Want to re-take Mcat in Jan

[carolinablue]

I did poorly on the mcat...about 3 points below the average of the school I want to attend. I called them and asked if I could re-take it in Janurary and have them still consider me.
They said that I should apply now, and write a note and also email them making sure they know that I'm retaking the exam. but ofcourse they all said i would be at a really big disadvantage.

has anyone heard of students re-taking the mcat in jan (improving by alot) and getting in?

lets be honest, i know most people are already read to go..they have good scores, and have submitted everything in. i get it, i know that im late and everything...but i always have a little hope that it will work out.
how rare is it?

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[BCon902]

hmm realistically how much better do you plan to do? If you don't do better what is your backup plan? I know my school was calling people a week before classes in August for admission because of early drop outs or whatever. It's a gamble to say the least.

 

[MightyMoose]

I did poorly on the mcat...about 3 points below the average of the school I want to attend. I called them and asked if I could re-take it in Janurary and have them still consider me.
They said that I should apply now, and write a note and also email them making sure they know that I'm retaking the exam. but ofcourse they all said i would be at a really big disadvantage.

has anyone heard of students re-taking the mcat in jan (improving by alot) and getting in?

lets be honest, i know most people are already read to go..they have good scores, and have submitted everything in. i get it, i know that im late and everything...but i always have a little hope that it will work out.
how rare is it?

Yes, I have heard of it. Is it the norm though? No.

The schools that list averages take people above and below that score. If you have a solid GPA, you might have a shot. But you also run the risk of a rejection before you even retake the MCAT. I have seen that before as well, even when people say they called and they told them to do "X."

I agree with the above poster that there can be a lot of movement later in the year, but you have to remember taking the MCAT in January puts you at ~early to mid March before schools get your updated MCAT. So, then the question will be, if you haven't received an interview, will the improvement be good enough to push you over the edge to get one? Lots of questions there, but only one way to find out. Or you could just wait a year and give yourself the best chance having options, not just a take what you can get situation.

As a personal aside, my top choice school changed this year after interviewing at different programs. I though it was going to be one school when I started, but after finishing up my current interviews that school is no longer at the top of my list. This is one reason why I was really glad to have options this year.

Best of luck!

 

[MIAmedica]

I would add that if you do plan to wait and apply next year, that you maybe think about taking the MCAT later than January. It looks like you could have a lot on your plate this semester and the next with retaking classes. I would hate to see you retake the MCAT and not improve because you were focusing on those classes.

Overall, beef up that GPA, study for a few months for the MCAT (heck, you could even take it late July/early Aug and still be considered early for next cycle. Don't let SDN people fool you ), and do some other EC stuff. Have you got a DO letter? I know some schools don't require it per se, but I think it looks a lot better than without one.

Best of luck!

 

[carolinablue]

yeah i have done alot of volunteering, published research, my gpa is like a 3.5 and my science gpa is about the same if not higher. i am getting a letter from a DO this week actually, but already have about 6 other letters from teachers, people i volunteered with.
Although i didn't take alot of upper level science courses, i still feel like my application is pretty good. i did alot of cool stuff in college, research...volunteering with patients, human rights work...even acting and stand up comedy! I have a good balance.
I feel honestly...if i put my effort, i can improve my score by like 5-6 points. VCOM said that my score right now wouldn't be a reason why they would reject me right now, but still said to re-take it and apply ASAP.
schools are telling me to just apply ASAP, no matter what i will send in my app and be optomistic....if all fails, goodbye america...hello carribean...

 

[MightyMoose]

yeah i have done alot of volunteering, published research, my gpa is like a 3.5 and my science gpa is about the same if not higher. i am getting a letter from a DO this week actually, but already have about 6 other letters from teachers, people i volunteered with.
Although i didn't take alot of upper level science courses, i still feel like my application is pretty good. i did alot of cool stuff in college, research...volunteering with patients, human rights work...even acting and stand up comedy! I have a good balance.
I feel honestly...if i put my effort, i can improve my score by like 5-6 points. VCOM said that my score right now wouldn't be a reason why they would reject me right now, but still said to re-take it and apply ASAP.
schools are telling me to just apply ASAP, no matter what i will send in my app and be optomistic....if all fails, goodbye america...hello carribean...

So, if a less than perfect season, by your own admission, doesn't work, then you are going Caribbean?

With a 39% match rate for US Carribean students, you might want to reconsider...

http://www.nrmp.org/data/resultsanddata2010.pdf

Table 6, page 20 of the PDF or page 12 in the text of the document. That match % has dropped 9% in 4 years and with more US trained DO and MD students graduating year after year, that number is going to continue to decline...

Apply this season if you want, like I said, you could be within their range because you are looking at average data, but don't give up if this cycle doesn't bare fruit. Retake the MCAT and reapply early next cycle. You have a good GPA and EC's, and with a solid MCAT you should be fine.

 

[MIAmedica]

are you a re-applicant? If this is your first time applying I would strongly encourage you not to apply Caribbean until you've failed at getting in twice already. Honestly, it sounds like the only thing that you're short on is that MCAT score. If you've got the money, time, and energy to apply this year, by all means do it. If not, save your money, crank out a badarse score, and apply early next year in order to give you a lot more options.

 

[carolinablue]

this is my first time applying to DO schools actually, the reason why im so scared about geting rejected and applying again is because im already 23..i dont want to be 25 and starting med school, being that the average age is 24 i have an iffy feeling of being so old. stupid reason i know, but its just a person thing that has always bothered me.
i did just graduate in may, ive just been older than anyone in my class cause i did kindergarten twice after moving......stupid i know but its just messing with me head.
i have a pretty good personal statement where i mention my lower mcat score and breifly explain why, so i hope it all goes well.
thanks guy
i feel more optimistic now

 

[ND10]

this is my first time applying to DO schools actually, the reason why im so scared about geting rejected and applying again is because im already 23..i dont want to be 25 and starting med school, being that the average age is 24 i have an iffy feeling of being so old. stupid reason i know, but its just a person thing that has always bothered me.
i did just graduate in may, ive just been older than anyone in my class cause i did kindergarten twice after moving......stupid i know but its just messing with me head.
i have a pretty good personal statement where i mention my lower mcat score and breifly explain why, so i hope it all goes well.
thanks guy
i feel more optimistic now

I wouldn't worry about your age. I interviewed at azcom & pcom - they said the ave. age is 26. Just focus on improving your app and the rest will work out. Good luck!

 

[carolinablue]

my brother, a DO, said that taking the january mcat was a terrible idea. nobody in admissions will even look at my app seriously if there is a mcat "pending" that could change everythng. i have a better change of just giving everything in at once and just seeing what happens. I still have the feeling that i should submit everything, and take the mcat again and if my mcat is the only thing holding me back, i can take it again and try to make it off the waitless in spring some how....im hopeless