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[medschoolwoo]

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[TSHJB302]

Is taking the mcat on June 28 too late for this cycle/ will it put me at a disadvantage? Currently registered for a late May date but I just got an internship that will prevent me from taking it on that day, plus i do not think I am anywhere close to prepared at this point... Would June 15 be significantly better than June 28?
I have heard that some people submit primaries to one school the day it comes out to be verified, despite not having an mcat score, but I am not sure what that entails.
Ant advice would be appreciated!

I have been told that the end of June is the latest date you can take the MCAT and still be considered part of the early pool of applicants. If you don't feel like you will be ready, I would push your test back. If you feel like you would have been ready to take the exam in late May and you just had a time conflict, I would choose the June 15th date. Might as well get your score back a little earlier if you were already prepared for the exam.

 

[Ad2b]

1. There are always outliers - those who take the MCAT as late as September and still get a seat the following July / August... but they are outliers

2. Taking your exam later than the rest of the people does a few things:

a. as interviews are sent out on a rolling basis for many schools, many of those invites will have been sent and possible acceptances sent before you even are considered complete

remember, primary has to get validated by AAMC first before being sent to schools; July and August are considered the heaviest months for validation; no school even knows you exist until that piece is done by the AAMC which can take up to 4 weeks to complete; now you are into August before getting into the pile for secondaries which means possibly September for full review by adcom at schools

b. puts you into the common bucket rather than the "was ready to go at start" bucket... which is easier and more likely to be reviewed; not all applications are reviewed (I've had that confirmed by adcoms at schools that get inundated by apps... )

All that said, if you are NOT ready to take it, do not take it. Do not take this exam until you are confident enough in yourself to sit for it. That means you've completed content review, done enough passages to get a feel for the exam, done enough full length exams under timed conditions to feel ready (no one ever, or very rarely ever, says, "Got this - gonna bang out this MCAT thing." most do not feel like it before or during and certainly not after until they get their scores)

 

[TheAverageDoctor]

1. There are always outliers - those who take the MCAT as late as September and still get a seat the following July / August... but they are outliers

2. Taking your exam later than the rest of the people does a few things:

a. as interviews are sent out on a rolling basis for many schools, many of those invites will have been sent and possible acceptances sent before you even are considered complete

remember, primary has to get validated by AAMC first before being sent to schools; July and August are considered the heaviest months for validation; no school even knows you exist until that piece is done by the AAMC which can take up to 4 weeks to complete; now you are into August before getting into the pile for secondaries which means possibly September for full review by adcom at schools

b. puts you into the common bucket rather than the "was ready to go at start" bucket... which is easier and more likely to be reviewed; not all applications are reviewed (I've had that confirmed by adcoms at schools that get inundated by apps... )

All that said, if you are NOT ready to take it, do not take it. Do not take this exam until you are confident enough in yourself to sit for it. That means you've completed content review, done enough passages to get a feel for the exam, done enough full length exams under timed conditions to feel ready (no one ever, or very rarely ever, says, "Got this - gonna bang out this MCAT thing." most do not feel like it before or during and certainly not after until they get their scores)

Ad2b sums this up perfectly, but I would add one thing just in case you end up not taking it. I'm a bit more removed from taking the MCAT but I did end up feeling unprepared and pushing mine back....a whole year. I ended up seeing all my friends get in before I did and missing out on a potential year of income as an attending, but it turns out that year was exactly what I needed to get my stuff together, reaffirm that I wanted to be a doctor, and do well on the MCAT. A year off isn't that bad, and is actually fairly common.

As Ad2b said, it's better to take it and feel well prepared and confident than to take it knowing you haven't done as best as you could.

Lastly, do you have an advisor at your school you can talk to about test day timing?

 

[Dream of the Endless]

As mentioned above, the verification process is what will take you a while. If you are set on applying this cycle, consider submitting only one school as a "throwaway" so you can get your application verified ASAP. After your MCAT comes back you can just rapid fire send out applications to your other schools. Just be aware that your application list could be significantly different depending on your score. (Have you SEEN them new MSAR MEDIANS????)

More directly answering your question, the sooner the better. Not sure how significant a difference X2 weeks is in July, but you ideally want to be complete before August. But, as mentioned above, only take it when ready.