What Should I do...?

[Mountaineers33]

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Hey guys, I just got a 22R on my first MCAT I took in April...What do you all think I should do? I really want to get in somewhere and my GPA and Activities are both top of the line. I did well on practice tests but bombed the real thing. Any advice?

 

[TopSecret]

Hey guys, I just got a 22R on my first MCAT I took in April...What do you all think I should do? I really want to get in somewhere and my GPA and Activities are both top of the line. I did well on practice tests but bombed the real thing. Any advice?

You should've retaken it by now unless you had other plans.

 

[BlueElmo]

You need to retake for sure.

 

[mfrizzo3]

Hey guys, I just got a 22R on my first MCAT I took in April...What do you all think I should do? I really want to get in somewhere and my GPA and Activities are both top of the line. I did well on practice tests but bombed the real thing. Any advice?

Retake. Why are u even asking this question?

 

[TopSecret]

It's kind of late in the game to retake.

You might as well wait till the next cycle and do something fun like take skydiving lessons the rest of the summer since you'll be busy next summer.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM02Hejw02s[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Mountaineers33]

I am retaking it in a couple of weeks...Didn't know if there was any tips to somehow transfer practice test results to the real thing. Sorry if this may seem like a stupid question, but I really do not want to take a year off.

 

[BlueElmo]

I am retaking it in a couple of weeks...Didn't know if there was any tips to somehow transfer practice test results to the real thing. Sorry if this may seem like a stupid question, but I really do not want to take a year off.

Check out the MCAT Discussions forum. Tons of resources there.

 

[ygree001]

I am retaking it in a couple of weeks...Didn't know if there was any tips to somehow transfer practice test results to the real thing. Sorry if this may seem like a stupid question, but I really do not want to take a year off.

Unless you get 30+ you will probably not get in this cycle applying so late.
Anything under 30 is a red flad (for allopathic) which you want to offset as much as you can by applying early and any other ways you can.

 

[MDtobe31311]

Whenever you retake, make sure that whatever happened the first time to bomb your score doesn't happen again.

And if your stats are really that good, you still could get in this round. Granted, it might not be your first choice but you'll still be in med school! If I were you, I would think that it can't hurt to apply 🙂

 

[GoLakers310]

Anything under 30 is a red flad (for allopathic)

Are you sure about this? 😉
Why don't you tell this to someone at Hopkins with 3.8 and 29, and no, she is not a URM. She is blonde-haired caucasian

 

[mfrizzo3]

Are you sure about this? 😉
Why don't you tell this to someone at Hopkins with 3.8 and 29, and no, she is not a URM. She is blonde-haired caucasian

Tell me about it. There are entire Allopathic school with average scores at 29. Albeit state schools in the south, but allopathic nonetheless.

 

[mvenus929]

I am retaking it in a couple of weeks...Didn't know if there was any tips to somehow transfer practice test results to the real thing. Sorry if this may seem like a stupid question, but I really do not want to take a year off.

Practice until you get sick of taking it. If you're not sick of taking it, you haven't taken enough practice tests. Make sure you're also taking them in live testing conditions... not getting up in the middle of a section to get some water or use the bathroom. Then, go through the tests at the end and find out why you got answers right and wrong. Make a note throughout the test of which questions you guess on and which ones you think you know.

And don't be afraid of taking a year off. It can do you a world of good, even if you don't need additional activities to get in. You're going to be applying late in this cycle, and if you don't make significant improvement, you'll have wasted a lot of money for nothing.

 

[DrJosephKim]

Have you considered finding a personal MCAT tutor? It's a big jump to go from 22 to 30, so you're going to want to invest to see that level of improvement.

 

[J ROD]

I bought the Berk review books the second time. Plus, I did more practice exams.

Just try to figure out where you went wrong the first time. That's what I did.

Plus, I really am convinced the real MCAT is just harder than the practice exams. I still scored lower than my practice average but better than before. I am not a good standarized testtaker either. But, I did the best I could to give myself a shot. Just stay postive and stay calm during the exam.

 

[ygree001]

Are you sure about this? 😉
Why don't you tell this to someone at Hopkins with 3.8 and 29, and no, she is not a URM. She is blonde-haired caucasian

The exception not the rule.
Maybe I could have said it better. Under 30 is a negative.

 

[mvenus929]

Plus, I really am convinced the real MCAT is just harder than the practice exams. I still scored lower than my practice average but better than before. I am not a good standarized testtaker either. But, I did the best I could to give myself a shot. Just stay postive and stay calm during the exam.

It depends on which exams you use. My actual score was like 8 points higher than my average. I was freaking out going into the exam because I thought I was going to score about my average and miss out on a LOR from one of my favorite professors (he only gives out LORs for med school applicants whose MCAT is >30).