Should I Take The Mcat Over Again (3rd Time)

[bluefly]

Hi guys, please give me some advise.

I took the april 2003 mcat and got 6vb, 9ps, 10 bs, then, i took august mcat and got 10vb, 8ps, 10bs. Im currently applying , no interview so far, still waiting on 7 more schools... my gpa isn't high (3.3) w/ lots of ECs.

do you guys think i should try to take the mcat again this april to get it up to a 30 or above?

any advise is appreciated !!!

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[Adapt]

Don't waste your time. A 28 is a good score. If you don't get in this year, apply early in June to both MD and DO schools. You should get in somewhere especially to a DO school if anything.

 

[DrSal]

If you feel like you'll break 30 this april then sure. But be careful, i think you need special permission after your third time.

Good luck..

 

[SticknRudder]

I'm pretty sure all you need to take it again (4th time - jesus, i can't imagine) is proof that you applied and didn't get in.

 

[bluefly]

man, i just dont know what to do. most of my friends told me not to take it again, but im worried since i didn't get any interview. The only thing i can do is to improve my mcat score. I have so much research (publication), clinical, teaching...experience, but obviously those didn't help much. =(

what should i doooooooooo.....would it hurt me if i only get like a point increase for example?

 

[TRUE]

Originally posted by bluefly

would it hurt me if i only get like a point increase for example?

From what I've heard, that would actually hurt you. You are advised not to retake the test unless you think you can do "considerably better". 1 point increase is not considerably better in my opinion.

 

[jacksonchan85]

which schools did you apply to? and when did you submit your application??

i don't much about the process but i would think u would've received some interviews..provided u applied to schools w/ lower-based numbers...

good luck

 

[jlee9531]

yeah you need to score considerably better...meaning at least a 2-3 point increase.

i remember at a med school fair, gayle pierce came up to talk about uci at least, and she said that even thought all schools have different thoughts on this that for her at least she wouldnt overly analyze someone who took the mcat 3 times.

however if that person still did poorly after the 3rd time, then she has to start wondering whether or not your science abilities will be able to handle at least the first 2 years of medical schooling. (this doubt of course would be a big negative on your application).

3.3/28 - with the randomness of the med school app process...people have gotten in with those numbers to both MD and DO schools, however maybe nothing stood out in regards to the other things on your application. were you complete early? maybe your august mcat set you back...there are still some people just getting interview invites right now. hopefully a school comes through for you.

if you do decide to take your mcat again (and if you do i hope you get doubles across) then you have to think about the others things you will on your year off. if you are gonna take a year off, the mcat score should not be the only thing that has changed on your application.

 

[bluefly]

I applied late, everything was in by the end of november. I applied to around 18 schools, was put on hold at drexel, penn state... no hope left.

instead of taking the mcat again, should i maybe take some upper level bio classes ? Or should i take the august mcat, and just use my current mcat score to apply early, if i do well on the august mcat, i release the score, if not, i just dont release it at all??? is that a better choice??

 

[Rendar5]

no, you should apply 5 months earlier to MD and DO schools, and make sure to include any schools in your score range for their averages. Don't take the MCAT in August and apply late again.

 

[jlee9531]

where are you from?

just 18 schools?

do you have a state school that accepts a lot of instaters?

i know im from cali but someone with your scores should have taken the financial hit and applied to a lot more schools as well. like 30+ to increase your chances of getting seen.

 

[Auricae]

If you don't get in this round, you should try taking some science courses to boost your science gpa and re-take the MCAT (if you think you can score better). Also, look for holes in your EC's to see if there is something you can work on.

Finally, have you considered DO schools? There are some good DO schools that you would be competitive at with your stats, as long as you don't suffer from a stigma regarding DO schools.

 

[size_tens]

It's a tough world for us low gpa folk. I also have a 3.3 and even with a 34 mcat and decent ec's I've only received 3 interview invites: Drexel, Tulane and SLU. Even post interview I think the low gpa still hurts. Damn those first two years of undergrad.

