To void or not to void

[wake83]

well it seems I have put myself in a tough situation and I just need a little advice. I am scheduled to take the May 31st exam yet my practice test scores are still in the 23-25 range. I intended to reschedule but, due to a misinterpretation of the MCAT essentials on my part(as you may have read in a recent thread I posted), I missed the deadline. I can throw out excuses like "I had a real tough semester and didn't have time to study" or "I had a lot going in my life in the past few months", but what it really comes down to is I procrastinated and basically screwed myself....I just need more time. I feel horrible that I did this and basically wasted money..not to mention the fact that I'm taking up a spot someone else could be using, but I can't change that at this point. Now the question is do I take the test and then void it.......or take a chance and risk having a low score on my record?

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[dmcR600]

Absolutely do not take it if you are not ready. Forget other people, this is about you and your chances of getting in. The money lost is trivial as well when you put it in perspective of total applications costs (AMCAS, secondaries, interview travel).

 

[moto_za]

take it but void it!

 

[Surf Rx]

take it. if you feel comfortable with how you did, don't void. if you don't feel comfortable, then void. might as well get something for your money.

 

[booji]

Hey,

Definetly take it, because if you don't, then it will still appear on your permananent record as "NO SHOW". As others have said, attempt the test so you get a feel for the real deal, and then void it if you are uncomfortable with your performance.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

take it but void it!

This has to be one of the worse pieces of advice I have heard. Do not take the MCAT unless you feel that you are ready.

 

[scotties123]

This has to be one of the worse pieces of advice I have heard. Do not take the MCAT unless you feel that you are ready.

the whole point is that HE HAS TO TAKE IT.
take it, void it.

 

[Schaden Freud]

Don't take it unless you are certain that you'll have the strength to void. You really must void if you're scoring in the 23-25 range on practice tests, no matter how good or "comfortable" you feel.

 

[jochi1543]

Hey,

Definetly take it, because if you don't, then it will still appear on your permananent record as "NO SHOW". As others have said, attempt the test so you get a feel for the real deal, and then void it if you are uncomfortable with your performance.

Huh?
I never went to the August 2006 test (and didn't cancel the registration), and there's NOTHING on my history.

 

[Richter915]

whether a VOID or NO SHOW goes onto your record, you will have some explaining to do at future interviews.

 

[apoptos]

If you take it then void it, you'll experience the MCAT! You'll know exactly what to expect the 2nd time around - the tension, the testing center, the coughs and sniffles, the computer, the computer program, everything. That kind of experience is invaluable.

 

[moto_za]

This has to be one of the worse pieces of advice I have heard. Do not take the MCAT unless you feel that you are ready.

Did you even understand or read what I said? Take it, but void it. How is that the worst advice? What is your advice? If any?

 

[moto_za]

whether a VOID or NO SHOW goes onto your record, you will have some explaining to do at future interviews.

If you actually void it, will it show or will adcomms be able to know? From what I have heard if you void it, it will not show or no one will know.. anyone else?

 

[NontradICUdoc]

Did you even understand or read what I said? Take it, but void it. How is that the worst advice? What is your advice? If any?

Because if you take it and void it, you have already used one of your 3 chances to take the MCAT without prior authorization. It will show that you took the MCAT, but you will not receive a score because it was voided. In addition, you just flushed $210 away on a practice test that you can get for free via Kaplan or TPR.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

If you take it then void it, you'll experience the MCAT! You'll know exactly what to expect the 2nd time around - the tension, the testing center, the coughs and sniffles, the computer, the computer program, everything. That kind of experience is invaluable.

No you wont because in your mind you will not care because you know that this is just a practice test to you. If it were the real thing, you will get more nervous because you know there is more on the line.

 

[MeowMix]

I did take an MCAT knowing that I wasn't ready, voided it, retook and got an excellent score, and am now in med school. So let's address a few basic facts.

1. No adcom or med school ever knows that you took and voided, unless the rules have changed since 2003. The void never appears on your record.

2. The void does count as one of your 3 chances, but it is really not a big deal to request a 4th chance. You are not likely to need it anyway.

3. Deciding on the day of the test whether to void is not a good strategy. You have to go in having made the decision, because you will be tempted to think, I spent all this time, now I might as well find out how I did.

You would have to make the final decision at the moment of finishing BS. At that moment, very few people have any kind of realistic perception of how they did, and most people feel awful afterwards. You will certainly be exhausted. Your practice test scores are the best predictor of MCAT score, and with low 20s, if you were my student, I would advise you to wait. It is certainly true that some people do much better than their practice tests, but that is unusual. You might be extraordinary, but you are probably average, just like the rest of us.

Please note that this advice only applies to someone on their first MCAT who knows that they haven't studied much, will have more time and will do a much better job of studying over the summer.

