Why is there a stigma against retaking?

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Earl Simmons

Earl Simmons

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I called about 8 medical schools admissions offices to ask how a MCAT retake would be used in an application and if the first/lower score influences anything and was told by all the schools that either the highest overall score is used or the most recent score is used and that whatever the other score is doesn't influence things.

That being said, why do people say that retaking is bad because both scores are used/it's an average of the two/the lowest is used/it doesn't look good or some other argument when that doesn't seem to be the case?
 
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I don't know why either

Agreed. Most, most, most schools like at your most recent MCAT or the best one...
 
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mbaumann1123 said:
Because that's the opinion of only 8 medical schools. Many schools take the average of all your scores
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False. Only maybe 2 or so schools I know of that take average. I emailed a lot of schools, plus there's a list around SDN, I can't seem to find/remember were it was. That being said, Jefferson and Loyal-Stritch are the two that average I believe.
 
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Earl Simmons said:
Could you name a few that take the average? I called several more and got similar responses to the ones I mentioned in the original post.
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I am going by a list I saw on SDN, so the list may not be accurate. Regardless they still see the first score and some take it into consideration even if its not averaged. If there is a large point increase it may not matter but its a gamble in my opinion
 
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daleader said:
I don't know why either

Agreed. Most, most, most schools like at your most recent MCAT or the best one...
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The score report includes all of your attempts at the MCAT. It's not like they won't notice if you got a 17 the first time around. Some schools may mind less than others, but at many schools they'll prefer the applicant who didn't bomb it the first time.

This is also a question that could have been easily answered by the search box.
 
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Because the MCAT is a standardized exam. Like all standardized exams, there are test tips and tricks and that can learn to spot and use efficiently on retakes, especially multiple retakes. It's hard to differentiate who actually learned the material and critical thinking skills to do better on a third try versus someone who just spotted the pattern and "played the game," so to speak.
 
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mcloaf said:
The score report includes all of your attempts at the MCAT. It's not like they won't notice if you got a 17 the first time around. Some schools may mind less than others, but at many schools they'll prefer the applicant who didn't bomb it the first time.

This is also a question that could have been easily answered by the search box.
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to clarify...it includes all SCORED attempts. voided exams are not reported anywhere; med schools will not know that you even voided an exam.
 
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While the "average" may be true for some elite schools, most MD schools use the most recent score in your decision making process.

I believe LizzyM, an adcom, clarified this as well. Med schools want to see an overall improvement in your retake attempts as well as trends from exam to exam when evaluating an applicant.

Its simply false to say that a retake kills your application.
 
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Earl Simmons said:
I called about 8 medical schools admissions offices to ask how a MCAT retake would be used in an application and if the first/lower score influences anything and was told by all the schools that either the highest overall score is used or the most recent score is used and that whatever the other score is doesn't influence things.

That being said, why do people say that retaking is bad because both scores are used/it's an average of the two/the lowest is used/it doesn't look good or some other argument when that doesn't seem to be the case?
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Because you cannot retake the boards to raise your score.
 
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texan2414 said:
While the "average" may be true for some elite schools, most MD schools use the most recent score in your decision making process.

I believe LizzyM, an adcom, clarified this as well. Med schools want to see an overall improvement in your retake attempts as well as trends from exam to exam when evaluating an applicant.

Its simply false to say that a retake kills your application.
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...which is why nobody ever said this.
 
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texan2414 said:
While the "average" may be true for some elite schools, most MD schools use the most recent score in your decision making process.

I believe LizzyM, an adcom, clarified this as well. Med schools want to see an overall improvement in your retake attempts as well as trends from exam to exam when evaluating an applicant.

Its simply false to say that a retake kills your application.
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mcloaf said:
...which is why nobody ever said this.
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texan2414 was using a strawman argument. Nonetheless, I agree with much of your comments, so i'm reposting it for emphasis.

mcloaf said:
The score report includes all of your attempts at the MCAT. It's not like they won't notice if you got a 17 the first time around. Some schools may mind less than others, but at many schools they'll prefer the applicant who didn't bomb it the first time.

