MCAT Delimma!

Hi - i am looking for as many candid replies as i can get - please do take the time to respond as i am in somewhat of a dilemma.
i am scheduled to take the mcat this saturday. i have a contingent acceptance to medical school based on getting a certain score on the mcat. thus far, i haven't reached these minimums on the three sections at the same time. i have gotten it on separate tests.
if i were to take it on saturday and missed the cutoff, obviously i wouldn't be going to med school this fall. i am very excited about the school and would be disappointed if i couldn't go. however, i am also concerned how these low scores might affect my chances of acceptance at other schools. if i didn't score well, i would retake in august and i am
confident that i could do much better as i will have finished organic, physics, and biology. how detrimental would a set of scores ranging 7-8 on the sciences and 10-11 on the verbal be?
also, have people found that their scores went up when taking the actual MCAT? i have taken a few amcas exams but the results have been the same as the prep course exams.
thanks so much all,
kelly

Kelly,
I haven’t taken the real thing yet, but people tell me that the higher numbered AAMC (like IV, V) track pretty well to their actual scores - given nerves and/or adreneline on the real one.
when you ask about how a 10V 7-8P 7-8B would be looked at - is this assuming you repeat and do better?
that is your 10 8 8 becomes an 10 10 10 or 11 11 11 ?
I’ve heard that schools vary greatly on how they treat >1 set of scores - some take the most recent, some take the highest per section, some average them out … etc.
I cannot imagine a school penalizing you if you turn a 10 8 8 into a 13 13 13 no matter what method they use ;)

sorry I can’t be more specific … I just don’t know and can only repeat the kinds of things I’ve heard.
Lisa

Lisa's reply holds true for me. I have it on direct authority from one assistant dean that raising MCAT scores, particularly several points, can make up for a lot. The lower the gpa the higher the MCAT scores need to be. And as another wise member has noted on the listserv, the MCAT is essentially a test of our ability to memorize, manage objective tests, and stand the pressure. It's an endurance test in more ways than one. Yes, it's 6-8 hours of hard work, but it's also proof that we can handle tests like the USMLE and the DO equivalent. It's evidence of our ability to hold a large quantity of information available for ready recall and solve problems quickly. These are all skills that we will find invaluable in the clinical years. So, to recap, yes: Improved MCAT scores can be a real help.
Bill