4. Taking and voiding is an excellent experience to prepare you for the real thing. It gave me a healthy respect for the extreme length, the fatigue, and the nervousness. I was just as nervous for the void as I was for the real thing. Also, with the old written test, you had to be prepared to go 8 a.m. to sometimes 6 p.m. with all the instructions and stuff. Knowing this in advance was very helpful. I had the same experience with the Step 1 practice test (end of second year of med school) compared to the real thing; the practice is invaluable, especially if you already spent the $$.

5. Taking the MCAT is a whole different experience from a Kaplan or TPR test. You will get a much more realistic sense of the question style and how topics are covered. Kaplan simply does not do a good job of emulating the real MCAT style, in my opinion. Again, if you already spent the $$, a very valuable experience.

Good luck!

 

[PseudomonasPAO1]

Don't take it unless you are certain that you'll have the strength to void. You really must void if you're scoring in the 23-25 range on practice tests, no matter how good or "comfortable" you feel.

Best advice thus far. If it will never appear on your record, take it and void it (it's the second option on the final screen!). Even if you hit all your strongest topics, the chance of scoring 5-7 points above your practice scores is very remote.

 

[Richter915]

Lot of shared ignorance here. Voiding your exam does NOT show up un your record, the schools never know about it, it's like the test never happened. A no show should just be an automatic void, but the aamc website doesn't say it explicity, so you probably want to go to the test and void it both for the experience and to make sure the testing date doesn't show up on your record

there's a difference between ignorance and misinformed. I was told that when voiding, the void will appear on your record. Now that I've heard differently, I know that it won't, I was wrong. (if I chose to ignore this info, that would be ignorance).

 

[Surf Rx]

What MeowMix said.

 

[Phosphorus]

.

 

[wake83]

Thanks for all the advice. I have pretty much made my mind up that I'm going to go take it since I payed for it, but then void it. From the MCAT essentials on the AAMC website "The AAMC will not report your participation in the test to AMCAS or to non-AMCAS schools if you void your scores. We will, however, regard you as having attended the test and will therefore count the attempt toward one of the three permitted each year." So no medical school I apply to will know I voided a test, but it will count as one of my 3 allowed tests per year. Honestly though, I don't plan on taking th MCAT more than once or twice, much less three times in a year....so I'm not worried about that. Once again, thanks for all the advice!

 

[BrainTeazer]

Thanks for all the advice. I have pretty much made my mind up that I'm going to go take it since I payed for it, but then void it. From the MCAT essentials on the AAMC website "The AAMC will not report your participation in the test to AMCAS or to non-AMCAS schools if you void your scores. We will, however, regard you as having attended the test and will therefore count the attempt toward one of the three permitted each year." So no medical school I apply to will know I voided a test, but it will count as one of my 3 allowed tests per year. Honestly though, I don't plan on taking th MCAT more than once or twice, much less three times in a year....so I'm not worried about that. Once again, thanks for all the advice!

Yup you are right! I didn't know this, but I went and researched it! and yup you are right that you can void that test and medical schools would never know about it! Wow, this is interesting!

 

[Revilla]

I'm resurrecting this old thread because I'm in a similar predicament. Bio and Verbal are over 10, but I just can't get PS up. I've taken eight practice tests. My PS score on the first one was a 6. On the other seven, I scored a 7, on every single one. No matter how well I think I did or how bad I think I did, I still get a 7.

I'm scheduled for June 13th. It's too late to cancel. If you were me, would you void or would chance it and hope and pray for an 8 in PS. Like I said, VR and BS are over 10. It's just PS that's doing me in.

 

[stylinMD]

I'm resurrecting this old thread because I'm in a similar predicament. Bio and Verbal are over 10, but I just can't get PS up. I've taken eight practice tests. My PS score on the first one was a 6. On the other seven, I scored a 7, on every single one. No matter how well I think I did or how bad I think I did, I still get a 7.

I'm scheduled for June 13th. It's too late to cancel. If you were me, would you void or would chance it and hope and pray for an 8 in PS. Like I said, VR and BS are over 10. It's just PS that's doing me in.

I would look at it depending on whether or not you are considering DO schools. If you score 27 and above and have at least a 3.5 you should be good for DO schools so take it in that case. Remember most people on test day are either +/- 1 or 2 points so you could go up because you might be super focused or something. I'm in a similar situation because my verbal is down at a 8 and sciences is above a 10, but I don't care if I do MD or DO. I'm hoping I can pull a 11, 8, 11 or something and just score a 30 to be competitive.

 

[Revilla]

Thanks. My average on the last several tests has been 28-30. I'm applying to both osteopathic and all my state school allopathic programs. I'm taking AAMC 10 today so maybe I'll be able to decide. I want to have my mind made up before walking into the testing center because I know you can't really make a good decision based on test day.

