August MCAT takers, did it hurt your chance?

[buggy]

Well, I probably have to take the MCAT in August.

Do you think if you had taken it in April, you might have had a better chance in getting in your first choice or getting in any school?

One friend of mine told me it really hurt hers. But I'm just not ready for the April MCAT yet ...

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[Allygator89]

I dont' really think it hurt my chances as much as people say it does. I still received all my secondaries early, and when my scores came back in October, I starting getting interview invites right away. I interviewed at my first school at the end of October, and continued interviewing through March. So I wouldn't worry too much. Just get everything else done as soon as possible.

If it hurt your chances that greatly, it wouldn't be an option for medical school admissions, would it?

 

[Osteoblasts]

allygator89, when did you fill out your amcas application? was the august mcat, your first time?


I am also taking the august mcat(first time). However, i am very hesistant to apply before my scores(meaning fill out amcas in october). Because if i do fill out my primary application early and may get secondaries before the mcat scores. Then i really bump on the mcat, i would probably get rejected and waste alot of money. So, i think i would wait for my scores in october and then decide if i should apply. What do you guys think?

 

[LunaMoth]

waiting until october to find out your MCAT score is problematic because most med schools (and especially those that are rolling) give early applicants an edge. If you wait till october to send out your primary, chances are, all your interviews will be in the spring, while many rolling schools have already begun to fill their classes in the fall. Even non-rolling schools are typically more stringent with late applicants than early ones. If you're a super-applicant, it may not matter much, but if you're more average, you may end up interviewing for waitlist spots.

you can risk it...but if you're really not sure how well you're going to do on the MCAT, you may want to wait until the next application cycle.

 

[bennet]

Originally posted by Osteoblasts
I am also taking the august mcat(first time). However, i am very hesistant to apply before my scores(meaning fill out amcas in october). Because if i do fill out my primary application early and may get secondaries before the mcat scores. Then i really bump on the mcat, i would probably get rejected and waste alot of money. So, i think i would wait for my scores in october and then decide if i should apply. What do you guys think?

You could try to take a good amount of realistic practice tests to give you an idea of what to expect and then, turn in your AMCAS app before the end of August, at the very latest. This is what i did but even August is a bit late. October would be really pushing it.

 

[JM.]

just submit your amcas as soon as you can and go from there, i august mcatted and had several good interviews. good luck.

 

[Osteoblasts]

thanx for the suggestions

 

[tBw]

There's diversity of opinion on "how much" of a problem taking the August MCAT is, but I doubt you will find a single person that thinks it's actually a good thing! (unless not applying till the next year).

The reason, as you realize, is that you are later than the April MCATers in getting complete. I took the August MCAT and I do believe that it hurt me at some schools, though I think it is school dependent. However, I had turned in AMCAS begining of June and completed all the secondaries before taking the MCAT (except those schools which wait for the MCAT before giving secondaries). I was still receiving interview invitations into March at some places! Based on that I really think waiting till October to file AMCAS is pretty much wasting your time and money as you are putting yourself at a considerable disadvantage. You *might* get in somewhere, but some schools have deadlines for their secondary essays in November, so you are going to be really pressed for time. I suspect even if you do get in, it might not be to your top choice (unless that happens to be one of the easier state schools...). So my advice is not take the Aptil MCAT as you are not ready - do take the August. But either have faith in yourself and get the apps in early anyway, or if you really think you might 'bomb' the MCAT - wait till next year to apply. I don't recommend sending primary apps in in October, especially if you are not anticipating an absolutely stellar MCAT score. good luck whatever you decide.

 

[lola]

i agree w/ the boy wonder .

you *must* turn in your primary before you take the test! it is definitely worth the gamble. if you bomb the test, stop applying this year (at least to all but your state schools), lose your $500(or however much it costs to list schools on amcas), and take it again.

i also believe that the lower your august mcat score, the more the august mcat hurts you. think about it. if you score a 38 your app will stand out. if you score a 28, your app may get lost in the pile with the thousands of apps they are trying to review. i was very fortunate to receive as many interview offers as i did with a low august mcat score. however, most of my interviews were in february/march and at least 2 were for a waitlist. here i am mid-april with no acceptances.

