I am currently studying for the MCAT full time as it's my winter break and plan on continuing when the semester starts again part time. I tried my best to lighten schedule in order to prioritize mcat studying (3 lectures and a lab). For this reason, I want to take my mcat around June so that I have enough time to study as well as avoid taking a gap year. I was wondering if taking the mcat in June (assuming no retakes) is too late for the 26/27 admissions cycle?
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MCAT Date
Started by Ari.2390
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You will get your score back exactly a month after your test date. If you feel that you are otherwise ready to apply this year (your activities, shadowing, volunteering, 3 letter writers lined up) you can apply in 26/27.
Two suggestions though:
1. As soon as your MCAT is done, work on the AMCAS application but don't submit it yet. That month of waiting should be long enough to fill in all the activity descriptions and their mini essays, and the coursework. I hope you have been working on your personal statement.
2. When you see your score, that will tell you whether you should apply this year or wait and retake.
why should you pause and wait to submit?
Because your MCAT score will determine in part which schools you apply to, and each school you add to your list costs $$.
If you are not happy with your score and decide to wait, you won't be a re-applicant if you haven't submitted the primary
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Thank you for the advice! I've also seen posts regarding the "throwaway" method where our primaries are submitted to only one school prior to taking the mcat to be verified. What is your opinion on that?
I don’t throw anything away LOL
You could do that if you want to. Your “one school” won’t really look at your app until a score arrives
Most accepted applicants take the MCAT the calendar year before their application up until June (our survey results). Many also wind up taking Casper or PREview in June too, so booking all of these exams in one month while submitting your application and secondary essays requires great organization and time management. If you can space those tasks out or do pre-writing your activities statements and your essays, it will make June much more bearable.
Most accepted applicants know their MCAT score before they submit. Not many accepted premeds take the exam after submitting because I think they score well enough they didn't need to re-test.
Read our 2025 HPSA Anatomy of the Accepted Applicant report.
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