MCAT Score validity 3 years within MATRICULATION?!

[biggiesmallsiz1]

Hey guys,

Maybe someone can comment on this. I've taken the MCAT twice so far....
Summer 2008: 31
Late 2009: 35

I applied to med school in 2008 (for class of 2013), and I did not get in, so I decided to get my masters in management (healthcare focused) following which I decided to take a healthcare consulting job. The entire damn plan was to get my masters, get some work experience, and then apply to med school.

I'm planning to apply to med school this coming May (class of 2017) but I just found out that a bunch of schools want MCAT scores 3 years prior to matriculation. I'm not really sure when these regulations changed, but when I applied in 2008, it used to be 3 years at the time of application. Wtf right?!

That being said, no chance in hell I'm retaking the MCAT again. I have a pretty reasonable app, so if I don't get in now, oh well. Anyone have a rough idea (or a list) of how how many schools are 3 years prior to matriculation vs. application?

Thanks in advance.

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[tenndoc]

Hey guys,

Maybe someone can comment on this. I've taken the MCAT twice so far....
Summer 2008: 31
Late 2009: 35

I applied to med school in 2008 (for class of 2013), and I did not get in, so I decided to get my masters in management (healthcare focused) following which I decided to take a healthcare consulting job. The entire damn plan was to get my masters, get some work experience, and then apply to med school.

I'm planning to apply to med school this coming May (class of 2017) but I just found out that a bunch of schools want MCAT scores 3 years prior to matriculation. I'm not really sure when these regulations changed, but when I applied in 2008, it used to be 3 years at the time of application. Wtf right?!

That being said, no chance in hell I'm retaking the MCAT again. I have a pretty reasonable app, so if I don't get in now, oh well. Anyone have a rough idea (or a list) of how how many schools are 3 years prior to matriculation vs. application?

Thanks in advance.

what does amcas say... thats what you have to worry about first

 

[Hoya2009]

It really depends on the school. Some accept older MCAT scores than others. It's kind of annoying in that regard. I retook it when I reapplied because a couple of schools I wanted to apply to did not accept my "old score" from 2008. And that was last year.
It sucks.
I don't think there's a list of every school, but you can research the schools you were thinking of applying to. They may accept your score.

 

[Only Zool]

Would it be so bad to take it again, even with the changes?

 

[ppappui]

Pretty much most schools do 3 years, with some exceptions doing 2 years or 4+ years. So if you do not plan to retake the MCAT, your choice of schools this upcoming cycle will be very limited. Out of the 35 schools I applied to, all of them had 3 year cutoff.
And yes, it is 3 years to matriculation. So if you took the MCAT in 2009 (like I did), this current cycle, which is about to end, should be your last before MCAT expires. So you should take your MCAT again for this upcoming cycles and a spot in 2013 matriculation.

 

[biggiesmallsiz1]

Would it be so bad to take it again, even with the changes?

what changes? I took the computerized mcat in 2009..i dont think anything has changed has it?

and yes, it would be bad to take it again. spent like 2 months (that's literally all i did) studying for it....not a chance in hell i'm doing that again (working full time now).

Guess it boils down to how badly i want med school, huh?

 

[biggiesmallsiz1]

Pretty much most schools do 3 years, with some exceptions doing 2 years or 4+ years. So if you do not plan to retake the MCAT, your choice of schools this upcoming cycle will be very limited. Out of the 35 schools I applied to, all of them had 3 year cutoff.
And yes, it is 3 years to matriculation. So if you took the MCAT in 2009 (like I did), this current cycle, which is about to end, should be your last before MCAT expires. So you should take your MCAT again for this upcoming cycles and a spot in 2013 matriculation.

i swear kids on sdn are so ridiculous sometimes. unnecessary stress man...totally unnecessary. here is a list of schools (my top choices) where my last score is valid/invalid (22/32...that's not that bad)