 

[Osteoblasts]

Originally posted by lola




i also believe that the lower your august mcat score, the more the august mcat hurts you. think about it. if you score a 38 your app will stand out. if you score a 28, your app may get lost in the pile with the thousands of apps they are trying to review. i was very fortunate to receive as many interview offers as i did with a low august mcat score. however, most of my interviews were in february/march and at least 2 were for a waitlist. here i am mid-april with no acceptances.

do you mind sharing your mcat score?

 

[lola]

27 (9,9,9) -- was consistently hitting 30 in practice.

i'm a non-traditional applicant w/ a very strong application other than those scores. i'm sure that is why i'm getting all these interviews. if i were a senior in college right now with those scores there is no way i'd have gotten all these interviews.

 

[Osteoblasts]

Originally posted by lola
27 (9,9,9) -- was consistently hitting 30 in practice.

i'm a non-traditional applicant w/ a very strong application other than those scores. i'm sure that is why i'm getting all these interviews. if i were a senior in college right now with those scores there is no way i'd have gotten all these interviews.

Why did you say it was a low score? I heard people getting accepted with 20 or 21 mcat score.

 

[tBw]

as lola points out - the MCAT is the least important part of her application profile. I'de comment more on her background but I can't remember which bits I know from SDN threads and which bits are not common knowledge. In virtually every other category she would 'beat' almost any other SDNer on here, so while she might be a good person to aspire to emulate, she's not a good person to compare yourself to, especially if just making the call based on MCATs, which while decent are not reflective of how great an applicant she is.

 

[lola]

27 is definitely low for a white girl like me from california. hardly anyone gets in with a 20 or 21. those that do must have something really special about them and are likely urm's. many people get in with 27's, but these are often to their state schools (which i can't apply to b/c i'm from california). sure, some schools do take quite a few people with less than 30 on the mcat, but it's hard to be one of those people b/c sooo many people score around 27 or 28. you have to be unique, and also you have to be lucky to get in to a private school with a score like that. you need at least a 29 or 30 to be competitive at most schools unless you are really unique and stellar in other ways. that's just the way it is.

 

[Osteoblasts]

Well, i saw those stats on the pre-osteopathic forum and i don't think they were urm. I don't know if they true or not. Did you apply to DO schools because most of thier students seem to be "non-traditional". It seems like you have a great application. I hope you get accepted.

 

[lola]

osteopathic stats are on average quite a bit lower than stats for most allopathic med schools. i did not apply to osteopathic schools, because i don't know that much about their philosphy and what i do know does not particularly interest me. i am not sure what osteopathic schools look at in terms of admission. i know their average numbers are generally lower -- not sure if that is a result of looking at the entire application and caring more about the person than the numbers or a result of people with much lower numbers applying. anyway, thanks for the kind words. i just don't want people thinking that it's easy to get into allopathic schools with a sub-30 mcat, particularly a sub-30 august mcat. it is definitely possible and does happen, but you have to have some luck on your side and/or a really exceptional rest of your application or a state with easier to get into med schools.

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by Osteoblasts
Why did you say it was a low score? I heard people getting accepted with 20 or 21 mcat score.

those are the outliers....people who get into allopathic schools with a 20 or 21 are very very very very rare. i'd say those scores are extremely rare for urm's too. if you are thinking that you can pull a 26 or something in aug and then send in amcas and think it will be a cakewalk through the application process...you have something else coming to you.

i took the august mcat only pulled like a 30...had quite a few interviews this year. if you can't avoid taking the aug mcat all isn't lost. but, as others have stated...you MUST send your amcas in June still, so you can start getting secondaries in Aug and have all of them turned in to the schools along with LORs before the scores are released in Oct. That way once your aug scores are relseased to the schools your files are ready to roll.

