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[Aspiring-Doctor]

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[DrOtter]

14 minutes ago, Aspiring-Doctor said:

Hi all, 

I would love some honest opinions before I could decide if I am going to retake my MCAT. 

I scored a 123 in CARS last year, and after 3 months of full time preparation, I managed to get a 512 (129,124,129,130) this time with a 124 in CARS. I am feeling super internally conflicted right now. I feel lucky that I finally met the cutoff for UBC but also kinda disappointed that I only got a 124, and worried about how UBC is going to interpret such an unbalanced score. I also wanna apply to other schools in Canada, and possibly in the US. Shall I retake? 

 

Thank you so very much!

 

Hi there. The decision on whether to retake would rest on how well you have been scoring in the official AAMC practice tests? Is 124 significantly below your average practice scores or is it in line with them? As you may have already known, CARS is extremely hard to improve upon within a short amount of time since I can't exactly study for it and reading skill takes a long time to build up.

So if that is the case, I would suggest you apply to every school you're eligible for (past cut-offs for MCAT and GPA, prereqs etc) both in the US and here in Canada and let chance and luck take its course. Another thing to consider is that US schools may be a bit suspicious of multiple MCAT retakes so only take it if you know you can make significant improvements. Your overall MCAT is very competitive in the US and they don't seem to scrutinize the CARS score on its own as much. It's a COVID year so your chances at Canadian schools might be a lot different than what you're expecting yourself.

I'd say just apply with the scores you have and see how that plays out (again, unless your CARS score is significant lower than your practice tests).

Good luck!

[Aspiring-Doctor]

On 7/21/2020 at 9:04 AM, DrOtter said:

[DrOtter]

5 minutes ago, Aspiring-Doctor said:

My CARS average on my FL was 125, and 130, 131 for C/P  and B/B. Overall I scored 2 points lower than my fl average  

 

 

 

right. then your CARS score is within the error margin and I don't think retaking it before the deadline this year will result in significant improvement. Very few applications out there are perfect (i.e. highly competitive on all fronts). I hope UBC will also assess your MCAT scores holistically

[Fast_Layne]

I think if you have time to spend and you think you can improve your score, then go for it! Any improvement might be helpful. However, I understand if you maybe want to hold off on that and see if you can get into any schools this year first.

I'm not sure if UBC or other schools look at the entire score or if they weigh specific sections more than others. I don't think they publish outright how they use MCAT scores in the evaluation, other than saying it's competitive (i.e. the higher the score, the better).

[oodlesofnoodles]

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[Excel-erate Your Breath]

18 minutes ago, scott said:

I have not seen it published that they even view it competitively - have you seen this somewhere? Unless you have seen somewhere that they score it competitively, is equally possible that the higher MCAT scores of accepted applicants than rejected applicants just demonstrates a correlation of MCAT with GPA. 

Echoing this sentiment - as I mentioned in this thread below, I heard that the MCAT is just a tiebreaker. If your TFR is high enough you can get in without worrying about that 124 CARS. "Officially," though, UBC has said "we don't reveal how we use MCAT scores sorry guys" or something of that nature in an admission blog post comment before.

 

[Fast_Layne]

52 minutes ago, scott said:

I have not seen it published that they even view it competitively - have you seen this somewhere? Unless you have seen somewhere that they score it competitively, is equally possible that the higher MCAT scores of accepted applicants than rejected applicants just demonstrates a correlation of MCAT with GPA. 

 

31 minutes ago, shubeydubeydoo said:

Echoing this sentiment - as I mentioned in this thread below, I heard that the MCAT is just a tiebreaker. If your TFR is high enough you can get in without worrying about that 124 CARS. "Officially," though, UBC has said "we don't reveal how we use MCAT scores sorry guys" or something of that nature in an admission blog post comment before.

The MCAT is viewed competitively according to the FAQ on the admissions website: https://mdprogram.med.ubc.ca/admissions/frequently-asked-questions/

The question is "How is the MCAT used?" and the answer is "Pre-interview, as long as score and date requirements are met, the MCAT is not a factor in determining who is invited to interview. Post-interview, MCAT scores are evaluated, so higher scores are better. Further information on the role MCAT plays is confidential."