Need help with some application timelines

[zma21]

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Hey guys,

This has probably been beaten like the resident dead horse, but I'd rather be sure than unsure. This stuff's important.

So I'm going to be applying in June, mostly to osteopathic schools in the gulf area. This will be due to my low gpa (~3.3). I anticipate scoring in the low to mid 30's on my mcat. Talk is cheap though, so that's enough about that.

I'm planning on taking my MCAT on may 24th or the 31st, but worry that this will be too late. I really need to be as early as possible with my application to raise any wimpy chance of matriculation I have.

Here's some schools on my very un-concrete list:
- WCU-COM
- NSU-COM
- LECOM
- GA-PCOM

then a few allo

- SIU som
- UofI som
- etc etc etc

Very subject to change, and I know I'm below average for all schools listed. I should say, though, that the AOA grading will push my gpa's in the 3.4 range.

Should I take my MCAT sooner to ensure that I am complete to any school that sends a secondary as soon as possible? I've done some research on here and viewed LizzyM's thread, but it all got kind of hazy and stirred among members.

Thanks for any and all help!

 

[Iliketoytles]

People will say to take the MCAT when you're completely ready... which I've never understood, since you'll never truly be "ready" for the MCAT. The earlier the better though... so if you can take it in March or April, then you'll have time to retake it if needed and still be plenty early enough to be competitive.

To boost your confidence, take a look at the Underdog Thread. The first page has stats for all the underdogs... you'd be surprised how low some people's MCAT/GPA's are and still getting plenty of interviews and acceptances to their top choices. Earliness is key, so it's good your planning on being as early as possible.

Good luck! 🙂

 

[zma21]

People will say to take the MCAT when you're completely ready... which I've never understood, since you'll never truly be "ready" for the MCAT. The earlier the better though... so if you can take it in March or April, then you'll have time to retake it if needed and still be plenty early enough to be competitive.

To boost your confidence, take a look at the Underdog Thread. The first page has stats for all the underdogs... you'd be surprised how low some people's MCAT/GPA's are and still getting plenty of interviews and acceptances to their top choices. Earliness is key, so it's good your planning on being as early as possible.

Good luck! 🙂

Thanks for the kind words.

As far as being "ready" for the test, I was "ready" and scoring 32's and 33's on practice exams last summer, and signed up for Sept 2nd. My mother passed away, and I decided to postpone. So come may, I'll be as ready as ever.

I'm taking a light class load, but I DO NOT want to take the big whopper in the middle of the semester. My finals end may 9th, and I'd like a week or two to blow the steam off and take some practices before I take the real deal.

I just want to know if taking the MCAT in May will allow me to apply in a timely fashion that will be of my benefit.

Thanks. 👍

 

[Iliketoytles]

Thanks for the kind words.

As far as being "ready" for the test, I was "ready" and scoring 32's and 33's on practice exams last summer, and signed up for Sept 2nd. My mother passed away, and I decided to postpone. So come may, I'll be as ready as ever.

I'm taking a light class load, but I DO NOT want to take the big whopper in the middle of the semester. My finals end may 9th, and I'd like a week or two to blow the steam off and take some practices before I take the real deal.

I just want to know if taking the MCAT in May will allow me to apply in a timely fashion that will be of my benefit.

Thanks. 👍

I'm sorry about your mother passing away... it's tough to deal with that stuff when you're focused on exams. I had to deal with something of the sort a couple times right before an exam (fortunately not my mother), so I know how sucky it can feel, lol.

Taking the May 24th MCAT will still allow you to apply in a timely manner. You'll get your score back at the end of June... so right after you finish the MCAT, you have 6 days to finish your AACOMAS (plenty of time if you work hard) and submit on June 1st. It'll be verified in about 3 weeks... and once your MCAT scores come in you can submit them electronically.

Then you can start prewriting your secondaries, so when they start coming in during the beginning of July you can submit them the same day. Interviews in late July/August. Looks early to me!!