NY New York Univ. Valid
NC Wake Forest Valid
NY Albany ?
PA Jefferson valid
IL U. Chicago (Pritzker) invalid
NY Cornell valid
NY New York Med invalid
GA Emory valid
NY Mt. Sinai invalid
PA Drexel invalid
MO St. Louis valid
PA U. Pittsburgh ?
MA Tufts valid
MN Mayo invalid
NY Columbia valid
PA U. Pennsylvania valid
VT U. Vermont valid
IL Northwestern inv
MA Boston Univ. valid
MD Johns Hopkins valid
TN Vanderbilt valid
LA Tulane ?
OH Case Western valid
MA Harvard valid
NC Duke valid
CT Yale valid
NE Creighton
RI Brown* valid
MO Washington Univ. valid
DC Georgetown invalid, but check
DC George Wash invalid
VA Virginia Tech valid

 

[tenndoc]

seems like you answered your own question

 

[biggiesmallsiz1]

seems like you answered your own question

 

[Only Zool]

what changes? I took the computerized mcat in 2009..i dont think anything has changed has it?

and yes, it would be bad to take it again. spent like 2 months (that's literally all i did) studying for it....not a chance in hell i'm doing that again (working full time now).

Guess it boils down to how badly i want med school, huh?

As of January 2013, the writing portion will be no more. They're replacing it with a voluntary, unscored portion until 2015 when the new sections will be introduced.

 

[biggiesmallsiz1]

As of January 2013, the writing portion will be no more. They're replacing it with a voluntary, unscored portion until 2015 when the new sections will be introduced.

right..but I'm applying now (may 2012) and the current mcat is exactly the same as it was when i took it in aug 2009. Furthermore, the policy at that time was that the mcat was valid 3-5 years prior to time of application. This changed relatively recently (i'm assuming) because the MCAT is offered so much more frequently now. Unfortunately, this sort of screws me over, because I planned my last 4 years based on the "old" policy!!!

 

[ppappui]

Alright, good for you for answering your own question. Why even bother to ask if you know it?
I called several schools during my cycle and all answered 3 years prior to matriculation, and hence went with that. Good for you since you don't need to retake MCAT

 

[aSagacious]

I don't know how old this list is or if it's even correct but I found it by searching 'oldest MCAT accepted by school' on Google:

The oldest MCAT score(s) accepted by these schools must be within 2 years of planned entry:
Drexel University College of Medicine
East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University
Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
Mercer University School of Medicine
Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy
Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine
Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
University of Louisville School of Medicine
West Virginia University School of Medicine

The oldest MCAT score(s) accepted by these schools must be within 3 years of planned entry:
Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Creighton University School of Medicine
Dartmouth Medical School
Florida State University College of Medicine
George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Howard University College of Medicine
Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University
Loma Linda University School of Medicine
Mayo Medical School
Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine
Medical College of Wisconsin
Meharry Medical College
Morehouse School of Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University
New York Medical College
New York University School of Medicine
Northwestern University The Feinberg School of Medicine
Ohio State University College of Medicine
Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota
Stanford University School of Medicine
State University of New York Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine
State University of New York Upstate Medical University
Temple University School of Medicine
The Commonwealth Medical College
The University of Toledo College of Medicine
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine
University at Buffalo State University of New York School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine
University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine
University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine
University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine
University of Central Florida College of Medicine
University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences The Pritzker School of Medicine
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
University of Colorado School of Medicine
University of Connecticut School of Medicine
University of Florida College of Medicine
University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine
University of Illinois College of Medicine
University of Kansas School of Medicine
University of Massachusetts Medical School
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
University of Michigan Medical School
University of Minnesota Medical School
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
University of Nebraska College of Medicine
University of Nevada School of Medicine
University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine
University of South Alabama College of Medicine
University of South Florida College of Medicine
University of Utah School of Medicine
University of Vermont College of Medicine
University of Virginia School of Medicine
University of Washington School of Medicine
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Weill Cornell Medical College
Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine

The oldest MCAT score(s) accepted by these schools must be within 4 years of planned entry:
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
Boston University School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Duke University School of Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Indiana University School of Medicine
Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans
Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
University of Arizona College of Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine
University of Mississippi School of Medicine
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine
University of New Mexico School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Yale University School of Medicine

The oldest MCAT score(s) accepted by these schools must be within 5 years of planned entry:
Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine
Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine
The School of Medicine at Stony Brook University Medical Center
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Tufts University School of Medicine
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
University of South Carolina School of Medicine
University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine
University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine
University of Texas Medical School at Houston
University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Southwestern Medical School

The oldest MCAT score(s) accepted by these schools must be within 6 years of planned entry:
Baylor College of Medicine
University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine

 

[biggiesmallsiz1]

I don't know how old this list is or if it's even correct but I found it by searching 'oldest MCAT accepted by school' on Google:

it's inaccurate. I actually didn't know the answer...i spent like an hour trying to compile that info from the med school websites!

