Best Time to Take the MCAT

[MDman87]

Alright, so I am soon to be entering my junior year. My question to all of you experienced app folks is when do you recommend taking the MCAT. January seems too early (and I won't have all the prereqs finished). April and May would mean studying during the school year (which could prove disastrous). And June or July gives me time to study during the summer, but my scores will not be submitted until July or August. What do you guys think? Personally, I'm leaning towards June. I plan to only take the test once, so allowing time for a retake isn't really an issue. The only problem (at least I think it's a problem) with June is that my scores will not be submitted until mid-July. Will this be a problem as far as applications are concerned? Or does it really matter when schools receive my scores?

Thanks in advance for any advice

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[RySerr21]

Alright, so I am soon to be entering my junior year. My question to all of you experienced app folks is when do you recommend taking the MCAT. January seems too early (and I won't have all the prereqs finished). April and May would mean studying during the school year (which could prove disastrous). And June or July gives me time to study during the summer, but my scores will not be submitted until July or August. What do you guys think? Personally, I'm leaning towards June. I plan to only take the test once, so allowing time for a retake isn't really an issue. The only problem (at least I think it's a problem) with June is that my scores will not be submitted until mid-July. Will this be a problem as far as applications are concerned? Or does it really matter when schools receive my scores?

Thanks in advance for any advice

No one plans to take the test more than once. But its f*ckin hard. Many people go in with an attitude similar to yours and get a reality check.

I'd say take it late May. Its not that difficult to study during the school year. Just treat your MCAT studying like another course. Do it at the same time every week, and don't stray from that schedule. I studied every Tuesday/Thursday from 830am to about 2PM with a one hour lunch break. If you take it in late May, you will also have a few weeks after your school ends to devote solely to MCAT studying. Also, if you don't do well and need to retake, you can sign up for a July test. If you take in June and mess up, you likely will not get to retake it til August. Thats what happened to my friend...took it June 13th (planning to take it only once). She just retook it a few a days ago and wont have scores til september.

 

[silverlining1]

I think June is just fine - if you have your score in July and submit your AMCAS right away, you're still in the beginning of the pack. I'd strongly advise against taking the test in July. Getting your MCAT score to schools in August is getting late, as I understand.

Make sure you have time to study! You can probably self-teach material that you haven't done in class if necessary, but the most important thing is that you have time to study and practice practice practice.

 

[pianola]

Late May worked best for me, too -- I didn't retake (or plan on retaking either) but I found that my scores came out just as AMCAS applications were about to be submitted to individual schools. So late May was perfect timing IMHO. Try to get in some studying during the school year if you possibly can. The late May date might not be quite AS ideal if your school gets out May 25th or something.

 

[HumidBeing]

Moving to the MCAT discussion forum.