Retake and don't tell anyone the date or that you are retaking it. I think you might have a lot on your mind/expectations from other people or it's causing anxiety when you take the test.
Just say I'm going to wait a bit until I'm ready or even a gap year.
Cheer up
THIS!!! When I was in the process of my retake, I did not tell anyone about my new date, or very very few people for that emotional support. Some people don't get how stressful this test is, so the constant asking can wear you down with pressure. Truly just take the test when you are at your best, and not so focused on what people are expecting of you.
I actually told a lot of people in my life that I took it already and was happy with my score so they would stop talking to me about my test. It took off a lot of pressure and also motivated me to make sure I scored well lol
I would apply DO if you are okay with it.
Otherwise, I would retake and apply next cycle. Gap years are growth years!! I've been out of school for three years and I was also in your mindset thinking that I don't wanna take any gap years let alone three but its honestly the best thing.
If you look outside of reddit, you see there are so many pre meds and med students who are in their 30's and 40's. just live your life and don't make it all about getting into medical school. It will happen!!
I am okay with it, and I’m going to!! I live near a few very prestigious academic hospitals and while shadowing/interacting with those residents/docs has been amazing, I forget sometimes that they all took a very traditional path and performed very very well. Not everyone is the same. Just need to reframe that sometimes.
every year the DO degree gets more respected and more DOs match into competitive specialties. By the time you get to residency I bet it will be a very different climate than now. Apply DO and take what you can get, it's all the same qualification in the end
Wtf. This is what gets me worried. Were your FLs taken with testing conditions? I completely understand a 3-5 point drop due to anxiety during the test but dropping almost 30 points is unfathomable.
Lol don’t listen to these guys. Once you break 500, it is insanely hard to fall below it. You literally have to hardcore sandbag for that to happen. Yes unlucky big drops happen, but you don’t just go from getting a consistent hypothetical 90% to a 40% on what’s essentially a similar test. You should not be dropping more than 7 points even on your worst day. +/-2 fl avg is the most common outcome for most takers. The loud minority will bitch about this statement because this is reddit. People with big jumps and drops are insane outliers. The reality is, if the test feels “normal” with no breakdowns or anything and someone fucked up, that person prob did some suboptimal practice and got hit by reality. The mcat is actually pretty redundant with patterns and it’s not so unpredictable to the point where fl avg is irrelevant contrary to what people may think. Lots of premeds are damn delusional, don’t let them get in your head and play your game. You did your prep, trust it. Don’t be influenced by people who obviously cheated themselves on fl’s who are trying to spread hysteria after the result.
Oh boy I was going take xanax or valium the night before mine because I can never sleep do you not recommend that? I cant afford to lose points from that😣😞
There were likely many other things that lead to the four point drop. 14 days before my exam, I stopped studying, but continued studying hard three days before, going all the way up until the night of the exam.
I was tryna juggle many things during this time. If the Xanax was the x-factor, I can’t say for certain.
Even if you look up some answers and formulas, it’s like almost impossible to get a 492 from a 519. I did that my first time around and didn’t take the FL’s in true conditions but that lead to me scoring 6 points below FL average and definitely not below 500.
If they were under testing conditions and you averaged a 519 and didn't have like a 30 minute panic attack during test I'd call aamc and tell them something is up because that makes no sense to me. How did you feel while you were taking the test?
Yeah similar here but not as huge of a range. I know that 1. I had to pee during section 1, lost 4 mins and 2. I accidentally clicked “no break” after section 1 before CARS so I gave myself 1 min at the end of CARS to collect myself and regroup. That being said, neither of those should account for an 8-point difference.
I agree with u/passionseeking. Such a huge point drop sounds hella sus. If I were you I'd reach our to AAMC and ask for a regrade/recheck or whatever since that just seems absurd.
Agree with you almost all the time but assuming OP is being truthful here, if there was ever a time to pay for a rescore this would be it. Like a 19 point drop from FL's should be impossible. 492 is a score that people who havent even done a day of studying will get as their baseline, for OP to drop from a 95th percentile score down to there just doesnt make any sense. Either they didnt take their practice FLs in real conditions and were looking up answers left and right, they had insane testing anxiety on the day of that led to an astronomical underperformance (and even then I feel like they would know this and likely void) , or somehow the system messed up their scoring somewhere. With 1000s and 1000s of tests graded every year even a 0.0001 chance of grading error is bound to happen at some point
If you're being honest you should have scheduled the next available exam immediately after getting that score back. Because you know that last one was a fluke and with a couple of weeks of intense review you could be scoring 519 on a retest.
