Taking the MCATs for a 3rd time..

[Blondnuttyboy]

Hey all..so I'm signed up to take the MCAT for the 3rd damn time this May 31. I did 7,10,10,R the first time and then 9,5,11 the 2nd time - I threw up during verbal..long story

ANYWAY - do people know of 3rd time MCAT takers who did well? Better than the first two? How bad does it really looK??

Also..im nervous about this whole computerized thing...someone tell me something to make me feel like I can do it..the first two I took were on paper..Im kinda worried about not being able to annote in verbal..

help..

thanks

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[docolive]

Hey all..so I'm signed up to take the MCAT for the 3rd damn time this May 31. I did 7,10,10,R the first time and then 9,5,11 the 2nd time - I threw up during verbal..long story

ANYWAY - do people know of 3rd time MCAT takers who did well? Better than the first two? How bad does it really looK??

Also..im nervous about this whole computerized thing...someone tell me something to make me feel like I can do it..the first two I took were on paper..Im kinda worried about not being able to annote in verbal..

help..

thanks

Yes, you can do it!!!! I think the CBT is much better; the shortened length makes a big difference. Do not worry additionally about VR on the PC...just start practicing the AAMC's now---as well as the free TPR and Kaplan CBT's offered. It's really not any more difficult than the paper version (time is gen. the issue), and if you put in the time to practice your sciences and improve your reading speed + comprehension, you will make a major improvement.
It just takes some of us a little bit to get the hang of things. And once you do, you will feel more confident about your ability to handle medical school whatever your opinion of the exam. best of and don't listen to anyone during your studies. Focus on your GOALS, and trust in your abilities.

 

[meds2008]

the practice MCAT CBTs on e-mcat.com (AAMC) allow you to annotate on screen but apparently that feature and the search function were not available for the real MCAT CBT (jan 2007); but you will have scratch paper (which is not as convenient as having notes in the passage but it's better than nothing).

Don't worry about a 3rd kick at the can, only be concerned about maximizing this performance. If you could have put your best scores together, you would have had a 30. That means with good preparation, you should be able to get what you're looking for.

 

[lsumedgirl]

I actually took my MCAT 4 times. (The last time was because my old score expired.) I really improved on the last try, and just got accepted to LSUNO. You can do it!

 

[Passthegas]

4 times? They let you take that test four fricken times? Jeez. Dont schools question when you've taken it that many times? Good luck but let me tell you that once you get to med school, they only let you take each step of the boards once unless you fail. So I would recommend that you guys get in the habit of doing well the first time you take a test. Second chances like these wont happen in the future.

 

[DrFreud]

YankeeCanuckMD: What do you think helped you leap to 34? What did you do differently when studying the 4th time around? I really like to hear success stories like yours. I took it once, and I am not going to take it again until my practice test scores are in the 30s.

 

[MadHopsMD]

YankeeCanuckMD: What do you think helped you leap to 34? What did you do differently when studying the 4th time around? I really like to hear success stories like yours. I took it once, and I am not going to take it again until my practice test scores are in the 30s.

maturity in the verbal section. I took couple literature courses in university the year I took the MCATs. Also focusing on sciences almost entirely in the final 2 weeks. I knew I could pull them up to 12-13 in each science section, esp PS. Last week i didnt even do a verbal passage. My final score, 9 VR, 12 BS and 13 PS Q.

even though i didnt get the magical 10 on VR. The science scores being really high helped me extremely during the application process.

 

[Blondnuttyboy]

Ah thank you guys a ton...I know it's daydreaming but I really want to rock the **** out of the test my third time - like 10 pt inc!

I think the reason I was flipping out is because VR is so stochastic. But I've been looking at posted scores and people seem to be doing really well on the CBT tests. I guess that's a good thing and a bad thing. It is making me feel better about going round 3 but if everyone does better, than there goes the curve.

I wish more schools were like GW and would take the highest from each section.

Now I have to learn how to verbal it up without annotating.

 

[Monarch Kong]

I took the MCAT three times as well (Jan 29th being the 3rd time) and it's definitely doable. My first two scores were a 32Q and a 30Q and my January score was a 36T. After I got my 2nd score (30Q I actually went down two points) I was devastated and unsure about what to do. Everyone told me to not retake because it was just too risky.

That being said, I'm not openly advocating retaking here...but if you feel absolutely confident that the score didn't reflect your true abilities, then don't let anyone tell you it's not worth it. Best of luck!