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I was going to go with the May 26 date, but I could use a little more time. I started content review a few weeks ago, and I'm going to take a "diagnostic" in a few weeks to see where I stand.

So, who's with me?
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bossonthisboat said:
I'm just going to preface by saying that studying for 470 hours is just insane. Either youre lying or you have no life. Go outside once in a while. I legitimately studied for about a month prior to the test while taking a class during summer and probably snuck in around 2 hours during that month each day. The week before the exam I got in about 4-5 hours each day but no more than that. Unless you are going for a 39 then by all means put in hundreds of hours but this exam is not that important to waste your life away.

I never broke even got a 30 on any practice exams (AAMC #3 - 29, AAMC #7 -29, AAMC #11 - 28) and I got a 7 on verbal the week before I was to take the real thing. I was freaking out because I just wanted anywhere from a 30 and up. So for a week before, I didn't read any verbal sections which was a big help because my mind was fresh for the real thing. Taking the exam at 2 pm is very easy on the brain too.

Practices: 28-29
Expected: 28
Actual: 10 PS, 10 VR, 11 BS, 31R
Study habits: Sane
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nope, that was legit 470 hours of studying. it was spread out over nearly 6 months so it wasn't terrible. i needed to study that much because I hadn't taken GChem since HS 6 years ago and I had to relearn all of orgo which I completely forgot. Also, I just wanted to make sure I overstudied and would be happy with the score I got rather than get a score I wasn't happy with and have to worry about studying again and retesting late in the game.

good for you that you got a very respectable score after a month of studying
 
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medbuster said:
33L (14 PS/6 VR/ 13 BS)
2pmer

Does anyone know if any school accepts 6 in VR and a horrible L in writing?
I'm non-trad (EE) and non native speaker. 3.9sGPA (I havent completed all the req though) 3.8cGPA.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

That 6 will get you screened out at a lot of schools. Generally, I would say that writing doesn't matter, but an L + a 6 in VR does raise a lost of questions about your ability to communicate in English.
 
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light warrior said:
I am planning to retake but don't know if it will be worth it to retake in September for this application cycle...will an October score release be too late?
I have already received and submitted some secondaries :(
Click to expand...

I'm wondering the same thing! Got a 26R (9 VR/ 8 PS/ 9 BS) and I'm going to re-take.
 
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Update: screw it again. I am NOT retaking my 12P/7V/10B (29N). I figure its best to try to sneak in this year with my strong peripherals and early application. If I don't get in, I will have plenty of time during my gap year to retake the MCAT.
 
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Hi all,

I took the 8 am, got a 26Q. Definitely lower than I did on all of my practice tests (I was averaging at a 30), and I'm, of course, unhappy with it. My scores were: 9/8/9.

I was debating a September retake, but think it might be better to just wait until January, take a prep course beforehand (I only had about 5 weeks of full fledged studying b/c I work full time and go to night school full time). But my question is, what happens to my recommendation letters, can I just reuse them? Also, suppose I do aim for a September one, do awful again, and take it in January, would that look horrible?

I'm getting married in the spring, which is the reason for the rush to get it done in January. I just want the dang thing over with!
 
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I had a panicky conversation with my advisor about this today. I think it really depends on your personal circumstances. The question is whether the score improvement (if any) when scores are released in October will outweigh any advantage you get by having your application reviewed early in the process, assuming you're on target to get things in early. You might go up a couple points, but there may not be many interview spots left. Then again, you may not even get an interview with your scores depending on the rest of the application.

If you're not applying this cycle, I would wait and make sure you're really ready to take it again, prep etc. If you're applying next year, January or even next spring is well ahead of schedule.

Good luck DocXYZ, you and me both!
 
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R1MD said:
I had a panicky conversation with my advisor about this today. I think it really depends on your personal circumstances. The question is whether the score improvement (if any) when scores are released in October will outweigh any advantage you get by having your application reviewed early in the process, assuming you're on target to get things in early. You might go up a couple points, but there may not be many interview spots left. Then again, you may not even get an interview with your scores depending on the rest of the application.

