I was just told by a reliable resource that if you submitted your AMCAS app now with current MCAT scores and decided to take the April 2003 MCATs (on the off chance that you do not get admitted to any schools and have to reapply), getting a higher score in April will NOT affect your application status if you happen to be on a waitlist in June. Meaning, you CAN send in new LORs and other updates, but new MCAT scores will not be accepted by med schools to help you get in off the waitlist. The reason for this is that it is "unfair to other applicants." I thought this was interesting, so if anyone was considering doing this, they should first find out the school's policy.
I thought it was a well known fact that the last MCAT score that any medical school will accept is the August MCAT score from the same application year.
Yeah, I think there's some rule that says that you can't take the MCAT in the same year for which you are applying (i.e. no April 2003 MCAT, if admissions for Fall 2003). There was another thread about this, because some dude wanted to take the April MCAT and still apply for Fall 2003. There were a few problems with that, including the aforementioned one... -RA
if you are on the waitlist and write to the med school about a significantly increased MCAT scores the may take into consideration it cant hurt
Here's the thing, by the middle of June, it won't matter. Sure, people are accepted after June 15th, WAY after June 15th in fact, but they're accepted off waitlists. Now schools don't have the time, regardless of what they say, to review every single applicant each time they need a new person off the waitlist. Far from it. They know exactly who they are going to accept and in what order long before June 15th. You retake the MCAT to prepare for the next application cycle, not to strengthen your app in the current one.
You don't get waitlisted b/c of a MCAT score. If the school thought that your MCAT sucked, they wouldn't have interviewed you, or waitlisted you. Additional letters of reference can be beneficial b/c they can say more about your character, your role as a leader, your maturity, and your ambition to be a member of the health care field. So, letters that speak highly of you may help you transition from the waitlist category to the acceptance category. At that stage in the game it really isn't about numbers at all.
i don't understand why u'd want to take the april mcat when the scores would be released after the may 15th notification deadline
