Q

[cactusinmyhead]

Q

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[mehc012]

I did some searching on SDN and I couldn't find my specific question, so here it goes.

I took the MCAT in September 2013 and I'm applying to medical school in this cycle (for entry in Fall 2015). BUT things are not looking too good, so I am trying to plan my next move. I'm thinking about joining the Peace Corps if I don't get in this cycle and that is a 2-year + training commitment.

So, QUESTION: Does the MCAT score have to have been received within 3 years of submitting your AMCAS application or within 3 years of matriculating to medical school?

Because if I submit my AMCAS in June 2016 it will not have crossed the 3 year mark, but by the time I enter medical school it will have been over 3 years. See the issue?

Thanks

You are more likely to run into issues Re: old MCAT vs new MCAT. AAMC helpfully released a list of schools accepting old vs new in the upcoming years, and by 2016 there are a lot of schools requiring the new.
After another 2yrs, you're probably going to be in a situation where a retake is best, hate to break it to you.

 

[mehc012]

I did some searching on SDN and I couldn't find my specific question, so here it goes.

I took the MCAT in September 2013 and I'm applying to medical school in this cycle (for entry in Fall 2015). BUT things are not looking too good, so I am trying to plan my next move. I'm thinking about joining the Peace Corps if I don't get in this cycle and that is a 2-year + training commitment.

So, QUESTION: Does the MCAT score have to have been received within 3 years of submitting your AMCAS application or within 3 years of matriculating to medical school?

Because if I submit my AMCAS in June 2016 it will not have crossed the 3 year mark, but by the time I enter medical school it will have been over 3 years. See the issue?

Thanks

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/398586/data/mcatexampolicy.pdf
Here's the policy.

If you were to start applying for Peace Corps now, training early next year/summer, then tack on 2yrs, that would likely mean applying in Jun 2017. In the above table, that would be the '2018 AMCAS', as they list it by the year of the matriculating class.
Your MCAT would probably not be valid via the 3yr rule anyway by then, but you'd have to look up each individual school policy to see that.
However, with this table and the new change, you can see how many doors would be closed to you even if you had taken it yesterday...it's a fair number.

 

[wholeheartedly]

The new vs. old will definitely be your biggest concern.

But just to answer the general question if how long MCAT scores are good for, it is up to each individual school what the timeframe is for how long the consider your MCAT score good for. The average is three years, but some are only two and some are 4. Some say it's from the date you sat for the exam, others from a different time point.