april vs aug MCAT - help!

[dayz]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I'm posting this here cause I would like current students' opinion on this:

I am a junior and studying abroad for the spring 2004 semester and was wondering if I taking the MCATs in August 2004 and apply for a spot in the entering class of 2005 will hurt me?

Thanks for taking the time to read this,
concerned pre-med student

 

[Sheon]

It has been a while since I applied to medical school, but I am pretty sure things have not changed since I applied. The answer is YES!!!

They don't even look at your application until they get your scores (that is in October). By the time they look at your application they have already interviewed enough students to fill their medical school class.

By the time you interview (late November to early December if you are very competitive) they have already accepted enough students to fill the class.*

I will tell you this as I have told hundreds of others. Submitting a late application decreases your chances of admission substantially. Taking the August exam in the year of application is a late application.

I'm in class with a lot of people who didn't get accepted the first time around because they applied late. My advice would be to find a way to take the April exam OR wait until next year to apply.

Just an informed opinion.

*Some schools (like Columbia and Harvard) interview first and send out all acceptance letters on the same day. Your chances are not reduced at these schools, but these schools are almost invariably the most competitive schools to get into.

 

[ermonty]

Ok, disregard that last "Informed" post. I took the MCAT in August '02 and started Medschool in August '03. Not only did I get accepted to my top 3 choice schools, I interviewed at each in the first week of each schools regular decision pool. My point here is that TAKING THE AUGUST MCAT DOES NOT HURT YOUR CHANCES. BUT, you must do one thing, GET YOU APPLICATIONS, TRANSCRIPTS, AND LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION IN ASAP AFTER THE STARTING DATE (in May I believe). I took the August MCAT because I wanted the extra time to prepare, and it payed off, and my case is not an isolated one. Good luck.

 

[El Chupacabra]

ermonty, your post is comforting.

 

[4 Ever]

I agree with Ermonty...

I took the August 03' MCAT and found out by mid december that i was accepted. It will only hurt your chances IF you decide that you will submit your amcas application really late.

I personally completed and submitted my AMCAS a week before the august mcat. Then after taking the test, i asked around my professors for final letters of recommendations (took around 1month/1.5months for them to get this done). Once that was done, the health professions committee wrote their cover letter, so another 2weeks. By then, my scores had just been released and my LOR's were on the way to the schools. My only drawback was the LOR's since I should have had them completed earlier. Aside from that, taking the august will not hurt your chances.... the only thing i have heard is that the april curve is better (since less people have time to study for it so if you study hardcore for it, youll be ready).

 

[Bevo]

i have to disagree, esp if the school has rolling admissions.

The later you apply and have your application complete, the worse it will be for you. Although they will still interview, you'll be interviewing for fewer spots.

I think you do yourself a disservice if you take the August MCAT and apply later.


Im not saying you can't get in if you take the Aug MCAT, Im just saying it becomes harder if you that route.

Its hard road to apply to medical school, why make it worse?

I too took the august mcat. By the time I interviewed, I was told by the director of admissions that right now they were interviewing 10 people for 2 spots. had we all been interviewed a few months earlier, all of us could have gotten in, but only 2 of us right now would have gotten in.

 

[4 Ever]

last summer i had talked to a person who was on the admissions committee and he had told me the following:

unless your scores are really stellar and you have everything going for you, applying early is not very smart when rolling admission is involved. this is because all the other great applicants with 37+ scores are applying alongside you and basically, if you have a 4.0 and 35, and they have a 37 with 4.0 and more things going for them, your chances arent great. Applying in the middle somewhere has its advantages according to him. Every school is different but i see his point where applying early can really screw you over.

 

[Bevo]

same logic applies to those who apply late as well.

 

[Da Vinci2]

I applied three years ago (I am an MS4). If what was true is still true. Then apply early. The earlier you interview, the higher the chance you have of getting in, since most schools have rolling admissions (first come first served). My undergrad is a bio major factory and what we were told was to take the April MCAT and submit everything on the day of (May15th?). There will always be a few people who submitted their AMCAS/MCAT in Sep/Oct who got in before Dec/January. But there will be more people who got in in Dec/Jan who submitted their stuff in May/June. Its statistics. Submit early, you have a higher chance of getting in. Submit late, you can still get in, but you may not have the same chance of getting in if you submitted it early. Its not impossible, just harder. But if you absolutely can't wait a year, then apply anyway.

