Is a June MCAT too late for the 2018 admission cycle if i want to be early?

[letsgetstarted1234]

Thinking of taking the May 24rth/June1rst MCAT but wondering if that is too late to be early/on time for the 2018 application cycle.

Is there a general rule about being on time?

Should the MCAT scores also be available to Med School by June 1rst? (may 24th test date = essentially July score release)

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[RedPanda55]

Nah, you're fine. Took mine at the end of June this year and applied and was fine. Still got early interviews. Just make sure you're on top of your secondaries and finish them asap (Preferably before mid to late august). After finishing my MCAT, I started pre-writing mine throughout June/July before even getting secondaries to the schools I applied to.

 

[letsgetstarted1234]

Nah, you're fine. Took mine at the end of June this year and applied and was fine. Still got early interviews. Just make sure you're on top of your secondaries and finish them asap (Preferably before mid to late august). After finishing my MCAT, I started pre-writing mine throughout June/July before even getting secondaries to the schools I applied to.

ah okay cool. my grades a little lacking so really banking on the mcat. dont want to give any other reason to bring my chances down.

cheers!

 

[number9]

Those MCAT dates would definitely not prevent you from getting your apps in early IF you're organized and on top of everything. Even though AMCAS opens for submission June 1st, no apps get sent on to medical schools until the end of June, and you can submit AMCAS without an MCAT score (you'd just put in the date you expect to take the exam, and then once you take it, the score would automatically get uploaded).

The month of June gives AMCAS time to process all the applications they receive. So theoretically, you could submit your AMCAS app June 1st, get verified sometime in mid-June, and then your application would be ready/available to the school(s) you submitted to when your MCAT score is ready in early July (which would be only a few days after the first apps get sent at the end of June). Most of the time when people do this, they only submit to one school (usually their state school), so that if they end up bombing the MCAT, they've only officially applied to one school and can withdraw without losing all the application $ and becoming a reapplicant everywhere. Another benefit to that would be the ability to finalize your school list once you've seen your actual score (though hopefully you'd have taken lots of practice tests and know what score to expect).

HOWEVER, the plan above would require you to have your AMCAS app all ready to go by early June while you're still preparing for the MCAT. It's easy to underestimate how much time AMCAS will take to fill out--it's not just the personal statement! So I would say it would definitely be doable but only if you're organized and confident that you'll be able to study for the MCAT and work on AMCAS at the same time. If you think worrying about AMCAS would detract from MCAT studying, it's not worth it, especially if you're banking on a great MCAT score.

 

[Goro]

Thinking of taking the May 24rth/June1rst MCAT but wondering if that is too late to be early/on time for the 2018 application cycle.

Is there a general rule about being on time?

Should the MCAT scores also be available to Med School by June 1rst? (may 24th test date = essentially July score release)

No, it's not too late.

 

[RedPanda55]

ah okay cool. my grades a little lacking so really banking on the mcat. dont want to give any other reason to bring my chances down.

cheers!

Same boat! Which is why being early is going to be crucial for ya! I know people who had better numbers than mine and have yet to secure interviews or acceptances just because they sent their apps in later than I did. Timing plays a huge role!

 

[letsgetstarted1234]

No, it's not too late.

okay thanks a lot! Is there a general guideline to go by? From what i see. as long as your score gets in my June 30rth or around then its all the same since med schools don't get the applications until then anyway?

I plan to take the June test then, score release July 3rd. But if it makes any difference, I could take May 24rth test for release in late June.

Thanks a lot for your input. I know this isnt the sort of pre med advice you normally give since its just about dates.

Those MCAT dates would definitely not prevent you from getting your apps in early IF you're organized and on top of everything. Even though AMCAS opens for submission June 1st, no apps get sent on to medical schools until the end of June, and you can submit AMCAS without an MCAT score (you'd just put in the date you expect to take the exam, and then once you take it, the score would automatically get uploaded).

The month of June gives AMCAS time to process all the applications they receive. So theoretically, you could submit your AMCAS app June 1st, get verified sometime in mid-June, and then your application would be ready/available to the school(s) you submitted to when your MCAT score is ready in early July (which would be only a few days after the first apps get sent at the end of June). Most of the time when people do this, they only submit to one school (usually their state school), so that if they end up bombing the MCAT, they've only officially applied to one school and can withdraw without losing all the application $ and becoming a reapplicant everywhere. Another benefit to that would be the ability to finalize your school list once you've seen your actual score (though hopefully you'd have taken lots of practice tests and know what score to expect).