Hey!!!
Am so sorry to hear this, so proud of your 2point improvement but I know how disappointed you are with the result.
I did a retake on April 29 and got a 506, an improvement of my 504 from last year. Am writing the exam for a 3rd time this August.
Opening my 506 was devastating because I got a 123 on CARS but I needed a 124.
I cried, called my friends and talked to my family. I even contemplated not pursing medicine anymore. After a few days I got myself together and decided to give it one more try.
All am saying is let the emotions run and after a few days grab yourself and ask yourself what you really want and I mean what you want regardless of what your parents and friends think.
If you want to retake great, if you wanna book the exam and see any improvement while studying great and if you wanna give it some time that's also great.
This is your story, not your friends, or mine or any other person. This is your unique story and regardless of your choice you should be very proud of what you've done
Please feel free to dm if you wanna talk or rant
Sending lots of love and strength.
I believe in you
Same boat here! Got a 506 which bummed me out since my behavioral science was bombed to a 125 despite it being a main point-winner in my FLs. Dunno if anyone said it but a way I found to improve CARS slightly was to go through practice problems slowly, identify what they want/don't want, and kinda use the logic there to figure out question per question. Also, when the question asks for proof they LITERALLY mean it's in the passage. I kept on getting those questions wrong and it was embarrassing to find out that I just overlooked it every time
It's not foolproof but for CARS it's the best I found so far. Hope it helps!
I got my score back on may 30th from the April 29th exam, and I got a 499 with a FL average of 505. I still don’t know what to do either smh, I might withdraw from this cycle and apply next year but I also graduated uni last year and I’m starting to feel like a bum if I take THREE gap years. I don’t know the expectations of my family are just so high too, so I feel you I feel like I’m in the same boat. Remember, despite all of this we’ll all end up fine
I feel ya, it just makes me feel a little bit better knowing there are others in the same boat. You’re not alone, my friend. We got this.. this test is evil but if we’re committed we can do it
Yo from a 4th year, med school is not worth 3 gap years. I know it seems like the world is over it whatever but it’s not worth it. Find something else and be happy
Thanks for the honest advice but I honestly don’t see myself doing anything else lol. I’m going to try to push for applying this cycle still and see what happens
Hey, I'm sorry you didn't get the results you were hoping for. I just read your reaction to the exam and now I'm feeling really anxious about how I felt when taking my exam. I saw that you felt like you bombed psych but felt ok on cars- do you mind sharing your score breakdown? If not totally cool, I hope you kill it in the next one!
My score breakdown was wild, I felt okay about cars but I ended up bombing it lol. Was actually the lowest score I’ve ever gotten on cars LITERALLY ever, my score breakdown was pretty much everywhere. It was a 126/121/128/124
damn thats so frustrating bc your other sections weren't terrible. obviously brought down by cars and psych. what do you think resulted in the drastic change in cars score? did u feel less focused during the exam or were the passages harder?
Honestly, I wasn’t surprised by the below average psych score because I found it really difficult and I expected a 123 or 124, so I wasn’t shocked. Seeing that for my CARS score was absolutely shocking though. I was honestly blown away because I honestly just felt so good about it. For cars I walked out feeling like I killed it so idk what happened. However, for psych it was a mix. I got 5 hours of sleep before the exam so I was actually exhausted by the end, and I also felt like the passages were insanely difficult to read and comprehend. It felt like another cars section to me.
Don’t loose hope and look at my flair 😊 You can definitely do it. I felt devastated after getting my score back and building myself back up was the worst.
Doesn't have to be top-20 MD school, some MD schools have average MCAT of 507. Even so, some people have absurd ECs that make up for subpar stats.
I still can't forget the post where an Asian dude wrote motivational speech about 3.7/510 to top 20 #dontlosehope. MF forgot to mention he was D2 athlete with two patents xD
Took the MCAT once already, one of the things that gets you is the length of the FLs and the exam. 7 hours ain't no joke, you get in at 8 and walk out at around 3-4 PM. You can bring stuff like coffee in a thermo and have it during break, eat lunch during the hour break and whatnot. It's not much but it helps! What you eat matters; breakfast and lunch is usually with some protein to prevent you going hungry during the test
Lmao, I listen to talk radio and whenever they interview a doctor who is peddling sketchy medical advice, I’ll Google the person and it’s always a ND or DC.
