Are Multiple MCAT Takes a Dealbreaker? Evidence from Recent Cycles

Are Multiple MCAT Takes a Dealbreaker? Evidence from Recent Cycles

If you’ve already taken the MCAT once (or twice) and did not hit that magical goal score, the question eating at you is brutal in its simplicity: “Did I just ruin my chances at med school?”

(See also: Gap Years and Med School for insights on how timing affects admissions.)

Let’s skip the comforting clichés and go straight to what the last several cycles actually show:
Multiple MCAT attempts are very common, not an automatic red flag, and are only a dealbreaker in specific patterns that applicants conveniently ignore while spiraling on Reddit.

You are not competing in a “one-and-done or you’re done” system.
You’re in a “what’s your best evidence of readiness?” system.

That’s not the same thing.

What the Data Actually Shows About Multiple MCAT Attempts

Start with the big picture: the AAMC’s own numbers.

Across recent cycles (and this pattern has been stable for years), a large chunk of applicants have more than one MCAT score. It varies slightly by year, but you’ll typically see something like:

• Roughly 35–45% of applicants have taken the MCAT more than once.
• Among matriculants, it’s only a bit lower – something like 30–40% have multiple attempts.

If multiple takes were a dealbreaker, that number among matriculants would be tiny. It’s not.

What admission committees are actually looking at is your score trend, your final score, and how that all fits within the rest of your application. Not the romantic idea that you “crushed it on the first try.”

You know who really obsesses over first-try perfection?
Premeds, not adcoms.

Programs routinely admit:

• Students who took the MCAT twice, went from a 503 to a 511, and then backed that up with strong grades and clinical work.
• Students who took it three times, had a rough 499 → 502 → 510 trajectory, and then applied smartly to schools that actually align with their final score.

They do not routinely admit:

• Students who took it three times, sat at 498 → 499 → 499, and then only applied to mid- and top-tier MD schools.
• Students with a cluster of low scores and no real academic upward trend elsewhere.

The problem isn’t “multiple attempts”.
The problem is multiple weak data points with no convincing evidence of improvement.

How Schools Actually Treat Multiple Scores

Here’s where internet lore goes off the rails. You’ll hear:

• “Schools average all your MCAT scores.”
• “Schools only look at your most recent MCAT.”
• “Schools throw out your lower scores.”
• “If you retake above 510 you look neurotic.”

Reality: There is no single universal rule. But there are clear patterns.

Most MD schools do one of the following:

1. Consider your highest composite score while still seeing the full history
   This is probably the most common approach. The school focuses on your best attempt as the strongest evidence of your potential, while still considering context. A 506 → 513 looks very different from a 514 → 508.

2. Look at score trends and section consistency
   A school might note that you had a 500 (weak CARS, weak Chem/Phys), then later a 510 (all sections solid). That’s a clear upward trend and addresses past weaknesses.
   On the flip side, they may pause if you went 511 → 509 with a drop in CARS after more prep.

3. Use a hybrid or internal formula
   Some schools do a rough average, or weigh the most recent more heavily, or set internal rules like “we want at least one 508+ attempt” or “we prefer scores within the last 2–3 years.” They do not usually publicly spell this out.

But across many admissions deans’ comments and presentations from recent years, one theme shows up over and over:

“We are much more interested in the highest score and the trajectory than in punishing a student for an earlier, lower attempt.”

If a school is truly a “one-take or we hate you” program, they’re an outlier, and often they hint at this somewhere in their admissions info or Q&A sessions.

There’s another myth that needs to die:
“If you retake above 515 you look obsessive, and schools will dislike that.”

No, they won’t dislike the 518. They’ll just wonder what you’re compensating for.

• If you go 512 → 518 and everything else is solid, that’s not a red flag. It’s just probably an unnecessary gamble.
• If you go 517 → 519 and everything else is mediocre, the extra 2 points do not transform you into a superstar. It just makes your priorities look skewed.

The MCAT is one piece of evidence, not the central deity of the application.

When Multiple MCAT Attempts Do Start to Hurt

Multiple attempts are not inherently toxic, but certain patterns absolutely are.

Here’s where committees start raising eyebrows:

1. No upward trend across multiple tries

A 495 → 497 → 498 trajectory is not “persistent.” It’s diagnostic.

It usually tells the committee one of three things:

• You don’t know how to study effectively for a high-stakes standardized exam.
• You don’t understand your own weaknesses and keep doing the same thing.
• You aren’t actually capable (right now) of mastering the underlying content/skills.

That matters, because USMLE/COMLEX are not optional hobbies in med school. They’re very high-stakes standardized exams with harder material and higher consequences.

2. Wild inconsistency with no explanation

If your scores look like this:

• 508 (strong overall)
• 501 (big drop)
• 509 (back up, but uneven sections)

The question becomes: what happened?

Unexplained volatility makes committees nervous about your test-day reliability. If there’s a real explanation (illness, death in the family, significant personal crisis) and you otherwise have solid performance evidence, some schools will give you the benefit of the doubt. Others will not.

What they hate is unexplained chaos.

3. Repeated late retakes in the cycle

Another self-sabotaging pattern:

• Take MCAT in June → get a 502
• Schedule a retake in late August → get a 505
• Apply widely to MD in September with “waiting on my new score” as the plan

Now, you’ve done three things at once:

• Delayed your application until it’s late in a rolling cycle.
• Demonstrated marginal, not decisive, improvement.
• Looked like you’re just chasing a number without a strategic plan.