This is also a question that could have been easily answered by the search box.
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9w1 said:
So do top 20 schools generally average all of your MCAT scores?
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There's no real point in asking questions like "so how to [insert school name/tier] view [insert specific part of application]?" on these forums because everything is charcoal grey to us, not black and white. No one really knows how they function. You're best off calling or emailing the schools you're interested in for real answers, not guesses or speculations.
 
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My answer is biased since I am retaking. It is just about stats. They pick the best scores to keep their stats lookin good. If someone retakes and gets a high score, they r cool with it.
 
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Idrinkwater said:
My answer is biased since I am retaking. It is just about stats. They pick the best scores to keep their stats lookin good. If someone retakes and gets a high score, they r cool with it.
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True, but the higher up the tier ladder you go, the less any one component means for the decision. A +2 change is not significant (i.e., standard variation between test conditions, questions, mentality, etc., can contribute to small deviations like that). You gotta get +3 for a real difference to be made.
 
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I think there are two types of people who retake the MCAT. There are people who retake because they feel their score is not representative of their abilities, and there are people who are relying on the law of large numbers (if you take the test enough times, eventually, by dumb luck, you will get a 45) to get the score they need.

I fall into the former category. I got a disappointing score, took the test again and went up 7 points (28 to 35). I don't think admissions committees will toss my app in the trash because I got a subpar score once.

Imagine a hypothetical candidate who got say a 24, then a 22, then a 22. Even if they pull out a 30 next time, a committee will probably see that this is just a blind squirrel who eventually tripped over a nut.

So, I think the decision to retake/ what the retake says varies widely from candidate to candidate.
 
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I'd think they generally want to see how well you can perform under stress/pressure and think on your feet after adequate preparations.

In real life, you will have no chance for a do over.

Do it once, get it right is the mindset.
 
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PreMedMaverick said:
I think there are two types of people who retake the MCAT. There are people who retake because they feel their score is not representative of their abilities, and there are people who are relying on the law of large numbers (if you take the test enough times, eventually, by dumb luck, you will get a 45) to get the score they need.
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+1

I would further break down the former category into two more groups: those with some type of proof (e.g., AAMC average) their abilities surpass those reflected in their scores, and those with no proof of any sort (the latter group here may overlap with the latter group in the quoted) but blind confidence.
 
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mcloaf said:
The score report includes all of your attempts at the MCAT. It's not like they won't notice if you got a 17 the first time around. Some schools may mind less than others, but at many schools they'll prefer the applicant who didn't bomb it the first time.

This is also a question that could have been easily answered by the search box.
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That may be true, but if your first score was truly a fluke (i.e. 20), and you get a 30+ the second time around... I think that says maybe you were sick or something else was going on the first time around. Look OP, don't listen to anyone here, just try your best your second attempt (making sure you get 30+ on your practice scores), and let your hardwork do the talking. That's all that will matter. These people on the board aren't adcoms.
 
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iwillbeatthis said:
That may be true, but if your first score was truly a fluke (i.e. 20), and you get a 30+ the second time around... I think that says maybe you were sick or something else was going on the first time around. Look OP, don't listen to anyone here, just try your best your second attempt (making sure you get 30+ on your practice scores), and let your hardwork do the talking. That's all that will matter. These people on the board aren't adcoms.
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lolololol
 
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inycepoo said:
+1

I would further break down the former category into two more groups: those with some type of proof (e.g., AAMC average) their abilities surpass those reflected in their scores, and those with no proof of any sort (the latter group here may overlap with the latter group in the quoted) but blind confidence.
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I know its not the most mature reaction, but I always get a bit annoyed when people nonchalantly talk about taking the mcat cold or with minimal studying just because "well I can just retake it if I get a bad score!"

Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I would not risk a poor score on my record just because I can retake and possibly end up with a large enough score increase that adcomms might overlook the first bad score. No matter what anyone says, or even what the school says, why in the world would you take that risk, no matter how small it may be, when your entire future is on the line. Don't take it if your not confident, prepared, and consistently scoring in your target range on practice tests. It just seems like an unnecessary risk to rely on the ability to retake, or am I crazy?

For the record I am NOT referring to anyone or anything said on this thread, this is just a general thought, loosely based on statements made by individuals at my undergraduate university, so please do not take offense or get defensive, because I'm not talking about any of you. And yes I'm aware there are extenuating circumstances and other reasons why someone might take the mcat under less than ideal circumstances.
 
