take MCAT multiple times, only send the best score?

[khjb007]

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Is it possible to take MCAT multiple times and then send only the best score to medical schools? Do medical schools have an access to applicants' past MCAT scores?

 

[BigRedPremed]

You must send all scores.

 

[khjb007]

hmm... that's bad... so they look at your poor MCAT scores and judge you instead of only looking at the good one

 

[GuzzyRon]

It used to be that only the score you release to AMCAS gets reported to med schools but all that has changed now. AMCAS reports all scores - excellent or otherwise. 😡

 

[QofQuimica]

Is it possible to take MCAT multiple times and then send only the best score to medical schools? Do medical schools have an access to applicants' past MCAT scores?

Sorry, dude(tte), but they all get sent. My scores from 1996 got sent last year along with my newer set, and they showed up automatically on my AMCAS. There is no option to not report them. It's worse than a bankruptcy; old scores apparently never go away. 😛

The best thing to do is to not take the MCAT until you're ready. If you want to practice, take one of the AAMC tests or a practice test from a test prep company. Don't use the real deal for practice.

 

[khjb007]

what do you mean? you should never want medical schools to see your poor MCAT scores... even if you take it multiple times and improve, there's always going to be people who take it only one time and score better than your best one which is not good.... only lowers your chance

 

[StrikeFreedom]

what do you mean? you should never want medical schools to see your poor MCAT scores... even if you take it multiple times and improve, there's always going to be people who take it only one time and score better than your best one which is not good.... only lowers your chance

I think it is because that you have no choice but to send ALL the mcat scores with thx system. The only exception are mcats prior to the thx, which was 2003?

"If you have MCAT scores from Series 25 (April 2003) or later, they will automatically be included whenever you send any scores to a school or program. This is indicated by a Check mark next to these scores."

As for AMCAS, not sure how that works..but it also says that "They have already received or will be receiving your scores as part of your AMCAS application."

As well, I know that if you choose not to show mcat scores prior to April 2003. It shows on the printout that you have chosen to omit a score. No avoiding it 🙁

 

[BigRedPremed]

Then, are you telling me that someone who scored 38 on his second try is worst off than someone who scored 34 the first time? In the end, the person who scored higher would be in a better situation I can tell you that. If you are not happy about it, oh well... suck it up that is just how it is... i will give you an anology. Lets say there are two US 100m sprinters competiting in the US national championship. The first year, one of the runners got a second place overall and won silver; the other one simply did not quality for any medal. The following year, the one that performed worst outran everyone in the race and won the gold. Which one of the sprinters' accomplishments do you find more praiseworthy ? 😉

I would think that the second year the runner took steroids.

If you take the MCAT multiple times, all of your scores will be considered. If you scored a 25 the first time and a 33 the second time, you will be asked why. Not to mention the fact each MCAT sitting requires a lot of money and time investment. You should not plan on taking it multiple times. This isn't the SAT.

 

[Law2Doc]

Then, are you telling me that someone who scored 38 on his second try is worst off than someone who scored 34 the first time? In the end, the person who scored higher would be in a better situation I can tell you that. If you are not happy about it, oh well... suck it up that is just how it is... i will give you an anology. Lets say there are two US 100m sprinters competiting in the US national championship. The first year, one of the runners got a second place overall and won silver; the other one simply did not quality for any medal. The following year, the one that performed worst outran everyone in the race and won the gold. Which one of the sprinters' accomplishments do you find more praiseworthy ? 😉

That's a bad analogy as it is different races. If one of the runners did poorly, and got a "do over" in the SAME race and then won, his win would be "tainted" in the eyes of many. Much as a higher MCAT score in multiple tries is not looked at the same as once by adcoms in a given cycle. It's still better than having a lower score, but not as good as having taken it once and done well. Moral of the story, don't take the test until you are ready, and then score well and go to med school.. Do not "wing it" with the expectation that you can always retake it with no penalty. You might overcome a poor score, but will never be regarded the same as someone with identical final numbers who took it once.

 

[gujuDoc]

I think you guys are stressing too much about this. The fact is that most admissions directors will tell you they look at the latest or best score overall. Some and very very few like Tufts will take the best subscores from different administrations but Tufts is the only place I know like that.

