April or August MCAT?

[Turkez]

I want to apply for Medical School for Fall of 2007, but I don't think I'll be ready for the April MCAT. Is it okay if I just take the August MCAT instead? Thank you for any advice on this subject.

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[DrBowtie]

I would try to prepare for April. August puts you at a disadvantage.

 

[ChocolateKiss]

I want to apply for Medical School for Fall of 2007, but I don't think I'll be ready for the April MCAT. Is it okay if I just take the August MCAT instead? Thank you for any advice on this subject.

August is a MAJOR disadvantage, even at many non-rolling schools. If you won't be ready for the April MCAT, I might even take the August MCAT and then wait for 2008 to apply. Quite a few of my friends applied this year, and those who took the Aug MCAT really have not had nearly as many interviews as the April MCATers.

 

[thatguyagain]

I want to apply for Medical School for Fall of 2007, but I don't think I'll be ready for the April MCAT. Is it okay if I just take the August MCAT instead? Thank you for any advice on this subject.

It is true that August puts you at a disadvantage, but doing bad on the MCAT puts you at an even larger disadvantage. If you're a strong candidate and get all your application materials in before October (not counting the MCAT of course. That will arrive automatically sometime during the first half of October), you'll be just fine.

Just do what you've got to do to get a great MCAT score. Otherwise you'll spend a year in limbo.

 

[JimmyG]

So the disadvantage to taking the August MCAT is because your app is not fully complete until scores arrive? Even if you send in all your other app materials early in the summer? Are interview invites not sent out until schools receive your scores?

These questions may be mundane but this is the first time I have heard such a neg response from taking the MCAT in Aug and applying for 2007 (b/c that is MY plan..). Just trying to get more clear answers...

Thanks.

 

[ChocolateKiss]

So the disadvantage to taking the August MCAT is because your app is not fully complete until scores arrive? Even if you send in all your other app materials early in the summer? Are interview invites not sent out until schools receive your scores?

These questions may be mundane but this is the first time I have heard such a neg response from taking the MCAT in Aug and applying for 2007 (b/c that is MY plan..). Just trying to get more clear answers...

Thanks.

Yes, your application will not be complete until your scores come in. Because many, many applications become complete over the summer and in September, you will be pushed to the end of that line and will receive much later interviews than April MCATers.

 

[ND2005]

I want to apply for Medical School for Fall of 2007, but I don't think I'll be ready for the April MCAT. Is it okay if I just take the August MCAT instead? Thank you for any advice on this subject.

If there is any way you can prepare yourself for the April MCAT, do it.

 

[Kimka83]

If you can do significantly better by taking the August test, then do it. So far, I have been fine even with the August MCAT. That being said, it did very well on it. So I would say that there is a disadvantage for August MCATers with below average/average scores. But this is just my experience, so do what seems best to you!

 

[ND2005]

If you can do significantly better by taking the August test, then do it. So far, I have been fine even with the August MCAT. That being said, it did very well on it. So I would say that there is a disadvantage for August MCATers with below average/average scores. But this is just my experience, so do what seems best to you!

My experience with the August MCAT has not been as positive, despite getting nearly as good a score.

What I would say is this: If you take the August MCAT, and any part of your application has a glaring weakness (MCAT score, GPA, ECs), you will be judged much more harshly and quickly based on that weakness than you would be as an April MCATer. People who get acceptances off an April MCAT score/Summer application submission would in some cases not even get an interview at the same school with all the same stats and an August MCAT/Fall application submission.

 

[ChocolateKiss]

If you can do significantly better by taking the August test, then do it. So far, I have been fine even with the August MCAT. That being said, it did very well on it. So I would say that there is a disadvantage for August MCATers with below average/average scores. But this is just my experience, so do what seems best to you!

Hehe. If your stats look like Kimka's (see her MD applicants profile), you'll probably be just fine with the August MCAT...Check out her profile before her post gives you confidence though because it's amazing.

 

[gary5]

I took the August MCAT and go into med school, so here's some advice. If you're not comfortable with April, don't take it then. You need a good score (30+). However, you have got to make good with the summer. I studied 10 hrs/day all summer and got a good bump in my MCAT score. One thing you should not do is wait until you get your August scores to submit your AMCAS - that will be too late. I submitted mine near the earliest date (June I think) so I essentially committed myself to applications before taking the MCAT. Make sure you have lots of time to work on secondary applications. It will be crucial that you turn those around quickly. I forget the timing, but I think I worked on secondaries right after taking the MCAT (I forget that part).

So, what I'm trying to say is, choose one:
1) April MCAT
2) Study all summer, August MCAT, committing to application by submitting AMCAS in June
3) Study all summer, August MCAT, waiting to see your score, in which case your applications will probably be too late, so probably just apply a year later instead, but you've got the MCAT out of the way.