 

[Orchid 209]

Have you considered doing a post-bacc or special masters program for pre-meds? A lot of post bacc programs actually guide you through the re-application process, but you have to demonstrate that you are passionate about helping the underserved populations. Some master's programs even guarantee you an interivew if you have a certain GPA in their courses and have a minimum MCAT.

 

[MErc44]

Originally posted by size_tens
It's a tough world for us low gpa folk. I also have a 3.3 and even with a 34 mcat and decent ec's I've only received 3 interview invites: Drexel, Tulane and SLU. Even post interview I think the low gpa still hurts. Damn those first two years of undergrad.

Any acceptances? I had a 3.2 and a 33P and I got 3 interviews in the fall. Tulane, waitlist, EVMS waitlist and Drexel acceptance. Applying early is important but I think a 28 is not high enough with a 3.3.

 

[gschl1234]

Originally posted by jlee9531
just 18 schools?

18 sounds like quite a good number to me! I only applied to 12 and I met someone last year who only applied to 3. He got into 1 and declined an interview from 1.

 

[gschl1234]

Originally posted by bluefly
Hi guys, please give me some advise.

I took the april 2003 mcat and got 6vb, 9ps, 10 bs, then, i took august mcat and got 10vb, 8ps, 10bs. Im currently applying , no interview so far, still waiting on 7 more schools... my gpa isn't high (3.3) w/ lots of ECs.

do you guys think i should try to take the mcat again this april to get it up to a 30 or above?

any advise is appreciated !!!

How did you prepare for the MCAT the first 2 times? Maybe if you really studied and took lots and lots of practice exams you could boost your average. I think it would be safe to say that if you took 10 exams, you could expect to at least get your average. If you average 30+ on the practice exams then I don't see why you shouldn't take the MCAT again.

P.S. Physical Science is probably the easiest section to study because it involves getting down the basic concepts of general physics and general chemistry. The key is to understand how to apply some very general ideas in specific situations, not to memorize all the specific situations that may exist. You'll have an "aha" moment and all the concepts will fall into place. Maybe you coudl really focus on that or get a very good private tutor. Good luck with everything.

 

[bluefly]

Im from maryland, and got rejected w/out an interview.

I really dont want to do DO...

I guess the general advise is to take some bio classes this summer, not take the mcat again, and apply really early??

thanx again!!!

 

[bluefly]

when i was taking the pracitice test, PS was almost my best sectiion (12 and above), since i was EE major in college. But i dont know what happened when i was taking the real thing...

i guess i shouldn't take the mcat again unless for sure that i can improve at least 3-5 points right?

 

[size_tens]

I think the fact that bluefly improved from 6VR to 10VR really shows something. I mean we're talking about going from around 30th percentile to about 80th percentile. Many people also consider VR to be the hardest section to improve on. I believe anyone who can show this much progress in a few months is capable of going up even more. Whether or not to expend the time and energy to retake is a personal choice. However I think the potential for a significantly higher score is there.

BTW I was rejected post-interview at Drexel, waitlisted at Tulane and my SLU interview is still coming up (applied late there).

 

[markus21]

you know it's not too late to study for the april MCAT (not sure if the registration deadline passed)... go for it... don't give up~! And apply early! If MD is what you want to be, don't tell him to look elsewhere like DO schools.... i don't understand people who say that. It's like saying that 'no you are not good enough'. I too have been told that before.

On my first MCAT last year, I had a 27... then I retook it and got a worse score... then I retook it again and I got even a worse score... but on my 4th try, I got a 33. Last year, 16 rejections, no interview. This year, 7 interviews, 1 acceptance, waiting on more... Who ever said that taking MCAT more than 3 times is a BAD thing? It worked for me.

 

[Rendar5]

If a doctor is what they want to be, they need to consider DO schools seriously. If you want an MD over a DO, go for it, but everyone who thinks that needs to at least consider which is worse, no MD and not being a doctor or no MD and being a doctor. And if after doing that, you realize you'd rather not be a doctor than be a doctor with a DO, then don't apply to any osteopathic schools, fine.