Best of luck.

 

[zma21]

I'm sorry about your mother passing away... it's tough to deal with that stuff when you're focused on exams. I had to deal with something of the sort a couple times right before an exam (fortunately not my mother), so I know how sucky it can feel, lol.

Taking the May 24th MCAT will still allow you to apply in a timely manner. You'll get your score back at the end of June... so right after you finish the MCAT, you have 6 days to finish your AACOMAS (plenty of time if you work hard) and submit on June 1st. It'll be verified in about 3 weeks... and once your MCAT scores come in you can submit them electronically.

Then you can start prewriting your secondaries, so when they start coming in during the beginning of July you can submit them the same day. Interviews in late July/August. Looks early to me!!

Best of luck.

Thanks for the help man.

It's been the roughest 5 months of my life, that's for sure. My schoolwork reflected it. I alway's called b.s. to those people that said they "couldn't concentrate" during rough times, but man was I slapped in the face with it.

Still pulled dean's list though. Should have been higher. 🙄

 

[Iliketoytles]

Thanks for the help man.

It's been the roughest 5 months of my life, that's for sure. My schoolwork reflected it. I alway's called b.s. to those people that said they "couldn't concentrate" during rough times, but man was I slapped in the face with it.

Still pulled dean's list though. Should have been higher. 🙄

Dean's list, nice. Way to keep it together. Though my situations weren't as bad as yours (mine was 2 close friends and then my grandma... separate occurences), I found myself actually too BUSY to think about it. It wasn't until the weekends did it all hit me like a train, lol. And the constant annoyances of people saying "you should take a week off to 'recover' " obviously had no idea that was not an option. 🙄

 

[dntke1518]

People will say to take the MCAT when you're completely ready... which I've never understood, since you'll never truly be "ready" for the MCAT. The earlier the better though... so if you can take it in March or April, then you'll have time to retake it if needed and still be plenty early enough to be competitive.

To boost your confidence, take a look at the Underdog Thread. The first page has stats for all the underdogs... you'd be surprised how low some people's MCAT/GPA's are and still getting plenty of interviews and acceptances to their top choices. Earliness is key, so it's good your planning on being as early as possible.

Good luck! 🙂

Amen...

OP, I think you already know that early application is one of the best things you can do for yourself, regardless of scores and GPA, so just get everything in ASAP, that means primary, and secondaries!

Best of luck!

 

[OzelloPiRat]

The May 31st score release is July 3rd. You would be verified by then and many schools would just be looking at your app. You'll be fine. It is better to score well on the MCAT than rush things. The adcom peeps at USF harp on the fact that people apply when they are not ready or have to retake the MCAT after apps are out. They are great at letting you know where you stand. Get the best score possible. Apply to all the schools you wish to goto. Good luck!

 

[zma21]

Thanks for all of the help guys.

As far as "Apply to all the schools you wish to go to". -That really struck a chord.

Since I decided so late (1st semester Junior year), I slacked quite a bit and had three or more semesters of 3.0

Because of this, my gpa isn't as high as I'd like it to be, but have improved ten fold since I changed concentration. I'm applying this summer hoping to get in, but aren't necessarily my top choice schools. Nova is a top choice, but I'd really like to go to my state school. At the end of next year I'll be around 3.5 and will be competitive for a handful of allo schools, including my state school, but that will mean yet another year of waiting. I'm going to see just where I can get in during the gap time. If I get accepted somewhere that I am happy going, I will sign the papers in a heartbeat. So, awkward situation.

 

[Jnorman1218]

I partly agree that you will never be completely ready for the MCAT. On the other hand, I think waiting a month or two longer if you think it will raise your score is the wise thing, even if you won't have your results back June 1st. For me, I rescheduled my MCAT for a month later, making it so I didn't have my results back until almost July. I believe it helped more than hindered.

Also, don't be to pessimistic. Get a solid 30+ on the MCAT and your stats will be competitive, even if your GPA is a little low.