My MCAT is in November. Apply this cycle?

[an aspiring doctor]

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I have not been doing up to par on my diagnostics. For this reason I have postponed my MCAT until November. Will I be able to matriculate into an Osteopathic program if I submit my MCAT in December?

 

[Lost Vagus]

Sure.... it's possible but it is highly highly unlikely. It will probably be a waste of time and money. If you have the extra cash, go for it. Submitting in december means you probably won't even be validated until sometime in january, then you would have to wait to be offered secondaries. By that time, a majority of the interview dates will be over or full. Unless you have an absolutely killer application with high mcat and high gpa, the upper tier schools will probably be out of reach. Some of the newer schools offer interviews later in the cycle. The number one piece of advice all pre-meds should know is APPLY EARLY. Waiting this long in the cycle is putting yourself at a huge disadvantage. It can be done, but like I said.. it's going to take a lot of help

My advice if you want to be in school next year is to take the mcat as soon as possible ( but only if you are ready). If not, take the next year to study and improve your application and apply early next cycle. This is probably your best option. Good luck

 

[Goro]

It's a longer cycle for DO schools, and at my school, there's a ~ 6 week turn around between receipt of everything and sending out an II. so yeah, I'd say you'd be in good shape. Good luck!

I have not been doing up to par on my diagnostics. For this reason I have postponed my MCAT until November. Will I be able to matriculate into an Osteopathic program if I submit my MCAT in December?

 

[GreyF0X]

I want to +1 OP's question. Since there is a small chance of matriculating into a medical school this cycle due to applying this late, would it put one at a disadvantage to apply the next cycle as a reapplicant? Would it just be better to wait or it doesn't really matter?

 

[an aspiring doctor]

Goro what program do you attend? I want to attend Touro in Middletown if they accept me however I do not know if there will be spots open by December.

 

[baxt1412]

If you are going to do it... get your primary in 2 weeks ago (AKA RIGHT NOW!)

 

[forumss]

i have the same question. i'm not doing swell on my practice mcat's right now. i'm debating on taking the mcat and getting <20 and retaking it. or simply retaking it in november or january.

i already submitted my amcas and aacomas. would november and january be accepted by osteopathic and allopathic schools if all else on your application is good?

 

[smccccc]

I think you should apply. Because like you said if your not accepted you could always just be a re applicant next year which could work in your favor!

 

[iWillOneDay]

Goro what program do you attend? I want to attend Touro in Middletown if they accept me however I do not know if there will be spots open by December.

he ain't going to tell you.

 

[hallowmann]

I want to +1 OP's question. Since there is a small chance of matriculating into a medical school this cycle due to applying this late, would it put one at a disadvantage to apply the next cycle as a reapplicant? Would it just be better to wait or it doesn't really matter?

The main thing you'll lose is money. Some MD schools (and few at that) restrict the number of times you can reapply, and most will expect some change if you apply and then reapply. DO schools are less restrictive than that. Also to be clear, you are only a reapplicant to the schools you already applied to - some people don't always get that.

If money isn't an issue, the main risk of doing it this way is limiting your options. For example, if you apply now, its unlikely you'll get into any of the more competitive schools. If you get in to one of the less competitive schools, it would be a bad choice to decline the acceptance, just to see if you could get into a better one. That said, if all you care about is starting at anywhere, that doesn't really matter.

Goro what program do you attend? I want to attend Touro in Middletown if they accept me however I do not know if there will be spots open by December.

Goro's an adcom/faculty member. Goro will also never reveal their school.

If you are going to do it... get your primary in 2 weeks ago (AKA RIGHT NOW!)

Agreed.

i have the same question. i'm not doing swell on my practice mcat's right now. i'm debating on taking the mcat and getting <20 and retaking it. or simply retaking it in november or january.

i already submitted my amcas and aacomas. would november and january be accepted by osteopathic and allopathic schools if all else on your application is good?