But if you don't realize that after taking it into consideration, what's the harm in applying to a couple DO schools? If you get into an allopathic school, you can just decline any potential offers from the 3 or 4 osteopathic schools you applied to.

 

[2112_rush]

I wouldn't take it again. Unless you've done something really significant since your last MCAT to prepare you better for this one, you stand a decent chance of lowering your score (There are stats for re-examinees somewhere on the MCAT website).

28 is a solid score that is competitive at osteopathic and some allopathic med schools.

 

[MErc44]

Originally posted by size_tens
BTW I was rejected post-interview at Drexel, waitlisted at Tulane and my SLU interview is still coming up (applied late there).

Thats crazy. A rejection from Drexel and a waitlist at Tulane. I thought Tulane was awesome and I will be contacting them frequently over the next few months until they realize that I am going there

 

[gschl1234]

Originally posted by bluefly
when i was taking the pracitice test, PS was almost my best sectiion (12 and above), since i was EE major in college. But i dont know what happened when i was taking the real thing...

i guess i shouldn't take the mcat again unless for sure that i can improve at least 3-5 points right?

Wow, I don't know what to say. Do you generally get very nervous during standardized tests and therefore do not perform as well as your practice exams indicate? On my practice tests for PS, I averaged 12 (10-14) and actually got an 11. When I took the real thing, I was not more or less nervous than taking practice exams, though.

 

[bluefly]

Yeah, i remember i was really nervous during the ps section (the first section) of the mcat... i just could concentrate...

so should i take it again to improve the ps... , still dont know what to do...the deadline for april registration is in 10 days!!!

 

[Freakingzooming]

Bluefly-I feel I should toss in a couple words. I made a similar thread about the same situation. I'm going to be taking the MCAT for the third time too and well I don't know if I should.

But I talked to a friend of mine and he told me how he thought of it. I thought it was extremely sagacious.... haha.

"Yo. You can take it or not take it. But if you take it, you can waive it. So the only thing you lose in not taking it, is the opportunity to take it. You should try it; putting some effort, working hard will only be your own sacrifice."

And with your scores from prior tests, I think you can make the over 30 mark. Just do a couple more physics questions, look into why you felt you didnt do well or at least as well as you had done on the practice tests? maybe it was you weren't awake for the first section? Maybe you didn't know some of the material too well?

but best of luck, i guess ill be following my friend's advice. I don't have much else ot lose if I take it.

 

[gschl1234]

Originally posted by bluefly
Yeah, i remember i was really nervous during the ps section (the first section) of the mcat... i just could concentrate...

so should i take it again to improve the ps... , still dont know what to do...the deadline for april registration is in 10 days!!!

If your problem is more psychological than knowledge-based, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you can try to simulate real testing situation by having a friend act as proctor during your practice exams? Or you can think of it this way: "PS is a snap so I'm lucky that it's the first section." Maybe you just need to have more confidence. Good luck.

P.S. Did nerves also get the better of you the first time you took it (Physical Science 9)?

 

[bluefly]

i think i was more nervous the second time, and i remember the ps section had lot of reading involved , which isn't something i was use to for PS section.

you know what guys, im gonna take it again!! thank you all so much!!!!

wish me luck, if i felt that i didn't do well, i'll waive it. =)

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by gschl1234
18 sounds like quite a good number to me! I only applied to 12 and I met someone last year who only applied to 3. He got into 1 and declined an interview from 1.

the person who applied to 3 was pretty damn sure (s)he was gonna get in somewhere.

us low gpa people do not have that luxury.
i applied 43 schools. i cant afford to reapply so i decided to just throw em all in there and see what happened.

taking out the 9 state schools i applied too...thats was still 34 out of state schools. hard to apply out of state and try to get interviews with a lower than average gpa. out of those 34 out of states ive only gotten 3 interview invites...around a 9% return.

using my unscientific methods...that would not even be 2 interview invites for 18 schools. a bit risky in my mind.

