Should I Retake the MCATs?
When do you know that you should retake the MCAT? Is a 30 worth retaking it? 28? Maybe 25? Well the answer really depends on the rest of your application. To give you an extreme example, let’s imagine you have a 4.0 GPA, you have a PhD and you invented a 2 lb fully functioning airplane. Now let’s assume you got a 20 on the MCAtT. Do you think you needs to retake his MCAT to get accepted? The answer: Not even a little bit.
If you look at the AAMC list of number of students accepted by GPA/MCAT, you will actually see a number of students getting accepted with sub-30 MCAT scores. In fact, a few years ago AAMC showed a student getting accepted with a 16 on their MCAT.
So how do you know if your MCAT is too low? The answer is you have to put it in perspective of the rest of your application. If you have a sub-par GPA, with little research and no EC and your MCAT is below a 30 then you should retake it because you don’t have anything else helping “lift” that sub-par score up. So is an average application with a sub-30 MCAT worth retaking? Probably. Is it impossible to get accepted with that? Not at all. I know a student who had a decent application, got a 28 on their MCAT (11 on the sciences and 6V) and got an interview at NYU.
The general rule is you want to shoot for no less than a 30 - preferably a 32 because a 32 really seems to be the average in medical schools right now. If you do get a 30, then no worries. Just make sure the rest of your application can handle it. Besides, just because many MD schools won’t take too kindly to a sub-30 MCAT, nearly every DO school will be more forgiving.
Your MCATs are an important factor of your application but they’re not everything. Some schools really stress MCATs (like U. Pittsburgh) while others do not. Best advice is apply broadly (MD and DO), try to get above a 30, preferably a 32, and strengthen the rest of your application. MCAT school averages of 32 are averages so there are people getting lower than that. So yes, some students will have high 20s in your class M1 year. However, those people either got extremely likely in getting accepted and/or have an overall impressive resume that helped make that bad MCAt not-so-bad.
If you look at the AAMC list of number of students accepted by GPA/MCAT, you will actually see a number of students getting accepted with sub-30 MCAT scores. In fact, a few years ago AAMC showed a student getting accepted with a 16 on their MCAT.
So how do you know if your MCAT is too low? The answer is you have to put it in perspective of the rest of your application. If you have a sub-par GPA, with little research and no EC and your MCAT is below a 30 then you should retake it because you don’t have anything else helping “lift” that sub-par score up. So is an average application with a sub-30 MCAT worth retaking? Probably. Is it impossible to get accepted with that? Not at all. I know a student who had a decent application, got a 28 on their MCAT (11 on the sciences and 6V) and got an interview at NYU.
The general rule is you want to shoot for no less than a 30 - preferably a 32 because a 32 really seems to be the average in medical schools right now. If you do get a 30, then no worries. Just make sure the rest of your application can handle it. Besides, just because many MD schools won’t take too kindly to a sub-30 MCAT, nearly every DO school will be more forgiving.
Your MCATs are an important factor of your application but they’re not everything. Some schools really stress MCATs (like U. Pittsburgh) while others do not. Best advice is apply broadly (MD and DO), try to get above a 30, preferably a 32, and strengthen the rest of your application. MCAT school averages of 32 are averages so there are people getting lower than that. So yes, some students will have high 20s in your class M1 year. However, those people either got extremely likely in getting accepted and/or have an overall impressive resume that helped make that bad MCAt not-so-bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment