How far should I postpone MCAT? Applying this cycle

[rajp98]

I'm currently scheduled for 6/30 MCAT, aiming for a 510+, however I took two of the AAMC practice exams and my score has not been in my target range.

AAMC FL 1 (6/5): 496 (122/123/124/127)

AAMC FL 3 (Yesterday): 501 (123/124/127/127)

At this point I'm going to postpone, but I'm not sure if I should postpone to 7/7 or 7/20. I'm hoping to apply this cycle, and was planning to complete application after the MCAT. Is 7/7 enough time to improve that CP and CARS? What should I do?

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[esob]

CARS is slow to improve but C/P can be done pretty quickly. The idea is to be complete by labor day (meaning everything is in, verified, secondaries, etc.) but I can tell you from experience that the application(s) is a full-time job.

 

[rajp98]

Full time job meaning how many days do you think itll take me?, How quickly do you think CP can be done in

 

[esob]

Full time job meaning how many days do you think itll take me?, How quickly do you think CP can be done in

I would say consider devoting 30 hrs to each application service assuming your essays are already done, if not, add another 30 hrs if you want to put out a good personal statement. Add another 50+ hrs for secondaries (it is probably going to be more than that, but that is what I'm budgeting for now).

 

[trobinsonmd]

I think this is a bad idea... what most late MCAT takers do is they usually have their application together and they submit their AMCAS relatively early, so the verification process can be completed. As mentioned above, the application really is a full time job. It takes times to produce high quality written content for your personal statement and you can't just sit down in a few sessions and churn it out, it requires several drafts and weeks of thought if you want something high quality. If you apply in mid July, it is going to take a while to get verified and schools can't assess your application without an MCAT score, so it won't get looked at until probably mid August, and by then, interviews are already going out and your chances of getting one are a lot lower than someone who applied in early June (assuming same exact stats and app)... Not to say it's impossible to get in... if you apply in late July with 3.95 and drop a 518, you're probably going to get in no matter what, assuming the rest of your application is solid.

wrt your concern about improving CARS, i think that is also kind of like a full time job and it is a skill that needs to be honed. If you are not dropping a 127-128 on it, you can't realistically expect to put up those numbers for the first time on your actual exam day.

My advice: sign up for 7/20, and devote all of your time to studying and applications. If by 7/13, you are not happy with your score, you should not take the exam and wait for next cycle... you will have lots of time to improve your score, put together a killer personal statement, and enhance your ECs.