taking mcat twice within 1 month?

[graten2go]

anyone ever heard of someone taking the mcat twice within a month? i.e. take the second mcat before getting the first results? would this be frowned upon?

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[Geekchick921]

Frowned upon? Probably not.
Potentially very stupid and a waste of ~$250? Yes.

If one was so certain they completely bombed their first MCAT, how much can they REALLY improve their score in less than a month anyway? Also keep in mind that a lot of schools take the most recent MCAT score, so if it turns out you did better than you originally thought, then took it again and didn't do as well, you could be SoL.

 

[Long Way to Go]

Why would you do this?

 

[NickNaylor]

I thought the AAMC gave a specific amount of time between when you could take two administrations?

 

[Avoidthetiger]

I did! Due to family pressure (family pet was put down the same morning I took the test, air show was practicing during the biology section).

It ended up horribly!! Didn't know my first scores and how poorly I did in one of the subjects [ I mean I had an idea but I was hoping I did better]... and additionally, didn't prep as much [school started back up by then] and I ended up with a score 2 points lower.

I would recommend NOT doing it.

 

[bravofleet4]

i wouldn't do it. you don't know how well you did on your first exam and i only remember being able to invalidate your scores at the end of the exam so it's possible you could get the scores you wanted and then score lower.

 

[Astarael]

This would be a stupid decision to make even if you were pressed for time, but you're not. I'm assuming you've already taken it (because it would be silly to plan to take it twice in the manner you are) which means that you should get your scores back by mid to late April. That's plenty of time to schedule a new test if you dislike your scores and still be able to submit your AMCAS by June (without scores) or July (with scores). So since taking it twice in a month gains you no advantage, there's no reason to do it.

 

[tl0100]

I don't think it's a good idea.. I took it twice in 2 months and it just wasn't enough time to improve

 

[penndoc]

I have a different opinion. I took my first administration in early July and had a feeling I did poorly (turns out I was right.) I had already submitted AMCAS and knew I had to put everything I had into this cycle. So, a week or two after the MCAT, I registered for another in mid-August and ended up scoring higher. If I didn't register for the second test when I did, it would have been too late in the game, and I most likely would have had to re-apply next year. I wouldn't go taking another MCAT before you get your scores, though. That seems to be way too risky.

 

[Astarael]

I have a different opinion. I took my first administration in early July and had a feeling I did poorly (turns out I was right.) I had already submitted AMCAS and knew I had to put everything I had into this cycle. So, a week or two after the MCAT, I registered for another in mid-August and ended up scoring higher. If I didn't register for the second test when I did, it would have been too late in the game, and I most likely would have had to re-apply next year. I wouldn't go taking another MCAT before you get your scores, though. That seems to be way too risky.

Registering for another MCAT isn't a bad idea, because you can just cancel your registration if you like your scores. But the OP seems to have already taken the first one (I'm assuming this because this thread wouldn't exist otherwise) and waiting to get scores back now isn't going to set him/her behind like it did for you with your July test.