 

[Tally]

Thanks. My average on the last several tests has been 28-30. I'm applying to both osteopathic and all my state school allopathic programs. I'm taking AAMC 10 today so maybe I'll be able to decide. I want to have my mind made up before walking into the testing center because I know you can't really make a good decision based on test day.

Did you end up voiding, or did you have your test scored?

 

[Revilla]

Did you end up voiding, or did you have your test scored?

I walked in thinking I was going to have it scored because I took one more practice test and scored a 10 in PS. Then, I got there. The PS section was insanely difficult -- nothing like the AAMC tests. I left that section traumatized. LOL. Anyone who took the Friday the 13th test knows what I'm talking about. I completed the rest of the exam, but I think I was so rattled by PS that I didn't feel comfortable in most of my answers on VR either (usually my highest scoring section). I got four molecular genetics passages for BS and I knew I was done. I answered everything to the best of my ability, but I still felt horrible about the test overall, so despite my resolve not to void, I went ahead and voided. I think it was a mistake, honestly. I walked out feeling stupid, like I was the only one who couldn't understand some of the passages or didn't know how to answer some of the questions. I got home and read this forum only to find out that practically everyone had the same experience. Now I know that no matter how bad I feel about it, it's probably not just me and that I shouldn't void. I regret it.

I'm retaking on July 18th.

 

[Tally]

I walked in thinking I was going to have it scored because I took one more practice test and scored a 10 in PS. Then, I got there. The PS section was insanely difficult -- nothing like the AAMC tests. I left that section traumatized. LOL. Anyone who took the Friday the 13th test knows what I'm talking about. I completed the rest of the exam, but I think I was so rattled by PS that I didn't feel comfortable in most of my answers on VR either (usually my highest scoring section). I got four molecular genetics passages for BS and I knew I was done. I answered everything to the best of my ability, but I still felt horrible about the test overall, so despite my resolve not to void, I went ahead and voided. I think it was a mistake, honestly. I walked out feeling stupid, like I was the only one who couldn't understand some of the passages or didn't know how to answer some of the questions. I got home and read this forum only to find out that practically everyone had the same experience. Now I know that no matter how bad I feel about it, it's probably not just me and that I shouldn't void. I regret it.

I'm retaking on July 18th.

Ah, well it should work out for you on the 18th...more time to practice too! Just make sure to have it scored this time despite how you're feeling unless something ridiculous happens. On the 13th I did the exact opposite. I planned on voiding it and then had it scored, so we both had faulty logic!!! I think everything will work out for us though!!

 

[Revilla]

Ah, well it should work out for you on the 18th...more time to practice too! Just make sure to have it scored this time despite how you're feeling unless something ridiculous happens. On the 13th I did the exact opposite. I planned on voiding it and then had it scored, so we both had faulty logic!!! I think everything will work out for us though!!

Here's to hoping! Good luck to you!

 

[zpiff]

I did take an MCAT knowing that I wasn't ready, voided it, retook and got an excellent score, and am now in med school. So let's address a few basic facts.

1. No adcom or med school ever knows that you took and voided, unless the rules have changed since 2003. The void never appears on your record.

2. The void does count as one of your 3 chances, but it is really not a big deal to request a 4th chance. You are not likely to need it anyway.

3. Deciding on the day of the test whether to void is not a good strategy. You have to go in having made the decision, because you will be tempted to think, I spent all this time, now I might as well find out how I did.

You would have to make the final decision at the moment of finishing BS. At that moment, very few people have any kind of realistic perception of how they did, and most people feel awful afterwards. You will certainly be exhausted. Your practice test scores are the best predictor of MCAT score, and with low 20s, if you were my student, I would advise you to wait. It is certainly true that some people do much better than their practice tests, but that is unusual. You might be extraordinary, but you are probably average, just like the rest of us.

Please note that this advice only applies to someone on their first MCAT who knows that they haven't studied much, will have more time and will do a much better job of studying over the summer.

4. Taking and voiding is an excellent experience to prepare you for the real thing. It gave me a healthy respect for the extreme length, the fatigue, and the nervousness. I was just as nervous for the void as I was for the real thing. Also, with the old written test, you had to be prepared to go 8 a.m. to sometimes 6 p.m. with all the instructions and stuff. Knowing this in advance was very helpful. I had the same experience with the Step 1 practice test (end of second year of med school) compared to the real thing; the practice is invaluable, especially if you already spent the $$.

5. Taking the MCAT is a whole different experience from a Kaplan or TPR test. You will get a much more realistic sense of the question style and how topics are covered. Kaplan simply does not do a good job of emulating the real MCAT style, in my opinion. Again, if you already spent the $$, a very valuable experience.

Good luck!

I agree.