if you don't get your files completed before the aug scores come out in october you will be at a pretty big disadvantage.

the key is to still have everything in early even if you are taking the aug mcat. a lot of people think they can skate by and turn in amcas primaries AFTER the aug scores come out. unless you are an amazing candidate and pull a 35+ on those scores submitting the primary after you see your scores will be tough. heck, even with a 35+ submitting the primary after seeing your scores is really not advisable. i think theres someone here on sdn who rocked the mcat in aug but submitted amcas in oct after scores came out and they are having a tough time with waitlists etc.

anyhow...good luck...just remember to turn everything early and never believe the hype about people who get in with extremely sub par mcat scores.

 

[Osteoblasts]

Originally posted by lola
anyway, thanks for the kind words.

You are very welcome.
I am Phars roomate. Phar came online this morning and read your the posts and was particularly discouraged by your thread('feeling bitter') in the lounge forum. He said that you created the thread as a result of the lies he made to the adcoms(which angered you more than anyone else on SDN).
I have known Phar for the past 3yrs and he is a great guy.
Anyway, we(5guys) all wish you the best of luck and hope that you get accepted. Let us know if you get accepted so that we can celebrate. You seem to be the most deserving SDN member to get accepted.

 

[lola]

Originally posted by Osteoblasts
I am Phars roomate.

aaaah. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

 

[Fenrezz]

Originally posted by Osteoblasts
I am Phars roomate.

Whoa! Hold the phone! So you're the one responsible for him finding SDN??

Okay, everyone, grab your torches and pitchforks!!

 

[Osteoblasts]

Originally posted by Fenrezz
Whoa! Hold the phone! So you're the one responsible for him finding SDN??

Okay, everyone, grab your torches and pitchforks!!

no actually, he is the one.

 

[buggy]

Thanks guys!

While I was reading your posts, I got very sweaty. My palms got so sweaty that I had to use paper towl to wipe it! I guess I'm just so scared that I'm gonna blow this whole application thing by taking the August MCAT and not knowing if I can ace it.

And my school won't send my recommendation letters until they see my MCAT score... that'll be really late. I'm really scared... by the time my stuff finally got in there, I'll be competing 1/5 the class positions at the best??

I'm usually an optimistic person, but now I'm very pessimistic on the application thing!!

But happy Easter everybody!

 

[lola]

wow, that sucks they won't write the letter until they see your scores. not to be negative, but that will likely put you at a real disadvantage . of course, i don't know anything about you, so maybe you will be one of those people who can slip through despite having a late application.

maybe you should consider taking a year off? i know at this point it might be hard to imagine what you would do in that year or how you'd get a job, but taking time off has been a great thing for me. not only would it give you a break from school and not put you at a disadvantage b/c of the mcat, but you might come out looking even more desirable to med schools if you've done something really worthwhile with your time. good luck!

 

[tBw]

alternatively you could ask some independent letter writers to send in LORs direct to med schools. It may not speed up your app at some schools, but some schools will be fine with that.

 

[buggy]

Thanks lola! I'll consider that...

But I still don't quite understand why med schools are filling their spots so fast? At least half the applicants are taking the Aug MCAT!

 

[Moskeeto]

Yeah, its the same thing here at Davis. You have to have a committee meeting for your letters, but you can't schedule that until you have your MCAT scores and then its usually 2 weeks after the day you schedule, plus it takes a week to get the person you met with to write the committee letter. So, you're looking at waiting about 2 to 4 weeks AFTER you get your scores back. That spells November. I'm an August MCATer and I think it definitely has hurt my odds at getting in, but its far from impossible to get in with an Aug MCAT. Its a gamble. Also, I waited to send off my primary until after I took the test, but before I got my scores.

