When should i take the MCAT again?

[cliquesh]

Hello,
I decided to apply this year with a craptastic mcat score of 28. However, my gpa is pretty good (3.96), so i am hoping it will counter my mcat score some. Well, my question is, when should i consider taking the MCAT again? should i start now? or should i wait until i receive several rejections?

I applied to 12 schools (files complete in mid OCT) that i have a decent shot at getting accepted, and i haven't heard back from any of them yet, except for University of Maryland, who put me on Hold-for-interview.

So, when do you think I should give up hope for this year, and start studying? I studied on my own last time and i was considering taking a prep-course if i need to take it again. I would just be pissed if i did get accepted and i wasted $1500 on a prep-course.

Some advice would be nice. Thanks

By the way, i broke my right hand and arm a few weeks before my MCAT. So, it was pretty hard typing and using a mouse. In fact, i wasn't able to finish any of the sections because i was working so slowly. Yet i still got a 9v 10p 9b, so i am certain i could get a low to mid 30 if i took it again.

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[Cataract]

a 28 is not craptastic. I have two interviews with it, although that's all I can say without an acceptance. The latest I think you should take it is in June, no reason to take it earlier unless you want time for another retake. Post interview holds might last that late into the season and with the new 2 week turnaround, you may afford to take them that late.

 

[cliquesh]

I read in your profile that you wrote "...july 24th exam the worst one ever." hehe does that mean anything specific cuz that is the exam i took.

 

[lei217]

We are in the same boat! I got a 27 on MCAT and have one interview, although I have applied only to the schools in Texas. I feel that come Match Day in Feb I may not be accepted and will have to take it again. I also studied on my own and took it without the second semester of physics(it was either that or delay my app a year) and if I take it again will want to take a prep course. However I don't want to waste the money if I do get accepted but can't really wait until Feb to take a course for the MCAT in April. What to do!?

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

Some advice would be nice. Thanks

By the way, i broke my right hand and arm a few weeks before my MCAT. So, it was pretty hard typing and using a mouse. In fact, i wasn't able to finish any of the sections because i was working so slowly. Yet i still got a 9v 10p 9b, so i am certain i could get a low to mid 30 if i took it again.

Well, you've already rolled the dice so let's see what happens. But, although you will hear dozens of true stories of people who got in with mid-to-upper 20's, the truth is that it's easy to be seduced by old information. When I was accepted in 2005, my class at a respected mid-tier state school had a mean MCAT of 29. It had been 27 just a couple of years before. The year following my admission it went up to 30. I would be surprised if next year's entering class wasn't a 31. Scores for allopathic schools are consistently going up year by year.

Do you have to be at or above the median to get in? Certainly not, especially at a school where you have state residency. But it certainly improves your odds. I would actually say you'd have less of a problem with a slightly lower GPA - you have a mis-match that you'll have to explain (although a broken arm is a darn good excuse in my book). Good luck.

 

[Cataract]

I read in your profile that you wrote "...july 24th exam the worst one ever." hehe does that mean anything specific cuz that is the exam i took.

Yeah, that exam sucked. It was like studying for a physics exam but taking a history test. In any case, I was bummed about my score too. But apparently, it's not a "craptastic" score.

 

[Lennybruce]

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