To Retake or Not Retake?

[TheNeuroman]

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Hey ya'll,

I recently took the MCAT and scored a balanced 31 [11/10/10]. I am happy with this score and I'm sure many would sell their right leg to have this score. However, as an applicant who is heavily interested in academic medicine and research (3+ publications/many abstracts) I worry that this score is not high enough to get looks from research powerhouse institutions. This is not about me wanting "to shoot for top 25 schools" out of pride. I just want to have those research opportunities at my disposal.

A little more about my stats....3.6+ cGPA, 3.7+bcpmGPA
Huge upward trend [3.85-4.00 for last 4 semesters (upper level biology courses)]
General shadowing and clinical experiences, extensive non-clinical volunteer work
Will be taking a gap year that includes a paid research and a paid clinical job.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks

 

[gyngyn]

Hey ya'll,

I recently took the MCAT and scored a balanced 31 [11/10/10]. I am happy with this score and I'm sure many would sell their right leg to have this score. However, as an applicant who is heavily interested in academic medicine and research (3+ publications/many abstracts) I worry that this score is not high enough to get looks from research powerhouse institutions. This is not about me wanting "to shoot for top 25 schools" out of pride. I just want to have those research opportunities at my disposal.

A little more about my stats....3.6+ cGPA, 3.7+bcpmGPA
Huge upward trend [3.85-4.00 for last 4 semesters (upper level biology courses)]
General shadowing and clinical experiences, extensive non-clinical volunteer work
Will be taking a gap year that includes a paid research and a paid clinical job.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks

Plenty of fine institutions with a proud history of research and teaching will be happy to interview you.

 

[KindofBlue]

If you can compensate the score with extensive research activity I think you would have a decent shot.

But If you really think you can give it your all and do everything in your power to concentrate on studying for your 2nd MCAT, then go ahead.
I think it is easy to lose motivation the second time around since you have a false sense of security about knowing the content, and the fact that you are retaking itself makes it a somewhat disheartening experience too.
In the end I did increase my score by 1 point, which was not bad (I was worried it might go down), and I did get in, so I guess it was worth it.
Only you can make the decision in the end.

 

[TheNeuroman]

If you can compensate the score with extensive research activity I think you would have a decent shot.

But If you really think you can give it your all and do everything in your power to concentrate on studying for your 2nd MCAT, then go ahead.
I think it is easy to lose motivation the second time around since you have a false sense of security about knowing the content, and the fact that you are retaking itself makes it a somewhat disheartening experience too.
In the end I did increase my score by 1 point, which was not bad (I was worried it might go down), and I did get in, so I guess it was worth it.
Only you can make the decision in the end.

Thanks for the advice. Out of curiosity, how soon did you retake after your first MCAT? Debating if I can still make this cycle and have ample time to study and retake or if I need to take a second gap year.

Plenty of fine institutions with a proud history of research and teaching will be happy to interview you.

Dr. gyngyn - great news! are you free to meet sometime this week?

 

[KindofBlue]

Thanks for the advice. Out of curiosity, how soon did you retake after your first MCAT? Debating if I can still make this cycle and have ample time to study and retake or if I need to take a second gap year.

I took the second one two years later. I guess I might have done better if I retook within 6 months or so, assuming that my retention would have been better, but who knows.
The concern in your case would be the possibility of burn out. The second time I probably spent about 1.5 months preparing vs 3 months fyi so it wasn't too bad.
In the end, I think it comes down to accurately assessing your strengths and weaknesses and effectively tacklling those weak areas while maintaining the strong ones.

 

[TheNeuroman]

I took the second one two years later. I guess I might have done better if I retook within 6 months or so, assuming that my retention would have been better, but who knows.
The concern in your case would be the possibility of burn out. The second time I probably spent about 1.5 months preparing vs 3 months fyi so it wasn't too bad.
In the end, I think it comes down to accurately assessing your strengths and weaknesses and effectively tacklling those weak areas while maintaining the strong ones.

Thanks @KindofBlue. In your opinion would it be worth it to take a late July/early August MCAT and update schools with that score potentially having my application late this cycle, or take a late august/september MCAT and apply the following cycle. I certainly wouldn't mind taking a second gap year, as I'd have a lot more research (20hr/wk) and clinical experience (20hr/wk) under my belt that I can list on AMCAS. The thing is I have everything loaded and ready to go for this cycle...

 

[compstomper]

Hey ya'll,

I recently took the MCAT and scored a balanced 31 [11/10/10]. I am happy with this score and I'm sure many would sell their right leg to have this score. However, as an applicant who is heavily interested in academic medicine and research (3+ publications/many abstracts) I worry that this score is not high enough to get looks from research powerhouse institutions. This is not about me wanting "to shoot for top 25 schools" out of pride. I just want to have those research opportunities at my disposal.

