Worth retaking 35Q (not-so-hot verbal)?

[wowzer]

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My breakdown was PS 14, Bio 12, and verbal 9!!!!! I would be thrilled, except that I've heard taht having below a 10 in verbal is looked down upon by admission committees. It is also the msit important section on the MCAT. Keeping in mind that I am a physics tutor and I am taking biochemistry and cell biology right now, do you think that readying myself for April's exam and doing copius reading is worth it/good chance to improve my verbal score? Congrats to everyone who got their score today.

 

[Dr. Geoff]

I think you would be *****ic to retake..... Your score is fine, and improving the verbal section is the most difficult. You run a much bigger chance of lowering your other scores, especially if you have a tough class load. If you couldn't raise ur score and lowered ur other sections, where does that leave you? Looking dumb, and have wasted a bunch of time.

- jeff

P.S. Congrats on your scores, a 35 is money...

 

[Ypo.]

Give me a break-a 9 is fine. Don't listen to anyone else. Of course you're a genius so it wouldn't be a big deal to retake, right!

 

[pratik7]

I would be thrilled, except that I've heard taht having below a 10 in verbal is looked down upon by admission committees .

i need to hurl

 

[Sansfrontier]

Sure...
9 is no need to retake. Spend that time doing something else, unless you LOVE taking the MCAT and the many practice exams that comes with it.
Good luck

 

[Magu]

OP is just a troll

 

[Psycho Doctor]

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

[Radio Edit]

you definitely need to retake. a 9 is absolutely unacceptable and will be rejected by every admissions committee out there.

 

[evajaclynn]

I really wouldn't worry if you have a 35Q - the 9 in verbal is no big deal and you will get in somewhere. Of course, since taking the MCAT is so much fun, you might as well retake it. I'll drink those beers that you'll be missing out on. 🙂

 

[OnMyWayThere]

OP is just a troll

You bet the OP is a troll. And it saddens me that this person will be a future colleague of mine. Wish we had a middle finger icon along with the thumbs up, thumbs down, and horns icons

 

[virilep]

hey wowzer...what an appropriate name. I've already done a couple interviews and they don't think 9 is a bad score. having a 14 in the PS is a really good score. Tat score most heavily correlates to Step 1 scores after your second year. I think you'll be fine, unless you want to go to harvard or wash u, even then they won't say it's horrible. congrats.

My breakdown was PS 14, Bio 12, and verbal 9!!!!! I would be thrilled, except that I've heard taht having below a 10 in verbal is looked down upon by admission committees. It is also the msit important section on the MCAT. Keeping in mind that I am a physics tutor and I am taking biochemistry and cell biology right now, do you think that readying myself for April's exam and doing copius reading is worth it/good chance to improve my verbal score? Congrats to everyone who got their score today.

 

[joedr7]

I also scored a 35Q, with a 9 on Verbal. My others were 13/13. I too am concerned about the 9, although I realize retaking it is really risky, not to mention time-consuming, stressful, etc. So, I am not seriously considering retaking it because I am more than thrilled with my scores overall...but I was looking for some reassurances (hopefully!) that this score will AT LEAST get me to the interview stage at most schools (not the top 20-30 schools, but those anywhere behind that)...assuming that my GPA and everything else is on-par with that of a particular school. Any comments/advice welcomed. Thanks.

 

[Dr. Josh]

You're nutzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[Howard Roark]

Do Not Retake!



.

 

[joedr7]

You're nutzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I welcome this commentary, but WHO are you referring to, and what does it mean? I honestly don't know if my post was up by the time you wrote that. And if you're talking about me, can you clarify your comment? If you mean that "you're nuts for being concerned with that 9", then can you say that....because, this is a real concern for me. I understand that this is an excellent score overall...this very fact makes the 9 V look even worse. Please clarify. Thanks.

 

[joedr7]

OK...why is that some of us are not allowed to have our own concerns. Let's be honest: If I had a couple 12s and an 11 on Verbal I SURELY would not be on here. All you ever hear about the MCAT is "you should get 10's on each section" and "as long as your scores are fairly close to each other, you'll be fine". Well, I did NOT get 10 on each section (so, as far as the Verbal is concerned, I'm in the same boat as a lot of people who got under 30), and I DON'T consider a 4-point difference "even scoring". Plus, I keep hearing how imprt. the verbal section is. If you feel that my concern is unwarranted then maybe you could be constructive. But at any rate, everyone is entitled to their own worries. Please, don't take it wrongly.

 

[joedr7]

Just to clarify---- I do not feel that this is a bad question because everyone can have their own personal goals. But I do feel that there is PLENTY of time to decide this and you could have given it a week or two before you brought it up becuase there are people here who are really discouraged right now that they will not be able to get into ANY medical school.

Fair enough. Advice taken.

But if anyone else would like to add their comments (to the original post), that would be great.

