Is July 21st MCAT too late? My chances?

[futureMD4294]

Hey SDN peeps,

I have been studying for a two weeks now, but have not gotten a lot of work done. I initially signed up for a May date, however, now I am planning on taking it July 21st. My score will be released August 22nd. I plan on submitting my primary with summer transcript grades on August 4th. My guess is that my application will be verified and complete by third week of August. I am applying through AMCAS and AACOMAS.

Would this be too late? I am aiming for a >85th percentile, but my diagnostic was 485.

My stats: GPA: 3.61 , science: around 3.4 or something
lots of Extra-Curr and some International Volunteering
3 Semesters of Neuroscience research
Shadowing w/ Anesthesiologist, Neurologist, and Intern @Psychiatrist office = total: 100ish hours
Post grad employment as Operating Room Assistant with 600+hours

**South Asian decent, graduated May 2016, applying for entering class of 2018**

WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE THE HELP

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[cactusman]

I have never prepped for the MCAT, but it seems optimistic to go from 485 (10th percentile) to 85th (510-511) in three months.

 

[Kryxia]

I think you will find the following thread to be relevant and informative.
Planeblue's Interview Invite Tracker

Assuming you get your primaries in by late Aug, secondaries complete by mid/late September, and then give the schools a few more weeks to review your app, you're looking at Oct/Nov of the interview season. I think "too late" comes down to a matter of personal opinion, so that's really up for you to decide.

I am not familiar with the AACOMAS cycle.

 

[futureMD4294]

I think you will find the following thread to be relevant and informative.
Planeblue's Interview Invite Tracker

Assuming you get your primaries in by late Aug, secondaries complete by mid/late September, and then give the schools a few more weeks to review your app, you're looking at Oct/Nov of the interview season. I think "too late" comes down to a matter of personal opinion, so that's really up for you to decide.

I am not familiar with the AACOMAS cycle.

Hmm ok! I saw that link and what I picked up was that having a complete application by early August to mid August is ideal, if anything complete by end of August. End of August is when the number of seats available equals number of applications. Is this correct?
This makes me feel like my plan is borderline perfect

 

[ScreenName23]

Hmm ok! I saw that link and what I picked up was that having a complete application by early August to mid August is ideal, if anything complete by end of August. End of August is when the number of seats available equals number of applications. Is this correct?
This makes me feel like my plan is borderline perfect

Having a complete application means not only is your MCAT in but your secondaries are also complete. If you will be able to balance fully writing your primary and all of your secondaries while studying then you would be complete at the right time when your MCAT comes in. But that would be quite a bit to balance.

 

[Cookiess]

I think a July 21st MCAT date is too late. One disadvantage is you wouldn't know your score before you submitted your primary application. Even if you submit your primary application in early August and get verified by the end of August, that means you wouldn't get your secondaries submitted until the end of August at the earliest. Applying late doesn't mean you won't get interview invites but it does put you at a disadvantage. You should aim to apply once and not rush the process. A lot of my classmates had their secondaries submitted by the end of July or early August at the latest.

 

[You're My Boy Blue]

I actually do not believe it is too late. Apply DO/MD. Submit your primary the first day it opens - this will speed up the process and allow you to focus on the MCAT. You will begin to receive secondaries while you are studying for the MCAT - IGNORE THEM. During the month you are waiting for your scores you can submit all your secondaries. Your application will be complete the second the MCAT scores load into schools' systems.

Side note: You will be applying without knowing your MCAT score. Make sure you are getting within your desired score range on practice tests before taking the MCAT. Do not expect to score 509 on the MCAT if you are consistently scoring 502 on the practice tests. Is it better to take a year off, prepare, and apply next cycle than to rush the MCAT.

Edit: This is what I did and obviously anecdotal but it worked out well for me

 

[deleted781806]

I plan on submitting my primary with summer transcript grades on August 4th. My guess is that my application will be verified and complete by third week of August.

I think this is definitely on the optimistic side of estimating how fast the AAMC will verify your application, but they have been getting faster in recent years. You'd then be likely to have your application complete at the end of August or early September, which is later than most find comfortable for entering the applicant pool. I'd maybe reconsider applying for the next cycle so that you are not rushing and can truly put your best foot forward the first time you apply. The name of the game is to reduce the amount of disadvantages you have when applying, a later application + applying blindly without an MCAT score is fairly concerning.

If you do feel like it is an imperative for you to apply this cycle, submit your primary application as early as possible for verification but to one school only that you do not have a very large interest in, definitely not anywhere near your top-choice. This will allow you to get your transcripts verified without putting you at a significant disadvantage at one of your top schools if your MCAT turns out poorly. Also, as others have mentioned, do not plan on writing primary/secondary essays during your dedicated time for MCAT studying, you will spread yourself too thin and you will regret it.

One clarification question: What do you mean that your "diagnostic" was 485? Are you referring to the exam people take before they ever even crack a spine of a review book, or are you talking about a recent practice exam after you've done some studying? I'm assuming it's the former, but it's good to double-check.

 

[futureMD4294]

I think this is definitely on the optimistic side of estimating how fast the AAMC will verify your application, but they have been getting faster in recent years. You'd then be likely to have your application complete at the end of August or early September, which is later than most find comfortable for entering the applicant pool. I'd maybe reconsider applying for the next cycle so that you are not rushing and can truly put your best foot forward the first time you apply. The name of the game is to reduce the amount of disadvantages you have when applying, a later application + applying blindly without an MCAT score is fairly concerning.

If you do feel like it is an imperative for you to apply this cycle, submit your primary application as early as possible for verification but to one school only that you do not have a very large interest in, definitely not anywhere near your top-choice. This will allow you to get your transcripts verified without putting you at a significant disadvantage at one of your top schools if your MCAT turns out poorly. Also, as others have mentioned, do not plan on writing primary/secondary essays during your dedicated time for MCAT studying, you will spread yourself too thin and you will regret it.

One clarification question: What do you mean that your "diagnostic" was 485? Are you referring to the exam people take before they ever even crack a spine of a review book, or are you talking about a recent practice exam after you've done some studying? I'm assuming it's the former, but it's good to double-check.

No, the exam i took before even opening my books
And thank you so much for all that rich information. Really means a lot!