[HELP] Considering Retaking after Scoring 36!

[unbalanced]

Hi Everyone, I scored 36R, which is a great score.

However my breakdown was 14/14/8 (VR). I'm wondering what you all think as to whether I should retake the test so I can bump up my VR score (at the expense of possibly dropping in the other sections). I was averaging 10+ on my tests prior to taking the test, I really don't know what happened the day of the test but I'd like to gather as many opinions as possible.

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[muhali3]

I wouldn't.

The composite score is much more important than the subsection scores. And 8 is above the cut-off for pretty much all schools, unless you're in Canada.

I got a low verbal score as well (14/9/13) even though I was scoring 10s/11s on the practice tests. But I'll just take it because it would look much much worse to retake and get a lower overall score, even if the verbal score was higher.

 

[BurntFlower]

Bad idea.

 

[unbalanced]

I wouldn't.

The composite score is much more important than the subsection scores. And 8 is above the cut-off for pretty much all schools, unless you're in Canada.

I got a low verbal score as well (14/9/13) even though I was scoring 10s/11s on the practice tests. But I'll just take it because it would look much much worse to retake and get a lower overall score, even if the verbal score was higher.

I'll add that I'm from the US and not planning on applying to any Canadian schools. That said, what do you mean by "pretty much all schools"? Are there schools in the top 20, for instance, that would instantly throw out my application because I scored 8 on VR (like a hard filter)?

 

[muhali3]

No, I don't think there are any schools that have cut-offs above 8. I'm just saying "pretty much all" because I'm not 100% sure and am protecting myself from potential flaming.

 

[MShopes]

Actually SUNY downstate medical school requires 9 or above in verbal to be considered for review. The actually require just 9 or above in every section not just verbal.
But if I was you, I would NEVER take it again. Dude, 14 in each of the science sections, that's amazing!!!!!! I would never risk retaking.

 

[m0biusace]

Statistically, once you reach the subscore of 9 in verbal, you are more likely to score the same or worse on your retake than better.
https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/admissionsadvisors/retester/85356/retester_retestvr.html

For subscores of 14 in BS...heh, not a single person retained their score.
https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/admissionsadvisors/retester/85358/retester_retestbs.html

That doesnt bode well for any of your subscores.

Keep your score.

 

[notbobtrustme]

a 36 is a great score. The chances of you hitting it again is much less than the chances of doing better.

 

[unbalanced]

I understand that most of you are saying that I am statistically very unlikely to keep my science scores. Suppose I was to retest and score 13-12-10 for a composite of 35. Have I now helped myself or hurt myself?

 

[hookgrip]

I understand that most of you are saying that I am statistically very unlikely to keep my science scores. Suppose I was to retest and score 13-12-10 for a composite of 35. Have I now helped myself or hurt myself?

FYI, if you really put yourself to it and prepare hard for a retake, you CAN do better.

I have a friend who scored a 36 on his first take, but he was not satisfied with that score because he was aiming for the top 5 schools in the US (Harvard Med, more specifically). So he spent a few more months preparing, retook it, and came out with 40.

So, is it possible to best a 36 on a retake? Yes. Will it be easy? No.

 

[unbalanced]

I see your point, but is it worth putting the time in to it when I have no guarantee of improving, and especially when I can be doing other things?

 

[notbobtrustme]

I understand that most of you are saying that I am statistically very unlikely to keep my science scores. Suppose I was to retest and score 13-12-10 for a composite of 35. Have I now helped myself or hurt myself?

Composite matters as much or more than your individual scores. Balance is needed, but in your case, you are still placing into the 99th percentile of all test takers. It's more of a concern when you have scores like 12/6/12. That's a 30, which is average among matriculatants, but the distribution sucks. A 14/8/14 is impressive despite the slight unevenness of it.

 

[unbalanced]

So far most everyone I've spoken to, both here and in person, have recommended I move forward and work on other parts of my application. Looking to get a few more opinions and viewpoints before I make a final decision on this.

 

[benzonase]

So far most everyone I've spoken to, both here and in person, have recommended I move forward and work on other parts of my application. Looking to get a few more opinions and viewpoints before I make a final decision on this.

Dont retake. If you retake and do worse it will make you look bad, plus some schools average scores if you have multiple so unless you do really better it wont make a difference at all.

Be happy, get good rec letters and write a good PS ;p

 

[xgotxxricex]

a

 

[ZtetNb]

Not matter how high you think the odds are that you could score 36+ again, I wouldn't recommend you retake. Retaking would require that you either reinvest time to prep, or risk being insufficiently prepared for your second MCAT. Further, many things could go wrong on the retake, such as a disruptive environment, emphasis on topics you are weak on, etc. A near optimal scenario would be that you retake and score, say, a 40 with the only change being VR 8->12, but even if this were to occur, I don't think it would improve your chances significantly, so it's probably not worth the risk.

 

[deep122]

Don't retake. You're in the 97th percentile. An 8 is fine. Congratulations on your score.