Is an August of early September MCAT date too late?

[Rayatbh]

Hi everyone,

Im not getting the score i need on my practice tests so I definitely can’t take the MCAT this month as I planned.

Im really not sure about how this cycle is this year since it got delayed.

Would it be okay to take the MCAT in the beginning of September or late August?

I’m pretty upset and frustrated and wanted to see if I could have more time and still apply this cycle :/

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[zNoodlez]

Late for MD, fine for DO.

 

[KnightDoc]

Hi everyone,

Im not getting the score i need on my practice tests so I definitely can’t take the MCAT this month as I planned.

Im really not sure about how this cycle is this year since it got delayed.

Would it be okay to take the MCAT in the beginning of September or late August?

I’m pretty upset and frustrated and wanted to see if I could have more time and still apply this cycle :/

Everyone is delayed this year, so you'll probably be fine. Most schools are accepting tests right through the end of the test calendar at the end of September, and many schools have said they will send out secondaries and even IIs without a score. Stanford has even made the test optional for the upcoming cycle.

Bottom line -- early is always better than late, but if you have your heart set on applying this cycle, you will probably be okay getting your primary verified with a throwaway school and taking the test whenever you are ready, notwithstanding what the conventional wisdom says for non-COVID cycles.

 

[Rayatbh]

Everyone is delayed this year, so you'll probably be fine. Most schools are accepting tests right through the end of the test calendar at the end of September, and many schools have said they will send out secondaries and even IIs without a score. Stanford has even made the test optional for the upcoming cycle.

Bottom line -- early is always better than late, but if you have your heart set on applying this cycle, you will probably be okay getting your primary verified with a throwaway school and taking the test whenever you are ready, notwithstanding what the conventional wisdom says for non-COVID cycles.

Thanks for the response! I'm really considering taking it late august.

 

[KnightDoc]

Thanks for the response! I'm really considering taking it late august.

You'll be fine. The biggest mistake people make is taking it before they are ready because they are trying to beat an artificial deadline and are hoping for the best. If you can, try to submit your primary with a throwaway school asap so you can get verified by the time you have your score in mid September. This will minimize any delay you might otherwise have in having your application be deemed complete and ready for review, since you can add schools after you have taken the test and either get your scores back, or at least have a feel for how you did.

 

[Rayatbh]

You'll be fine. The biggest mistake people make is taking it before they are ready because they are trying to beat an artificial deadline and are hoping for the best. If you can, try to submit your primary with a throwaway school asap so you can get verified by the time you have your score in mid September. This will minimize any delay you might otherwise have in having your application be deemed complete and ready for review, since you can add schools after you have taken the test and either get your scores back, or at least have a feel for how you did.

I actually already submitted my application June 12! So I’m glad I have that out of the way. Thank you for some reassurance as I weight out my different options.

 

[PigsHaveWings]

Most of the third party practice tests tend to be deflated. Have you taken an AAMC practice test ?

 

[cw638343]

I'm in the same boat and submitted my application for verification the same week. I am thinking about changing my mcat date to 9/3. I'm curious if anyone knows how long the verification process is actually taking this year? Is it 6-8 weeks from the time it was READY for review or 6-8 weeks from the time they BEGIN reviewing it? I know they posted on their twitter today that they just began reviewing apps that were ready for review on June 11th so that means they should be verified in 6-8 weeks from today meaning ~Aug 18th to early September?

If this is the case then I feel like it won't hurt to take the MCAT in late Aug/Early sep bc your app probably won't be verified & transmitted until then.
Am I looking at this incorrectly? Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[KnightDoc]

I'm in the same boat and submitted my application for verification the same week. I am thinking about changing my mcat date to 9/3. I'm curious if anyone knows how long the verification process is actually taking this year? Is it 6-8 weeks from the time it was READY for review or 6-8 weeks from the time they BEGIN reviewing it? I know they posted on their twitter today that they just began reviewing apps that were ready for review on June 11th so that means they should be verified in 6-8 weeks from today meaning ~Aug 18th to early September?

If this is the case then I feel like it won't hurt to take the MCAT in late Aug/Early sep bc your app probably won't be verified & transmitted until then.
Am I looking at this incorrectly? Thanks in advance for the help!

I'm certainly no expert, but I'd bet money the 6-8 weeks is from ready to review. Otherwise it would make no sense. Why would the literally one month (from June 11th to today) it took to go from ready to actual review not be included in the estimate, and what would be the value of the estimate if it only began after a random, unestimated number of weeks? I'm betting those that began review today will be done in the next few days, NOT the next few weeks.

That said, due to all the delays this year, it still won't kill you to take the test when you want to if it will mean increasing your performance.

 

[Rayatbh]

I'm in the same boat and submitted my application for verification the same week. I am thinking about changing my mcat date to 9/3. I'm curious if anyone knows how long the verification process is actually taking this year? Is it 6-8 weeks from the time it was READY for review or 6-8 weeks from the time they BEGIN reviewing it? I know they posted on their twitter today that they just began reviewing apps that were ready for review on June 11th so that means they should be verified in 6-8 weeks from today meaning ~Aug 18th to early September?

If this is the case then I feel like it won't hurt to take the MCAT in late Aug/Early sep bc your app probably won't be verified & transmitted until then.
Am I looking at this incorrectly? Thanks in advance for the help!

Mine got verified today incase you were still wondering