hey everyone,
i apologize if i am writing this in the wrong section because it could be filed under the MCAT section but either way i was wondering if you all could help me. MCAT scores came out today and I did not do well.
PS - 7
VR - 11
BS - 9
W - S
Total: 27S
Also, it should be noted my undergrad GPA was a 2.6x and postbac is a 3.7x.
Should I stop applying to medical school? I should be ready to submit my primary by the beginning of next week but w/ this score, should I waste the hundreds-thousands of dollars?
What would you guys do if you were me?
*I am trying to reregister for September but all the dates are booked (at least in New Jersey).
Oh MAN that is a tough distribution on the score. The 7 really makes your chances lower, depending on where you’re applying; the 9 and 11 are great and you can hold your head up with those… and of course they are high enough that you have about an equal chance of those scores being lower on a retake, while you have a good chance of getting a higher PS on the retake. Boy that is a tough call.
If you were not planning to apply DO I would reconsider, because DO schools traditionally are more likely to look favorably on your “life experience” as demonstrated by the improvement in your GPA between undergrad and post-bacc.
I don’t think that you are screwed and I think it would be unnecessarily harsh to withhold applying. I think it would be wise to plan to retake but get your apps in now, as you planned, and indicate that you’re retaking. At least that’s my take on it. I am sure others will see it in a variety of ways, because you are in that really tough place where there are about a dozen different ways to play it. Good luck!
Mary
hello mary,
thanks again for replying. here is my concern w/ retaking the mcats this year. on the practice exams my ps have always been better than my bs (i don’t remember orgo…literally). this was the first 7 i got in it in probably six or seven months. if i were to retake it, i have to not just hit the physics and chem hard again but also the bio sciences as well. do you think if i am fortunate enough to get a date in September that an increase in my score will reasonably happen?
on the other hand i am not sure i can wait another year…DO is an option but not one i want to take (a long and complicated reasoning thats not for right now).
- it might be of note that i am also shadowing (thanks actually to your advice and others from back in late may) and completing an internship this summer along w/ still working fulltime.
The AAMC has statistics somewhere on the likelihood of score changes depending on your last score. Back in the day (I took the MCAT 8 years ago! a lifetime!), this was part of the printed brochure that you could get about the MCAT, on about page 18 or 20, in a nice table.
Since nothing is in print anymore, I presume that you’ll need to noodle around on the MCAT site to find this, but I am sure the information is still available. My best recollection is that you are more likely to do worse if you have a ten or above, your chances are 50-50 with a 9, and your chance of improving is better than 50% if you scored less than a 9. But the MCAT folks have it much better quantified; I hope you can find it.
If you are set on MD, and especially if you are set on particular schools, there is an argument to be made for actually postponing your app til next year, to study your a$$ off and really kill it the next time. As you noted, you’ve got a real challenge in that you’ll have to study your BS as well as your PS in order to keep or improve on the BS score as well as improve the PS score.
If you aren’t able to figure out a way to take it in September, then yes, I think you should probably defer your app til next year. But I would try hard to get a September date lined up somehow… if you do, then I’d send that puppy out there and see if you can make a go of it. It seems a shame to postpone the entire show just because of MCAT scheduling.
Good luck!
Mary
Obesedude,
With ad coms you can never be sure. I had 27 P on my MCAT ( PS 11, BS 9 and VR 7) and it got me into two schools, including my top choice, but not until very late in the application process. I had tones of volunteering, research, my GPA was around 3.9 and I applied earlier!
I know you would hate waiting until next year, but it might be actually a wiser thing to do. I think this score can definitely get you into a med school IF YOU APPLY EARLY! Early means in June! You sitll haven’t submitted your application. From the time you press the button, until AMCAS verifies your transcripts and all the documents it might take few weeks. It would mean that many schools won’t even send you secondaries until September/ late September. By this time they will have already interviewd a portion of their candidates who submitted their application early in the cycle (I got an interview invite in August and had it scheduled for September).
Do some more research, especially into the schools you’re trying to apply and see how many people with your stats got in! After all every school is unique and I really shouldn’t generalize so much.
Kasia