Is August "too late" for next year application?

[pfaction]

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I want to assure that I have read a few topics and the consensus is that by May most people have/will take their MCAT and begin to apply. However, this may not be feasible for me before June/July. Therefore, let's say I wanted to apply with AVERAGE stats: 3.7 sGPA, 32 MCAT, etc. after taking in August. Would the August 2012 MCAT be too late for 2013 acceptance?

 

[vivalavie]

I took the mcat august 20 last year. I very much wish I had taken it earlier. Do whatever you can to apply early. I had a pretty buttkickingly awesome application but I got very little love from med schools (though I did, thankfully, get in). Timing matters more than you might expect. If you already know it might be an issue just start studying on your own now and take it in a couple of months. You don't want this to be the reason you don't get into med school.

 

[gettheleadout]

Yeah I agree with vivalavie, it's not absolutely "too late," but if you can at all avoid taking it that late, you should do so. Especially with average stats, you'll want to apply broadly, but applying late may negate the advantage applying broadly gives you. What exactly is keeping you from taking the MCAT earlier? If it's completely unavoidable, it might be better to wait a year and apply June 1 the next cycle.

 

[alwaysaangel]

I want to assure that I have read a few topics and the consensus is that by May most people have/will take their MCAT and begin to apply. However, this may not be feasible for me before June/July. Therefore, let's say I wanted to apply with AVERAGE stats: 3.7 sGPA, 32 MCAT, etc. after taking in August. Would the August 2012 MCAT be too late for 2013 acceptance?

Normal time frame:
-June/early July Primary submitted
-July/August Secondaries submitted
-August first interview invites
-September first interviews
-October first acceptances
-continues through the last interview offers in Feb, the last interviews in April and the last acceptances the following Sept

Your time frame:
-August primary submitted (because you won't have your MCAT score so no one will look at it anyway and I'm guessing you aren't going to work on your AMCAS when you're studying for the MCAT)
-September your score is released
By now schools have giant piles of primaries to get through
-September you will receive unscreened secondaries
-September your MCAT score is released
-October, some schools finally get around to reviewing your primary and offer secondaries
Now schools have giant piles of secondaries to get through
-December first interview invites (maybe)
-January first interviews


Others have a window of 6-7 months where they will be receiving offers and attending interviews. By taking your MCAT so late you are dropping yours to a mere 3-4 months. Thats a pretty huge decrease.

Will it make it impossible to get into medical school? No. But do you really want to be getting secondaries when others are getting acceptances and drop your chances of getting interviews because many schools are already filling slots?

Not worth it. Fix your schedule somehow and take it by July at the ABSOLUTE latest, even thats late. Or take it this summer but don't apply until next year. A year off is a great thing.

 

[ahmcadams]

While you'd obviously better served getting your application submitted as soon as possible, it's completely reasonable to apply according to the timeline you suggested and still expect success in the process. My primary went in at the tail end of September after I took an August MCAT. I know more than a few classmates in med sch and former classmates from college who followed similar timelines and had plenty of application success.

Taking a year off has its benefits, both personally and professionally, but there's no need to panic and force a gap year simply because you'd be following a later-than-ideal schedule.