It is better to take it once and do well than to take it once, get <20 (or even <23 for that matter) and then retake it. As far as when you apply, I highly doubt you'd get into an MD school if you apply in November or January, unless you have a state school with low stats in mind. The DO cycle tends to last longer than the MD cycle, so whereas most MD schools have primary deadlines in December & January, a lot of DO schools accept primary apps into February/March.

I think you should apply. Because like you said if your not accepted you could always just be a re applicant next year which could work in your favor!

Not sure how it would work in their favor to be a reapplicant, except maybe that they'd have already written all their secondaries and completed their app.

 

[forumss]

It is better to take it once and do well than to take it once, get <20 (or even <23 for that matter) and then retake it. As far as when you apply, I highly doubt you'd get into an MD school if you apply in November or January, unless you have a state school with low stats in mind. The DO cycle tends to last longer than the MD cycle, so whereas most MD schools have primary deadlines in December & January, a lot of DO schools accept primary apps into February/March.

hallowmann, i appreciate your input. i already submitted my AMCAS and AACOMAS, and am in the system. all i have left from this whole application thing is my mcat. so, are you saying that MD schools won't look at my application or give out a rejection if i end up taking the mcat in november/january? and that DO schools would be more likely to look at me?

all comments are appreciated!

(if this helps at all: i've applied to loma linda, ucr, ucla, uci, ucsd, usc, ohsu, 2 arizona med schools, unlv (which basically rejected me b/c i'm not a resident - should've read guidelines), and western.)

 

[IslandStyle808]

hallowmann, i appreciate your input. i already submitted my AMCAS and AACOMAS, and am in the system. all i have left from this whole application thing is my mcat. so, are you saying that MD schools won't look at my application or give out a rejection if i end up taking the mcat in november/january? and that DO schools would be more likely to look at me?

all comments are appreciated!

(if this helps at all: i've applied to loma linda, ucr, ucla, uci, ucsd, usc, ohsu, 2 arizona med schools, unlv (which basically rejected me b/c i'm not a resident - should've read guidelines), and western.)

Since MCATs are now given in October and November, you can't really say for sure if they will even look at it. In the past, most MD schools don't even look at any MCAT taken after September.

 

[hallowmann]

hallowmann, i appreciate your input. i already submitted my AMCAS and AACOMAS, and am in the system. all i have left from this whole application thing is my mcat. so, are you saying that MD schools won't look at my application or give out a rejection if i end up taking the mcat in november/january? and that DO schools would be more likely to look at me?

all comments are appreciated!

(if this helps at all: i've applied to loma linda, ucr, ucla, uci, ucsd, usc, ohsu, 2 arizona med schools, unlv (which basically rejected me b/c i'm not a resident - should've read guidelines), and western.)

Of course DO schools would be more likely to look at you, but most (MD or DO) won't until the MCAT is in, and all will not give you an ii until then for sure. Secondaries might get sent out, but that doesn't mean anything.

Are you a CA resident? Realistically, it was a mistake to apply to all those schools before you take the MCAT. You could have applied to 1 MD and 1 DO just so your app is submitted, but its possible they will flat out reject you, or you'll pass their deadlines (see below).

Whatever you do, you need to do well on the MCAT. After that, you need to submit your secondaries (if your MCAT and stats are strong), and if you absolutely have to get in this cycle, you can apply more broadly to other schools based on your stats (but this is risky because it will be pretty late in the cycle, particularly for MD schools). I would recommend just reapplying next year if you don't get in to the ones you already applied to this year, so that you can apply early in the cycle to as many schools as possible. Basically all the CA schools are competitive due to the high volume of IS applicants as well as people who want to go out west.

Good luck for this cycle. I hope you do well and this works out. If it doesn't, reapply from the first day next cycle, and apply as broadly as you can. This site is a good source to avoid some mistakes (e.g. applying to a school that only accepts IS applicants), so be sure to you use it. People on here have gone through the cycle and can help you avoid the mistakes that they made.

Since MCATs are now given in October and November, you can't really say for sure if they will even look at it. In the past, most MD schools don't even look at any MCAT taken after September.

This is true, so its very school specific, and you may want to contact each one to be sure.