Already have one cycle under belt, difference between June 15th/29th MCAT?

[ethospdx]

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I already have everything ready do go (except MCAT score) since I almost applied last cycle. Well, things did not work out. I am non-trad with a small family so life can get in the way. Anyways, I have scheduled MCAT for June 15th. Plan is to

- Submit primary around June 1st using one throwaway school
- Take MCAT June 15 - then start pre-writing secondaries
- Start adding schools on July 16 (score released)
- Be complete everywhere by mid August

So basically I am giving myself 8 weeks to work on secondaries. What if I took MCAT June 29th? In my particular case, would 15th vs 29th make a difference? (8 vs 6 weeks to spend writing them)

 

[Rachapkis]

Either date will work, as long as you are a) committed to writing your secondaries (it can be a lengthy and gruelling process), and b) reasonably sure life will not get in the way during that period. However, if you are unsure about whether life will get in the way, I would take the test earlier and leave yourself some wiggle room.

 

[DrFortiusNatando]

If you can be prepared by JUNE 15th, do it then. If you are not ready, and the 2 more weeks of dedicated study time is needed to get an optimal score, then take it on the later JUNE date. However, I have found that for many middle and lower tier medical schools, they tend to go by date, and if for some reason, life got in the way again, and you had trouble completing secondaries quickly, you might lose out on some opportunities. For this cycle, 2 of my advisees came from an UG that was very late in submitting committee letters. They were not complete until mid-to late September bc of their committee letter was not uploaded until then. They got a good number of T20 interviews, but essentially no middle tier places, as these institutions were already deep into giving out their interviews, and seemed to be more likely to read their apps in some kind of "order". (Maybe some yield protection going on too, but I think the late completion date had to play a role). Top 20 places were very unpredictable in. a good way - even with a late complete date, they each got about 5-8 top 20 invites before Dec 1, and some offers came within a week of their late submissions. Silence from all middle tier places for both of them, except one's state school.

 

[965978]

So I'm very confused. You said you already have one cycle under belt, so are you a re applicant? If so, have you then taken the MCAT before already? How'd you do?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

So I'm very confused. You said you already have one cycle under belt, so are you a re applicant? If so, have you then taken the MCAT before already? How'd you do?

I believe he worded the thread title poorly. In the first paragraph of the OP, he says he “almost” applied last cycle.

 

[OchemOficionado]

No difference between those two dates.

I worked full time and worked on secondaries just fine. Just gotta prioritize and manage your time.

 

[ethospdx]

So I'm very confused. You said you already have one cycle under belt, so are you a re applicant? If so, have you then taken the MCAT before already? How'd you do?

Yes I titled it poorly. I nearly applied and I nearly took the MCAT, but I did neither. What I'm trying to say is I know how the process works and I know how long it will take to get all the documents and of course I have some documents already in hand.