Well, I have been hesitant to put my score up because I was so disappointed. Since everyone else was brave, and posted their less than ideal scores, so I decided to bite the bullet.
I ended up with a 25P.
BS-7
PS-7
VR-11
SGPA-3.6
CGPA-3.45 (before AMCAS calculation)
Graduate GPA-3.85
postbac GPA - 3.5
I am still so conflicted as to whether or not to retake. I plan on applying broadly DO and MD (around 30 total).
What if I retake and do worse? This is one of the primary reasons why I am hesitant. If I wait until mid August to retake, I won’t have my score for another month.
Will 4-5 points really make a difference? Is it even statistically possible to raise my score that much in a month of preparation?
I have seen the AMCAS data. I know I am looking at around a 20% chance. Such a quandary.
Hey Denny
Well your score is what it is. Now, 1 month to improve an MCAT score is no easy task. There is always a story of someone with a score in this range who gets in. As a matter of fact, my best friend is starting a DO school in California and he scored 24 (but he got excellent grades in all science courses)!
So, nothing is impossible, but it is true that the chances are a bit low.
You can either apply see what comes back or delay an entire year. At this point it is a tough choice and only you know what to do.
I honestly think that if you prepare diligently you can raise your score substantially. Your VR is very good and it is the hardest part to improve. As for sciences, in my opinion, they are the easiest to improve and practice will (which cannot necessarily said for VR).
Good luck whatever you decide.
I agree with redo that VR is the hardest to improve and your VR score was solid. If you do decide to retake, I would recommend to study the AAMC practice tests and really think like a test maker. In my opinion, PS is the easiest to improve, because a lot of questions are based on mathematical relations and are not true Physics questions. The ability to quickly recognize this type of questions on the exam will save you time that you can spend on more difficult questions. BS section is quite similar to VR which test on your comprehension and reasoning. If possible, I would recommend to read a couple biology research articles. There is no need to read the entire article, just abstract and graphs should be sufficient. This should help to develop the ability to quickly understand the main purpose of the study and analyze the data presented.
- Apple pie Said:
I think this is very good advice. On my MCAT, one of the longer (in terms of number of questions & content) Biological Sciences passages was an excerpt from a journal article in "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences". On my USMLE Step 1 exam, there was an excerpt from Dr. Oliver Sacks's book "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat". Some familiarity with the biomedical literature now could be an asset on the MCAT and national medical licensing board exams down the road.
Radardenny,
I was in a fairly similar situation to you, I ended up with a 26M which was at the low end of my practice range. The only reason I didn’t retake was because I was fortunate that it came out pretty well balanced: 8 PS, 9 V, 9 BS. I had decided ahead of time that that was the lowest acceptable score with which I would apply. I was a bit on the fence, but I knew ultimately I wouldn’t raise my score into the 30s and it just didn’t seem worth the effort for a point or two.
You’ve got to decide if you can personally accept a 25 and be o.k. with it. Honestly, I think the 7’s in two sections will hurt you a little, particularly with M.D., but some D.O. schools too. Your 11 in verbal is great! If you could pull the other sections up one point each, you’d be a good bit more solid I think.
Best wishes,
Dan
Radardenny,
Are you looking to apply this year? If not, I’d wait until I was more confident in my scores. I agree with apple pie that I believe PS is the easiest section to improve on. If you keep doing PS practice problems you’ll find that the same type of problems keep showing up. Anyways, good luck and hit me up if you’re still in the CNY area.