevant Info if you would like:
7. Other Facts regarding your studying the first time:
8. Do you know/think you can do better?

Definitely Retake:

• Scores <495
• Scores with a subsection of 120 or lower
• if you scored substantially below your practice Full-length examinations and think you can do better.
• if your current score does not allow you to reach your target medical school goal (both your GPA and MCAT are below your goal score and your ECs are not spectacular).
• if you know you could do better and have the time/money to prep for a retake
• if you had some kind of major problem during the test that affected your performance (ex. you started puking or running a 102 degree temperature)
• if you took performed poorly on a section you did not take a pre-req class for: (one year each of biology, chemistry, physics, and organic, one semester of biochemistry and psychology) and/or took the exam without studying for it.
• if you know what went wrong in your prep the first time and can fix the issue when prepping for a retake.
• if you left large numbers of questions blank/ran out of time.

Retake only in some circumstances depending on your goal:

• if you scored a 512 or better, especially if all of your individual section scores were a 125 or better
• if your section subscores (the numerical ones) are all good, but you didn't perform well on the CARS section.
• if you scored well overall but with one section below a 123.
• if you had some minor nuisances (ex. a noisy test room) during the test and you're not sure if it affected your performance
• if you studied thoroughly for the test and you scored within the range of your practice exams, but your score is in the middle range 500-510.

Thanks to @MCATKINGS for updating this thread.

Previous Discussions on Should I Retake can be found here:
Forum Members - Official "Should I Retake?" Thread

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[ravensfan123]

A bit of a silly/niche question. I took the MCAT once on Jan 24 2019 and scored a 513. My exam score has now passed the three year expiration date, which means I would likely have to retake my exam to be considered for the class of 2027. Just wondering, are there any programs that accept MCAT scores >3 years? If so, are you able to share which ones (or best resources to find these institutions - MSAR etc). Thanks!

 

[deleted1065184]

A bit of a silly/niche question. I took the MCAT once on Jan 24 2019 and scored a 513. My exam score has now passed the three year expiration date, which means I would likely have to retake my exam to be considered for the class of 2027. Just wondering, are there any programs that accept MCAT scores >3 years? If so, are you able to share which ones (or best resources to find these institutions - MSAR etc). Thanks!

Maybe a couple, but certainly not enough to risk not retaking. I can't remember off the top of my head, but you can absolutely find this information on MSAR. If you don't have MSAR, feel free to DM me with schools you're interested in and I can tell you what they have on their website.

 

[KnightDoc]

Maybe a couple, but certainly not enough to risk not retaking. I can't remember off the top of my head, but you can absolutely find this information on MSAR. If you don't have MSAR, feel free to DM me with schools you're interested in and I can tell you what they have on their website.

This^^^^^, plus each school will have the information on its website. If you are seriously considering applying, you REALLY should have a MSAR subscription. It costs next to nothing, and is probably the best value out of everything you are going to need to buy here.

As @I'mInDer! said, though, it would be a terrible idea to limit yourself to whatever schools will accept a January 2019 score in an application for admission in the summer of 2023. There are, however, a fair number of schools that look like they might be receptive. I'd reach out to every school I was considering and ask before planning on a retake. Depending on just which schools you are targeting, you just might be fine!

 

[ravensfan123]

This^^^^^, plus each school will have the information on its website. If you are seriously considering applying, you REALLY should have a MSAR subscription. It costs next to nothing, and is probably the best value out of everything you are going to need to buy here.

As @I'mInDer! said, though, it would be a terrible idea to limit yourself to whatever schools will accept a January 2019 score in an application for admission in the summer of 2023.

Thanks, I have MSAR but it doesn't appear to be updated for the upcoming cycle (still showing data off the previous cycle). Of course, I can extrapolate given this year's admission's requirements but I was curious if others had any off the shelf information (assuming this isn't a niche question).

Not an MD program, but I did encounter a DO program that accepted MCAT scores within 4 years (vs the 3 yr threshold I've seen elsewhere). I imagine there must be others, though likely within the DO realm vs MD

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Application Requirements | PCOM

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www.pcom.edu

 

[KnightDoc]

Thanks, I have MSAR but it doesn't appear to be updated for the upcoming cycle (still showing data off the previous cycle). Of course, I can extrapolate given this year's admission's requirements but I was curious if others had any off the shelf information (assuming this isn't a niche question).

Not an MD program, but I did encounter a DO program that accepted MCAT scores within 4 years (vs the 3 yr threshold I've seen elsewhere). I imagine there must be others, though likely within the DO realm vs MD

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Application Requirements | PCOM

Interested in becoming a doctor? Learn about the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine application requirements at PCOM.

www.pcom.edu

You did exactly the right thing by extrapolating. There is no other information information available until the next cycle opens, but policies are remarkably consistent from cycle to cycle. As you can see, a lot of schools have January 2019 as a cutoff this year, so you will be out of luck with them, but plenty of others are using January 2018 this cycle, and you will be fine with them.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

A bit of a silly/niche question. I took the MCAT once on Jan 24 2019 and scored a 513. My exam score has now passed the three year expiration date, which means I would likely have to retake my exam to be considered for the class of 2027. Just wondering, are there any programs that accept MCAT scores >3 years? If so, are you able to share which ones (or best resources to find these institutions - MSAR etc). Thanks!

There are some but IIRC It drops dramatically between 2 and 3 years (in terms of the initial year of the cycle, so upcoming would be 2022-2023).