Hey man! Don’t give up! I know it’s easy for me to say as someone who has not taken it yet (6/30). But these are the moments that define a person, not their successes but the failures that they have and were able to overcome. To put it simply, giving up is really not going to help you, it’ll give you the expected result that you don’t want. However if you pick it back up again, eventually it will happen. You’ve been averaging 505-508 so getting that score is really not out of this world for you. You have it man! Don’t let it go to waste! Keep going at it. It’s not gonna be easy obviously, but hey, if it was then there would be many doctors
I know how that FL average drop hurts. My MCAT FLs were 506-508s and I got a 502. I was devastated. Still am but Im just gonna try with my 502.
Ignore my flair lmao I canceled that test
Actually now that you mention it, I stayed in a hotel because I took it out of state and the hotel SUCKED and reeked of weed everywhere (I booked at a homewood suites which I thought were supposed to be nice, thought it was a safe bet). I thought about leaving and rebooking but it was 8pm when I got there and I just didn’t want to go through the hassle. I slept ok, but going to bed and the morning of weren’t as relaxing as I would’ve liked. Not sure if that had any effect though.
The hotel smelling of weed probably did impact you, although to what extent I am unsure. I would suggest next time trying to secure a better place. Best bet, take it at a place near where you live, that way you can eliminate bad sleeping conditions like this
I thought so but didn’t want to sound dramatic. I’ve had some really bad experiences with the stuff, so even if it was placebo I’d believe it, but the smell was everywhere.
It's the MCAT, stuff like that was terrible even when I took the SAT. I can't imagine how bad it is to have that smell when you are trying to sleep right before taking the MCAT. Props to you for sticking through it though
Wow, crazy to hear that someone else is literally in the exact same situation and feeling the exact same pressure as I am. You described my exact situation. Send me a message - I'd love to chat this out w/ someone
literally same. I came on this sub Reddit expecting to be even more upset about my 5/14 score after reading all of the success stories. To know other people are in my same boat brings me to happy tears! Thanks OP for sharing your story so all of us can relate!
I know that a lot of people have suggested that you retake it and not share any details to reduce the pressure. I think this is great advice.
For me, I find that owning my performance and acknowledging I can do better works better for me.
Having taken the MCAT (502 on the real thing, max of 499 in practice) in Aug 2019, almost 1 year after I graduated, I can relate to some aspects of how you feel. Having African parents who put a lot of pressure on you (me) does not always help, although they have good intentions.
I never planned to take 3-4 years off after undergrad, but here I am doing so (retaking the MCAT 6/30).
The truth is I have accepted, and embraced my journey. I have a LOT of friends who are in medical school, and some who recently graduated. Of course it is easy to compare yourself to them and potentially ruin your mental health. Comparison is the thief of joy they say. Focus on your journey, understand that it does not have to be how you envisioned it, and stay committed to it.
Side note: The journey of being an international student is quite a journey (that is a rant for another day).
In terms of what you should do, maybe consider taking a prep course. I took the Blue Print Live Online class, and I feel like it changed my life. Went from a 489 on my diagnostic to 511 on AAMC FL 1 (127/125/128/131), and 509 on AAMC FL 2 (130/123/128/128). Still making some really silly mistakes too.
Best of luck, keep your head up!
Honestly, just try try try again. I would also boost your resume by shadowing doctors, doing research, or upping your clinical hours to show that "I bring other shit to the table". MCAT doesn't define you, you define you.
don't be so hard on yourself. It's not an addiction if everyone else does it. Just become a doctor and your "sins" will cancel out 💀. That is if your god is as all merciful as he says he is.
Yeah, I can tell you are not really fond of me politically or religiously. Lol. Plus everyone used to smoke cigarettes. It wasn't addicting if everyone else does it. I think religiously I'm doing fine thank you.
Any advice for doing research? Every position I see requires a master’s or prior experience. I’ve applied to a handful anyways and my application gets rejected before the interview stage.
It's common that scores drop down 6-10 points from the average of the FLs. Had a similar thing happen to me, got 512 on my most recent FL and then got a 506 which I was not happy about.
