Dr. Monkey Posted February 26, 2019 Report Share Posted February 26, 2019 Hey everyone. I've been hunting for some advice on retaking the MCAT. I just wrote the test and scored a 511 // 128/126/131/126 // During my practice tests I was scoring a 514. Both CARS and PS have continually been my lowest section but I feel I can improve on my score for this cycle. I barely got any sleep and was super stressed out due to a long distance relationship. My oGPA is 85%, I am an older applicant (27) with lots of work experience, I've been volunteering at an addictions centre and a retirement home for 2+ years, with various other volunteer commitments. I am thinking about rewriting in April, while everything is still fresh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neurophiliac Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Congrats on your score! Are you posting this in the UBC forum because you're primarily interested in applying to UBC? If so, IMO your score is good enough for UBC . If you're thinking about applying for other schools though (which I recommend you consider), then perhaps a retake may help you since CARS needs to be roughly 128+ for the majority of schools (~130 for UoA). A retake won't hurt your chances for UBC since they consider your best score. If you're okay with the finances + time commitment + stress factors involved with a retake, I say go for it since you may increase your CARS score (don't worry so much about PS). The MCAT is a soul-draining exam lol. Since you've already put a lot of time and energy to prepare for your exam and are still fresh, I think it makes sense to write another one in April given you do extra studying/reviewing and writing practice exams. However, just be careful not to dip since Ontario schools, for example, consider your most recent attempt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Monkey Posted February 27, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 You're right, my main focus is UBC as I am an in province applicant (I haven't even thought about other schools). I am okay with the time commitment as its only another month and I am feeling confident in my abilities/ not too stressed out. My parents are able to help me with finances. Again its only the blasted CARS section that has me feeling low and the feeling that I could have done better with more sleep/less stress. I am prepared to study some more and do heavy review focusing on those sections. I've already done all AAMC practice tests so I'm going to use them more as mock section banks and for review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchpress Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 47 minutes ago, acust said: You're right, my main focus is UBC as I am an in province applicant (I haven't even thought about other schools). I am okay with the time commitment as its only another month and I am feeling confident in my abilities/ not too stressed out. My parents are able to help me with finances. Again its only the blasted CARS section that has me feeling low and the feeling that I could have done better with more sleep/less stress. I am prepared to study some more and do heavy review focusing on those sections. I've already done all AAMC practice tests so I'm going to use them more as mock section banks and for review. Given all that, and the fact that it sounds like you really wouldn’t mind another shot at it, I certainly don’t think it would hurt you and a better score might help a bit. So go for it. UBC will take your best score. If you score similarly (and hopefully not worse), it’s still probably good enough for an IP applicant as @Neurophiliac says given the rest of your application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Monkey Posted February 27, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 51 minutes ago, frenchpress said: Given all that, and the fact that it sounds like you really wouldn’t mind another shot at it, I certainly don’t think it would hurt you and a better score might help a bit. So go for it. UBC will take your best score. If you score similarly (and hopefully not worse), it’s still probably good enough for an IP applicant as @Neurophiliac says given the rest of your application. I guess I'm just curious how worthwhile you think it is to rewrite in the hopes of improving my score to a 514+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchpress Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 20 minutes ago, acust said: I guess I'm just curious how worthwhile you think it is to rewrite in the hopes of improving my score to a 514+ It’s hard to say. A lot of people get accepted to UBC with a 511, and in particular, for more mature IP students with strong applications and GPAs, it probably is good enough. We know they only look at whether you meet the cut offs when deciding to interview, and my sense is that the interview scores matters a lot more. But we don’t really know how the scoring works, and it’s possible that it could be the difference. If it were me, and that was the only about my application I could change, I’d probably rewrite it now instead of possibly having to do it later. But that’s just me. I wouldn’t think you would be making a mistake if you decided you’d rather not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coldery Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 17 hours ago, Neurophiliac said: Congrats on your score! Are you posting this in the UBC forum because you're primarily interested in applying to UBC? If so, IMO your score is good enough for UBC . If you're thinking about applying for other schools though (which I recommend you consider), then perhaps a retake may help you since CARS needs to be roughly 128+ for the majority of schools (~130 for UoA). A retake won't hurt your chances for UBC since they consider your best score. If you're okay with the finances + time commitment + stress factors involved with a retake, I say go for it since you may increase your CARS score (don't worry so much about PS). The MCAT is a soul-draining exam lol. Since you've already put a lot of time and energy to prepare for your exam and are still fresh, I think it makes sense to write another one in April given you do extra studying/reviewing and writing practice exams. However, just be careful not to dip since Ontario schools, for example, consider your most recent attempt. Just curious, what makes you say 130 CARS for the UofA? There doesn't seem to be anything in their app process to say that they preferentially look at CARS. If anything, it should be UofC that technically only considers CARS. But even then, 128 is enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neurophiliac Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 2 hours ago, Coldery said: Just curious, what makes you say 130 CARS for the UofA? There doesn't seem to be anything in their app process to say that they preferentially look at CARS. If anything, it should be UofC that technically only considers CARS. But even then, 128 is enough. Oh sorry, I didn't mean to suggest they preferentially look at CARS over other sections. I think UoA considers all sections of the exam. What I meant is that (it seems) they have a high cutoff for the CARS section, and that seems to be roughly around 130 for OOP applicants. I'm not too sure about Alberta IP applicants, but OOP cutoff is pretty high up there. Having said all that, I'm definitely not an expert on UoA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InstantRamen Posted March 21, 2019 Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 I would not rewrite. Waste of money and time. In my experience, MCAT wasn't heavily emphasised at UBC. Perhaps things have changed since I applied though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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