 

[bluefly]

you have a 31 mcat and only 3 interviews and im also east asian! damn, i should definetly take the test again then. =(

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by bluefly
you have a 31 mcat and only 3 interviews and im also east asian! damn, i should definetly take the test again then. =(

your 10 10 8 is decent. however the point i was trying to make was you could have applied to more schools to make yourself more visible yunno what i mean?

the more schools, the more chances of finding someone who seems something in your file and takes a chance and gives you an interview.

but yeah. 3 out of state, 2 instate interviews.

hopefully you get some late calls between now and april.

 

[gschl1234]

Originally posted by jlee9531
the person who applied to 3 was pretty damn sure (s)he was gonna get in somewhere.

us low gpa people do not have that luxury.
i applied 43 schools. i cant afford to reapply so i decided to just throw em all in there and see what happened.

taking out the 9 state schools i applied too...thats was still 34 out of state schools. hard to apply out of state and try to get interviews with a lower than average gpa. out of those 34 out of states ive only gotten 3 interview invites...around a 9% return.

using my unscientific methods...that would not even be 2 interview invites for 18 schools. a bit risky in my mind.

Actually the guy I met who only applied to 3 schools was just the opposite of what you described. Now that I know more about how competitive applying can be, I know that this guy just had no idea. He thought it would be easy so he only applied to 3. He ddin't get his acceptance till almost April so I think he was pretty lucky, all things considered.

P.S. He was east asian (ethnically East Indian) and had a sub 30 MCAT.

 

[redstar18]

Originally posted by bluefly
i think i was more nervous the second time, and i remember the ps section had lot of reading involved , which isn't something i was use to for PS section.

you know what guys, im gonna take it again!! thank you all so much!!!!

wish me luck, if i felt that i didn't do well, i'll waive it. =)

bluefly,

I was in a similar situation last year (though I started off with the Aug mcat). My advice to you is to take the Aug exam instead if you're not prepared for the April one. Do you want to go through this all over again a 4th time? (Don't mean to jinx you there, just wanted to give you a heads up.) Also, the test ain't cheap! If you got money and time to burn then perhaps you want to take it for the testing experience. Otherwise, strengthen your EC's and gpa (if possible) and study hard for the Aug exam. Good luck!

 

[Cerberus]

If you can improve significantly then yes, otherwise no.

 

[bluefly]

what is considered a BIG improvement, from 28 to 33?

would i have a decent chance if to apply again really early w/ the same score 28/3.3 but w/ more 'A's from summer classes that i plan to take??

and if i get it to a 30/3.3 , would i have a better chance, or it probly wouldn't make that much difference?

'cuz i really dont want to waste another year... =(

 

[Rendar5]

I honestly think that applying 5 months earlier this time will make more of a difference for you than taking the MCAT again and getting 2 points higher. Apply earlier, expand your options. If you want to go into research, a really hard specialty, or some non-practicing field with an MD, don't bother even considering osteopathic schools.

If you want to practice and aren't interested in something like optho, derm, or rad, consider applying to 1 or 2 DO schools as a safety (since they're obviously not your interest, don't take it seriously. just give yourself a safety net since they're easier to get into with your statistics). If you get stuck in the situation where you only get into a DO school and no MD schools, then decide which is more important to you. MD or practicing as a doctor.

But I honestly think that applying earlier is your best shot and you won't get into that situation.

If for some reason you that situation arose, I just want to comment that you can apply for an allopathic residency from them. DO's do just fine and are virtually indistinguishable from MD's for your regular practice (at least as it applies to Emergency Medicine, from personal experience). So there won't be much disadvantage for that. But if you decided being an MD is more important than practicing medicine, take the MCAT again only if you know you can improve by a few points, or become a FMG (which from ER experience, can become fantastic doctors if they really are meant for medicine).

 

[Cerberus]

Originally posted by bluefly
what is considered a BIG improvement, from 28 to 33?

would i have a decent chance if to apply again really early w/ the same score 28/3.3 but w/ more 'A's from summer classes that i plan to take??

and if i get it to a 30/3.3 , would i have a better chance, or it probly wouldn't make that much difference?

'cuz i really dont want to waste another year... =(

honestly dude your stats are too low. I would consider either doing a MS or applying DO.

 

[Jalby]

Originally posted by bluefly
I really dont want to do DO...

That kind of thing kind of pisses me off. With your grades and MCAT you should be happy that you have a chance to become a doctor.

 

[fullefect1]

Apply to a large amount of schools (early), and take it again, just practice do practice problems straight through till the test.

 

[bluefly]

thanx guys again! After reading all the posts, I feel like getting to a 30 wont make that much of a difference... so maybe i will work on my gpa instead and take couple science classes.

and by the way "Cerberus", im not a dude, im a pretty young lady doctor wanna be.

I actually know couple ppl that got into MD schools w/ my stats, i guess im just not that lucky. =)

thank you all!!!!

 

[ewing]

Move to Texas...

 

[BerkeleyPremed]

Originally posted by ewing
Move to Texas...

I second that. Move to Texas or Ohio...these states have med schools with VERY low MCAT and GPA averages (well...low compared to the CA state med schools...such as UCLA-Geffen, UCSF, UCSD, etc).

 

[Kownell]

have some people done this--move to another state in order to improve your chances?

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by Kownell
have some people done this--move to another state in order to improve your chances?

yes.

and my friend last year would have done this as well, if he didnt get in last last minute...

 

[Gleevec]

You need to realize that getting residency isn't as easy as just moving in. You generally have to have a paying job for at least a year, and that is the least strict requirement of them all.

I think moving to another state just for medical school is kinda a bad idea, because youre basically spending 2-3 years waiting for your "new state" to take effect. Its better just to retake the MCAT and apply to lower-ranked schools nation-wide. Plus if you end up hating the state, you've screwed yourself.

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by Gleevec
You need to realize that getting residency isn't as easy as just moving in. You generally have to have a paying job for at least a year, and that is the least strict requirement of them all.

I think moving to another state just for medical school is kinda a bad idea, because youre basically spending 2-3 years waiting for your "new state" to take effect. Its better just to retake the MCAT and apply to lower-ranked schools nation-wide. Plus if you end up hating the state, you've screwed yourself.

yeah the few i know that went to texas....did that. paying job for year...etc...

they knew the negatives. but when people get desperate they dont care how long something takes just as long as they can dramatically increase their chances. and they were from california. i tried to talk em about doing the things you said, but i guess that what they already did applying to 30-60 schools. so they reasoned...might as well try a state i didnt apply at by becoming a resident there.

 

[Adapt]

Originally posted by Jalby
That kind of thing kind of pisses me off. With your grades and MCAT you should be happy that you have a chance to become a doctor.

Exactly. She's going to waste her time studying hours on end for the test which she may not even do better in since this will be her third time.

Her gpa is relatively low for MD schools so it looks like needs a 32+ MCAT to look decent. To top it all off, she doesn't want to look at DO or the caribbean.

Bluefly, you need to reevaluate your priorities. Are you in it to help people or are you in it for the prestige. Unfortunately, I foresee you reapplying many times in your future unless you can somehow get a 32+ on your MCAT.

 

[Persistence101]

Originally posted by Jalby
That kind of thing kind of pisses me off. With your grades and MCAT you should be happy that you have a chance to become a doctor.

wasn't your ugrad gpa a 3.2?

 

[bluefly]

i still feel like i have hope since i know ppl that've gotten into out-state schools w/ my number, maybe even less ECs...

So, i guess i'll just take classes this summer to improve my gpa. the reason that my science gpa is also as low as 3.3 is 'cuz i had to take couple high level "math" classes for my EE major, which got caculated into my science gpa.

since this time, everything was in late (end of november), if i apply early,would i'll have a much greater chance w/ some new grades? and does being put on "hold" mean anything this time. 'cuz i got put on hold at 4 different schools.