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mbaumann1123 said:
I know its not the most mature reaction, but I always get a bit annoyed when people nonchalantly talk about taking the mcat cold or with minimal studying just because "well I can just retake it if I get a bad score!"

Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I would not risk a poor score on my record just because I can retake and possibly end up with a large enough score increase that adcomms might overlook the first bad score. No matter what anyone says, or even what the school says, why in the world would you take that risk, no matter how small it may be, when your entire future is on the line. Don't take it if your not confident, prepared, and consistently scoring in your target range on practice tests. It just seems like an unnecessary risk to rely on the ability to retake, or am I crazy?

For the record I am NOT referring to anyone or anything said on this thread, this is just a general thought, loosely based on statements made by individuals at my undergraduate university, so please do not take offense or get defensive, because I'm not talking about any of you. And yes I'm aware there are extenuating circumstances and other reasons why someone might take the mcat under less than ideal circumstances.
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I sympathize. Many people aren't very informed about the MCAT or the application process, so they aren't thinking through the decision like you or I might.
 
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There's a stigma about retaking the MCATS cuz if you have to they already know you're a **** LOL
 
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inycepoo said:
dafuq new pic dafuq 😕😕😕😕😕😕
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Yes, that's just strange. Gettheleadout, for better or worse, I imagine you as the pink cartoon dude. I probably will be disappointed if you don't look like him in real life. 🙂
 
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milski said:
Yes, that's just strange. Gettheleadout, for better or worse, I imagine you as the pink cartoon dude. I probably will be disappointed if you don't look like him in real life. 🙂
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Wait are you saying that to be funny or do you really not recognize the "pink cartoon dude" as Patrick?!??!?!?! 😳
 
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inycepoo said:
Wait are you saying that to be funny or do you really not recognize the "pink cartoon dude" as Patrick?!??!?!?! 😳
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100% serious. I am obscenely old and did not grow up in the states. I have a strong suspicion that 'Patrick' is on the Bob Square Pants Sponge cast but even that is stretching my knowledge of current and semi-current cartoons.
 
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312312312 said:
Yeah adding modicum of humor makes you sound totally official :/ Next time try spelling it "humour" and I'd be even more impressed XD
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Sorry, I'll dumb it down. I appreciate jokes when they are funny. Calling people ******s for no reason when you have absolutely nothing of value to add to this thread doesn't qualify as funny in my book.
 
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mcloaf said:
Sorry, I'll dumb it down. I appreciate jokes when they are funny. Calling people ******s for no reason when you have absolutely nothing of value to add to this thread doesn't qualify as funny in my book.
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Right on duder - I'm guessing you're one of the anti-fun/gun nuts who think everyone needs a hug hahahaha
 
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Awesome I thought you might be some PC Lib-**** who thinks being PC is the answer to everything 😉 Which begs the question why you would be so touchy about somebody saying **** to begin with.
 
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If you want to bad mouth people who disagree with whatever backward political stance you have please do it in the off-topic forums, this one is about the MCAT.
 
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312312312 said:
Awesome I thought you might be some PC Lib-**** who thinks being PC is the answer to everything 😉 Which begs the question why you would be so touchy about somebody saying **** to begin with.
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**** and other similar slurs become a problem even for those of us who don't give two ****s about being PC (look at my posts if you don't believe this about me lol) when you use it towards something unnecessary and difficult like the MCAT. You have no right to call retakers ***** because it just doesn't make any sense, not even in the joking context. Bad MCAT test-takers are not all *****; there are a plethora of reasons why one wouldn't do well, but I don't expect you to know that. If you haven't even taken the test yet and have no idea what it's like, you have no right to laugh at other people's poor performances when all you have is blind confidence and an ego.

As a nontrad, you should be even more understanding of the fact that things don't go the way you want them to all the time, and this plans must change as well. No one's calling you **** for applying to med school at 32, so stop arguing for it.

I'm all for calling out dumb posts by dumb/lazy people who can't bother to help themselves before calling out for help. Even trolls like me could be called ***** and mcloaf and I wouldn't even mind. Just don't do it for something you haven't experienced and don't know the difficulty of yet.
 
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