Confused about when to take MCAT! Please Help!!

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Doctorphilic

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Hello SDNers, I am currently a senior who aspires to go to med school any time soon. After doing some soul searching on SDN, I decided to pursue MPH and i ended up at Yale. I will spend the next two years there, which i dont mind at all. I can either take MCAT this August (the earliest i can do) as my preparation is still in early stage, or take it early next year which will give me more time to prepare for the test.

However, i also hear that if i take MCAT in August and apply late, then that might reduce my chance of admissions. Also i want to do well the first time around as it is costly and even boring to take the test twice. Also this summer, i am planning on going to Africa to do some HIV research. If i devote a lot of time on MCAT (prep course etc), then i will have only few weeks to spend in Africa for the small research project.

So, i am confused because i am not sure whether to postphone MCAT until next year or take the test this August. Also, in terms of applying since it is risky to apply this summer (summer of 2007) and even if i get accepted i also have to defer for a year due to the two year graduate study. Would you recommend taking the test early next year and apply early next summer (2008)?? thanks and apologize for the lengthy question.

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apply in june 2008- that will be early in the cycle and you wont have to defer, many schools dont allow that anyway. congrats on yale mph!

take the mcat at the end of this summer with good prep while the material is fresh from undergrad...do HIV research during summer 08 while waiting for secondaries to come in- you'll have about 6 weeks from when you submit amcas until you start getting secondaries.
 
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