<p>Hi!</p>
<p>I am new to this broad. Thank you everyone in advance.</p>
<p>D got 33 on MCAT, but only 9 in Physics. Does she need to re-take the test because of the low score in physics? How critical do they view the individual subject? when you do multiple testings, do they look at your highest score or average them?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>^Is it “new” MCAT. There were no Physics section before.<br>
I do not know except, that if scoring is still the same, then 33 is a very decent score. People mentioned that there is an advantage to have it even though, cannot comment on that as D. had it more even than we anticipated.</p>
<p>I assume the “physics” section the OP mentions is the general sciences section which is physics and chemistry.</p>
<p>I guess so as I don’t really know much about this whole process. Thanks.</p>
<p>One thing to mention is that all MCATs are counted, it is not like SAT / ACT. So, if god forbid, your D. gets 30, she will not be able to use only 33, both of them will be used. But I do not know much about it, as my D. took it only once. I would strongly recommend talk to pre-med advisor at school, they should give you a better advice as they have much more experience.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advises.</p>
<p>I would not retake with that score. I had a 9 in one of my subsections with a 31 MCAT last year and got into a bunch of great schools. Unless your daughter has a low GPA, it shouldn’t be a problem for the average med school. Now if her goal is a top 20 school, it might be worth retaking, but even then I would still hesitate because she could do worse or roughly the same which would end up being a huge waste of time.</p>
<p>I agree with pccool52. I had a 30–9P, 11V, 10B–with a fine GPA of 3.8 and a nicely balanced extracurricular profile when I applied a few years ago. I picked up 3 top 20 interviews and absolutely love the school I attend (not a top 20). </p>
<p>Personally, I cannot fathom retaking a 33. Way too much of a gamble, in my opinion. It’s a great score!</p>
<p>33 and a 9 is PS. That means a 24 in the other two. That means a 14/10, 13/11, or 12/12. I think it is widely accepted that the Verbal component is the most important. </p>
<p>Even assuming the Verbal was a 10, unless the goal was a tippy-top school, or a school that screens for no scores below a 10 or 11 (and who those might be , I don’t know), and unless the PS score was just a fluke based on practice test scores, then there is no way I’d re-take a 33. </p>
<p>My kid got into a Top Ten school with a more balanced 33. She thought about a re-take and finally decided not to do it. </p>
<p>Good luck no matter what decision she makes.</p>
<p>She’ll be fine with a 33 if all else is good (namely GPA). I would argue that PS is probably the least important section on the MCAT, after the writing section of course. If she scored well on BS and has a good record in BCMP classes, then she has proven that she can handle science courses. It’s risky to retake a 33 unless she was scoring an average of 36+ on practice exams. </p>
<p>Some schools average test scores, some look at the most recent, some look at the highest overall score from one test date, and some will take the highest scores of each subsection. It is very school-dependent. On the whole, though, it looks bad if your score goes down. Plus, who wants to retake the MCAT?? A 33 can get you into a top 20 school if the rest of your application is good.</p>
<p>
Likely not a school (top or not) IN CALIFORNIA though. In that state, I know many who have >= 35 had to be “in exile” to other state for their med school. (Some of the OOS med schools they attend are pretty good though.)</p>
<p>It seems strange that a state with such a poor secondary school education system (i.e., California) will have such a high standard for med school admission. Maybe in this state, top students rarely go to any “average” high school like in some other states.</p>
<p>I agree with the most posts above that a 33 with a lowest 9 is definitely good enough for most non-California schools.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Exactly. In California, there are no “average” high schools. It’s more of a bimodal distribution: very good and very bad. There are many communities in the state where the public high school is as good – if not better – statistically than the nearby private high schools. At our local public, ~5% are NMSFs, for example.</p>
<p>California also has a segment of the population that is test-happy (all-prep-all-the-time, starting in middle school).</p>
<p>Did the OP specify that is looking only at California schools? I was under the impression that OP’s daughter was more concerned about getting in than getting into UCSF, UCSD, or UCLA. UCI and UCD should not be out of reach.</p>
<p>for sarahjudith…why do you think the PS section is less "important then the other 2, BS and V ???</p>