Im scheduled to take the MCAT April 29th but I won't get done with all my practice books until about that time so i won't have very much time to take actual practice tests and im thinking that that would be the most important prep i caould do. If i reschedule to May 28th or June 15th, I will be very prepared and will get a good score for sure but i won't be able to apply for a month after that so what should i do? Everyone seems to stress how important it is to apply early but would the middle of July hinder my chances?
How important is it to apply early?
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Submit your AMCAS/AACOMAS first, then update your schools once you take your MCAT. By then, your grades will have been verified and you can submit ASAP once your scores come in. Work diligently on your secondaries so you can pump them out quickly, and you'll be in good shape.
In my experience, DO schools tend to grant interviews more promptly than the MD schools I applied to. Some schools (MCW, DMU I believe?) have no secondary essays as well, so they get inundated with complete apps very early.
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It's always important to apply early but I took the MCAT on July 16th, received my scores in August, THEN submitted my AACOMAS and got verified in the first week of September (don't do the application part like I did). I received interview offers throughout the fall and received a few more this year. I had been accepted to two DO schools and one MD school before October ended. Do it the way the above poster mentioned but don't worry about a late MCAT date. Give yourself every opportunity to rock the MCAT my friend. See if you can get your letters, PS, primary stuff out of the way now. Also look at some of the secondary prompts now and think about how you'd answer them. They hardly ever change year after year. Study hardcore for the MCAT this summer and take TONS of practice tests. That's the only way to really do well on this thing.
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yes to the above. I took it in May and everything went smoothly.
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Regarding the MCAT, I would very strongly recommend trying to somehow fit in at least 3 practice tests between now and then, e.g. study the content during the week and do a practice test on the weekend. IMO, knowing how to manage your time on the MCAT is just as important as knowing the material. Good luck! 👍
It is WAY more important that you do well on the MCAT than it is for your application to be super early. Plus, July is still early. I didn't take my MCAT until October, submitted my AACOMAS app in mid-November and got interviews at all the schools I applied to. I also got accepted to my #1 and #2 school, and cancelled my interviews for the other ones.
I did get a 30 MCAT and had a 3.75 gpa. So, I wouldn't worry about applying in July at all, especially if your stats are decent.
Just study tons for the MCAT and take a few practice ones, and then study some more!
Oh, also if you are applying late, you can call the admission offices and ask to have your interview moved up if there is a cancellation. THAt is what I did, and it sped the process up a lot! I did my interviews within a by the first week of January, and originally they were supposed to be in February.
So, anyway...MCAT first. early app, second.
I did get a 30 MCAT and had a 3.75 gpa. So, I wouldn't worry about applying in July at all, especially if your stats are decent.
Just study tons for the MCAT and take a few practice ones, and then study some more!
Oh, also if you are applying late, you can call the admission offices and ask to have your interview moved up if there is a cancellation. THAt is what I did, and it sped the process up a lot! I did my interviews within a by the first week of January, and originally they were supposed to be in February.
So, anyway...MCAT first. early app, second.
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I took the July MCAT and was complete with everything by the middle of September.... very risky, dont do it!! Do everything as early as possible like all the other users are telling you. I just got lucky to get into my first choice but I recently got accepted. It was months of torture!
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Ok, here's my situation: Taking MCAT May 21st, so scores come in ~mid/end of June. What is my best option to make sure all my stuff is ready to go ASAP? Do you just hit send on all the schools without knowing the score, or do you wait?? HELP!!! I NEED the best possible chance, so I really want to have my stuff in as early as possible... Thanks!
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angryazn88, did you have the rest of the application completed before you took the July MCAT? Or did you take the test then started the AACOMAS app?
Did anyone else have to wait a month+ to complete the AACOMAS app after your scores were verified? I ask because my school takes about 2-4 weeks for them to write a committee letter and send it in AFTER the MCAT is verified!
Did anyone else have to wait a month+ to complete the AACOMAS app after your scores were verified? I ask because my school takes about 2-4 weeks for them to write a committee letter and send it in AFTER the MCAT is verified!
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Rescheduling it to June 15th shouldn't be a problem at all. Early August is the watershed, this is the time the admissions committee will start screening most of the applications for the new cycle; so if I were you, I would take the MCAT on June 15th, then start to work on your primary application, and submit it by early July. Remember, you don't need to wait for the MCAT score to be received in order to submit your primary. Besides, the admissions committee usually will not look at your MCAT until the time you are about to submit your secondary applications. Try to work on those secondary applications as soon as possible once you receive them, finish everything before September. I think this would be considered as pretty early, I did it this way and several interview invitations came in throughout September and October. I hope this helps and good luck!
I would start on the primary after you finish MCAT on May 21st, submit it by early June, and you'll be in great shape.
If you'd like to wait, it is okay as well since you are going to take MCAT early. You can afford to wait, as long as you submit primary and everything (besides secondary) before August, you'll be fine.
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I waited till I got my score before I did anything else. If my score wasn't high enough, I was going to study till like May and take the MCAT again.
If I remember correctly, submission of the AACOMAS app has nothing to do with the date of submission of committee letter. There is no need to wait for a month to submit your primary. Both processes are concurrent, not consecutive.