 

[davematthews]

A 9 looked down upon. By who??? Where in the world do you get your info? Talk to an advisor or someone on an admissions committee, there are so many bull**** falacies that go around. Also, if you know that the average matriculant has a 30 MCAT, how in the world does your obvious intelligence lack applying your superb math skills to common sense application. Even in "top rated" schools this still holds. A nine is not ok. A nine is not bad. A nine is pretty good. It is not excellent, but it is good.

 

[stoic]

My breakdown was PS 14, Bio 12, and verbal 9!!!!! I would be thrilled, except that I've heard taht having below a 10 in verbal is looked down upon by admission committees. It is also the msit important section on the MCAT. Keeping in mind that I am a physics tutor and I am taking biochemistry and cell biology right now, do you think that readying myself for April's exam and doing copius reading is worth it/good chance to improve my verbal score? Congrats to everyone who got their score today.

I didn't read the rest of the thread, just the first sentence of your post.

If you retake, you are one of the stupidest people ever.

 

[waltoncj]

hey

 

[Doc 2b]

OP is just a troll

Absolutely, I hate these f#$%ers that get on here asking if they should retake, just so they can get a pat on the back. Quit bragging f#$% head.

 

[bigbassinbob]

I would just like to say a big FU@K YOU to the original poster. You are an a$$hole, and I'm sure everyone on this website would agree with me on this.

 

[MoosePilot]

Remember folks that attacking others is not right. You don't know why he posted. Different people have different requirements to get into school and he might need a higher verbal. He knows better whether it's even a possibility and this board should be a source for him to get other opinions.

Don't read it if it hacks you off.

 

[Doc 2b]

the bad thing is that the $hit head that started this thread is getting a big kick out of everyone posting (i guess i'm to blame as well) The point is that these people just thrive on the disappointment of others. I can tell you that this thread is most likely bs, the OP has only posted 10 times on this post and they don't tell you where they're from.

 

[MoosePilot]

the bad thing is that the $hit head that started this thread is getting a big kick out of everyone posting (i guess i'm to blame as well) The point is that these people just thrive on the disappointment of others. I can tell you that this thread is most likely bs, the OP has only posted 10 times on this post and they don't tell you where they're from.

Yeah, there's a chance they're a troll, but what if they're not?

The best way to beat a troll is to starve him. So the only responses to this thread should be helpful or silence. That would cover both bases without encouraging trolls.

 

[stoic]

If the OP isn't a troll, then s/he needs a dose of reality anyways.

I do think, however, that this is likely a troll. It's offensive to those posters with legitimate questions about what to do with their scores.

 

[MoosePilot]

If the OP isn't a troll, then s/he needs a dose of reality anyways.

I do think, however, that this is likely a troll. It's offensive to those posters with legitimate questions about what to do with their scores.

I still don't agree. If I had a stellar score like that which was marred only by one sub 10 substat, I'd be wondering too. I had that same problem of a 30+ score with one 9 and didn't get accepted when I applied to USUHS with it back in the day, so it's a valid question.

 

[wowzer]

Alright, it looks like I've started a lot of **** on this thread, and many of you think that I'm just here to "get attention" or "make people feel bad." This is definetly not my intention, and I personally think it it extremely demeaning to see fellow SDNers, everyone who has gone through the same crap this summer, make rash judgements and make either malicious or nonsensical replies to this post. We all understand the amount of havoc and hard work we have put ourselves through, and NOBODY deserves the shady talk on this thread.

This is the first time since my post I have checked back to this site and all I see is a bunch of people giving me **** when I really do need help on making a decision. ku06, onmywaythere, etc., i believe that you guys are the ones exercising the negative stereotypes you accuse me of - just becuase you see somebody with this score asking a heartful question (taht may actually be of interest to others) automatically elicits an invasive response from you. If I didnt have the score that I got, maybe you guys wouldnt act this way towards me? hmm? (WTF is a troll anyway, thats proably the msot ******ed thing I have ever heard). You obviosuly took NO TIME to read my actual question and understand where I was coming from.

So let me f**king restate my question and hopefully we'll get some good f**king insight this time!

I have a wide variation in my score, and my verbal is low enough to be unrepresentative of my science scores. I have talked to many advisers and matriculants here at Johns Hopkins and many have stressed the importance of a balanced score, especially the verbal score. I hope that those of you that actualyl care about what people ahve to say can provide some MEANINGFUl insight, while those that rashly react to such posts can grow some f**king b@lls. Peace out.

 

[MoosePilot]

FYI, a troll is someone who posts something liable to stir up a hornets nest because they like the negative attention.

In your case, I forget whether you're applying this year or not. If you are, keep going with that. You might get in, then problem is solved.

If you're not, prepare differently for the next administration. Concentrate on your weak area while reviewing your strong areas to keep them strong. Do some good solid practice tests (AAMC) to see how you're prep is working. Save one practice test for just before the next administration. If you're higher than you are on this one, take it. If not cancel. The minor difference in refund is worth the flexibility if you can afford it.

 

[Doc 2b]

Sorry It's Just Getting Ridiculous