Should you retake the MCAT to improve your scores?

Many students take the MCAT more than once to achieve higher scores. Retakes are not frowned upon by medical schools. If anything, retaking the MCAT is commendable as it shows your unwavering commitment to doing whatever it takes to become a physician.

Retaking is only advisable if the gap is bridgeable – that is, your target score is within reach. If your target score is 510 and you scored 507 on your first take, it’s realistic to think that a retake might yield those 3 extra points. If, however, you scored 501 on your first take, your target score of 510 is probably unreachable on a retake unless your first take did not represent your true abilities for some reason (see below).

There are some limits on retakes set by the AAMC. You can take the MCAT up to:

• three times in one calendar year
• four times in two consecutive years
• seven times in a lifetime

Before you decide to retake the MCAT you should contact your target medical schools and inquire how they treat multiple MCAT scores. Different medical schools will consider:

• your highest score (retake may help)
• your most recent score (retake may help or hurt)
• your average score (retake unlikely to have much impact)
• all your scores but give more weight to most recent score or highest score (retake may help)
• all your scores but give credit for pattern of improvement (retake may help)
• all your scores but “super-score” the highest section scores (retake may help)

You should also ask yourself these three questions:

1. Do you need higher MCAT scores?
2. Do you have good reasons to believe you can achieve higher MCAT scores?
3. Do you have a realistic plan to ensure you will achieve higher MCAT scores?

You may need higher MCAT scores if:

• Your scores are not competitive. If your combined GPA and MCAT scores are considerably lower than those of accepted students at your target medical schools and there’s nothing extraordinary in the rest of your application, a retake is worth serious consideration.
• Your section scores are not balanced. If your total score is competitive but one of your section scores is below the minimum for consideration at your target school or stands out as a red flag, a retake may be necessary. This most commonly happens with a low CARS score because this section is such unfamiliar territory for most test-takers.

You may reasonably conclude you can achieve higher scores if:

• You didn’t prepare enough. If you didn’t study and practice as much as you should have for your first take, there’s a good chance you`ll improve your scores on a retake.
• Life got in the way. If you were ill or distracted by personal challenges around your test date, you likely didn’t perform at your best and you may want to retake the exam.
• You lost your cool. The MCAT is unquestionably very stressful and if your clarity of thought was disrupted by nervousness, you probably didn`t maximize your scores.
• You did better on practice tests. If your scores on full-length practice tests (especially AAMC tests considered most predictive of MCAT scores) under timed conditions were consistently higher than your actual scores, then another crack at the MCAT might be a good idea.

You may reasonably conclude you will achieve higher scores if:

• You know what went wrong. You have a solid understanding of what caused you to underperform (e.g., poor time management) on your first take.
• You know how to fix it. You have a realistic plan of action to fix what capsized your first take (e.g., daily time management drills) and produce higher scores this time.
• You have the requisite time, energy and willpower. None of this will matter if you can`t fully commit to following through on your plan of action. You have to be honest with yourself as to whether you can and will do what is necessary to achieve higher scores on a retake.

You should not retake the MCAT if:

• You scored a balanced 515 or higher. Well done! This puts you in the top 10% of test-takers and is a competitive score for all medical schools.
• Your scores work for your target schools. Simply put, your MCAT scores are “good enough” if they are close to the average scores of accepted applicants at your target medical schools.
• You thoroughly prepared and the results are not surprising. If you put your full effort into studying and practicing and your actual scores are consistent with your scores on full-length AAMC practice tests, you are unlikely to score higher on a retake.
• You don’t have the plan, time, energy, or willpower to fix what went wrong on your previous take.  If you are missing any one of these necessary ingredients to improve your performance, you are better off to make the best of your current scores.