Should I retake the MCAT this summer or do other things?

[ManInBlack]

Hi everyone, I'm an Ontario Undergraduate student in 3d year of a Bachelors degree. This previous summer, I was studying for the MCAT, and took the exam in August. I did not score very well, after self-evaluation, I attribute my low score to mainly my lack of preparation and effort. I would study around 3 or maybe 4 hours a day, sometimes even less, when many of my friends were studying 8+ hours 5 days/week. I also had some compassionate things going on and I lost a close loved one that summer to Cancer and so I was feeling  really bad for 1 or 2 months. I didn't start practice exams till 3 and a half weeks before my test date. I was only doing one extracurricular weekly with my MCAT (started that in May) and started another good one in August (which is ongoing into the school year). I am by no means a weak student, I get fairly high marks in my University classes, but due to certain factors I just could not give the MCAT my all when I wrote it this year. Basically, that summer went by and I got a poor score, with not much else I did extracurricular wise. 

For the upcoming summer, I am thinking of a few options: 

1.) Retake the MCAT again (while doing little things on the side EC wise), basically what I did last summer but this time more focused and more effort towards MCAT

2.) Do a NSERC Position (save some money) and get valuable research experience, no MCAT this year (do it summer after graduating)

3.) Do the NSERC and also do the MCAT retake (study seriously for ~4-5 hours daily after the job), maybe will have to study a bit less since I have background from taking the exam once already 

I want advice on which of these 3 options would be suitable if you were in my shoes or if you have faced a similar situation yourself.

Thanks a lot

[IMislove]

I did NSERC and studied a little bit while at the job but mainly after work. Got home, ate dinner with dad/tv, studied for a good 3 -3.5 hours. Hung with fam before bed. Usually would take Friday off, and study all day Saturday, and sometimes half a Sunday. Weekends I left for practice tests when about 2 months in, where as I could do practice sections after work closer to the test date. Utilized EK, Khan academy, and Princeton review. Did slightly better on the second write which was the first 2015 one, as compared to the pre 2015 exam. Biggest thing is being consistent and also knowing when you’re not absorbing anything and taking time off to recharge. I don’t think it’s necessary to study as if it’s a full time job, did just fine without it. Gotta be honest with yourself and see what you are capable of.

[adomanim]

My english is not perfect so I am not good at getting my idea past and I am not meaning to be critical of masters students. I have seen people doing masters in public health that want to get into medicine, and I genuinely wondering why and how you did that? My older cousin in community health at University of Calgary said it was looked down on in the program if someone wanted to do medicine (which kinda weird since somehow it is okay for docs to do a public health masters but not the other way around), and it seems like a pretty tough program to go through anyways. So I'm just wondering why would someone decide to do medicine after getting a masters in community health or public health instead of just making a career in that field.... would you be doing the same thing? Did being in that program make your medical application harder to do since it might have been taken in a bad way from the masters program?








Sarkari Result Pnr Status 192.168.1.1

[Meridian]

4 hours ago, adomanim said:

My english is not perfect so I am not good at getting my idea past and I am not meaning to be critical of masters students. I have seen people doing masters in public health that want to get into medicine, and I genuinely wondering why and how you did that? My older cousin in community health at University of Calgary said it was looked down on in the program if someone wanted to do medicine (which kinda weird since somehow it is okay for docs to do a public health masters but not the other way around), and it seems like a pretty tough program to go through anyways. So I'm just wondering why would someone decide to do medicine after getting a masters in community health or public health instead of just making a career in that field.... would you be doing the same thing? Did being in that program make your medical application harder to do since it might have been taken in a bad way from the masters program?
Sarkari Result Pnr Status 192.168.1.1

why are you copying forward other peoples old posts that have no bearing on the current thread ?

[Meridian]

ManInBlack - if you expect to have a competitive ~3.9 cGPA at the end of your 3rd year,  I would do the MCAT re-write this summer so you can apply this fall.    If medicine is your top priority then use this summer specifically for MCAT.  You already know how far you need to move the needle.  Unless you already know what the NSERC opportunity is and what the time commitment expectations would be,  I would treat that as secondary.   Research is nice but not mandatory for med apps.  A good MCAT is mandatory.

[ArdentMed]

I would re-write the MCAT if your score is below 515. Otherwise, focus on the rest of your application. 

[DrOtter]

Slow and steady wins the race.  I only did about 2-3 hours of MCAT revision of the subject content everyday, while working full-time under NSERC. But I made sure to do that consistently for the entire 4 months. And then 3 weeks leading up to the exam, I just buckled down and did AAMC practice tests (allowing for maybe 2-3 days of break and review in between) - this was after my NSERC contract has ended, however. I ended up doing very well. It's definitely possible to tackle both if you're disciplined enough. With that said, only re-take it if it's seriously lacking in section(s) or in the overall score.