ToxicMegacolon Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 So I'm scheduled to take an MCAT tomorrow and I'm not ready. I did a practice test and got 8,9,11 but that was in the comforts of my own room with snacks and coffee. I know I'm going to crap the bed. Do you guys think it's better to write an MCAT, get a bad score but get it graded anyway for the sake of practice or would it be better to just write and void it? I guess I'm just not sure if a bad score, although not counted officially, would still reflect poorly on your application. In retrospect, I should have just rescheduled it for May or maybe tried studying harder. I guess that's a moot point now. But let me know what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrenchToast Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 So I'm scheduled to take an MCAT tomorrow and I'm not ready. I did a practice test and got 8,9,11 but that was in the comforts of my own room with snacks and coffee. I know I'm going to crap the bed. Do you guys think it's better to write an MCAT, get a bad score but get it graded anyway for the sake of practice or would it be better to just write and void it? I guess I'm just not sure if a bad score, although not counted officially, would still reflect poorly on your application. In retrospect, I should have just rescheduled it for May or maybe tried studying harder. I guess that's a moot point now. But let me know what you think. Write it and see how it feels. You could get very lucky and be tested on topics that you're comfortable with. That's what happened to me on my test day. Were you scoring better than 8s and 9s on other practice tests? Also, maybe the comforts of your room with snacks and coffee were making you more relaxed and actually hindering your performance. However, if you find the test *feels* really, really bad, I would void it. 8s aren't okay for anywhere other than U of T (I think). I'm pretty sure (though not positive) that most Canadian schools will take either your best or most recent score (so if this is your first time and you screw up it's not a big deal), but there may very well be American schools that care about all your scores. I'm no expert, though. I just know that personally, if I'd done poorly on practice and I felt the test went badly, I would void. Edit: Oh pardon my rudeness. In my haste I forgot to wish you good luck. Best of luck tomorrow. Don't crap your bed. It's just a test, and you can always rewrite. And maybe you'll get lucky and it'll go okay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quantum Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 Canadian schools don't care how many times you write it. If you never plan on applying in the US, there's no reason not to write it and get it scored. Who knows, you could fluke out and score an 11+ on verbal which could be used for Mac or Calgary. But if there's even a remote chance you could end up applying in the US, write it and void. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LV16 Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 Canadian schools don't care how many times you write it. If you never plan on applying in the US, there's no reason not to write it and get it scored. Who knows, you could fluke out and score an 11+ on verbal which could be used for Mac or Calgary. But if there's even a remote chance you could end up applying in the US, write it and void. US schools don't mind if you take it multiple times either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esus Posted January 27, 2013 Report Share Posted January 27, 2013 US schools don't mind if you take it multiple times either. This is definitely not true, the vast majority look down heavily on retakes, especially if your score doesn't go significantly up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savac Posted January 27, 2013 Report Share Posted January 27, 2013 This is definitely not true, the vast majority look down heavily on retakes, especially if your score doesn't go significantly up. This is completely true from what I understand. If you retake the test, you need to have a large increase in your composite score, otherwise you have decreased your chances of being accepted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LV16 Posted January 27, 2013 Report Share Posted January 27, 2013 Right but if you had to retake it you should be working harder so you would end up having a higher score. I wouldn't consider it out of the picture. I know of many USA medical school students who took the MCAT more than once and got in. With an overall difference of a couple points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markov79 Posted January 27, 2013 Report Share Posted January 27, 2013 i don't really remember how it all works for releasing to american schools. there's an option to release it to AMCAS, right? so if you don't release your score, but wrote it once, how would they know? forgive my ignorance. i don't even remember what i put for the amcas option on the THx system, LOL... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrenchToast Posted January 27, 2013 Report Share Posted January 27, 2013 i don't really remember how it all works for releasing to american schools. there's an option to release it to AMCAS, right? so if you don't release your score, but wrote it once, how would they know? forgive my ignorance. i don't even remember what i put for the amcas option on the THx system, LOL... Unsure :S. I just checked what I thought seemed right, and I know that American schools (that I didn't even apply to) got my score and sent me mail, haha. So they definitely have access. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savac Posted January 27, 2013 Report Share Posted January 27, 2013 i don't really remember how it all works for releasing to american schools. there's an option to release it to AMCAS, right? so if you don't release your score, but wrote it once, how would they know? forgive my ignorance. i don't even remember what i put for the amcas option on the THx system, LOL... Your scores are automatically released to AMCAS. This would explain why FrenchToast was contacted a little while ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savac Posted January 27, 2013 Report Share Posted January 27, 2013 Right but if you had to retake it you should be working harder so you would end up having a higher score. I wouldn't consider it out of the picture. I know of many USA medical school students who took the MCAT more than once and got in. With an overall difference of a couple points. It's definitely not uncommon to see applicants that take the MCAT multiple times before getting accepted. The only issue is that adcom's expect a fair increase in your score if you retake the test (ie. more than increasing to 32 from 31). If you can increase your score by a few points, it's definitely worth it in my opinion. If you can only increase your score by 1-2 points, it's probably going to be detrimental. It's certainly something that should be seriously considered for anyone that is applying to US schools and thinking of retaking the test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markov79 Posted January 27, 2013 Report Share Posted January 27, 2013 interesting. thanks for clearing up the confusion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LV16 Posted January 27, 2013 Report Share Posted January 27, 2013 It's definitely not uncommon to see applicants that take the MCAT multiple times before getting accepted. The only issue is that adcom's expect a fair increase in your score if you retake the test (ie. more than increasing to 32 from 31). If you can increase your score by a few points, it's definitely worth it in my opinion. If you can only increase your score by 1-2 points, it's probably going to be detrimental. It's certainly something that should be seriously considered for anyone that is applying to US schools and thinking of retaking the test. Yup I definitely agree. Sometimes a couple points can make a difference, or maybe just rare cases. Like a psychological difference between seeing a 29 and a 31. But yeah I agree if you're taking it again it should be a serious consideration and you should make it well worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToxicMegacolon Posted January 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2013 Write it and see how it feels. You could get very lucky and be tested on topics that you're comfortable with. That's what happened to me on my test day. Were you scoring better than 8s and 9s on other practice tests? Also, maybe the comforts of your room with snacks and coffee were making you more relaxed and actually hindering your performance. However, if you find the test *feels* really, really bad, I would void it. 8s aren't okay for anywhere other than U of T (I think). I'm pretty sure (though not positive) that most Canadian schools will take either your best or most recent score (so if this is your first time and you screw up it's not a big deal), but there may very well be American schools that care about all your scores. I'm no expert, though. I just know that personally, if I'd done poorly on practice and I felt the test went badly, I would void. Edit: Oh pardon my rudeness. In my haste I forgot to wish you good luck. Best of luck tomorrow. Don't crap your bed. It's just a test, and you can always rewrite. And maybe you'll get lucky and it'll go okay! Thank you for the words of encouragement, FrenchToast. I took the exam today and elected to have it scored . Went better than I thought, VR was great! Physical was ok and bio... well let's just not talk about bio at the moment. I'm not particularly keen on American med schools (though always an option) but thanks to everyone else on their feedback as well. By the sounds of it, it seems like I made the right choice; I'll probably get like a 26 or 25. Definitely something to build on. I'm going to look to take in August with some actual quality studying this time ಠ_ಠ Side note: I really think this is a quality forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybird Posted January 28, 2013 Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 Your scores are automatically released to AMCAS. This would explain why FrenchToast was contacted a little while ago. Yeah this. Washington U in St Louis sent my parents a letter which I only got like four months later the joys of having 2 addresses... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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