Need advice on when to take the MCAT?

[bme94]

Hi,

I'm in my last semester of undergraduate. I planned to take the MCAT on July 9th. However, because I just started my scribe job, and of my regular classes, I haven't been studying as much as I've wanted to. I've only taken two practice exams thus far. My sample exam score was 65%, 75%, 80%, 86%, and my Next Step score was a 504. This upcoming exam will be a retake.

My stats are as follows:

Will (most likely) be graduating with a 3.72 overall, and a 3.56 sgpa.

500 hours of hopsital-related research, 300 hours of laboratory research, will have 100 hours as a medical scribe, a few different clubs, and 100 hours of volunterring at homeless shelters and nurshing homes.

I've heard that mediocre applicants should apply as early as possible, but I'm really scared that taking my exam in early July will negatively impact my score.

I've been debating on whether to push my exam date back until July 22nd. Is it worth doing so? Or will it be too late?

I am planing on applying to DO schools and (hopefully) MD schools too. I really need some advice. Thanks

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[aldol16]

I believe that the extra couple of weeks of studying will not yield that much for the MCAT. The skills you need for the MCAT have already been crystallized by the time you take it. These skills were developed over years of study and either you can analyze data and passages or you can't. That's why people who take the exam one month and then take it again a month later see very little change in their score. An additional year of studying might help you get a few more content questions but the majority of the exam is on reasoning. Those skills take time to develop and hone.

So the bottom line is that I don't think the extra few weeks will boost your score. Applying early if your stats are low is a good idea for rolling admissions programs but your stats don't seem too low to me. But it's always good to apply early to give yourself the best chance, no matter where in the applicant pool you fall.