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FAQ: Should I Rewrite the MCAT (And other MCAT Score related Questions)


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Thanks for the advice.

 

I really feel that I should've scored better on verbal, especially with my practices being in the 10-11 range. I feel that if I do not write again, I will be closing lots of doors. Particularly with the WS being removed, I fear that more emphasis will be placed on VR section, and a score of 9 really isn't that competitive.

 

Would it be advisable to study for the test and write it relatively soon and see how I feel about the test before I score or void it?

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  • 1 month later...

Man I wish VR was my highest section... Im getting 12-13s in PS and BS in practice AAMC and getting 7-9 in VR... Sigh.

 

Nevertheless, I think you should rewrite it and get your PS up with a bit more studying, as long as you are confident that your 12 VR was not a fluke.

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Hi Guys! So I am a huge loser and scored the following:

 

12VR/8PS/11BS with a 3.89gpa

 

thoughts? I think this rules out most med schools in general due to the 8 in PS. I have no idea what happened since i was averaging 10 on my practice tests.

 

:(

 

Thoughts?

 

I feel your pain, I have a similar situation, except my lower score is BS. Good news is that PS is probably the easier section to pull up with more studying.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I scored a 9 11 14

9 in physical was frustrating because I was easily getting 12+ on all aamc practice tests, I found the actual mcat physical a lot harder...

9 is sitting right at the cut off, unsure if I should retake just for that, any input?

 

I would say no. You meet the Western cut off, and ur good for u of t. Queen's also has interviewed people with 9 in ps in the last cycle. And of course its good for mac with that Vr.

 

The only thing I may be concerned about is the potential for schools to raise mcat requirements because they are no longer using the WS. For example, could Western change the requirement from 9/11/10 Q to 10/11/10? I don't think they would but you never know. I would keep that score and not rewrite. I would only rewrite if you dont get an interview because the requirements have gone up for this cycle.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My AAMC practices: VR scores of 10, 9, 8, 8 and 7.

My actual score came out today: VR 10, PS 13, BS 10.

 

My VR 10 means that I can't apply to UWO (the school of my choice). Personally, I'm happy with VR 10... but it's too bad that I couldn't be one of the lucky, talented folks with VR 11. I'm conflicted on whether I should rewrite: I'm unsure if I can pull off a VR 11 with more work, let alone a VR 10 again.

 

During my 4 months of studying, VR was my biggest weakest (according to EK101 tests, Princeton tests, and AAMC tests).

 

Conflicted. Your advice appreciated.

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  • 3 weeks later...
My AAMC practices: VR scores of 10, 9, 8, 8 and 7.

My actual score came out today: VR 10, PS 13, BS 10.

 

My VR 10 means that I can't apply to UWO (the school of my choice). Personally, I'm happy with VR 10... but it's too bad that I couldn't be one of the lucky, talented folks with VR 11. I'm conflicted on whether I should rewrite: I'm unsure if I can pull off a VR 11 with more work, let alone a VR 10 again.

 

During my 4 months of studying, VR was my biggest weakest (according to EK101 tests, Princeton tests, and AAMC tests).

 

Conflicted. Your advice appreciated.

VR 11 will probably open Western for you but won't make a terribly big difference elsewhere. I say, take some more AAMCs a few months from now, and if you can get 11 about half the time I think it'd be worth another shot.

I want to apply to US medical schools like Stanford, Hopkins, Duke etc. and my score was:

 

PS: 14

BS: 14

VR: 10

 

Does the 10 in VR hinder my chances a lot? Should I retake?

As long as all your subsections are in the double digits, US schools care a lot more about your composite score than subsections (there was some survey somewhere), so if I were you I wouldn't retake.

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  • 1 month later...

I wrote the MCAT for the first time in August, and I scored a 31 total (PS/VR/BS = 8/12/11). I'm trying to decide if I should rewrite or not as a result of the stupid 8 I got in PS, which is obviously below cut-offs at most schools. However, I'm worried that my VR score will decrease if I rewrite, as a 12 is higher than I ever received on practice tests.

 

My 1st med school choice is Western (I have SWOMEN status) so the 8 in PS doesn't matter.

 

I pretty much need to decide now whether or not to rewrite next summer (I'll only have 2 months to study), since I don't want to have to write the 2015 MCAT.

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IIRC, the 8 may flag you for Toronto but won't count you out completely if the rest of your app is good. Ottawa doesn't care. Western and Mac will love your VR, and Queen's doesn't really say what they want but I've seen people get in with one 8 in a science section. Isn't it optional to include the MCAT for McGill?

 

 

I bet with the 12 VR you have a good shot at Mac and with that and SWOMEN status, your chances at UWO are good too. Might be worth it to book for next summer with the assumption you can cancel if you get in, but I'd be inclined to err on the side of not risking the VR score and just keeping what you have.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Took my test this summer: 12 PS, 10 VR, 12 BS

Pretty happy with physics and bio. Western was my first choice, but I only got an 11 once on any of my practice tests; average was around 9.

I'm open to going anywhere in Ontario, but is that 10 going to hinder me at places like Mac or Toronto? I've been told 34 is solid but the 10 keeps nagging at me.

 

Thanks for your help!

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Took my test this summer: 12 PS, 10 VR, 12 BS

Pretty happy with physics and bio. Western was my first choice, but I only got an 11 once on any of my practice tests; average was around 9.

I'm open to going anywhere in Ontario, but is that 10 going to hinder me at places like Mac or Toronto? I've been told 34 is solid but the 10 keeps nagging at me.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

That 10-11 VR jump is a big one. Personally I'd keep it just because hitting that 11 is, in my opinion, a pretty hard one and quite luck based depending on your mood/attitude for the day. I got an 11 on my VR after getting 11 on nearly every practice test except a few where I got 9-10 but I honestly would not have rewritten had I got a 10.