Regardless of whether you got a 35 on your first try or 3rd try, they'll see that you improved. The worst they'll do is ask you what went wrong the first one or two times and you'll tell them honestly that you were well prepared the last time and not as well prepared the first two times. That's the end of it.

Stop being soooooooo anal over something so useless. I've known many people who retook the MCAT quite a few times before getting in. Just try not to take it like 6 times, granted there is a former SDN poster who took it 6 times before he got in.

If you really want to know how it is going to affect your application you are better off talking to adcom directors of schools of interest directly rather then talking to some random premeds of whom many are still in the process and don't know what goes on through an adcoms head.

 

[gujuDoc]

Also a 34 vs. 38 doesn't mean the person with a 38 would get in a place like HMS automatically over the 34 because other factors are still looked at in the overall scheme of things once you get past the numerical stage.

 

[Law2Doc]

I think you guys are stressing too much about this. The fact is that most admissions directors will tell you they look at the latest or best score overall. Some and very very few like Tufts will take the best subscores from different administrations but Tufts is the only place I know like that.

Regardless of whether you got a 35 on your first try or 3rd try, they'll see that you improved. The worst they'll do is ask you what went wrong the first one or two times and you'll tell them honestly that you were well prepared the last time and not as well prepared the first two times. That's the end of it.

Stop being soooooooo anal over something so useless. I've known many people who retook the MCAT quite a few times before getting in. Just try not to take it like 6 times, granted there is a former SDN poster who took it 6 times before he got in.

If you really want to know how it is going to affect your application you are better off talking to adcom directors of schools of interest directly rather then talking to some random premeds of whom many are still in the process and don't know what goes on through an adcoms head.

I basically agree with you, but folks who haven't taken the MCAT yet and are thinking of just "winging it", and if doesn't go well "can always retake", need to know this is a bad and detrimental game plan. I have come across numerous such folks on SDN, and so this kind of thread is useful, even if it is anal. So yes, you can get into very good schools after a retake, but no, it is not without consequence, and planning on one as a fallback to winging it is a very bad idea.

 

[BigRedPremed]

I basically agree with you, but folks who haven't taken the MCAT yet and are thinking of just "winging it", and if doesn't go well "can always retake", need to know this is a bad and detrimental game plan. I have come across numerous such folks on SDN, and so this kind of thread is useful, even if it is anal. So yes, you can get into very good schools after a retake, but no, it is not without consequence, and planning on one as a fallback to winging it is a very bad idea.

Agreed. There are people already planning on taking the MCAT multiple times when they haven't even taken it once yet!

 

[gujuDoc]

Agreed. There are people already planning on taking the MCAT multiple times when they haven't even taken it once yet!

I was never suggesting winging it, just that its not the end of the world if you ended up having to retake it. In effect, I would never advise anyone to wing it and would advise them to see where they stand by use of practice tests before they make their decision.

 

[BigRedPremed]

Are you an adcom member? I don't think so... Seriously, what the adcoms ask to themselves are things like "Does this person have enough intellectual capacity, persistence, and desire to complete the rigourous med school curriculum and pass the board exams?" "Do I see this person as one of us?" ... and yes- just for your info- good looks MATTER in the admission process!

WTF are you talking about?

 

[Law2Doc]

Are you an adcom member? I don't think so... Seriously, what the adcoms ask to themselves are things like "Does this person have enough intellectual capacity, persistence, and desire to complete the rigourous med school curriculum and pass the board exams?" "Do I see this person as one of us?" ... and yes- just for your info- good looks MATTER in the admission process!

If you think you can get into med school on your looks, then by all means do whatever you want on the MCAT.
If you look around the average med school classroom, I think you will see that good looks did not play a huge role in admissions at most schools (although a few attractive people are always taken for diversity reasons).🙂

 

[solitude]

If you think you can get into med school on your looks, then by all means do whatever you want on the MCAT.
If you look around the average med school classroom, I think you will see that good looks did not play a huge role in admissions at most schools (although a few attractive people are always taken for diversity reasons).🙂