 

[lola]

yeah, you could do what the boy wonder said & get separate lor's. however, some schools require a committee letter (can't remember which ones) if you have a committee.

how fast schools fill their spots really varies by school. from my experience the uc's are very very slow, and i don't think my august mcat hurt me at the uc's. other schools like loyola and tulane fill their class quickly -- i interviewed for the waitlist at these schools. loyola did not give me a secondary until well after my august mcat scores were released & they fill their class in december i believe. i think the august mcat may hurt at bu since they finish interviews in feburary.

i don't know why schools fill their spots so fast. probably b/c they can do so and still get their pick of great students. it's easier to thoroughly review 1,000 early applications and fill the class w/the most qualified of those than 7,000 total applications.

there is so much you can do if you take a year off that you might not have a chance to do for the next several years while in med school/residency. have fun, travel, get more clinical experience, get a job, learn a language, etc...

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by lola
wow, that sucks they won't write the letter until they see your scores. not to be negative, but that will likely put you at a real disadvantage . of course, i don't know anything about you, so maybe you will be one of those people who can slip through despite having a late application.

maybe you should consider taking a year off? i know at this point it might be hard to imagine what you would do in that year or how you'd get a job, but taking time off has been a great thing for me. not only would it give you a break from school and not put you at a disadvantage b/c of the mcat, but you might come out looking even more desirable to med schools if you've done something really worthwhile with your time. good luck!

buggy,

i agree with lola...perhaps you should wait ayear to apply. its not the end of the world to wait a year and it will give you a chance to beef up your resume. not to mention during interview season of the following year it is nice not to have to worry about tests or midterms.

thats pretty lame that the committee has to wait for your mcat scores. what is their timetable? i mean your aug mcat scores would come out in october....so by the time they have a letter written it will be late oct? by the time that letter gets from the usps to the school's mail service and the school actually sorts the mail and puts the letter in your file it will be what? early nov? so schools probably won't get to your file til mid to late november? thats if there aren't any glitches. factor in the lag that will undoubtedly be encountered and the files that were completed before yours that have to be reviewed first the adcoms may not even get to your file til late nov early dec. you may not get an interview invite til late dec for an interview date that may be in february or even march.

look at it this way...i had all my stuff in on time so that the schools just had to wait for my scores and could then begin reviewing and most of my interviews were in feb. if the recommenders have to wait for your scores it may be march til you actually go to your first interview. you would be better served to wait for the following cycle. get everything early and start getting interviews in august/sept.

just my 2 pennies. just giving you some things to think about. good luck with your decision.

 

[buggy]

Thank you all for the advice!!!!

I'm thinking of going out jogging for a while, because now I can't think of anything else but being already late in the process. Hopefully my brain will be functioning again with the fresh breeze out there.... I wonder what i've been doing in the past four months....

 

[conure]

I took the August MCAT and my committee wouldn't review me until they saw my scores as well. It was pretty tough but they were able to turn out my letter within two weeks. The key is having all your individual recs in to them well before hand.

I am also a non -trad applicant with alot of other stuff in my application beside a decent MCAT score. This resulted in 5 interviews, one waitlist so far and still waiting. I'm convinced that being complete by the middle to end of August would have resulted in 3-4 more interviews and earlier interviews, all of which would have increased my chances.

As for waiting to submit the AMCAS until seeing your Aug. scores? Forget about it. There is no possible scenario other then your mother/father being the dean of your local SOM, in which this could work.

Bottom line, Aug MCAT can work but you gotta be on the ball big time with everything else in your application.

 

[aquaboy]

I was an Aug. MCATer and I think that it hurt my chances at schools that are rolloing but receive a ton of applications (ie. GWU, NYMC, etc.). I received 7 interviews this year and turned down 3 of them after gaining acceptance to UVa.

My so-called "safety schools" like GWU rejected me pre-interview while better schools offered me interviews rather quickly. I was done interviewing by the end of Jan. and knew where I was going.