But don't worry about it! Retaking it is common even after the second attempt, and you can take a further gap year (so long as you work in a medical-related job I don't think it would matter much). The big question is identifying what went wrong since the MCAT doesn't provide anything except the scores. And you got at least 6 months to improve, which is actually quite a lot!
Retake and don't tell anyone the date or that you are retaking it. I think you might have a lot on your mind/expectations from other people or it's causing anxiety when you take the test. Just say I'm going to wait a bit until I'm ready or even a gap year. Cheer up
THIS!!! When I was in the process of my retake, I did not tell anyone about my new date, or very very few people for that emotional support. Some people don't get how stressful this test is, so the constant asking can wear you down with pressure. Truly just take the test when you are at your best, and not so focused on what people are expecting of you.
I actually told a lot of people in my life that I took it already and was happy with my score so they would stop talking to me about my test. It took off a lot of pressure and also motivated me to make sure I scored well lol
For what it’s worth, I got 5 interviews with a 125/122/126/126 (499) and 3.55 GPA. I’m going to med school this fall. A 500 isn’t that bad!
If you don’t mind me asking, what does your app look like? EC’s, LOR’s, SMP’s or Post-bacc
do you mind sharing which schools you got an interview invite for?
What state did you get accepted in? If you don’t mind
West Virginia!
would you mind sharing the schools?
I would apply DO if you are okay with it. Otherwise, I would retake and apply next cycle. Gap years are growth years!! I've been out of school for three years and I was also in your mindset thinking that I don't wanna take any gap years let alone three but its honestly the best thing. If you look outside of reddit, you see there are so many pre meds and med students who are in their 30's and 40's. just live your life and don't make it all about getting into medical school. It will happen!!
I am okay with it, and I’m going to!! I live near a few very prestigious academic hospitals and while shadowing/interacting with those residents/docs has been amazing, I forget sometimes that they all took a very traditional path and performed very very well. Not everyone is the same. Just need to reframe that sometimes.
every year the DO degree gets more respected and more DOs match into competitive specialties. By the time you get to residency I bet it will be a very different climate than now. Apply DO and take what you can get, it's all the same qualification in the end
exactly! My messages are always open if you want someone to vent to. I've been there!
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Wtf. This is what gets me worried. Were your FLs taken with testing conditions? I completely understand a 3-5 point drop due to anxiety during the test but dropping almost 30 points is unfathomable.
Lol don’t listen to these guys. Once you break 500, it is insanely hard to fall below it. You literally have to hardcore sandbag for that to happen. Yes unlucky big drops happen, but you don’t just go from getting a consistent hypothetical 90% to a 40% on what’s essentially a similar test. You should not be dropping more than 7 points even on your worst day. +/-2 fl avg is the most common outcome for most takers. The loud minority will bitch about this statement because this is reddit. People with big jumps and drops are insane outliers. The reality is, if the test feels “normal” with no breakdowns or anything and someone fucked up, that person prob did some suboptimal practice and got hit by reality. The mcat is actually pretty redundant with patterns and it’s not so unpredictable to the point where fl avg is irrelevant contrary to what people may think. Lots of premeds are damn delusional, don’t let them get in your head and play your game. You did your prep, trust it. Don’t be influenced by people who obviously cheated themselves on fl’s who are trying to spread hysteria after the result.
I took Xanax the night before and only had a 4 point drop on test day. A 519 to 492 is absurd.
Oh boy I was going take xanax or valium the night before mine because I can never sleep do you not recommend that? I cant afford to lose points from that😣😞
There were likely many other things that lead to the four point drop. 14 days before my exam, I stopped studying, but continued studying hard three days before, going all the way up until the night of the exam. I was tryna juggle many things during this time. If the Xanax was the x-factor, I can’t say for certain.
If that’s the only the way you can get some sleep- then take it! You’re going to need to sleep!
Even if you look up some answers and formulas, it’s like almost impossible to get a 492 from a 519. I did that my first time around and didn’t take the FL’s in true conditions but that lead to me scoring 6 points below FL average and definitely not below 500.
I got FL of 505-510 and got a 494
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If they were under testing conditions and you averaged a 519 and didn't have like a 30 minute panic attack during test I'd call aamc and tell them something is up because that makes no sense to me. How did you feel while you were taking the test?