Hope this helps...

 

[sga814]

August MCAT puts you at a disadvantage mostly because people tend to do better on it, so your score is curved less. If it's your junior year, than surely take the April MCAT- you will likely get a similar score even if you study a bit more for the one in August. Just start studying now, and studying HARD, you'll have a summer to do whatever you want as your reward.

 

[Turkez]

I took the August MCAT and go into med school, so here's some advice. If you're not comfortable with April, don't take it then. You need a good score (30+). However, you have got to make good with the summer. I studied 10 hrs/day all summer and got a good bump in my MCAT score. One thing you should not do is wait until you get your August scores to submit your AMCAS - that will be too late. I submitted mine near the earliest date (June I think) so I essentially committed myself to applications before taking the MCAT. Make sure you have lots of time to work on secondary applications. It will be crucial that you turn those around quickly. I forget the timing, but I think I worked on secondaries right after taking the MCAT (I forget that part).

So, what I'm trying to say is, choose one:
1) April MCAT
2) Study all summer, August MCAT, committing to application by submitting AMCAS in June
3) Study all summer, August MCAT, waiting to see your score, in which case your applications will probably be too late, so probably just apply a year later instead, but you've got the MCAT out of the way.

Hope this helps...

Gary, thank you for your advice, but if you can clarify just one thing - what do you mean when you say "submit your AMCAS in June"? I would appreciate if you explain that statement more fully, because I'm not sure I understand.

 

[ND2005]

Gary, thank you for your advice, but if you can clarify just one thing - what do you mean when you say "submit your AMCAS in June"? I would appreciate if you explain that statement more fully, because I'm not sure I understand.

The AMCAS application is the primary, central application that you must submit for med school admissions. This centralized service then forwards your information to all the schools you wish to apply to.

This application is independent of the MCAT, and can be filled out anytime after may. In order to maximize your chances of admission (esp. at rolling schools), you want to turn this in as soon as possible (even if you take the august MCAT), so that schools will review your application early in the process.

 

[NapeSpikes]

Gary, thank you for your advice, but if you can clarify just one thing - what do you mean when you say "submit your AMCAS in June"? I would appreciate if you explain that statement more fully, because I'm not sure I understand.

That's great advice from gary5. Choose one of the three definitely.

Submitting in June means you send out your amcas to all schools. This can be done without scores. That way, most schools will send you secondaries, you can get them all done after the mcat but before scores come out, and everything will be set mid-October. Do NOT wait until after you get your scores to apply. Apply blindly and minimize the lateness of your apps due to taking in August.

 

[godofwine]

how about this?

I plan to take the mcat August 06 and apply summer 07. Would I still be at a disadvantage to take the august mcat then?

-godofwine

 

[IAMS]

Nope, no disadvantage there, you would be golden, AND if you wanted to retake in April 07, you'd still have time before that cycle.

 

[thatguyagain]

If you can do significantly better by taking the August test, then do it. So far, I have been fine even with the August MCAT. That being said, it did very well on it. So I would say that there is a disadvantage for August MCATers with below average/average scores. But this is just my experience, so do what seems best to you!

I hear you loud and clear buddy. Although taking the August MCAT added a great deal of stress to my life, it was the best decision I ever made. I just couldn't be ready in April.

That's great advice from gary5. Choose one of the three definitely.

Submitting in June means you send out your amcas to all schools. This can be done without scores. That way, most schools will send you secondaries, you can get them all done after the mcat but before scores come out, and everything will be set mid-October. Do NOT wait until after you get your scores to apply. Apply blindly and minimize the lateness of your apps due to taking in August.

EXACTLY. There is really no other acceptable way to do it.

 

[JimmyG]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. It is helpful to know both sides of the coin... I'm still planning on taking the Aug MCAT but was also planning on blindly applying in June to my choice of schools. I just won't be ready for the test in April... I'll let you guys know how it turns out...

 

[dbhvt]

August MCAT puts you at a disadvantage mostly because people tend to do better on it, so your score is curved less.

I researched this pretty thoroughly before deciding to take the MCAT in August, and found absolutely no evidence that the August MCAT is curved less.

If you have an idea about where you want to apply (ie non-rolling vs. rolling), that can make a difference in your decision.

 

[shan1997]

So if i take the aug 2006 mcat and wait unitl summer 2007 to sumbit so that it won't be at a disadvantage, i don't need to fill out amcas application and have it in by june and do the secondaries right? i only do that if i want to go ahead an apply?

 

[NapeSpikes]

So if i take the aug 2006 mcat and wait unitl summer 2007 to sumbit so that it won't be at a disadvantage, i don't need to fill out amcas application and have it in by june and do the secondaries right? i only do that if i want to go ahead an apply?

Right. You'd do all that legwork Summer 2007.