I'm in the same boat though!
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was thinking to myself for the last couple hours. I am on schedule to be early, and quite frankly, most of my non-MCAT application is unique and probably above average. I just hope they don't screen me out completely because of my 7. Of course, I am taking a close look at MSAR in order to figure out more feasible schools to apply to.
 
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Agreed, feel free to PM if you want.

I've also toyed with the idea of just getting some cash at the ATM and lighting it on fire in the backyard tonight. If thats what I'm doing, I might as well enjoy the show! :D
 
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nola2016 said:
How often do they mess up the grading though?

I averaged a 11-12 on VR on all my AAMCs and I got a 5 on VR today, which totally blows since the other scores are A LOT higher.

I took the 2pm test also.
Click to expand...

Same boat as you. 5 in VR. Never scored that low in all my practice tests. I got a 13 in VR in my last practice. I may have just been totally psyched after the PS section. I couldn't recall any of the VR passages after the test so maybe I zoned out. I'm still going to request a re-score.
 
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I forgot to post my practice scores, here are mine straight from my spreadsheet:

4R 10 8 9 27 First Test (Warmup, not in average)
5R 13 11 13 37 Weeknight
6R 12 11 12 35 Saturday
7 10 10 10 30 Weeknight (Second Test)
8 12 10 10 32 While Traveling
9 14 10 13 37 Saturday
10 12 11 11 34 Weeknight
11 11 11 10 32 Sunday (hungover)

Real: 36S

These were done in a week and a half leading up to the test. All tests but 10 and 11 were old 77/65/77 tests. Never practiced writing.
 
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helpdoc111 said:
Hi all,

I took the 8 am, got a 26Q. Definitely lower than I did on all of my practice tests (I was averaging at a 30), and I'm, of course, unhappy with it. My scores were: 9/8/9.

I was debating a September retake, but think it might be better to just wait until January, take a prep course beforehand (I only had about 5 weeks of full fledged studying b/c I work full time and go to night school full time). But my question is, what happens to my recommendation letters, can I just reuse them? Also, suppose I do aim for a September one, do awful again, and take it in January, would that look horrible?

I'm getting married in the spring, which is the reason for the rush to get it done in January. I just want the dang thing over with!
Click to expand...

Any love?
 
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Nah, I no longer have any faith in the integrity of this test. I took it last year, went into panic mode, and honest to God guessed on approx. 50% of the PS questions and 70% of the BS questions. I got a PS score of 11, and a BS score of 8. I retook it this year and felt like I absolutely demolished it. I was confident on about 90% of the questions in both of those sections, and narrowed down 10% of the questions to 2 answers. What did I get? An 8 and an 8. This **** makes no sense.

Like, I would literally stake $5000000 that they either scored it incorrectly or ****ed up the data analysis for the curve. This test is some ol' BS -- and **** pardoning the pun.

Mad as a mother******...
 
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I got a 10 phys 8 VR 10 bio Writing Q. I am a Florida resident and I am wondering should I retake? I think I will probably repeat the same scores on science if I retake but VR is always a crap shoot...will those two points on verbal really make or break me? or can I squeak into one of these schools. Also, I am applying as disadvantaged. Does that matter?
 
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dbo8844 said:
I got a 10 phys 8 VR 10 bio Writing Q. I am a Florida resident and I am wondering should I retake? I think I will probably repeat the same scores on science if I retake but VR is always a crap shoot...will those two points on verbal really make or break me? or can I squeak into one of these schools. Also, I am applying as disadvantaged. Does that matter?
Click to expand...

if you think you'll get around the same scores in the sciences, then honestly, its not worth retaking. Like you said, VR is a crapshoot, you may end up getting a lower score in VR than your current score.
If you have a decent GPA and EC's I wouldn't retake...
 
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Hi all, I took the 8am test.

The first time I took the exam was last summer and I got a

31 O (12ps, 10 bs, 9vr).

I knew I could do better so I took it last month and got the following:

30 O (13ps, 11bs, 6vr)..I still can't believe I got a 6 in vr..:(

My cGPA is a 3.8 in Chemical Engineering and I have pretty strong ECs.
I am currently a senior and applying to medical schools right now. So I already invested a ton of money into this whole process.

