July MCAT?

[akimhaneul]

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If I submitted my primary, transcript, recs in June for verification, took my MCAT in early July, and submitted all of my secondaries in July and August after MCAT is finished, would I be still considered late? July MCAT would be my retake. I am asking this because so many people on here advise against July MCAT.

Thanks!

 

[Okazaki Frag Grenade]

A July MCAT is not terribly late, but certainly not early either. You could get most of your secondaries done in June though as many schools do not screen before sending them. The catch though is that you won't know your score to know which schools are in your range. I think a June MCAT would be better for sure, but you won't be totally out of the game with a July test.

 

[MiniMD]

I took this past July MCAT and wish now I had taken an earlier exam. Even with completing my app and secondaries in June/July, it seemed that no schools really looked at my app until my MCAT scores were released, which was mid August. My first interview offers finally came a few weeks ago, which is kind of late for my state of residence, but of course that could also be due to my other stats. I feel like if you submit your app before you new MCAT scores are released, schools may look at your old MCAT scores since that's all they have at the time. So, IMO, try to shoot for an earlier exam. Even 1 month can make a difference.

 

[akimhaneul]

Bump

 

[GiveMeThatMD]

Bump

There's a perfectly legitimate answer in the response right above you. Late MCAT -> late completion -> late cycle.

 

[jurisburger]

I applied and got in last cycle and I made the decision to do a late July retake. Certainly possible, but I wasn't complete until late August (AKA when scores came back) and didn't start getting interview invites until mid September if I remember correctly.

 

[pinacol]

Not only would it be better to take an earlier MCAT for the timing of your application, but it will also give you a better idea of which schools you will be competitive at (while practice tests are a good indicator, you never know what will happen on the actual exam, for better or for worse).

 

[BaeDreaming]

I took my MCAT in july (me and several of my friends) and many of us have had at least 5 interview invites. Just submit early. The only downside is the people who didnt get the score they wanted didnt have a lot of time to retake. The earlier the better but if you arent ready early on, wait.

 

[theonlytycrane]

I took my MCAT in july (me and several of my friends) and many of us have had at least 5 interview invites. Just submit early. The only downside is the people who didnt get the score they wanted didnt have a lot of time to retake. The earlier the better but if you arent ready early on, wait.

May I ask when you completed secondaries by and when you interviewed?

 

[ncaamarchmadness]

If the MCAT is taken in July, app complete by mid-august, are interviews in October and November still possible as long as secondaries are completed in a timely manner?

 

[Okazaki Frag Grenade]

If the MCAT is taken in July, app complete by mid-august, are interviews in October and November still possible as long as secondaries are completed in a timely manner?

It would be possible, but that depends on how much of a rockstar you are with stats and EC's. Schools like to interview the best applicants as early as possible, so the order of interviews isn't always based on when you submit. Being early helps though for sure.

Just for reference, I had a successful cycle this year (8 interviews, 3 accepts), had my AMCAS submitted first week of June, MCAT score was turned in mid July. I ended up with 1 September interview, 1 October, 1 November, 3 December, and 2 January interviews.

 

[theonlytycrane]

It would be possible, but that depends on how much of a rockstar you are with stats and EC's. Schools like to interview the best applicants as early as possible, so the order of interviews isn't always based on when you submit. Being early helps though for sure.

Just for reference, I had a successful cycle this year (8 interviews, 3 accepts), had my AMCAS submitted first week of June, MCAT score was turned in mid July. I ended up with 1 September interview, 1 October, 1 November, 3 December, and 2 January interviews.

I was also wondering about this. Congrats and great to hear! It sounds like applying earlier is best, but having an app with strong scores can jump you ahead in the interview line even if you are complete a few weeks later?

 

[Okazaki Frag Grenade]

I was also wondering about this. Congrats and great to hear! It sounds like applying earlier is best, but having an app with strong scores can jump you ahead in the interview line even if you are complete a few weeks later?

Thanks! I wasn't trying to humble-brag either, so hopefully it didn't come across that way. Just giving one frame of reference.

And yeah earlier is obviously the best, but being in on day 1 with a subpar app won't get you anywhere. If you have to take a couple extra weeks to kill the MCAT, by all means do it. And later interviews are not necessarily a bad thing either. The school I'm most likely going to attend accepted me in their last wave after my January interview.

 

[theonlytycrane]

Thanks! I wasn't trying to humble-brag either, so hopefully it didn't come across that way. Just giving one frame of reference.

And yeah earlier is obviously the best, but being in on day 1 with a subpar app won't get you anywhere. If you have to take a couple extra weeks to kill the MCAT, by all means do it. And later interviews are not necessarily a bad thing either. The school I'm most likely going to attend accepted me in their last wave after my January interview.

I didn't take it that way at all! Thanks for the helpful insight 🙂