I could use some advice!

[MJS4878]

Hey everyone,

As of now I am scheduled to take the MCAT on May 23rd so that I could have my application completed by the end of June, which from what I have read is still considered "early". My question lies in the fact that I am not sure I will be ready by then.

I am graduating this May after studying Psychology w/ a Bio minor and will have a cGPA of 3.4 sGPA of 3.2. From what I understand these GPA's are by no means stellar so I know that I need to really pull it together for the MCAT. I took a Kaplan course this past semester and just recently finished so I have been taking practice exams twice a week. The scores are technically improving, but somewhat slowly.

Diagnostic: 22
FL 1: 23
Fl 2: 24
FL 3: 25

On April 30th I will be done with school and can dedicate 100% of my time to the MCAT. Should I attempt the exam on May 23rd so that I can have my app in early or should I wait until the June 20th exam so that I can (hopefully) have a higher score?

Thanks!

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[advair250]

Higher score.

 

[hallowmann]

See where you are about 2-2.5 wks from your exam. If you are barely in the upper 20s, you should consider postponing the exam. Its in your best interest to score highly, and given your GPA, you should be getting at least a 28-29. That basically means that your average FL score for at least the week or two before the test date should really be in the low 30s (31-32, etc.).

Given your situation though, I would suggest to submit your app on day 1, and then just wait for your MCAT scores to come in, so once they come in you could complete your file/secondaries.

 

[Moose A Moose]

Submit ap and take MCAT in June unless you're feeling like a boss in early/mid May. It'd still be pretty early either way.. G/L!

 

[MJS4878]

Thank you all for the advice. One more question though! I went to AAMC's site to see about rescheduling and it looks like the June 20th date is booked.. The next available date is July 2nd. Should I just sign up for it now so I don't have to worry about it filling up and having to push the date back even further? Thanks again for the input, you guys are awesome!

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Here's the most honest answer you are going to get:

Push back your test. I took the test yesterday and it is very difficult and much more different from all AAMC exams, except AAMC 11. The bio is heavily geared toward experiments. All the bio passages on the tests were taken verbatim from scientific articles you find on pubMed. Believe me, I checked. The PS has a lot more calculations than you might be comfortable with. I was scoring 26-32, with an average of 28, on the AAMC FL's. That's mainly because I was scoring 6-7 on verbal. Never scored less than 10 in sciences. I struggled with yesterday's test. Nothing could have prepared me for bio. Nothing, except reading articles on pubmed and getting familiar with interpreting data.

Good luck!

 

[MJS4878]

Officially rescheduled and I feel good about it. Thanks again everybody!

 

[edgerock24]

Aim for a 26+ and you will be fine.

 

[Emerald84]

Yes, you should wait until the June 20th exam or until you are able to score at least a 30. You can still submit your application pending MCAT.