Do I still have a shot in getting into a medical school with that 6?
 
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medbuster said:
33L (14 PS/6 VR/ 13 BS)
2pmer

Does anyone know if any school accepts 6 in VR and a horrible L in writing?
I'm non-trad (EE) and non native speaker. 3.9sGPA (I havent completed all the req though) 3.8cGPA.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Not to give over arching advice but I know most American Medical schools like to see that you has a certain familiarity with the English language. I'd talk to a pre-med adviser but I think most schools would sort out your application because of it.
 
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I have a question if someone could answer it.

I wanted to submit my application even with a 5 in Verbal. The thing I was going to do was send it in just so the schools have the stuff, take it again september, but also I would get a rescore on the MCAT just incase something went wrong since my scores were double figures in the other two sections, and I got a Q in writing.

Is that a bad idea?
 
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whoohoo said:
Hi all, I took the 8am test.

The first time I took the exam was last summer and I got a

31 O (12ps, 10 bs, 9vr).

I knew I could do better so I took it last month and got the following:

30 O (13ps, 11bs, 6vr)..I still can't believe I got a 6 in vr..:(

My cGPA is a 3.8 in Chemical Engineering and I have pretty strong ECs.
I am currently a senior and applying to medical schools right now. So I already invested a ton of money into this whole process.

Do I still have a shot in getting into a medical school with that 6?
Click to expand...

You're seriously the third person I've seen on this thread who did bad on verbal in a way thats completely unbalanced in comparison to their other scores. Did you find the verbal hard? If you didnt feel it was hard, you might want to get a rescore.
 
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Since so many of us got a verbal score that was so low compared to our practice exams/previous exams, why don't we all call the MCAT people tomorrow and let them know? I know they will tell every person individually to rescore, but if they receive a big # of phone calls about it, then maybe it would prompt them to re-check the scores.
 
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As strange as it seems, I just dont understand how in the world a CBT could be misscored. On paper, sure, but it's on a computer. Go take some verbal passages and see how you do. Verbal is so finicky that your performance can be all over the place.
 
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And everyone mentioning the difficulty of the 8 AM VR section... I thought it was the same as the AAMCs... It has always been my worst subject, and I consistently scored 10s and 11s on every single AAMC test. I got a 13 on the real thing...
 
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PS 11
VR 10
BS 11
WS O

32O

AAMC Average ~ 30.14

Disappointed about the O and was hoping to do a little better based on the work I put into it, but at least I don't feel the need to take it again.... right now anyway.

Any opinions on the impact the O might have would be appreciated.

Thank you to all who posted.
 
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AZFutureDoc said:
As strange as it seems, I just dont understand how in the world a CBT could be misscored. On paper, sure, but it's on a computer. Go take some verbal passages and see how you do. Verbal is so finicky that your performance can be all over the place.
Click to expand...


It's true, but if my score has been consistent over all the AAMC practice exams and EK 101, I don't see how I can possibly get 3 scaled points lower than my consistent practice scores. I didn't think the verbal was hard, and I wasn't overly stressed during the test either. If so many of us are in the same boat, I don't see why not try.
 
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Obviously, I think there is a good chance that many of the people with weird distributions which include a low VR actually earned the score that was reported. However, I think there is a possibility that there could have been multiple VR sections per administration (I know there were multiple BS sections during my 1/29 administration), and a computer error may have affected one section. Also, experimental passages could have differed for different examinees in the same administration. This is all speculation, of course. I wouldn't have been curious if it was just one or two people, but now that I see over a dozen people with lopsided distributions, I'm starting to suspect something might have happened.

Edit: I thought the verbal wasn't very challenging as well.
 
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nola2016 said:
I have a question if someone could answer it.

I wanted to submit my application even with a 5 in Verbal. The thing I was going to do was send it in just so the schools have the stuff, take it again september, but also I would get a rescore on the MCAT just incase something went wrong since my scores were double figures in the other two sections, and I got a Q in writing.

