Void My MCAT And Take in July?

[j_lo]

In desperate need of advice. My MCAT is tomorrow and it's too late to cancel. I have not been able to study how I have wanted due to personal/family issues. I am not confident I will score better than 495-500. I still want to apply this cycle. Would it be better to take the exam tomorrow and still score even if I don't feel confident (this is my first MCAT)? I am planning on taking it on July 29th as I think I can get a 512-515 between now and then. Should I void tomorrow and just take it in July? I'm worried this will make my application too late in the cycle. However, I would prewrite secondaries to be able to submit everything asap after my score is released. So what are your thoughts, score the exam tomorrow and do better in July or just applying with the July score? Would I still have a good chance of getting in if I apply that late? My cGPA is 3.9, BCPM 3.8, I have good leadership and volunteer ECs, 300~ clinical/shadowing hours, and some qualitative research experience.

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[VaultArmitage]

100% do not take the MCAT if you are not ready for it. You want to take that test once and do well! Many schools average scores on recommendation of AMCAS, so scoring a 495 tomorrow and a 515 in July would only be a 505 at most schools. July 29th is a little late for this cycle in my opinon (but I am not an expert by any means) because that means your score would get back August 30 which means early september would be the soonest you could turn your app in (and that's with a ton of prewriting secondaries and actually getting your goal score on the MCAT). I applied this last cycle and 1 of my only 2 acceptances came from a school I interviewed with in August.

My advice would honestly be to take a gap year. That will allow you to take the MCAT at your leisure, buff up your hours more, and massively increase your chances of success!

 

[j_lo]

100% do not take the MCAT if you are not ready for it. You want to take that test once and do well! Many schools average scores on recommendation of AMCAS, so scoring a 495 tomorrow and a 515 in July would only be a 505 at most schools. July 29th is a little late for this cycle in my opinon (but I am not an expert by any means) because that means your score would get back August 30 which means early september would be the soonest you could turn your app in (and that's with a ton of prewriting secondaries and actually getting your goal score on the MCAT). I applied this last cycle and 1 of my only 2 acceptances came from a school I interviewed with in August.

My advice would honestly be to take a gap year. That will allow you to take the MCAT at your leisure, buff up your hours more, and massively increase your chances of success!

I just graduated this May so I am already taking a gap year you could say. I really don't want to take 2 gap years. So I guess I'll just have to hope for an acceptance with a late app. Thanks for your input I appreciate it!

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

July is pretty much too late for this cycle tbh. I would recommend against applying with a late app. You don’t want to apply as a reapplicant

 

[chilly_md]

What have your practice scores been? Do you think you’ll get a low score due to recent personal events or were you scoring in that range beforehand too?

 

[Goro]

In desperate need of advice. My MCAT is tomorrow and it's too late to cancel. I have not been able to study how I have wanted due to personal/family issues. I am not confident I will score better than 495-500. I still want to apply this cycle. Would it be better to take the exam tomorrow and still score even if I don't feel confident (this is my first MCAT)? I am planning on taking it on July 29th as I think I can get a 512-515 between now and then. Should I void tomorrow and just take it in July? I'm worried this will make my application too late in the cycle. However, I would prewrite secondaries to be able to submit everything asap after my score is released. So what are your thoughts, score the exam tomorrow and do better in July or just applying with the July score? Would I still have a good chance of getting in if I apply that late? My cGPA is 3.9, BCPM 3.8, I have good leadership and volunteer ECs, 300~ clinical/shadowing hours, and some qualitative research experience.

This is a no-brainer. Do not take the test. Do not take it with the intention of waiting, because the temptation to not void and then get a bad score is too high.
Do not take the MCAT when you are not 100% ready for it. Take it only when you are ready, even if it means skipping an app cycle. Medical schools are not going anywhere.

 

[Goro]

And do not fall for the sunk cost in wanting to take the exam because you've already paid for it.

 

[ujsc]

I just graduated this May so I am already taking a gap year you could say. I really don't want to take 2 gap years. So I guess I'll just have to hope for an acceptance with a late app. Thanks for your input I appreciate it!

Remember how expensive it is to apply. Wait the second gap year, study properly, bolster your application, and do it right!! Don't rush to failure.

 

[j_lo]

Is taking July 29th MCAT too late for this cycle? I plan on submitting primaries first week of June then studying for the exam. And prewriting all my secondaries while I wait for my score so I can be complete once they are released. I really don’t want to wait another year. Would it look bad to reapply if this doesn’t lead to an acceptance?

 

[sousa7]

July 29th is too late imo. I would say mid-July would be the absolute latest you should take it. With a July 29th mcat, you'll be submitting secondaries in the beginning of september, which will put you at a huge disadvantage.

Reapplying is not bad in and of itself, but personally I wouldn't waste time and money having my apps done in september.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

It’s too late. You could take the test and void for a practice run but only if you have strong enough willpower to void right away. Some people think they did well and do terribly. If you go in thinking about voiding, you must void no matter what