Apply this cycle and risk being a reapplicant next cycle?

[Sharebear22]

Hi everyone. I recently took 1 AAMC practice test and it was a 498 (123/123/126/126). I’m on the AAMC financial assistance package so the only FLs I have are those. I know they’re super important and have been trying to not use them until the last month, but I don’t want to waste anymore with a score as low as mine. I obviously have content gaps so I’m worried. The test is on June 30th and it will be my first official MCAT exam. My question is should I take it and have it scored, or should I take it and void it?

I really want to apply this cycle as I was planning to only have 2 gap years and applying next cycle would mean 3. I’m URM, and my cGPA is 3.71 and sGPA 3.62 with 2,000+ hours of clinical experience, about 150 hours of volunteering, and a couple of leadership positions from undergrad. I am also planning to start clinical research later this summer.

Another question I had was would it be okay to score the exam, get around a 500, retake the MCAT in August and still submit for this cycle? I have the FAP so thankfully my application fees would be waived for 20 schools. Or should I void, just take 1 attempt in August/September and apply late/next year? And what are the disadvantages of being a reapplicant?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[GoSpursGo]

The main disadvantage of taking the MCAT when you know you’re heading for a bad score is that score is going to be on your transcript forever. I think most schools will ignore the bad score, but some may average them. It’s just not ideal to get a bad score on your transcript if you can avoid it.

I don’t think there is a major problem with being a reapplicant as long as you address the problem that led you to not getting accepted, and it’s free for you. The main problem I would see is that you’re going to waste a bunch of hours on essays and secondaries and such when you’re chances of admission are essentially zero, when you could have put that time and effort into studying for the MCAT.

And that seems to be the underlying issue—whatever you are doing now to prepare for the MCAT isn’t working. Not sure if it comes from a lack of time you’re dedicating, or if there is something else that needs to be addressed, but this is the real question you need to ask. Not “can I apply even though it’s a bad idea.”

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Agree. It’s less the stigma of being a reapplicant and more you don’t want to have a negative mark against you esp. since some schools avg across attempts

 

[eigen]

I really want to apply this cycle as I was planning to only have 2 gap years and applying next cycle would mean 3.

You've gotten some good advice on the other parts of your question, but I just want to pull out this reasoning and suggest it's not a great approach. Your goal should be to put together a strong application and be successful, not to do it in a set period of time.

I've watched a lot of students struggle because they had notions about when they would apply, how many gap years, etc. and stuck to it despite compelling reasons to change their plans.

FWIW, I've been hearing more reports than usual of students getting much lower scores this Spring relative to their AAMC practice exam scores than usual. I would not recommend any of my students go into the exam with a practice score below 500, I don't think.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

You've gotten some good advice on the other parts of your question, but I just want to pull out this reasoning and suggest it's not a great approach. Your goal should be to put together a strong application and be successful, not to do it in a set period of time.

I've watched a lot of students struggle because they had notions about when they would apply, how many gap years, etc. and stuck to it despite compelling reasons to change their plans.

FWIW, I've been hearing more reports than usual of students getting much lower scores this Spring relative to their AAMC practice exam scores than usual. I would not recommend any of my students go into the exam with a practice score below 500, I don't think.

Do you think that aamc may be recalibrating to stop score creep?

 

[eigen]

Do you think that aamc may be recalibrating to stop score creep?

I don’t know. Its possible, but wide spread enough that I’m wondering if the composition is just really different? Usually the AAMC tests are a pretty good estimate. Or at least better than this?

 

[Sharebear22]

Thank you all for taking the time to respond to my post, I really appreciate your feedback. I will take my upcoming exam as another practice test and void it at the end. I've been inconsistently studying for about a month largely due to my testing anxiety and other pressures. I feel like sitting at my exam will help me get used to the setting so that when I take it later I will feel more confident.

 

[Goro]

Thank you all for taking the time to respond to my post, I really appreciate your feedback. I will take my upcoming exam as another practice test and void it at the end. I've been inconsistently studying for about a month largely due to my testing anxiety and other pressures. I feel like sitting at my exam will help me get used to the setting so that when I take it later I will feel more confident.

If you have test taking anxiety, you have to take care of that now.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Do you think that aamc may be recalibrating to stop score creep?

It is standard practice for all standardized exams to recalibrate their scales according to the data every few years. Hence the widespread sense of dread when board exams are recalibrated.

 

[KnightDoc]

It is standard practice for all standardized exams to recalibrate their scales according to the data every few years. Hence the widespread sense of dread when board exams are recalibrated.

Except the MCAT. That's why percentiles have been creeping up since the test was introduced in 2015, as more and better material has become available to prepare for it. A 520 means exactly the same as it did in 2015, in terms of how many questions were answered correctly, adjusted for the difficulty of the questions on any particular form of the exam, but not for how many people hit it each test date or year. When this test is recalibrated, we'll know because it will be a new version of the test, like when they revamped it in 2015.

In the meantime, so-called score creep is really not a problem, because there is still a healthy distribution of scores at the top. The fact that the 50%-ile went from 500 to 502 between 2015 and 2022 doesn't mean anything to adcoms, because they can just set their screens accordingly. When 500 becomes the 30%-ile and 520 the 80%-ile, then we can start speculating about a recalibration. Until then, the fact that, since 2019, a 520 went from 98 to 97, or a 515 from 92 to 90, is meaningless in the scheme of things and is not going to cause them to rescale the test or toss it and start over.

Only on SDN, where people sweat the difference between a 3.69 and 3.71 GPA, is this even a topic of speculation. JMHO.