Retaking 127 CARS

[mcatbomber]

So I got rejected from Western today with 127 CARS (517 total) and 3.97 2yrGPA. It was super painful since I never thought they'd EVER lower their cutoffs from a 128, but they did and I STILL got rejected, haha.

I haven't been very successful at other schools either and it's looking more and more likely that I'll be applying again next cycle. I don't have the physical or emotional capacity to take the MCAT again because studying for it over the summer has taken such a toll on me in past years and prevented me from pursuing other opportunities (research, volunteering etc.)

I don't want to take the MCAT again, but should I take the risk of hoping the cutoffs stay the same next year and don't go any higher?

[anonymouspls]

I don't know what will happen to the CARS cutoff in the future but recently the trend has been downwards. When I first applied to the school the cutoff was 130, when I got accepted it was 128 and now it's 127. It seems like they're trying to focus on EC's.

 

We do have a new Dean of Medicine taking over however, which may change things. If you have a solid shot at other schools, I wouldn't write the MCAT again for the reasons you mentioned. 

[Britesharpie93]

Hey, I have been in your position before, and I suspect, so have many others. Contemplating a MCAT re-write is so difficult so I can empathize. I would recommend taking some time to focus on other things for a few weeks to a month, and then gauging whether you have what it takes to re-write the MCAT. I felt so drained last year after interview decisions went out. I felt like I was in an endless cycle. I definitely thought I did NOT have it in me to do another MCAT. However, about a month afterwards I signed up (not too happily) and dedicated myself to re-writing the MCAT one last time. If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have got the invite I got today.

I think since you have a 127 exactly, it is a risk to stay as you are. You never know what will happen. It could be that it stays 127, as more people see the cut off and apply with their 127s or 126s. It could be that the pool gets more competitive and rises to a 128. Only 1 point higher but it takes you out of the running. It could even drop lower to a 126. I feel like it will stay at 127 with the additions of the essays... but thats just my gut feeling and that doesn't mean anything really. 

Have you scored higher than a 127 on practice tests? If its within your ability to score higher than a 127 on the MCAT, then it might be worth the re-write. With your GPA and MCAT, it seems like you would be competitive at other schools as well. It might not be worth it to re-write it for just 1 school. After you've have had some time to process the results of this cycle, I would personally go over my application and try to see where I went wrong or what I could have done better. The essays seem to be quite important. Do you think that was a stronger or weaker part of your application?

You're overall MCAT is excellent though, and your GPA is amazing as well. I'm so sorry you didn't get an invite. I know how disheartening and painful it can be. I wish you all the very very best. 

[redbeanbun]

I was in your position as well! I got an 127 on CARS the first time I wrote my MCAT, but the difference is I didn't apply that cycle (I wrote my MCAT after second year). But I totally relate to the physical/emotional toll + preventing you from doing other things if you rewrite. I think you have to consider 1) what plans would you be pursuing if you didn't rewrite 2) what are the chances your CARS score would go up and 3) the specific schools you're rewriting for/how much they care about the MCAT/how much you care about those schools. I ended up rewriting and doing much better, but at the expense of rejecting a full-time summer research position that I really really wanted to do. 

I know it must suck a lot to get rejected, but you still do have really good stats - don't lose hope! Take some time to think things over and good luck next time!  I'm sure you'll do great either way.