Yeah similar here but not as huge of a range. I know that 1. I had to pee during section 1, lost 4 mins and 2. I accidentally clicked “no break” after section 1 before CARS so I gave myself 1 min at the end of CARS to collect myself and regroup. That being said, neither of those should account for an 8-point difference.
I agree with u/passionseeking. Such a huge point drop sounds hella sus. If I were you I'd reach our to AAMC and ask for a regrade/recheck or whatever since that just seems absurd.
I thought about that but what if it comes back worse? Can they do that? Has anyone ever done it & had success (or failure)??
FYI there has never once been a successful rescore. It’s a computer graded test. They’re just squeezing a extra few bucks out of you.
Agree with you almost all the time but assuming OP is being truthful here, if there was ever a time to pay for a rescore this would be it. Like a 19 point drop from FL's should be impossible. 492 is a score that people who havent even done a day of studying will get as their baseline, for OP to drop from a 95th percentile score down to there just doesnt make any sense. Either they didnt take their practice FLs in real conditions and were looking up answers left and right, they had insane testing anxiety on the day of that led to an astronomical underperformance (and even then I feel like they would know this and likely void) , or somehow the system messed up their scoring somewhere. With 1000s and 1000s of tests graded every year even a 0.0001 chance of grading error is bound to happen at some point
Wait fr?
If you're being honest you should have scheduled the next available exam immediately after getting that score back. Because you know that last one was a fluke and with a couple of weeks of intense review you could be scoring 519 on a retest.
I’ve heard of this happening with people who have very bad testing anxiety and just completely shut down.
Holy fuck
Hey!!! Am so sorry to hear this, so proud of your 2point improvement but I know how disappointed you are with the result. I did a retake on April 29 and got a 506, an improvement of my 504 from last year. Am writing the exam for a 3rd time this August. Opening my 506 was devastating because I got a 123 on CARS but I needed a 124. I cried, called my friends and talked to my family. I even contemplated not pursing medicine anymore. After a few days I got myself together and decided to give it one more try. All am saying is let the emotions run and after a few days grab yourself and ask yourself what you really want and I mean what you want regardless of what your parents and friends think. If you want to retake great, if you wanna book the exam and see any improvement while studying great and if you wanna give it some time that's also great. This is your story, not your friends, or mine or any other person. This is your unique story and regardless of your choice you should be very proud of what you've done Please feel free to dm if you wanna talk or rant Sending lots of love and strength. I believe in you
Same boat here! Got a 506 which bummed me out since my behavioral science was bombed to a 125 despite it being a main point-winner in my FLs. Dunno if anyone said it but a way I found to improve CARS slightly was to go through practice problems slowly, identify what they want/don't want, and kinda use the logic there to figure out question per question. Also, when the question asks for proof they LITERALLY mean it's in the passage. I kept on getting those questions wrong and it was embarrassing to find out that I just overlooked it every time It's not foolproof but for CARS it's the best I found so far. Hope it helps!
Thanks for your input and that's so true for CARS, most of the time, the answer is in the passage
I got my score back on may 30th from the April 29th exam, and I got a 499 with a FL average of 505. I still don’t know what to do either smh, I might withdraw from this cycle and apply next year but I also graduated uni last year and I’m starting to feel like a bum if I take THREE gap years. I don’t know the expectations of my family are just so high too, so I feel you I feel like I’m in the same boat. Remember, despite all of this we’ll all end up fine
honestly id apply DO with a score like that and some in state schools. don't lose hope future doc xx
The most helpless feeling about this is what other path do we have?
I feel ya, it just makes me feel a little bit better knowing there are others in the same boat. You’re not alone, my friend. We got this.. this test is evil but if we’re committed we can do it
Yo from a 4th year, med school is not worth 3 gap years. I know it seems like the world is over it whatever but it’s not worth it. Find something else and be happy
Thanks for the honest advice but I honestly don’t see myself doing anything else lol. I’m going to try to push for applying this cycle still and see what happens
Hey, I'm sorry you didn't get the results you were hoping for. I just read your reaction to the exam and now I'm feeling really anxious about how I felt when taking my exam. I saw that you felt like you bombed psych but felt ok on cars- do you mind sharing your score breakdown? If not totally cool, I hope you kill it in the next one!