The Aug. MCAT can hurt you if you don't have your secondaries complete before you receive your scores. You have to be on the ball and take a chance that your MCAT score will pan out. I think I applied to too many schools to be safe but that OK. Just be vigilant about completing primaries and secondaries before October and you should be fine.

 

[geldrop]

If I could do it all over again I would have taken a year off and just apply early and get everything in nice and early. I would not suggest taking the August MCAT and applying for the following fall. Yeah it sucks taking a year off. If your someone that can entertain himself for a year and enjoy himself or find something worthwhile to deveote himself to I'd strongly suggest you take a year off and apply for the following year.

It definitly hurt my chances I'd have to say. I have been told more than once from school's that rejected me saying that my interview was very late, and it hurt my chances. Perhaps some of the times I think they were just saying that to avoid criticizing me.

But anyhow. Plus with a year off think of how many ways you can enhance your application by doing some research or some interesting volunteer stuff overseas, or just getting an interesting everyday job. If your goal is to get into ANY medical school and you have a good portfolio already i'd apply for the fall. Otherwise wait a year. One year is nothing! Don't be in such a rush to study all day.

 

[dreaminOfMD>.<]

Which schools are likely to give out secondaries even if your scores are not back yet?

 

[lola]

most schools will give you a secondary w/out your mcat scores, because most schools give secondaries to everyone. the schools i applied to that waited to get my august scores were:

loyola
wake forest
stanford
all the uc's except ucsf

 

[dreaminOfMD>.<]

thanks lola! how are things going by the way? any good news?

 

[lil pook]

Originally posted by the boy wonder
There's diversity of opinion on "how much" of a problem taking the August MCAT is, but I doubt you will find a single person that thinks it's actually a good thing! (unless not applying till the next year).

The reason, as you realize, is that you are later than the April MCATers in getting complete. I took the August MCAT and I do believe that it hurt me at some schools, though I think it is school dependent. However, I had turned in AMCAS begining of June and completed all the secondaries before taking the MCAT (except those schools which wait for the MCAT before giving secondaries). I was still receiving interview invitations into March at some places! Based on that I really think waiting till October to file AMCAS is pretty much wasting your time and money as you are putting yourself at a considerable disadvantage. You *might* get in somewhere, but some schools have deadlines for their secondary essays in November, so you are going to be really pressed for time. I suspect even if you do get in, it might not be to your top choice (unless that happens to be one of the easier state schools...). So my advice is not take the Aptil MCAT as you are not ready - do take the August. But either have faith in yourself and get the apps in early anyway, or if you really think you might 'bomb' the MCAT - wait till next year to apply. I don't recommend sending primary apps in in October, especially if you are not anticipating an absolutely stellar MCAT score. good luck whatever you decide.

\




Boy wonder--are you saying that you can fill out apps at schools without having even taken the MCAT at all?? How is this possible?

 

[benzo]

You are much better off sending your AMCAS as soon as you can. I have no doubt about it.

 

[SOBEIT]

I took the August MCAT and waited for the scores before I even thought of submitting the AMCAS. I was originally planning on applying for 2004, and made a "what the hell" decision to do it now, and just applied to a handful of schools I really wanted to go to. I think the AMCAS went in on the 19th of oct.

And you ask how did it work out??? Well not all that great with 4 post secondary rejections 1 interview at UVA and one waitlist the following week.

Oh, and I have a 3.7 and a 32 from UVA, so hopefully I will have a chance when I apply next year to more schools and on time.

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by lil pook
\
Boy wonder--are you saying that you can fill out apps at schools without having even taken the MCAT at all?? How is this possible?

Yes, that is exactly what boywonder and everyone else here is saying. It really isn't a question. The bottom line is...if you are taking the august mcat you must have all of your files completed at the schools before your mcat scores arrive. if not, you will be compromising your application at rolling admission schools.

ANYONE can fill out applications(both primary and most schools' secondaries) without having mcat scores.

*However, your file will not be reviewed until you have mcat scores to show.*(this answers your "how is it possible?" question.)