 

[bearbear8]

Should I retake a 126 C/P that's below 10th percentile for most of my target schools? Idk if it counts as extenuating circumstances but I was sick the morning of exam so C/P was rough

1. What are your previous MCAT Score(s) (with section wise breakdown): 515 (126/129/129/131)
2. What is your GPA (w/ Science GPA) (If relevant: trend, uGPA/grad GPA/postbacc GPA): 3.90 overall, 3.9X science (TBD; engineering major)
3. State/Country of residence (optional): Texas
4. Ethnicity (ORM/URM?): ORM
5. Goal Med school (Tier/goal): applying MD-only, mostly in-state (McGovern/Southwestern/OOS mid-tier) - 126 C/P is below 10th percentile for almost all goal schools
6. Include ECs/Other Relevant Info if you would like: clinical volunteering with very underserved community, equity-oriented research (1 poster), equity-oriented initiative (received grant), general org leadership, some non-clinical volunteering with children
7. Other Facts regarding your studying the first time: studied over an entire summer with a 35/40hr workweek. Didn't do enough practice problems and just wasn't sure how to study for half the summer
8. Do you know/think you can do better? with enough time to study, yes. with one month of winter break - hopefully? idk

 

[ClashRoyaleKing]

1. What are your previous MCAT Score(s) (with section wise breakdown): April '22: 129/123/128/129 (509).
2. What is your GPA (w/ Science GPA) (If relevant: trend, uGPA/grad GPA/postbacc GPA): uGPA: 3.84 (weighed down by some difficult Bible courses) and 3.95 sGPA.
3. State/Country of residence (optional): CA
4. Ethnicity (ORM/URM?): Caucasian.
5. Goal Med school (Tier/goal): Would MUCH rather go MD, but am open to apply to both MD and DO next cycle.
6. Include ECs/Other Relevant Info if you would like: Can see my WAMC on my profile, but as a recap: About 5K hrs. clinical as a behavioral health tech and director of psychiatric crisis residential, 600 hrs volunteer in ED, 400 hrs volunteer in food closet, 100 hrs volunteering with another organization that assists the homeless (I don't think that was on my WAMC), 200 research on ADHD (no pubs/presentation/posters).
7. Other Facts regarding your studying the first time: In terms of time dedication, I did 85% self content review and 15% UWorld. Did not use ANKI. Did not really practice for CARS because I did not understand how to improve that score. I had my Capstone project about a month after the MCAT and writing that interfered a little with my studying.
8. Do you know/think you can do better? Yes. At the very least, I want an MCAT score with more even subsections. I am aiming for 515+ although would be satisfied with 512+ with even subjections.

I have scheduled a retake on June 1st, 2024. I would love to hear your thoughts on a retake.

 

[Stuaccount]

1. What are your previous MCAT Score(s) (with section wise breakdown): April '22: 129/123/128/129 (509).
2. What is your GPA (w/ Science GPA) (If relevant: trend, uGPA/grad GPA/postbacc GPA): uGPA: 3.84 (weighed down by some difficult Bible courses) and 3.95 sGPA.
3. State/Country of residence (optional): CA
4. Ethnicity (ORM/URM?): Caucasian.
5. Goal Med school (Tier/goal): Would MUCH rather go MD, but am open to apply to both MD and DO next cycle.
6. Include ECs/Other Relevant Info if you would like: Can see my WAMC on my profile, but as a recap: About 5K hrs. clinical as a behavioral health tech and director of psychiatric crisis residential, 600 hrs volunteer in ED, 400 hrs volunteer in food closet, 100 hrs volunteering with another organization that assists the homeless (I don't think that was on my WAMC), 200 research on ADHD (no pubs/presentation/posters).
7. Other Facts regarding your studying the first time: In terms of time dedication, I did 85% self content review and 15% UWorld. Did not use ANKI. Did not really practice for CARS because I did not understand how to improve that score. I had my Capstone project about a month after the MCAT and writing that interfered a little with my studying.
8. Do you know/think you can do better? Yes. At the very least, I want an MCAT score with more even subsections. I am aiming for 515+ although would be satisfied with 512+ with even subjections.

I have scheduled a retake on June 1st, 2024. I would love to hear your thoughts on a retake.

If you do decide to retake, plan to take it earlier if you can. That way you can focus on preparing your primary before June and submit early.

 

[ClashRoyaleKing]

If you do decide to retake, plan to take it earlier if you can. That way you can focus on preparing your primary before June and submit early.

Do you think I should retake? I fall in the in between of retakes (descent score, CARS sucked).

 

[Stuaccount]

Do you think I should retake? I fall in the in between of retakes (descent score, CARS sucked).

I honestly don’t know. Is your CARS score wildly lower than what you saw on practice tests? Did you take CARS seriously when you were preparing for the exam? If you can maintain the same score for the other sections, then a retake would make sense. But only if you can absolutely prepare to do just as well in the other sections while maintaining your non academic activities. But I can’t repeat this enough, plan to apply early. I talked myself into believing applying early was exaggerated and it is absolutely not. Also, decide quickly whether you will retake and don’t look back.

 

[ClashRoyaleKing]

I honestly don’t know. Is your CARS score wildly lower than what you saw on practice tests? Did you take CARS seriously when you were preparing for the exam? If you can maintain the same score for the other sections, then a retake would make sense. But only if you can absolutely prepare to do just as well in the other sections while maintaining your non academic activities. But I can’t repeat this enough, plan to apply early. I talked myself into believing applying early was exaggerated and it is absolutely not. Also, decide quickly whether you will retake and don’t look back.

I didn't practice cars like at all. I didn't think I could change it. I believe I could maintain my subsections in the sciences. My score was 509: 129/123/128/129. I don't remember my FL Cars score but it probably was about the same.