A little more about my stats....3.6+ cGPA, 3.7+bcpmGPA
Huge upward trend [3.85-4.00 for last 4 semesters (upper level biology courses)]
General shadowing and clinical experiences, extensive non-clinical volunteer work
Will be taking a gap year that includes a paid research and a paid clinical job.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks

Hi there. I had the exact same score as you with the same distribution (11 in verbal, 10, 10). IMO, if you're seriously applying to top tier schools, you have an uphill battle ahead with a 31, as all of those schools have a mean matriculant score in the 90th+ percentile, which is a 33-34 I believe. Your outlook is better if you're a member of a group that's underrepresented in medicine, but since you didn't say, I'll assume that's not the case.

I would suggest for you to retake only if you're certain you can do better than a 31. As in, if your practice test scores were higher than a 31, and you completely didn't expect to get this score. Otherwise, if there is a good chance you'll do worse, especially below 30, then a retake might not only lock you out of the top institutions but tank your chances of getting into med school altogether.

There are plenty of non top 25 schools with a focus on academic medicine and offer tremendous research opportunities, so even if you don't matriculate to your dream schools, this career path is open to you as long as you've graduated from a US MD school. Good luck!

 

[Oso]

What was your AAMC practice test average? If it was a few points higher than 31, then I think you could probably retake and score better. But if it was 30-32, then it seems that your score is pretty accurate and was not a fluke.

It's true that a 31 is not that impressive to research heavy schools, but that doesn't mean you don't have a shot. I think you need to think about what a realistic score is before you decide to retake or not. If you 'know' you can score a 34/35+, then I say go ahead and retake. But retaking with the hope of a 32/33 could easily result in another 31 and money and time wasted.

Even if you stick with your 31, you still have a shot at several schools that offer plenty of research opportunities. It may not be 'top 25' or whatever (although it very well could be) , but if you're interested in research, you can (almost) always find it.

Should you decide to retake, I would make sure to wait until you're fully prepared. Do not rush, and push the test back if you have to. Personally, I would not take it in late July/August and apply that same cycle. Whatever you decide, good luck.

 

[NickNaylor]

I don't think your medical school will limit your ability to pursue an academic career. It can certainly help, but it won't hurt. You will still have opportunities to engage in research and develop whatever interests you have unless those interests are extremely narrow and specific. What's more important, I'd say, is making sure you get involved in research during residency and really develop your CV then. Depending upon the field you go into, many programs offer the option to take variable lengths of time "off" from residency to dedicate solely to research. And, really, I think the work you do in residency will more strongly impact your career trajectory than what you do in medical school. The exception to that would be substantial involvement in research - something like a 1-2 year research fellowship or involvement in an MSTP program. I know this didn't address your question about retaking specifically, but I'm not so sure that's really relevant to the discussion unless your actual score was far below (3-5+ points) your practice scores.

tl;dr: Most medical schools will offer you the opportunity to engage in research, and going to a top 20 school is not a pre-requisite to having an academic career. That's not to say that going to a top 20 wouldn't be helpful to you if that's your goal. I have no doubt that it would be. But it certainly isn't a requirement.

 

[TheNeuroman]

Thank you @NickNaylor @Oso and @theercster for your assurance and guidance. I also have a meeting with my premedical advisor soon to discuss this. Whatever decision I make will end up being the right one. Thanks again.

 

[KindofBlue]

Thanks @KindofBlue. In your opinion would it be worth it to take a late July/early August MCAT and update schools with that score potentially having my application late this cycle, or take a late august/september MCAT and apply the following cycle. I certainly wouldn't mind taking a second gap year, as I'd have a lot more research (20hr/wk) and clinical experience (20hr/wk) under my belt that I can list on AMCAS. The thing is I have everything loaded and ready to go for this cycle...

If the trend continues, I think it would be safe to assume there would be even more applicants this year. Also, more and more people are being informed enough about the application process to submit there app within a few weeks of the submission opening day. I forgot where I saw it, but I believe the majority of interview invites/accpetances go out to those who submitted early in the cycle.
If you take a late July MCAT the score will likely be updated in September, which effectively makes your app late. So I'd say it's not worth it, but perhaps someone else could shed some light on this matter.

Like others have said, unless you're in Cali, you would have a decent chance at most schools including your state school, assuming that your ECs are decent and you're not a sociopath or something. Good luck on whatever route you choose.