should I retake the MCAT?

[Applicant]

I attend the University of Oklahoma and I scored a 32R on the August 2003 MCAT: 9PS, 11V, 12BS. I have a 3.92 GPA and a 3.82 science GPA (4.0 in physical science courses). I am an economics major with chemistry and zoology minors. I have some pretty good medical experience- I volunteered at a hospital in rural Thailand for a month, in an ER in the U.S. for a year, and I’ve shadowed a variety of doctors. I’ve also attended school in Moscow, Russia, done volunteer work there, and I’ve volunteered at a nursing home. I have been a research assistant for a year in a lab studying genetic changes in flies.

I am also part Native American (I’m a member of the Shawnee tribe) but mostly white, so I don’t know if that is a factor.

I want to apply this summer to Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York University, Vanderbilt, UCLA- Geffen, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard. Mt. Sinai being my top choice. I’m very interested in geriatrics and Mt. Sinai, UCLA, Johns Hopkins, and Harvard seem to have good programs.

The one thing I’m unsure about is if I should retake the MCAT. I know I could do better but I also know I could do worse. Can I be accepted at these universities (especially Mt. Sinai) without retaking? Will my 9 in PS on the MCAT hurt me?

[thymol_blue]

The short answer is: No
The more elaborate answer is: You are certainly competitive for all of the schools you have mentioned. Keep in mind that while you can go up, you can also go down if you retake. Not to mention the fact that retaking is only worth it if you can get 3 points higher or more. Also, I don’t undertand your fixation on Mt. Sinai. It’s a very middle-of-the-pack medical school. There are also having a lot of financial problems right now. You’ll likely get into better schools. You also seem to have an imcomplete understanding of how one becomes a geriatric specialist. Geriatric medicine is a fellowship that you would complete only after a 3 year family practice or internal medicine residency, which itself is done after your 4 years of med school. The fact that a given med school does or does not have a strong geriatrics program is at this point in your career, almost irrelavant — you are so far away from that decision right now. Just apply; you’ll do fine.

[Applicant]

Thank you very very much for responding. I appreciate the advice a great deal!

[Mel2416]

I got a 37L on my MCAT. I was wondering if I should retake them because my writing sample score was so low. I have taken many english classes where I was praised by my professors on my writing abilities. I also was scoring in the 41-43 range on all the practice tests that I took so I doubt my score will go down.

How much will medical schools be looking at the WS score as opposed to VR (11) and the essays that I write in the applications?

[twu]

Most AdComs won’t pay any particular attention to the Writing Sample score. An “L,” which falls below the national average, is a barely noticeable blip on your otherwise great MCAT score of 37. The Verbal Reasoning score of 11 will let the AdComs know that you have a good command of the English language.

I would NOT re-take the MCAT on the basis of the Writing Sample score.

Good luck.

Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885

[Author]

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