 

Also, I think dropping from 10 to 9 is far worse of a drop than going 10 to 11 is an increase if that makes any sense. The 10 shouldn't hurt you too much at Mac assuming you have a good GPA to make up for it and AFAIK, Toronto doesn't care about your MCAT as long as it's above their cutoff.

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  • 2 weeks later...
That 10-11 VR jump is a big one. Personally I'd keep it just because hitting that 11 is, in my opinion, a pretty hard one and quite luck based depending on your mood/attitude for the day. I got an 11 on my VR after getting 11 on nearly every practice test except a few where I got 9-10 but I honestly would not have rewritten had I got a 10.

 

Also, I think dropping from 10 to 9 is far worse of a drop than going 10 to 11 is an increase if that makes any sense. The 10 shouldn't hurt you too much at Mac assuming you have a good GPA to make up for it and AFAIK, Toronto doesn't care about your MCAT as long as it's above their cutoff.

 

Yeah I honestly thought my VR could have easily been a 9 that day. Kinda just winged it and hoped for the best.

I appreciate your advice though, thanks!

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With the slots for the summer MCAT opening up soon I was wondering whether Universities look at your most recent MCAT, or your best MCAT? I got a 32 (12PS/10VR/10BS). I could definitely improve my BS score (Immunology major with a ton of general bio courses), but I am worried about a drop in my VR. The schools I'm looking at are Western, Queens, McMaster and Ottawa.

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With the slots for the summer MCAT opening up soon I was wondering whether Universities look at your most recent MCAT, or your best MCAT? I got a 32 (12PS/10VR/10BS). I could definitely improve my BS score (Immunology major with a ton of general bio courses), but I am worried about a drop in my VR. The schools I'm looking at are Western, Queens, McMaster and Ottawa.

 

Exact same scenario although I think I'm going to end up rewriting it. I think I can do a lot better than a 10 in BS vs. 1 point drop in Verbal. I zoned out by the time I got to Bio and the 2 genetics passages killed me.

 

Also, can't you pick which one to submit? If I end up getting 9 in VR on rewrite but higher than 32, that is going to U of A...and my 32 with 10 in VR will go to U of C.

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Exact same scenario although I think I'm going to end up rewriting it. I think I can do a lot better than a 10 in BS vs. 1 point drop in Verbal. I zoned out by the time I got to Bio and the 2 genetics passages killed me.

 

Also, can't you pick which one to submit? If I end up getting 9 in VR on rewrite but higher than 32, that is going to U of A...and my 32 with 10 in VR will go to U of C.

 

I believe for OMSAS (centralized Ontario med school application system) you choose to release the score from a specific test date to all the schools in Ontario. So if I retook it and got a 9PS/12VR/8BS or something I wouldn't be able to choose to release it to McMaster/Western only and release my other score to the other schools. I guess for medical schools outside of Ontario it would work, though.

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I believe for OMSAS (centralized Ontario med school application system) you choose to release the score from a specific test date to all the schools in Ontario. So if I retook it and got a 9PS/12VR/8BS or something I wouldn't be able to choose to release it to McMaster/Western only and release my other score to the other schools. I guess for medical schools outside of Ontario it would work, though.

 

Wow, really? That doesn't seem very fair. :confused:

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi, I was just wondering if I could get some advice on whether or not I should rewrite my MCAT. Wrote 28/08/2013 and received a 31 (10PS/10VR/11BS).

 

This was after I took a TPR course without chem, bio, orgo or physics at the undergrad level under my belt. I'm proud of my score; I worked really hard for it. However, seeing the invite stats for U of T this year makes me wary, especially considering Western's VR cutoff holding at 11 for what seems like an eternity and Mac's stats on avg VR score being pretty much the same.

 

I wonder if it's worth rewriting to try getting the verbal score up, or even just to buff up the science sections so that the sum score ends up giving me more IP and OOP options.

 

Ideally, I'd like to start prepping for verbal now and continue into the summer where I'll intensify the regimen and focus on hardcore PS and BS practice.

 

Thoughts and suggestions are very much welcomed.

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Hi, I was just wondering if I could get some advice on whether or not I should rewrite my MCAT. Wrote 28/08/2013 and received a 31 (10PS/10VR/11BS).

 

This was after I took a TPR course without chem, bio, orgo or physics at the undergrad level under my belt. I'm proud of my score; I worked really hard for it. However, seeing the invite stats for U of T this year makes me wary, especially considering Western's VR cutoff holding at 11 for what seems like an eternity and Mac's stats on avg VR score being pretty much the same.

 

I wonder if it's worth rewriting to try getting the verbal score up, or even just to buff up the science sections so that the sum score ends up giving me more IP and OOP options.

 

Ideally, I'd like to start prepping for verbal now and continue into the summer where I'll intensify the regimen and focus on hardcore PS and BS practice.

 

Thoughts and suggestions are very much welcomed.

 

What did your practice scores look like?

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What did your practice scores look like?

 

After June, I only scored 10s in VR and 11s in BS, so there were no surprises there. PS near test day depended more on my degree of comfort with the physics material being tested - if I knew my stuff, I'd score a 10 or 11, but if I felt lost, usually around 8-9. Luckily, my test this summer had an insane amount of gen chem, so it didn't matter much in the end.

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After June, I only scored 10s in VR and 11s in BS, so there were no surprises there. PS near test day depended more on my degree of comfort with the physics material being tested - if I knew my stuff, I'd score a 10 or 11, but if I felt lost, usually around 8-9. Luckily, my test this summer had an insane amount of gen chem, so it didn't matter much in the end.

 

It sounds like you scored exactly what you were expecting to get. I wouldn't recommend doing it again, but it's up to you.

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