Not KnightDoc, but
@srk2021 its important to not be overguiding during the process for your son/daughter (going to refer to your child as they). I know your intentions are good-hearted as every parent wants their future doctor to make it in this increasingly-competitive atmosphere. They obviously do not want to take this test twice if they can help it, they obviously don't want to become a reapplicant, and they are working hard in school for their dreams no doubt.
There are a number of reasons why one might take "longer" to take the MCAT. Here are just a few of them:
1) classes in college, making sure most of the important prereqs are done before can give them a good foundation for review with books.
2) proper headspace. they need to be in the right mentality and ready to put friends/activities aside for 2-3 months (which basically means a whole semester) to spend most free time cracking through the books. This is different for every student
3) are they supported enough while at school to take the exam? At school, assuming away from home, they have to deal with food, laundry, chores, driving and other things (school events) that can get in the way of adequate study time. Some students benefit from being at home and having the privilege of their parents help out with those things, put meals on the table etc, while others can see this as a destressing mechanism and a way to vary up their day
4) are they scoring to their liking? its no surprise that the average of the aamc full lengths (if taken at the proper times) is usually around the score they end up getting. They are right in every sense of the word to delay, and "take longer" for the MCAT if they are not scoring where they want to. Its important as a parent to be supportive during this time as they are probably frustrated with themselves like crazy.
5) Tagging off #3, are they in a financial position to remove hours from work if they have to for study hours instead?
6) Do they want to go right into medical school after undergraduate?
Will their application be lacking when it comes time? There is no reason to give the exam early if they dont have the volunteer hours, grades, research, extracurriculars, and leadership already in place. The MCAT is very close to last before deciding to apply. This score expires so if they took it, did well, but did not have the extra curriculars in place to have a successful application cycle, they may run the risk of score expiration depending on how long that takes. Planning the exam is key.
Ultimately, when it comes time your son or daughter will know when its right for them to take the exam. Just be supportive along the way, its the biggest test of their life so far (
reference). It's okay for yourself to be educated about the process along the way, it leads to you being more understanding, but it can also lead to a parent being overinvolved and micromanaging their child's studying- all with good intention I know. Things can happen on test day too. Your son or daughter can be scoring 520's and then come test day, maybe they get a ****ty CARS section or some obscure formula based passage ends up stumping them and they score abnormally low on a section. That is a common
and valid reason for them to retake the exam. My friend had his computer shutdown mid-section and he had to retake.
I hope this doesn't come across as targeting or negatively directed at you because I dont mean that at all. It just really f-ing sucks when a parent is over your shoulder while you're already stressed out about your own stuff. Just be there for your child as a support figure; im sure when they talk to you while studying they dont want to say "Oh I just finished half of uworld now doing my 200 anki reviews on my 60 day streak" they want to talk to you about literally anything else. Im sure they have premed friends that can be a support figure on the studying side, and the internet exists too.
Happy holidays! and best of luck to your son/daughter!
TLDR: they will figure it out, retaking once is fine. It's important to understand that they obviously dont want to retake the exam but sometimes **** happens. There is no
correct timeline to becoming a doctor, only a preferred one- and even that varies.
