Best time to take MCAT tis spring?

[southpawcannon]

I will be taking Physics II and OChem II this spring and prepping for the MCAT as well. The SMPI'm interested in, as well as a couple others have deadlines for all materials to be submitted by first of June. Would I need to take my MCAT by late April or could I hold off til first week of May, after exams have ended? Just want to be sure that my scores are sent over in time.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DrMidlife]

SMP apps are open now for Fall 2011. Is that what you're aiming for?

SMPs that publish good success rates, such as Gtown, Cincinnati, EVMS etc. are competitive; applying early is best. Early means, um, now (starting in October, really, 10 months ahead of matriculation). As with med schools, applying at the deadline for a good SMP is applying for the waitlist at best.

That said, I'm a firm believer in taking the MCAT only once, with the maximum possible preparation for a great score. May is a great time to take the test for MD apps (13 months ahead of matriculation), but for SMP apps, you might as well wait until the end of the summer to get more prep done.

Best of luck to you.

 

[southpawcannon]

SMP apps are open now for Fall 2011. Is that what you're aiming for?

SMPs that publish good success rates, such as Gtown, Cincinnati, EVMS etc. are competitive; applying early is best. Early means, um, now (starting in October, really, 10 months ahead of matriculation). As with med schools, applying at the deadline for a good SMP is applying for the waitlist at best.

That said, I'm a firm believer in taking the MCAT only once, with the maximum possible preparation for a great score. May is a great time to take the test for MD apps (13 months ahead of matriculation), but for SMP apps, you might as well wait until the end of the summer to get more prep done.

Best of luck to you.

Thanks, MidLife. Yes, I'm aiming to be accepted to an SMP for fall 2011. I've submitted some materials already to G'town and so they will be just waiting on my final grades fro this spring and MCAT score. I know the MCAT is the required exam, but I have considered taking the GRE to have some form of standardized exam score, high of course, as maybe something to hold my app as being competitive pending MCAT score. I will also apply to Cincy, but was told their applications will not open til January. What do you think of the SMPs at Tulane and S Fla?

 

[DrMidlife]

First, please make sure to get counter opinions. I'm learning that mine are valid for some people and drive other people nuts.

Tulane & USF both have "medical masters"-type SMPs where you're in class with med students, taking the same exams, graded against a similar (but not identical) curve, where the sole purpose of the program is to get you into med school, and the program publishes its (50% to 90%) success rate (oh and you might get a degree or certificate while you're at it). At Tulane this is the ACP and at USF it's the IMS. Both have solid, published results. Tulane ACP requires that you're on a med school wait list, and while it's CHEAP you can't get federal aid for it.

Tulane & USF also have programs that I wouldn't categorize as SMPs, but which have grads who are now in med school. At Tulane there are pharm & genetics 1 year grad programs, and at USF there are several 1 year grad programs. I don't think these are a good choice if your GPA is well below competitive.

More generally:
1. My rule: assume that an SMP or SMP-ish can *only* address cumulative undergrad GPA. Don't use it to patch any other holes (like no letters or low MCAT).
2. My rule: if your GPA is within a standard deviation of the matriculated average GPA (3.3 or 3.4), then you can do almost any SMP or SMP-ish program you want and improve your chances. (Stay away from programs that aren't hosted at med schools though.)
3. My rule: if your GPA is not within a standard deviation of the matriculated average GPA (3.2 or lower) then you really have to choose an SMP that is selective and successful for all (85%+) of its students, if you want to use med/grad work to improve your chances. Generally getting into one of these programs requires a very, very solid med school app with the sole exception of undergrad GPA.

Also look at VCU, Tufts, NYMC, RFU and others in the postbac forum.