HOWEVER, the plan above would require you to have your AMCAS app all ready to go by early June while you're still preparing for the MCAT. It's easy to underestimate how much time AMCAS will take to fill out--it's not just the personal statement! So I would say it would definitely be doable but only if you're organized and confident that you'll be able to study for the MCAT and work on AMCAS at the same time. If you think worrying about AMCAS would detract from MCAT studying, it's not worth it, especially if you're banking on a great MCAT score.

Ah i se. Okay so as long as you get your test in by end of June its the same?
If i took it may 24rth, my score would release late june so thatd be the same as taking it in march essentially since it all goes in at the same time.

and if i took it in june and released my score july 3rd itd be a slight delay but no difference really since its close enough to the same.

 

[Catalystik]

1) From what i see. as long as your score gets in my June 30rth or around then its all the same since med schools don't get the applications until then anyway?

2) I plan to take the June test then, score release July 3rd. But if it makes any difference, I could take May 24rth test for release in late June.

3) If i took it may 24rth, my score would release late june so thatd be the same as taking it in march essentially since it all goes in at the same time.

1) Correct.

2) Either is fine for your purposes.

3) Correct.

 

[number9]

Yep! I would not split hairs about May vs. June. A few days isn’t going to make a noticeable difference. Take the test on the day that works best for you! You can still be incredibly early either way, especially if you pre-write secondaries.

 

[calivianya]

So much about what schools will take you depends on the MCAT. It's hard to know where to apply without it.

I would submit your primary to just one school to get verified, and then once you get your score back, you can add other schools as appropriate. You should still be early with that plan.

 

[Microbug]

I took it end of April and will not recommend pushing it any further

 

[letsgetstarted1234]

I took it end of April and will not recommend pushing it any further

why do you say that?

 

[Microbug]

I realized how important it is to submit my application early and to get secondary done before senior year starts. AMCAS also get significantly longer to process the later you wait. If you take it in late may/june, you won’t know until June/July and by that time you have to generate a school list and leaves no time for desperate retakes if you need it (always leave time to do retake in case you were terribly sick on that day or something).

 

[HomeSkool]

I agree with @gonnif on this one. Preparing to take the MCAT in June and trying to get solid applications ready at the same time seems like a recipe for failure. If you want to apply early, you need to have all the major pieces of your application ready by the end of May. The MCAT is a rather large piece.

Don't take the MCAT in June and then apply the same year. That's just flirting with disaster.

 

[Dox4lyfe]

Random question. What websites do you guys frequent most? I legit just flip through sdn, reddit, and buzzfeed (I know it’s trash). Occasionally I’m window shopping at sephora. If I’m feeling very millennial, thoughtcatalog.com. I used to go on tumblr a lot for the dank memes.

I'm guessing you meant to post this in your other thread?

 

[RedPanda55]

Despite what people have said. I'm sticking to my previous post. I still don't think you'd be too far behind if you took it late May or early June. It'll be a bit of a gamble though as stated since you won't know your scores until you've already submitted your application (AMCAS doesn't open until the end of June so during that month you would be completing your personal statement/AMCAS application). As someone mentioned above, I would only send your primary to a few schools within the range of your projected numbers (GPA/practice MCATs/EC's/interests) and add more schools once you've received your scores.

If you didn't do as well on the MCAT then maybe finish those applications only and possibly wait another year. As for retaking it right away if you didn't do well, I'm not a fan unless you take it in late March at the latest since you'll probably take that month between finishing the test and receiving your scores to destress (you probably won't be studying at all...). You'll get scores back in late april and be able to work on what it was you struggled with for about 1 month before you'd have to take it again in June. This is still a gamble since it'll have been a whole month since you've looked at anything so you might forget things here and there, costing you points on your retake that did not happen on your first test. I've heard of more people having their score decrease than increase from this method since they begin to panic a little so it doesn't seem like the best course of action to me.

Overall, this is definitely a gamble but so is applying to med school. Gotta play your cards right and stay on top of things!