Is that a bad idea?
Click to expand...

You should make sure you indicate that you intend to take it again. If your other aspects are strong enough they may wait to give you an interview but with a 5 I feel like most would sort out the application. If you feel prepared I would take it earlier. If not wait until next year, it's a lot of money to waist. (I got a 30Q last time and didn't get in)
 
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hi guys so I got a 23Q and my breakdown was PS 4 VR 8 BS 11. Now obviously I am doing a retake in September but I see many of you asking for a re-grading. What I want to know is that what are the chances that machine made a mistake and if you know anyone that has had a change of score. In all my practice test I do admit that my weakest section was ps but I never got lower than a 7 on any of the tests so I was kind of hoping to be around that number in the actual MCAT. Please let me know if any of you any opinions on rescoring the mcat and any suggestions are welcome
 
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salim271 said:
You're seriously the third person I've seen on this thread who did bad on verbal in a way thats completely unbalanced in comparison to their other scores. Did you find the verbal hard? If you didnt feel it was hard, you might want to get a rescore.
Click to expand...

I found it relatively consistent with my practice exams which averaged 9-10.

It is what it is...
 
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FromTheCoast said:
PS 11
VR 10
BS 11
WS O

32O

AAMC Average ~ 30.14

Disappointed about the O and was hoping to do a little better based on the work I put into it, but at least I don't feel the need to take it again.... right now anyway.

Any opinions on the impact the O might have would be appreciated.

Thank you to all who posted.
Click to expand...

Here's a short list of things that you should care about more than an O in writing:

(1) What you're having tomorrow for breakfast
(2) What you're having tomorrow for lunch
(3) What you're having tomorrow for dinner
(4) What color underwear you'll wear.
(5) Whether or not you should hit the snooze button in the morning.
(6) Whether Oprah made a mistake by cancelling her daytime talk show for in favor of a new TV network.

Don't worry about writing. As long as you don't make a J or something, you're fine. :laugh:
 
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ppfizenm said:
You should make sure you indicate that you intend to take it again. If your other aspects are strong enough they may wait to give you an interview but with a 5 I feel like most would sort out the application. If you feel prepared I would take it earlier. If not wait until next year, it's a lot of money to waist. (I got a 30Q last time and didn't get in)
Click to expand...

If there is a way, how do I edit my already submitted primary app to include that I'm retaking it?
I'm definitely making a call about VR tomorrow.
 
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Whatyousay said:
Here's a short list of things that you should care about more than an O in writing:

(1) What you're having tomorrow for breakfast
(2) What you're having tomorrow for lunch
(3) What you're having tomorrow for dinner
(4) What color underwear you'll wear.
(5) Whether or not you should hit the snooze button in the morning.
(6) Whether Oprah made a mistake by cancelling her daytime talk show for in favor of a new TV network.

Don't worry about writing. As long as you don't make a J or something, you're fine. :laugh:
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm sure I've read it plenty of times that it's no big deal, but somehow it sounds more reassuring when someone is talking about your particular O.
 
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jacol3650 said:
If there is a way, how do I edit my already submitted primary app to include that I'm retaking it?
I'm definitely making a call about VR tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Good, let us know what happens.

I'm starting to think that there could have been multiple versions of the VR section, whether it was the order in which the passages were arranged or simply different passages. That could explain why it's only happening to some of us.

Or maybe we all just suck at verbal...lol.
 
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was scoring 9 or 10 on practice but got a 7 on the real thing on verbal. only score that was a lot lower than anticipated. would also like to know about this. i'm kinda bummed its so low.
 
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Did any of you guys who scored 32+ studied the day before?

I know many people advice not to study - but I still have my doubts.
 
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I honestly think something might be wrong. I scored an average of 11-12 on every AAMC test, and the lowest I dipped was a 9? I got a 5 on the real thing, I wasn't stressed either, and I felt somewhat confident I could pull an 8, but I mean a 5? really? Did i do THAT bad I got a 5. like wtf man @_@
 
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