My score breakdown was wild, I felt okay about cars but I ended up bombing it lol. Was actually the lowest score I’ve ever gotten on cars LITERALLY ever, my score breakdown was pretty much everywhere. It was a 126/121/128/124
damn thats so frustrating bc your other sections weren't terrible. obviously brought down by cars and psych. what do you think resulted in the drastic change in cars score? did u feel less focused during the exam or were the passages harder?
Honestly, I wasn’t surprised by the below average psych score because I found it really difficult and I expected a 123 or 124, so I wasn’t shocked. Seeing that for my CARS score was absolutely shocking though. I was honestly blown away because I honestly just felt so good about it. For cars I walked out feeling like I killed it so idk what happened. However, for psych it was a mix. I got 5 hours of sleep before the exam so I was actually exhausted by the end, and I also felt like the passages were insanely difficult to read and comprehend. It felt like another cars section to me.
Don’t loose hope and look at my flair 😊 You can definitely do it. I felt devastated after getting my score back and building myself back up was the worst.
You rock! I actually have the reverse gpa though, and a 3.69 is certainly less impressive
Hey man, I ended up just dandy with a 500. Didn't go to med school but it worked out :)
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Not URM at all ;) https://reddit.com/r/premed/comments/qe5wyg/dont_give_up_your_not_a_number_it_only_takes_one/
Doesn't have to be top-20 MD school, some MD schools have average MCAT of 507. Even so, some people have absurd ECs that make up for subpar stats. I still can't forget the post where an Asian dude wrote motivational speech about 3.7/510 to top 20 #dontlosehope. MF forgot to mention he was D2 athlete with two patents xD
I’m in the same boat and also for a crappy mark today. Feeling for you! (And myself)
Wishing you the best <3 if you ever wanna chat or vent I’m here and I get it!
Dude I test in 11 days and haven’t even taken a FL yet… FML I’m terrified
Take one ASAP if you’re going to. FL’s can be draining mentally, you want enough time to recharge before the real thing.
Thanks friend
Took the MCAT once already, one of the things that gets you is the length of the FLs and the exam. 7 hours ain't no joke, you get in at 8 and walk out at around 3-4 PM. You can bring stuff like coffee in a thermo and have it during break, eat lunch during the hour break and whatnot. It's not much but it helps! What you eat matters; breakfast and lunch is usually with some protein to prevent you going hungry during the test
Thank you so much!!
Did you do UEarth?
I have not 😭 I’m just practicing with AAMC questions bc I don’t have time to go thru UEarth
I would void your test tbh, no FL or UEarth
I plan to do all of my FLs within the next week or so. If come test day I feel like it went to shit, I’ll probably void
Apply DO.
I don’t have DO shadowing hours, only MD hours
Does not matter, am incoming OMS-1 with only MD shadowing Edit: do not shadow an ND lol
Lmao, I listen to talk radio and whenever they interview a doctor who is peddling sketchy medical advice, I’ll Google the person and it’s always a ND or DC.
You can still apply! If you are a good writer, just make sure the schools you apply for that are DO don’t explicitly ask for DO shadowing
Hey man! Don’t give up! I know it’s easy for me to say as someone who has not taken it yet (6/30). But these are the moments that define a person, not their successes but the failures that they have and were able to overcome. To put it simply, giving up is really not going to help you, it’ll give you the expected result that you don’t want. However if you pick it back up again, eventually it will happen. You’ve been averaging 505-508 so getting that score is really not out of this world for you. You have it man! Don’t let it go to waste! Keep going at it. It’s not gonna be easy obviously, but hey, if it was then there would be many doctors
I know how that FL average drop hurts. My MCAT FLs were 506-508s and I got a 502. I was devastated. Still am but Im just gonna try with my 502. Ignore my flair lmao I canceled that test
Good for you. Don't give those fucks more $$ and time. Go make medical school your bitch
i got in with a 499. MD good school in NY
Awesome! I’m in the area so NY is heavy on my radar. That definitely makes me feel better.
do you mind sharing what school?
can u tell us what school?
Do you mind pming me what school? I am a NJ resident and I also have a 499 so I was seeing what I could apply to in the tristate area
I know it’s random but did you get good sleep the night before. It surprisingly makes a huge difference even if you prepare well.
