Hi Coltrane,

There is no repercussion for taking the MCAT multiple times in terms of med schools; just be aware that they will receive all your MCAT scores, not just your highest one. Now, if you feel that your score will only be slightly higher, it may not be worth it to take the exam again. The best reason to retake the MCAT is if you show significant improvement from your first to your second (or third, etc.) time; it demonstrates that you figured out where you were weak and took steps to fix it. If your score doesn’t end up increasing by that much, it’s not necessarily detrimental but it just confirms to med schools where you stand in terms of your knowledge about the material tested. Additionally, the MCAT obviously takes up both time and money, so it is probably in your best interest to make sure you take all the steps you can to improve from your first exam. Ultimately, it is up to you and whether you think your score warrants retaking the MCAT, as well as if you think you can prepare for it again.

Here’s a nice blog post with some more advice about this topic: https://blog.jackwestin.com/blog/advice-for-retaking-the-mcat/.

– Kiran