April vs. August MCAT

[DocRo]

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I've heard that the curve for the August MCAT is a little wacky compared to the April MCAT and everyone is advising me to take the April. I'm a post-bacc and won't be done with orgo II, bio II and physics II until this May. I was planning on devoting my entire summer to the August MCAT, but people are telling me that I should see the MCAT once before the August test. What do you all suggest??

 

[DrBowtie]

Look at the results. They have to be the same since they are normalized to compare them to one another.

 

[Law2Doc]

I've heard that the curve for the August MCAT is a little wacky compared to the April MCAT and everyone is advising me to take the April. I'm a post-bacc and won't be done with orgo II, bio II and physics II until this May. I was planning on devoting my entire summer to the August MCAT, but people are telling me that I should see the MCAT once before the August test. What do you all suggest??

You really only want to take the MCAT once if possible, and don't want to take it until you are done with the core courses. If that means Aug, so be it (or you can always push the cycle back a year and take it in the following April). April is advantageous as you can be totally complete earlier, which is advantageous in a rolling admissions process. However lots of people get in off the August one, and so if your score will be a lot higher in Aug (which I suspect, since you will have actually finished the prereqs by then and had a summer to study) that will negate any disadvantage of taking the later test. It certainly looks better to have just taken the MCAT once and done well at it than to have taken it multiple times, with one flub score. Just try to have your AMCAS submitted in eary summer well ahead of your MCAT.

 

[HunterGatherer]

Take it once and rock it. I prepped for the April MCAT and felt unprepared so took the August MCAT. Take the August MCAT only if you will not be prepared enough for the April MCAT.

I don't believe that taking the MCAT once as a practice will help you when you take it a second time. Look at stats on how 2nd time takers of the MCAT improve. Generally it's not much. Shouldn't they be doing well because they saw the exam in actual test conditions at least one other time?

I was worried about the score distribution of April vs. August but I don't think this is really a big deal. Study hard and don't slack.

 

[MoosePilot]

I don't think the score distribution is an issue. The main issue is that the August MCAT puts you at a serious disadvantage for applications. I was accepted to medical school around the time August MCAT students received their scores. Think about that if you don't think it's a disadvantage... my seat, at least, was not available for an acceptance.

 

[MoosePilot]

With the computerized test, is this even an issue for much longer?

 

[HunterGatherer]

Be on the ball with personal statement, LORs(be wary of these), AMCAS, AACOMAS, do 2ndry questions early from SDN posts, etc.

I was an August MCATer, was on the ball with everything above and my interview cycle is over. Accepted to my #2 school and waiting to hear from my #1 choice I interviewed at yesterday.

Check the August MCAT INterview thread

Just try to have your AMCAS submitted in eary summer well ahead of your MCAT.

 

[Law2Doc]

I don't think the score distribution is an issue. The main issue is that the August MCAT puts you at a serious disadvantage for applications. I was accepted to medical school around the time August MCAT students received their scores. Think about that if you don't think it's a disadvantage... my seat, at least, was not available for an acceptance.

True about the timing, but the OP indicated he wouldn't be finished with the prereqs by April. I saw enough stuff on the MCAT from the latter half of all those courses that my score would have been prohibitive of attending med school had I taken it earlier. Good score beats better timing in my book (speaking as one who lived it).

 

[HunterGatherer]

I think with the availability of taking tests more frequently that taking the exam in April would make less sense and people would opt to take the exam in May after the semester finals are over. So then we will get the same threads. "should I take it at the end May after classes are over or should I take it in August after getting 10 weeks of study"

With the computerized test, is this even an issue for much longer?

 

[MoosePilot]

True about the timing, but the OP indicated he wouldn't be finished with the prereqs by April. I saw enough stuff on the MCAT from the latter half of all those courses that my score would have been prohibitive of attending med school had I taken it earlier. Good score beats better timing in my book (speaking as one who lived it).

He'll be about a month from done. I don't think that's the same as never having seen the material, but I completely agree that score trumps timing, especially if it's more than a few points.

If you do take the August test, you have to take advantage of the summer to rock the test. If you wake up one morning in August and think about how your summmer has flown by, but now you'd better crack open those MCAT review books... let me just say you would have just done a good job of shooting your medical aspirations in the head.

 

[Law2Doc]

He'll be about a month from done. I don't think that's the same as never having seen the material, but I completely agree that score trumps timing, especially if it's more than a few points.

Depends on his courses and what the profs save for the end. Some of my classes were back loaded with things that actually showed up on my particular version of the MCAT. But I suspect there's also the matter of the OPs squeezing in time to study for the rest of the MCAT on top of those classes.

 

[DrBowtie]

I think with the availability of taking tests more frequently that taking the exam in April would make less sense and people would opt to take the exam in May after the semester finals are over. So then we will get the same threads. "should I take it at the end May after classes are over or should I take it in August after getting 10 weeks of study"

I am going to bet that Aug 2006 (the last p & p) will have the highest number of takers for one admin.
I guess it is good for a better normal distribution.

 

[Law2Doc]

I am going to bet that Aug 2006 (the last p & p) will have the highest number of takers for one admin.
I guess it is good for a better normal distribution.

Yeah, if you are ready, that will be ideal, as I suspect lots of people are going to rush into that one before they necessarilly are 100% ready, just to avoid pioneering the technology version.

 

[DrBowtie]

Yeah, if you are ready, that will be ideal, as I suspect lots of people are going to rush into that one before they necessarilly are 100% ready, just to avoid pioneering the technology version.

Indeed.

 

[DocRo]

Indeed.

Thanks guys I'm much more clear on what I have to do and I don't think putting half effort in the April MCAT is worth possibly sacrificing my GPA just for the sake of seeing the MCAT once before August.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Thanks guys I'm much more clear on what I have to do and I don't think putting half effort in the April MCAT is worth possibly sacrificing my GPA just for the sake of seeing the MCAT once before August.

Take the mcat once, but do it with full effort please! There are enough old tests that have been released in addition to mock tests made by prep companies to let you "see" the mcat before taking it once.