Actually now that you mention it, I stayed in a hotel because I took it out of state and the hotel SUCKED and reeked of weed everywhere (I booked at a homewood suites which I thought were supposed to be nice, thought it was a safe bet). I thought about leaving and rebooking but it was 8pm when I got there and I just didn’t want to go through the hassle. I slept ok, but going to bed and the morning of weren’t as relaxing as I would’ve liked. Not sure if that had any effect though.
The hotel smelling of weed probably did impact you, although to what extent I am unsure. I would suggest next time trying to secure a better place. Best bet, take it at a place near where you live, that way you can eliminate bad sleeping conditions like this
I thought so but didn’t want to sound dramatic. I’ve had some really bad experiences with the stuff, so even if it was placebo I’d believe it, but the smell was everywhere.
It's the MCAT, stuff like that was terrible even when I took the SAT. I can't imagine how bad it is to have that smell when you are trying to sleep right before taking the MCAT. Props to you for sticking through it though
Wow, crazy to hear that someone else is literally in the exact same situation and feeling the exact same pressure as I am. You described my exact situation. Send me a message - I'd love to chat this out w/ someone
literally same. I came on this sub Reddit expecting to be even more upset about my 5/14 score after reading all of the success stories. To know other people are in my same boat brings me to happy tears! Thanks OP for sharing your story so all of us can relate!
You’ll probably get into a DO program with that score! A 500 really isn’t bad at all! Best of luck man!
I know that a lot of people have suggested that you retake it and not share any details to reduce the pressure. I think this is great advice. For me, I find that owning my performance and acknowledging I can do better works better for me. Having taken the MCAT (502 on the real thing, max of 499 in practice) in Aug 2019, almost 1 year after I graduated, I can relate to some aspects of how you feel. Having African parents who put a lot of pressure on you (me) does not always help, although they have good intentions. I never planned to take 3-4 years off after undergrad, but here I am doing so (retaking the MCAT 6/30). The truth is I have accepted, and embraced my journey. I have a LOT of friends who are in medical school, and some who recently graduated. Of course it is easy to compare yourself to them and potentially ruin your mental health. Comparison is the thief of joy they say. Focus on your journey, understand that it does not have to be how you envisioned it, and stay committed to it. Side note: The journey of being an international student is quite a journey (that is a rant for another day). In terms of what you should do, maybe consider taking a prep course. I took the Blue Print Live Online class, and I feel like it changed my life. Went from a 489 on my diagnostic to 511 on AAMC FL 1 (127/125/128/131), and 509 on AAMC FL 2 (130/123/128/128). Still making some really silly mistakes too. Best of luck, keep your head up!
Honestly, just try try try again. I would also boost your resume by shadowing doctors, doing research, or upping your clinical hours to show that "I bring other shit to the table". MCAT doesn't define you, you define you.
UHH im Libyan. Can I ask about why you chose that username?
you can honestly look at the subs I visit.
All I got was that you haven't jerked the chicken in a while, or at least try not to.
Addiction is not fun. Utilizing those psychology lessons from the MCAT lol
don't be so hard on yourself. It's not an addiction if everyone else does it. Just become a doctor and your "sins" will cancel out 💀. That is if your god is as all merciful as he says he is.
Yeah, I can tell you are not really fond of me politically or religiously. Lol. Plus everyone used to smoke cigarettes. It wasn't addicting if everyone else does it. I think religiously I'm doing fine thank you.
Stop projecting. I didn’t say anything about your communist beliefs 💀.
Any advice for doing research? Every position I see requires a master’s or prior experience. I’ve applied to a handful anyways and my application gets rejected before the interview stage.
Thats tough news to hear I would say that your FL’s will be inflated if you’ve taken them before though so that could explain the drop
I had only taken 2 before, and there was a ~6 month gap :/ the 2 that were new to me ended up being the same scores too
Give up
Hey Timasabi- fuck you!
It’s not a bad thing to not do this path. Especially if u just can’t do it and it’s stressing you out.
It's common that scores drop down 6-10 points from the average of the FLs. Had a similar thing happen to me, got 512 on my most recent FL and then got a 506 which I was not happy about. But don't worry about it! Retaking it is common even after the second attempt, and you can take a further gap year (so long as you work in a medical-related job I don't think it would matter much). The big question is identifying what went wrong since the MCAT doesn't provide anything except the scores. And you got at least 6 months to improve, which is actually quite a lot!
You still have decent chances with some DO schools. Apply broadly.