Am I wrong?

[LightShallBringVictory]

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[LnSin]

You'll be fine--as you know you can submit your application AND HAVE IT VERIFIED before you get your MCAT score. This means you can get verified early (June) and be on time for schools to read your app (They start early July from what I hear).


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[Goro]

Hello all,

I have a question about when to apply in this coming cycle; I have talked with a friend of mine who was accepted into many MD schools the past cycle, and he strongly advised against my postponing MCAT date from May to late June.

I thought I had a good reason to put it off, because I scored 502 (128/121/128/127) on my AAMC FL1. Because of such a low score in CARS, I decided to take it in late June. Ever since, I have been taking about two CARS passage a day for practice.

After talking with him last week, he said it was a wrong decision to put it off and that I would have been better off taking the test in May, because I would be super late in the cycle by the time I report my scores on AMCAS. He also said that I would need 510+ to even be competitive by that time. I was going to submit my transcript for verification some time in June and apply this cycle. Now I am worried that I might receive the score below 510 after having already submitted my transcript for verification, thus becoming a reapplicant if I do not get into any. I could wait until I get my scores back, but it would be really late in the cycle if I decide to apply.

What should I do? My current GPA is 3.7, and my ECs are research-heavy. I live in a lucky state.

Thank you for your time to read my post!

Living proof that just people someone has been successful in the app cycle, it doesn't mean that they understand med school admissions.

Your timing is fine. Late June is not late. Even August is not late. Do NOT take the MCAT until you are 100% ready, even if it means skipping an app cycle! But living in a lucky state gives you some leeway with an even later MCAT.

And check with MSAR to see what your state school's 10-90th %iles are for MCAT.

 

[mistafab]

Verify your app with just 1 throw away school in your list as soon as the app opens. A late June mcat means late july results - not too bad. If you get your score in late July and it sucks, just do not apply to any additional schools and you wont be a reapplicant. You will still be a good candidate, since the people who "apply late" typically dont verify their app at all, meaning they apply in august and it takes until sep/oct to verify. If you verify early in the cycle, then your app is ready to go when the results come in.

I'd suggest you take the june mcat if you think it will help your score.

Your gpa is good, and I bet you can make it bro. A low score wont matter since you have as many cycles you need to get where you want to go. Schools are not going anywhere.

 

[alex.jl1994]

n = 1, as someone who just finished the 2016-2017 cycle

I took the MCAT late June. Submitted AMCAS a week later, verified in early August. It was fine. Don't let your friend freak you out!

 

[LightShallBringVictory]

You'll be fine--as you know you can submit your application AND HAVE IT VERIFIED before you get your MCAT score. This means you can get verified early (June) and be on time for schools to read your app (They start early July from what I hear).


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Does submitting my application for verification with one OOS or probably-can't-get-in school make me a repplicant in case I do not get into any med school and apply again next year? Thank you for your response!

Living proof that just people someone has been successful in the app cycle, it doesn't mean that they understand med school admissions.

Your timing is fine. Late June is not late. Even August is not late. Do NOT take the MCAT until you are 100% ready, even if it means skipping an app cycle! But living in a lucky state gives you some leeway with an even later MCAT.

And check with MSAR to see what your state school's 10-90th %iles are for MCAT.

I will buy MSAR within a few days to check the MCAT stats. If a public school's average matriculant MCAT score is 507~509, what MCAT score would be ideal as an in-state applicant given that my GPA is slightly above the average? Thank you very much for your detailed reply.

Verify your app with just 1 throw away school in your list as soon as the app opens. A late June mcat means late july results - not too bad. If you get your score in late July and it sucks, just do not apply to any additional schools and you wont be a reapplicant. You will still be a good candidate, since the people who "apply late" typically dont verify their app at all, meaning they apply in august and it takes until sep/oct to verify. If you verify early in the cycle, then your app is ready to go when the results come in.

I'd suggest you take the june mcat if you think it will help your score.

Your gpa is good, and I bet you can make it bro. A low score wont matter since you have as many cycles you need to get where you want to go. Schools are not going anywhere.

Does it mean that I will not be considered a reapplicant to schools that I had not applied the previous cycle? That's good news! I heard some schools have secondaries that ask their applicants if they previously applied to ANY medical school - hopefully they are not the majority!

I appreciate your kind words! I will do my best on the MCAT in June.

n = 1, as someone who just finished the 2016-2017 cycle

I took the MCAT late June. Submitted AMCAS a week later, verified in early August. It was fine. Don't let your friend freak you out!

Thank you for the encouragement! I now feel better about taking the MCAT in June.

 

[Spr1ngrolls]

Wow it's seriously like looking at a mirror right now. Exactly same practice MCAT on AAMC #1, nearly similar GPA, same question, same dilemma, same solution, same CARS holding back my life, same friends telling me the same thing.

While it truly does trouble me too that I can't take the MCAT and hit that submit button ASAP, I know that if I give myself the extra month or so I can hone in on my glaring deficiencies. Ultimately what dictates whether you get accepted this cycle will be MCAT >>>>>> the date you hit submit. It took me a long while to be okay with this cause I think everyone has given us the impression that you're doomed if you apply a whole month in. While true that you have the best chances submitting early, it's even more true that if you take it when you're not ready, you're bound to fall flat and potentially jeopardize your future in medicine with a single unsatisfactory MCAT score that you'll have to pull yourself from. You can find examples of this being the case by doing a quick search.

TL;DR, don't worry, take a deep breath. We want to follow the "steps to med school success" so narrowly sometimes that we forget that it's not just about how well we trace the lines but how we fill it in. Applying later will be okay if you take a look at everyone else who has gone through this same dilemma.

 

[Goro]

I will buy MSAR within a few days to check the MCAT stats. If a public school's average matriculant MCAT score is 507~509, what MCAT score would be ideal as an in-state applicant given that my GPA is slightly above the average? Thank you very much for your detailed reply.

OOSers always need to be > avg, because state schools favor the home team. But when you get MSAR, you'll find that there are very few, if any MD schools that have a median MCAT of 507-509. Most are 510+. If they're lower than that, they are in states that probably rarely take OOSers, unless they're from next door. So pay very careful attention to Acceptance Information tables for matriculants.