The key for aug mcaters is to turn everything in(primaries, secondaries, secondary fees, LORs, transcripts to amcas, the kitchen sink, your old baseball card collection, EVERYTHING!!!) BEFORE...did i say BEFORE?...EVERYTHING should be turned in to the medical schools BEFORE the aug mcat scores are released. This entails sending out your primaries BEFORE you even take the aug mcat. You will be receiving a lot of secondaries before you even take the aug mcat. If possible, send those in asap. Send your transcripts in asap. If your school has a LOR service, you may very well be asking them to send your letters out before you even step into the mcat exam room in august.

so in conclusion....YES, you may begin filling out apps out without even taking the mcat.

 

[lola]

Originally posted by dreaminOfMD>.<
thanks lola! how are things going by the way? any good news?

NO!
currently on 4 waitlists, still waiting to hear from 3 schools, though 1 of those is either a waitlist or rejection (uci) so am really only waiting on 2 schools (drexel & uc davis)

take uclaman's advice!! fill out amcas & your secondaries *before* you get your score. otherwise you are very unlikely to get in this round. maybe you're a stellar applicant and will get in even if you apply late, but do you want to end up at finch (no offense finch people) when you could have gotten into harvard had you turned in your stuff before the mcat? turn them in before getting your scores!

 

[JlazyMD]

My application (33, 3.5, non-trad, very strong if somewhat unusual ECs) was complete in mid-October, and the results have been, well, hard to interpret. I had 5 interviews out of 15 schools applied, 1 acceptance, two waitlist, two 'holds'. Does this mean my late app hurt me? I'm not sure. Probably a couple schools with lazy adcoms (eg NYMC, BU) didn't look carefully, but for instance I had a interview invite from Dartmouth within weeks of my submission. Generally though, I was expecting to do better. I think, maybe, I expected my ECs to play a bigger role than they did-- when I look at my results they are very much in line with my GPA and MCAT scores.

My advice, if you are only a reasonably strong candidate, and especially if you apply late is to apply to many schools. This way you can be sure to apply to several that really do put you on even footing with early applicants. Good luck!

 

[Penguin Poptart]

At the risk of beating a dead horse, here's my .02...

I took the August MCAT and because I was sort of clueless about the process didn't get my secondaries in until winter (some well into January). The premed committee letters didn't go out until late november/december. I received a good number of offers to interview out of about 25 schools, so I felt pretty good in January/February. Then came the bad part of actually going on interview after interview where there were effectively no slots.

It's not a good feeling going through the interview grinder when in the back of your mind you're saying to yourself, what's the point of justifying my life to this person (i.e., when there are no openings anyway)? I really developed a bad attitude mid-way through, and it was hard as hell to keep showing up for the fruit and cold bagels and scrutiny. I'm still waiting to hear/WL on most, have 3 post-interview rejections and one acceptance.

 

[parick1]

going further with august mcat and applying, how about in terms of heavily relying on fall grades?? there is no doubt that i need great grades (would significantly pull up my graduate gpa), and i know i can accomplish it... but is it possible that i could have my application together + aug mcat and have them hold off knowing that I had a semester in progress with grades to come at the end of december?? help!!!

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by parick1
going further with august mcat and applying, how about in terms of heavily relying on fall grades?? there is no doubt that i need great grades (would significantly pull up my graduate gpa), and i know i can accomplish it... but is it possible that i could have my application together + aug mcat and have them hold off knowing that I had a semester in progress with grades to come at the end of december?? help!!!

what?!?!

if you wait til december you can pretty much guarantee you won't get into medical school. in other words, the answer is....no, if you cannot wait til your fall term grades come out before the schools review your file.

What you CAN do is send an update letter to all the schools where your application is pending when your fall term grades come out in december.