Multiple attempts combined with late application timing is often worse than the multiple attempts themselves. In recent competitive cycles, timing is a real factor.

4. High number of attempts with modest final payoff

Three attempts is not automatically a black mark. Four is not an automatic death sentence.

But if you’ve gone:

• 498 → 502 → 504 → 505

The committee has to ask: “What is the probability this applicant will comfortably pass Step 1/Level 1 and Step 2/Level 2 on time?”

That’s not cruel; it’s predictive risk management. Schools are judged by their board pass rates.

A modest final score is not fatal.
A modest final score after many near-identical attempts is concerning.

When Multiple Attempts Are Neutral or Even Helpful

Now for the part your anxiety refuses to believe: multiple MCAT takes can help you if the trajectory is clear and the context makes sense.

Here are scenarios from recent cycles that tend to work in applicants’ favor.

The “early, underprepared” first attempt

Example:

• Sophomore-year test, 499
• Real MCAT prep between junior year and gap year, 511
• Strong upper-division science grades, consistent A/A- trend

This is not a problem. You were underprepared, prematurely tested, then demonstrated your actual level later. Many schools essentially treat the early 499 as background noise when the later evidence is compelling.

It helps if:

• The second score is comfortably within or near the school’s median.
• You don’t write an essay about how “devastated” you were by the 499. You simply acknowledge you took it too early, regrouped, and improved.

The “life happened” middle attempt

Example:

• 507 (solid baseline)
• 501 (taken while dealing with a major family illness)
• 512 (after a stable year and focused prep)

If you briefly explain the context in a secondary (not in an overdramatic way), committees can and do discount the aberrant score. They like the 512. They respect the resilience.

The key is that your best score and your academic history agree with each other. They both say: “This person can succeed.”

The “clear, meaningful jump” improvement

Example:

• 502 → 510
• C/P from 124 → 128
• CARS from 124 → 126
• Bio/Biochem from 125 → 129

This is what committees like to see: you identified weaknesses, systematically addressed them, and produced a clearly higher performance. No, they don’t think “why weren’t you perfect the first time?” They think: “You demonstrated growth and self-correction.”

In recent cycles, a lot of accepted applicants look exactly like this. Not perfect at first, but convincingly better later.

MD vs DO: Are Multiple MCAT Takes Viewed Differently?

The short answer: not as differently as people dramatize, but there are some nuances.

Many DO schools historically have been more open to:

• Lower initial MCATs
• Significant improvement over time
• More nontraditional or “late bloomer” academic trajectories

That doesn’t mean they ignore multiple attempts. They still care about:

• Your best score
• Your ability to pass COMLEX
• The pattern of your performance

An applicant with 497 → 502 → 506 and a 3.4 upward-trending science GPA might be a realistic DO candidate and a long shot at many MD programs. But plenty of DO programs will see the trajectory as a positive.

On the MD side, with increasing competitiveness in recent cycles, many schools use MCAT cutoffs or MCAT-GPA grids in their screening. Multiple attempts are less of a binary filter than simply whether any of your scores clear their bar.

If your final 512 is in range, your initial 501 rarely keeps you out by itself.

How To Decide If Another MCAT Retake Is Worth It

Here’s where most premeds make irrational decisions. They retake out of emotion, not evidence.

You should strongly consider NOT retaking if:

• You already have a 510–512+ and your GPA is at least roughly in line with the MCAT.
• Your sections are reasonably balanced (no glaring 122 in one section).
• Your school list includes many programs with medians below or at your score range.
• The main weaknesses in your application are experiences, letters, or timing — not the MCAT.

Retaking a 511 for a shot at a 516 is not “driven.” It’s risky and often pointless, especially in a recent cycle environment where holistic review has more weight than premed lore admits.

You should consider a retake if:

• Your current score is significantly below your target schools’ middle 50% ranges.
• Your MCAT is much weaker than your GPA (e.g., 3.9 GPA with a 502 MCAT), suggesting your test performance isn’t matching your academic potential.
• You have concrete evidence from practice exams that you can jump several points (not “I feel I can do better,” but actual AAMC practice test trends).

And you should only retake when:

• You can genuinely change your prep strategy, not just do another round of Anki and hope for the best.
• You’re not pushing your application into the late phase of a rolling cycle again.
• You’ve done a post-mortem on why the first attempt underperformed and can articulate that to yourself clearly.

Multiple MCAT attempts are a signal. The question is whether they signal growth or stagnation.

The Bottom Line: What Recent Cycles Really Tell Us

Strip away the myths, and the data and recent cycles point to three blunt truths:

1. Multiple MCAT attempts are common and not a dealbreaker by themselves.
   A meaningful chunk of matriculants have more than one score. Adcoms care far more about your best score and trend than how many times it took you to get there.

2. The pattern matters more than the count.
   An upward trajectory with a solid final score is compatible with MD and DO admissions. Flat or erratic scores across many tries signal potential problems with test-taking or academic readiness and will hurt you.

3. Retakes should be strategic, not emotional.
   You don’t retake just because you “want a 520.” You retake when the evidence says you can significantly improve, your current score is limiting the schools you can realistically apply to, and you’re willing to overhaul how you study.

Multiple MCAT attempts don’t automatically end your med school chances.
Unexamined, unstrategic repetition might.