 

[4 Ever]

Originally posted by lmbebo
same logic applies to those who apply late as well.

if i had an mcat score of 32 going against students with 36+'s, id rather take my chances going against people with 32's who are applying slightly later

 

[ermonty]

Ok, last time, I promise. Some people dont seem to understand the distinction b/t taking MCAT in August BUT doing everything else early: Submit your primary & secondary apps, LORs, and transcripts within ~ 2 weeks of the the start date (I think May). Then just wait for you August MCAT scores to be recieved by the schools. For those of you considering taking the August MCAT and applying for class entering the following year, I promise you will not be at a disadvantage, IF YOU DO THE ABOVE. All but one person from my undergrad took the August MCAT and all interviewed early (within the first month of regular decision). In fact, I got my acceptances before the 'one April MCATer' got his first. Take which ever MCAT you feel comfortable with, BUT no matter which one you take, APPLY EARLY. Good Luck to all.

Monty

 

[care bear]

i really think it's not as big of a deal as people tend to make it sound. yes, my school also told me to do april or i would suffer. but myself and plenty of people i know took august and did just fine in admissions. i'm sure it might have hurt us somewhat, but if you are overall a decent applicant and applying to lots of schools, a good number of them are going to look at you in october, just like they would have looked at you in july.

i agree though that if you do it in august, it's important to get the app. done early so that basically the last portion you are waiting on is just your mcat score.

 

[Lara]

Studying abroad is usually a great opportunity (which I unfortunately didn't get - I'm still dreaming of a Europe trip). 🙂 I'm inclined to say that you won't be at a really great disadvantage providing you have NO extra delays apart from waiting for your August scores. And this includes secondaries, too - make sure to answer and return them as soon as you possibly can, and be extra careful to make sure all the proper LORs are in. Good luck!

(For the record, I applied very late not following the advice I just gave - but that was the year AMCAS first went online with many screwups and there was 9/11 as well, so I think I got lucky there...)

 

[::Seabass::]

some schools will specifically tell you that taking the August MCAT will hurt your chances at THEIR school. I've known people to not get interviews for this very reason (at least that is what they were told when they asked.) However, this is not the majority, many people take the August test and do just fine in the application process.

I would however say if you're just going to be an average canidate that August MCATs will hurt you (or if you are a TX resident.) If you have good stats and feel confidant you can score well above 30, go for it.

 

[dayz]

So if you get in everything else early and take the MCATs in Aug, then will schools look at your application or not look at it at all? I think my 5 semesters GPA is a 3.43 and the last semester (my study abroad semester at Oxford) should be A's ... if I get a 30+ on MCATs (does that shound right? I got a 1410 on SATs ...) will I be competitive? Does it matter if I took it in April or Aug? Grrr ... I keep on going back and forth btw taking it in Apr or Aug .... ahhh!

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! 😀

Oh, and what's the best way to study for the MCATs?

Thanks,
Daisy

 

[4 Ever]

there is no real correlation between SAT scores and MCAT scores... medical schools use the MCAT as a gauge to see how well you will do... basically the more time you put into this test, the better your score will be. I read somewhere that the schools think that because u put this much effort into one test, youll be able to do the same for their program (thats one of the things i heard about MCAT and medical school performance).

that being said, there is no one BEST way to study for the mcats... i would suggest taking some form of diagnostic test and see where u stand. if you get a detailed printout of where your weaknesses are, focus on those. then review the material and then practice practice practice.... honestly, there are tons of threads on how to study for the MCAT. you just have to try every technique out there and stick with what is working for you. What worked for me, might not work for you. check out the MCAT section of the forum and see what they have to say about it

p.s. 30 is competitive but higher ranked schools will want more than what is "competitive"

 

[::Seabass::]

Originally posted by dayz
So if you get in everything else early and take the MCATs in Aug, then will schools look at your application or not look at it at all? I think my 5 semesters GPA is a 3.43 and the last semester (my study abroad semester at Oxford) should be A's ... if I get a 30+ on MCATs (does that shound right? I got a 1410 on SATs ...) will I be competitive? Does it matter if I took it in April or Aug? Grrr ... I keep on going back and forth btw taking it in Apr or Aug .... ahhh!

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! 😀

Oh, and what's the best way to study for the MCATs?

Thanks,
Daisy

you shouldn't NOT study abroad because of the MCATs, that would be dumb. if anything, take a year off between college and med school, you'll be glad you did.