 

[parick1]

i understand that. my problem is trying to convey the idea to the committees that i am going to be in school full-time in the fall, and that they should expect grades at the end of december... what i'm trying to stave off is a rejection before giving them the opportunity to check out my grades. thinking back to the logistics of the the AMCAS application, there isnt a way to indicate that that the candidate is taking classes, but wants the application to get certified and sent so that it doesn't get buried... but somehow gets consideration for the new work.

sorry if i'm all over the place...

Originally posted by UCLAMAN
what?!?!

if you wait til december you can pretty much guarantee you won't get into medical school. in other words, the answer is....no, if you cannot wait til your fall term grades come out before the schools review your file.

What you CAN do is send an update letter to all the schools where your application is pending when your fall term grades come out in december.

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by parick1
i understand that. my problem is trying to convey the idea to the committees that i am going to be in school full-time in the fall, and that they should expect grades at the end of december... what i'm trying to stave off is a rejection before giving them the opportunity to check out my grades. thinking back to the logistics of the the AMCAS application, there isnt a way to indicate that that the candidate is taking classes, but wants the application to get certified and sent so that it doesn't get buried... but somehow gets consideration for the new work.

sorry if i'm all over the place...

Theres a section for future course work on the amcas application. You must list the classes you plan to take for the rest of the year. Of course there won't be a grade yet but adcoms will know that you have classes in progress and that you are full time.

And...schools will not wait for those grades. if they get to your file before those grades come in and make a decision then its final. they won't wait around for your grades. they will be more concerned with your track record in the past. that will tell them a lot more than 1 term worth of grades.

once your file is complete(primary, secondary, secondary fee, LORs) there is no way to "stave off" rejection if they review your file and decide to give you the axe.

 

[buggy]

Originally posted by lola
NO!
currently on 4 waitlists, still waiting to hear from 3 schools, though 1 of those is either a waitlist or rejection (uci) so am really only waiting on 2 schools (drexel & uc davis)

take uclaman's advice!! fill out amcas & your secondaries *before* you get your score. otherwise you are very unlikely to get in this round. maybe you're a stellar applicant and will get in even if you apply late, but do you want to end up at finch (no offense finch people) when you could have gotten into harvard had you turned in your stuff before the mcat? turn them in before getting your scores!

That's old news! Congrats on your acceptance Lola!

 

[buggy]

UCLAMAN, you're putting in so much time helping us, tanks!!!

Well, as an update, I took the april MCAT anyway. I didn't feel that good about it, maybe I have to take it again in August. I finished every section and even had time to check a little bit on PS and BS, but I had so many answers I weren't sure - much more % unsure than practice tests.

If I send in the application before I know my april score, and I don't check the 'august MCAT', will schools ignore my august MCAT later if I really have to retake it? I'm afraid they'll reject me right away seeing a low MCAT score hanging there before august MCAT scores coming out.

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by buggy
UCLAMAN, you're putting in so much time helping us, tanks!!!

Hehe...well...i'm essentially a bum til medical school starts so i have lots of time to kill.

Originally posted by buggy

If I send in the application before I know my april score, and I don't check the 'august MCAT', will schools ignore my august MCAT later if I really have to retake it? I'm afraid they'll reject me right away seeing a low MCAT score hanging there before august MCAT scores coming out.

Hmm...thats a tough one. i have no idea what the ramifications are if u check the box and then don't take the aug mcat or if u don't check the box and end up taking the aug mcat. u may want to call each school to try and ask them what their policy is on that. sorry i couldn't have been of more help on that one.

 

[aa_herring]

Aug MCAT is a pain b/c you have to wait and watch friends go off on interviews in Fall while you wait. As a non-trad I don't think it made any differencewith my app except at some schools. Tulane laughed at me when I told them I was a Aug MCAT'er. I was very insecure and felt convinced I would end up in Guadalajara. But with a 3.5/33 and lots of experience I rcvd interviews all over and acceptances at some good schools including UCSF,HMS, and UMICH.

If you have something better to do during your spring term, don't feel you have thrown it all away by taking the Aug MCAT.