 

[aSagacious]

it's inaccurate. I actually didn't know the answer...i spent like an hour trying to compile that info from the med school websites!

Well, in that case, a more round-about way of getting your answer is purchasing a copy of the online MSAR. Under the 'application deadlines and requirements' tab you will see a line for 'oldest MCAT considered' and 'latest MCAT considered' (towards the bottom).

 

[biggiesmallsiz1]

now THIS is golden advice. had no idea MSARs had that... purchasing!

 

[mvenus929]

right..but I'm applying now (may 2012) and the current mcat is exactly the same as it was when i took it in aug 2009. Furthermore, the policy at that time was that the mcat was valid 3-5 years prior to time of application. This changed relatively recently (i'm assuming) because the MCAT is offered so much more frequently now. Unfortunately, this sort of screws me over, because I planned my last 4 years based on the "old" policy!!!

I took the MCAT in 2007, the first year it was offered in electronic format. It was only valid for 3 years to matriculation at that point at most schools, so I'm not sure where you heard it was valid 3-5 years prior to application.

 

[sector9]

what does amcas say... thats what you have to worry about first

Um no... AMCAS doesn't care how old your score is. You have to worry about the schools

 

[biggiesmallsiz1]

I took the MCAT in 2007, the first year it was offered in electronic format. It was only valid for 3 years to matriculation at that point at most schools, so I'm not sure where you heard it was valid 3-5 years prior to application.

well I don't want this to turn into a he said she said sort of arguement, but I'm 99% sure it was 3 years prior to application, as in, it was valid for 3 cycles!

honestly, even these schools that accept 3 years prior to matriculation say January 2010 (for aug 2013 entrance) is valid. I literally am like a couple of months away from that Jan 2010.

I can only hope that ad coms are sympathetic... i mean how much variability can there be in the MCAT if I've already taken it twice and have done > 30 !

 

[tenndoc]

Um no... AMCAS doesn't care how old your score is. You have to worry about the schools

ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm well considering that its the first thing you have to do, yeah you should be concerned with what it says. if it says nothing, great. if it specifies X date, then thats your answer. seeing as how thats not the case, then my next reply would have been to ask what the schools say... and thats what the OP figured out for himself.

 

[sector9]

ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm well considering that its the first thing you have to do, yeah you should be concerned with what it says. if it says nothing, great. if it specifies X date, then thats your answer. seeing as how thats not the case, then my next reply would have been to ask what the schools say... and thats what the OP figured out for himself.

I'm saying that AMCAS makes it abundantly clear that they don't care when you take the MCAT. They will report every score you have on record, period. So no, you DON'T need to ask AMCAS because they've already given an answer.

 

[tenndoc]

I'm saying that AMCAS makes it abundantly clear that they don't care when you take the MCAT. They will report every score you have on record, period. So no, you DON'T need to ask AMCAS because they've already given an answer.

cool

 

[mvenus929]

well I don't want this to turn into a he said she said sort of arguement, but I'm 99% sure it was 3 years prior to application, as in, it was valid for 3 cycles!

Right... three application cycles. Most people seem to take it the year they plan on applying. So I took it in 2007. It was valid during the 2007-2008 cycle, the 2008-2009 cycle, and the 2009-2010 cycle. If I had applied for matriculation in 2011, it wasn't valid most places anymore. This is why I decided that if I didn't get in when I was reapplying in 2009 that I was going to find something else to do. It was painful enough applying. No way was I going to take the MCAT again.

The reason they tend to be lenient in January is because you can't have an open application if you're taking it for the first time in January. If you took it the previous September, AMCAS was still open and you could have applied then.

Your best bet is to e-mail adcoms. The last thing you want is to spend all that money on applications just to be rejected because your MCAT wasn't recent enough.

 

[biggiesmallsiz1]

good advice. That is exactly what I plan to do!

What really irks me is that when you have top schools (wash u, harvard, yale, stanford, columbia, cornell) that accept these scores, why some of these schools (the majority of them state schools and mid-tier) do not!!