HELP: Should I re-write the MCAT? (Hard)

[LiconC]

122/128/122/128 (500) ; AB resident ; 3yr GPA 3.76 ; above average ECs, but not insanely so ; very good interview skills (greatest strength)

I have just applied to UCalgary and McMaster because of my decent CARS score, Calgary being my top pick. However, the ultimate goal is to get into med, regardless of where, and so I feel the need to cast out my net to as many schools as possible to increase my chances of acceptance. Currently, my low overall MCAT score (500) prevents me from applying to many schools. As such, I am tempted to re-write my MCAT so as to be eligible to apply to more schools for the next cycle should I not get in this time. So, here is my issue: If I want to re-write the MCAT before the deadline for the next application cycle (Oct 2020), the only time I can do it is this coming January (due to needing to work the rest of the year). However, interview invites won't come out until Feb. In other words, if I write the MCAT again in January, then I will be doing so without knowing if my original score was sufficient or not to get an interview. Thus, I risk going through the hell of re-writing the MCAT for nothing (given that I receive an offer).

So, do you think it is worth it to study for the MCAT for several months even if it may not be necessary to do so? Is it unreasonable to gamble on a 90th percentile CARS, an OK GPA, good interview skills, and applications to only two schools? I'm not sure what to do.

Thank you all for your time and energy. This is sort of a convoluted one, but I'm not sure what to do which is why I'm asking. Thanks again. 

[JohnGrisham]

500 is a pretty low score, so i would retake it.

[pyridoxal-phosphate]

xx

[LiconC]

7 minutes ago, pyridoxal-phosphate said:

Hmm...

This is a tough one. Your CARS and grades are good enough such that a strong casper or EC score could in theory push you to an interview at Calgary and/or McMaster. It would be tight though in my opinion. McMaster won't care about your 122s. Calgary might care about the 122s in their "overall academic ability" or whatever section but again, could be overcome with high enough other scores. 

Usually I would say  try a cycle first before re writing but your work situation complicates this. Is there any way of switching your work schedule around so that you can rewrite the MCAT next summer if you need to re apply (although hopefully not)? If work schedule can't be changed then I would lean towards re taking. I would usually be hesitant to rewrite a 128 cars, but I think in your case higher scores in the other sections could open just as many doors as a sub 128 score would close if that makes sense. In a perfect world though you would maintain (or improve) the CARS while raising the other scores. 

Thank you for your input. I really appreciate you taking the time to parse this--I agree, it is a tough one. I think you're right about opening doors with the other sections on the MCAT, even if its just making me eligible for UAlberta and Western. Conversely, I've gotten some advice from some mentors in my life that have suggested that I just leave it alone because my motivation won't be strong if I am re-writing for something I am not certain about. 

[pyridoxal-phosphate]

On 10/5/2019 at 3:05 PM, LiconC said:

Thank you for your input. I really appreciate you taking the time to parse this--I agree, it is a tough one. I think you're right about opening doors with the other sections on the MCAT, even if its just making me eligible for UAlberta and Western. Conversely, I've gotten some advice from some mentors in my life that have suggested that I just leave it alone because my motivation won't be strong if I am re-writing for something I am not certain about. 

 

[DrOtter]

Hi there. I would retake the MCAT anyways if I were you. For context, I applied back in 2017 as an out-of-province only to McMaster since I was finishing my 3-year undergrad In Australia. At the time, I had a 3.94 GPA and a 128 CARS. And although I felt good about the CASPer (having practiced and done an MMI at an Australian med school), I didn't end up getting an invitation. I'm telling you this just to hopefully give you an idea of how competitive it is at McMaster as an OOP applicant. UCalgary might appear "forgiving" on the outside but they put extremely heavy weights on ECs too. Retaking the MCAT and making sure you could make great improvements on those scores would really open up more doors, especially given you an in-province advantage at Alberta, Calgary and UBC as well. 

[bruh]

The pros of taking it in January outweigh the cons. Think about the “worst” case scenario, you rewrite the MCAT, but you end up getting an interview and eventually accepted. Is that even a bad scenario? No, you got accepted and I’m sure the fact that you retook there MCAT won’t even bother you one bit. 
Now think of the best scenario, you retake the MCAT and you don’t receive any interviews. Now you’re going to thank yourself for saving your ass and having rewritten it. 
Now think of the real worst scenario. You don’t rewrite the MCAT and you don’t get any interviews. Now you’re left with nothing. You’re going to be cursing yourself for not having retaken it.

 

If you just bring up your science sections to at least 125, you open many doors (UBC, UofA, UofT, possibly Queens). 
 

I rewrote the MCAT 3 times from 124/121/124/125 on My first attempt to 128/126/128/128 on my third attempt. You can do it, and you will appreciate having done it. 

[Edict]

I think you should rewrite it. CARS tends to be pretty stable, your score probably won't go down by too much and could go up. As it stands you aren't a shoo-in for Mac anyways, so there is enough room for improvement that I think it is worth it.