Need advice on when to submit primary

[Pharaoh95]

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So I was originally going to take the June 1st MCAT but I ended up voiding it because I got no sleep the night before which affected my performance greatly. So I will now sign up for June 16/17 date. This has shifted my schedule a bit.

I've drafted out my personal statement, my work/activities, and have all of my LORs, but have yet to enter everything into AMCAS. I have already sent my transcript and its been received.

My question is, will it be okay for me to wait until after my MCAT to submit my primary or should I work to get that submitted before my MCAT? I want to be an early applicant but at the same time I want to put my best effort into both the MCAT and AMCAS, especially the MCAT considering that this is a retake (from a 511, below 125 CARS).

Feeling a lot of pressure and stress right now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[AlmostThere24]

I say go ahead and submit your primary, but to one of the schools lower in your list. That way when you get your new MCAT scores, your application will already be verified. Then you can add more schools if you're satisfied with the results.

 

[JoeCaputo]

Scores release on July 18. Verification will probably take 3-4 weeks, so within a week of your MCAT. If you want to submit now, maybe check which schools screen for secondaries and don't add them until later, just in case.

 

[Fdsa2495]

So I was originally going to take the June 1st MCAT but I ended up voiding it because I got no sleep the night before which affected my performance greatly. So I will now sign up for June 16/17 date. This has shifted my schedule a bit.

I've drafted out my personal statement, my work/activities, and have all of my LORs, but have yet to enter everything into AMCAS. I have already sent my transcript and its been received.

My question is, will it be okay for me to wait until after my MCAT to submit my primary or should I work to get that submitted before my MCAT? I want to be an early applicant but at the same time I want to put my best effort into both the MCAT and AMCAS, especially the MCAT considering that this is a retake (from a 511, below 125 CARS).

Feeling a lot of pressure and stress right now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

why would you retake a 511 even if CARS is below 125. Most med schools are a little lenient on CARS and also schools that screen will see your first score anyways and they may not wait to see your second score if you apply before July 18, which might get you screened out. If I were you I'd just apply with 511 and focus on writing the essays/activities. OR study for the exam and take it for next cycle because the fact that you voided it means you are not ready to score more than a 511 this time around.

 

[rolliespring]

Agree with AlmostThere24, it's what I did last year.

What is your CARS score? I've seen ppl getting accepted with a 123 into MD schools.

 

[morejedi]

I think the majority of the people on the website who are faculty/have worked or volunteered on adcoms would advise against a 511 retake.

@Goro may be able to further persuade you but I don't know if retaking a 511 is smart unless you're landing constant 520s

If unfortunately things go south and you score below a 511 it'll make things real messy

 

[Pharaoh95]

why would you retake a 511 even if CARS is below 125. Most med schools are a little lenient on CARS and also schools that screen will see your first score anyways and they may not wait to see your second score if you apply before July 18, which might get you screened out. If I were you I'd just apply with 511 and focus on writing the essays/activities. OR study for the exam and take it for next cycle because the fact that you voided it means you are not ready to score more than a 511 this time around.

With all due respect I completely disagree with the bolded statement. I was not going to let myself score such a high stakes exam having not slept a minute the night before. It noticeably affected my comprehension and critical thinking. I found myself reading a few sentences and then not remembering what I had read because I was so tired. Scoring would've been an impulsive decision that I would've likely regretted for the entire application cycle.

I greatly neglected studying for CARS last year and have done a great deal of work to improve for the retake. I've taken Jack Westin's CARS course and have been working very hard to improve CARS as well as my other science sections. My AAMC FLs this time around are between 515-519 with CARS being much improved. I don't expect strangers on an internet forum to believe in me but I know I can improve and I've worked damn hard for it. Thank you for your input.

 

[Goro]

So help me, if you retake that perfectly fine MCAT score, I'm going to reach through the electrons and smack you upside the head!

So I was originally going to take the June 1st MCAT but I ended up voiding it because I got no sleep the night before which affected my performance greatly. So I will now sign up for June 16/17 date. This has shifted my schedule a bit.

I've drafted out my personal statement, my work/activities, and have all of my LORs, but have yet to enter everything into AMCAS. I have already sent my transcript and its been received.

My question is, will it be okay for me to wait until after my MCAT to submit my primary or should I work to get that submitted before my MCAT? I want to be an early applicant but at the same time I want to put my best effort into both the MCAT and AMCAS, especially the MCAT considering that this is a retake (from a 511, below 125 CARS).

Feeling a lot of pressure and stress right now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Pharaoh95]

Agree with AlmostThere24, it's what I did last year.

What is your CARS score? I've seen ppl getting accepted with a 123 into MD schools.

124

 

[Pharaoh95]

Scores release on July 18. Verification will probably take 3-4 weeks, so within a week of your MCAT. If you want to submit now, maybe check which schools screen for secondaries and don't add them until later, just in case.

After putting some thought into it I'm just going to focus on the MCAT for the next 2 weeks, take it, and then polish up my application and submit it within a week of the MCAT. That way I can take some time to really focus on it with no distractions.

 

[Pharaoh95]

So help me, if you retake that perfectly fine MCAT score, I'm going to reach through the electrons and smack you upside the head!

I had a feeling I would get a response like this

Regardless, its too late to convince me otherwise. I've already studied for a good 5-6 months for this retake and have greatly improved my scores.

 

[Pharaoh95]

i suggest you submitto a single school solely for verification. This should be either a "throw away" school (one you have little chance of going to such as OOS) or, preferably, a high reach school. The one that if you do really well on MCAT you might have a shot at. Once you are verified, adding more schools AFTER you get your MCAT score takes only a day. do not apply to any school with an MCAT score except for verification

Thank you, I appreciate the advice!

 

[Fdsa2495]

With all due respect I completely disagree with the bolded statement. I was not going to let myself score such a high stakes exam having not slept a minute the night before. It noticeably affected my comprehension and critical thinking. I found myself reading a few sentences and then not remembering what I had read because I was so tired. Scoring would've been an impulsive decision that I would've likely regretted for the entire application cycle.

I greatly neglected studying for CARS last year and have done a great deal of work to improve for the retake. I've taken Jack Westin's CARS course and have been working very hard to improve CARS as well as my other science sections. My AAMC FLs this time around are between 515-519 with CARS being much improved. I don't expect strangers on an internet forum to believe in me but I know I can improve and I've worked damn hard for it. Thank you for your input.

Well you do you, I hope you do much better this time. Best of luck! And I also agree that you should just apply to a throw away school and wait for your 2nd MCAT score before adding other schools.