MCATs...Please Help

[Dr JPH]

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I am a second year undergraduate student contemplating a career in Osteopathic Medicine. I plan on taking an MCAT Prepararory course this summer (before my 3rd year) and I was wondering which is the best course?
Also, should I take the MCATs in August and then again the following April of my third year? Do Medical Schools look down upon this? Do they get both scores? Will they take the highest or an average?
Finally, how do the MCATs stack up against other standardized tests (such as the SAT). I didn't fare so well on the SATs..is this any indication of how I may do on the MCATs? (maybe a dumb question)
I have already began reading MCAT books and studying for the exam (minimal effort, but some). Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

 

[carmstrong]

There is a lot of discussion on how important your MCAT will be in your application, but I think both sides would agree that it is in your best interest to be as well prepared as possible. If possible you are only going to want to take the test once. You can take more than once if you don't do as well as you would like, but you should set out to only take it once. Please don't take the August test as a 'dry run'. Some schools will take your highest score, but others will average the two together. I am not 100% positive, but I am pretty sure that no matter what the specifice school's policy is they will know you have taken it more than once. This will not necessarily hurt you, but I would think that it would be better to score well the first time. It just takes out another variable that could in some way be held against you.
I am currently taking the KAPLAN course to prepare for the April MCAT. I think it has been very good and not that great at the same time. The material has been very good. I am very pleased with how the material is laid out and how you can put extra time into the areas which need extra work. As you know, it is quite an investment but I hope it will be worth it. I guess we will see when I get my scores back. More than the money, I think the fact that they had the syllabus laid out kept me on task. I knew what I had to have done for that week. They proctor 5 full lenght practice exams under real conditions. This seems to be a big help. I am learning how to pace and at the same time building stamina. Again, I hope all this pays off.
I really don't know what to say about when to take the test. Since you won't be applying until the next year it doesn't matter if it is April or August. I guess there are 2 issues you need to address:
1. If you are taking the class during the summer it may be better to take it right after the class but...
2. You may not have had all the classes covered on the MCAT(physics?) If this is the case you may do better in April.

good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[Nanook]

>*Also, should I take the MCATs in August and then again the following April of my third year? Do Medical Schools look down upon this? Do they get both scores? Will they take the highest or an average? *

--It is best to take it only once, and do well on it. Everything people have told me is that you should not take it again unless you scored low AND think you can significantly improve your scores.
--The schools definitely get all your scores, from every time you have taken it. They do NOT average them or take the highest, but look at each one separately and individually. And two mediocre scores definitely looks worse than one.

>*Finally, how do the MCATs stack up against other standardized tests (such as the SAT).*

--The MCAT is much, much harder than the SAT or GRE general test. However, it IS a test you can study and prepare for, which you should do diligently.

Also, if you want to take it in August, go ahead--but be sure you have had the necessary classes, and spend a significant chunk of the summer studying.