Hey everyone! MCAT questions (UCI Student)

[sirsharif329]

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Hey I'm an incoming freshman at UCI and I just had a few questions about the MCAT.

1) When is the most effective time to take the MCAT? Like third year or fourth year?

2) How many times are you allowed to take the MCAT without any sort of penalties, if any. Do med schools care if you take it too many times?

3) Do you start applying for medical schools in your 3rd year or 4th year at college, assuming that you're strolling along with your courses and units at a normal pace.

Thanks again for reading this guys. 😱

 

[CodeBlu]

Hello! Welcome!!!

This is probably best suited for the MCAT discussion forums.

However, I will try to answer some of your questions.

 

[CodeBlu]

Hey I'm an incoming freshman at UCI and I just had a few questions about the MCAT.

1) When is the most effective time to take the MCAT? Like third year or fourth year?

2) How many times are you allowed to take the MCAT without any sort of penalties, if any. Do med schools care if you take it too many times?

3) Do you start applying for medical schools in your 3rd year or 4th year at college, assuming that you're strolling along with your courses and units at a normal pace.

Thanks again for reading this guys. 😱

1) Take when ready. I took after 4th year... then retook this past January. I am applying this cycle. Usually you take the test the year that you are applying.

2) 3 times per year. The unwritten rule is not to take the test more than 3 times. However, it doesn't matter if you take it 4-5 times, in all honesty. But that is a lot of money, and you should really be gunning to do well the first time around. Some schools do have a limit on the amount of times you can write the MCAT. This is school specific. Look it up on individual school websites!

3) Most people apply after Junior year... so that after 4th year they have somewhere to go in August. This is not required by any means.

 

[sirsharif329]

Thanks for the replies guys =)

What about taking it sometime in January of my junior year aiming high and then giving myself some room to take it in the end of may in the off chance I don't do as well as I'd hoped. Is that the better way to go or should I just focus on one date like late may of Junior year? You said that some medical schools are specific with how many MCATs you take, would taking two really make a big difference?
What are some schools that only want you to take the MCAT once? Will schools look at both scores or just the higher one?

 

[macsta]

Thanks for the replies guys =)

What about taking it sometime in January of my junior year aiming high and then giving myself some room to take it in the end of may in the off chance I don't do as well as I'd hoped. Is that the better way to go or should I just focus on one date like late may of Junior year? You said that some medical schools are specific with how many MCATs you take, would taking two really make a big difference?
What are some schools that only want you to take the MCAT once? Will schools look at both scores or just the higher one?

Obviously, med schools want you to rock your MCAT one time. Study hard and take the test when you feel ready (consistently scoring in the range you deem acceptable). There is nothing worse than taking the MCAT and having to study all over again.

FYI- do a quick search for your questions...these have been answered countless times.

 

[Goblue89]

Thanks for the replies guys =)

What about taking it sometime in January of my junior year aiming high and then giving myself some room to take it in the end of may in the off chance I don't do as well as I'd hoped. Is that the better way to go or should I just focus on one date like late may of Junior year? You said that some medical schools are specific with how many MCATs you take, would taking two really make a big difference?
What are some schools that only want you to take the MCAT once? Will schools look at both scores or just the higher one?

If you are planning on applying during your last year of school (to start the following year with no "year off") I would suggest taking it the summer after your 2nd year. Provided you are done with the pre-reqs.

I took mine during the winter of my junior year and it was so exhausting going to school full time, working, volunteering and studying. Generally, people can devote more time to studying in the summer. If you take it the summer after your junior year you are already setting yourself up to apply later in the cycle. And if you don't do well after the first time you are fu**ed.

 

[snap660]

Thanks for the replies guys =)

What about taking it sometime in January of my junior year aiming high and then giving myself some room to take it in the end of may in the off chance I don't do as well as I'd hoped. Is that the better way to go or should I just focus on one date like late may of Junior year? You said that some medical schools are specific with how many MCATs you take, would taking two really make a big difference?
What are some schools that only want you to take the MCAT once? Will schools look at both scores or just the higher one?

I contemplated the same thing and I've decided to prepare for the January MCAT because if you don't do well you'll have plenty of time to prepare for the retake and still apply early

 

[kexy]

I contemplated the same thing and I've decided to prepare for the January MCAT because if you don't do well you'll have plenty of time to prepare for the retake and still apply early

As someone who took a late summer MCAT during the year that I'm applying... 👍👍👍 to the January advice. Just make sure you're done with the tested prereqs by the time you take the test. In my opinion, it helps a lot to take the last few prereqs the semester before you take the MCAT.

 

[hiyaman]

If you are planning on applying during your last year of school (to start the following year with no "year off") I would suggest taking it the summer after your 2nd year. Provided you are done with the pre-reqs.

I would go with this poster's advice. General rule of thumb for MCAT is that ~3 months of studying will prep you sufficiently for the MCAT (of course this is variable depending on your motivation/studying habits)

I would suggest MCAT prep during summer and taking the test at the end of summer. This way you can devote yourself to studying full time during the summer. With sufficient prep you should only have to take it once (barring extraneous circumstances).

I mean do you really want to be juggling school work + MCAT prep? I think it'll be a really stressful time. just my 2 cents.

FYI when I took the MCAT my average study time was around 6-8 hrs a day, barring weekends in which I did practice tests + review. Of course there's always people who don't have to study as much to do better, but I'm saying even if you devote at least 3-4 hrs a day for mcat prep during the school year that's a big chunk of time when you add that on top your school work.

 

[NeuralNetwork]

Hey I'm an incoming freshman at UCI and I just had a few questions about the MCAT.

1) When is the most effective time to take the MCAT? Like third year or fourth year?

2) How many times are you allowed to take the MCAT without any sort of penalties, if any. Do med schools care if you take it too many times?

3) Do you start applying for medical schools in your 3rd year or 4th year at college, assuming that you're strolling along with your courses and units at a normal pace.

Thanks again for reading this guys. 😱

Many others on this board may disagree, but I believe that it is too early to be worrying about this. You are an entering freshman, so you can't assess how you are going to progress, what your specific plans are, etc. Focus on getting involved on campus and getting good grades for now. Start worrying about the MCAT after 2nd year (if you are doing the bio major at UCI, you will not take classes essential for taking the MCAT until at least 3rd year).

 

[bajastapler]

FYI- do a quick search for your questions...these have been answered countless times.

^ What he said.

Honestly? Just have some fun. You're gonna be a freshman go out and make some bad mistakes. 😎 Don't be one of those kids that freaks out all day over being a pre-med just to see life experiences pass you by.

You can study all day and night and ace your mcat/gpa, but if can't nail an interview b/c you don't have good social interactions then whats the point?

GL!