Official Should I Delay my MCAT test date Thread!!!!!

[CodeBlu]

So, this seems to be a common question. For those of you that are thinking about delaying. Please post here instead of the main MCAT discussions page. Avoid clutter for the OCD SDNers
to all!

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[Restart13]

I would delay my test if I was shaky on verbal. Generally the verbal on the live MCAT tends to be "harder and longer", but in actuality it is roughly the same length as the practice tests. Get comfortable with verbal, it is most often the reason why people re-write. If you're not good with verbal and your test is coming up, I would suggest writing the test to see what it is like. I'm a firm believer in never voiding... I almost voided a 37... (that would have been stupid)

Yea I just took AAMC 8 today and got a 28...7 on VR lol I think I am going to delay and maybe take it on Aug. 23rd. I did have a family funeral this last weekend, and I think that explains a little bit why I've been out of it, but it's still very frustrating. I'm just gonna do some EK and save my last AAMC 11 for a few days before and just go for it then regardless of how I do on it. Thanks for the insight.

 

[Ronnie90]

Hi All,

I'm really concerned about my upcoming test date and confused as to whether I should postpone from January 24th...

Right now my scores on my practice FLs (Kaplan) are ranging from 24-27 and my goal is a 30+ (I will be applying to DO and MD schools). I am still weak in some content, which I'm reviewing along with taking practice tests. (I've only taken 3 practice tests in the past 2 months or so and am worried because I haven't seen real/consistent improvement in scores at this point)

The main problem is that I will be taking a full load of classes from Jan-June and sending in my apps in June (as soon as I get my final grades), which will be a lot to handle with MCAT studying and ECs, etc.
The next available test date in CA is 5/18 which is really far away and in the middle of my spring quarter. I'm worried that my scores won't get to schools until the end of June if i take it as late as 5/18, which will affect how quickly my apps are verified...

With less than a month until my 1/24 test date, do you think it would be possible to improve a solid 6 points? (right now I'm studying 10+ hours a day) ... Or should I postpone until May, and risk getting caught up in classes, ECs, and work (which I have to get back to by the end of Jan/early Feb ) ...

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! (Sorry if my post is confusing at all... my anxiety has been taking over and I feel like I need to decide soon, before the 5/18 date fills up as well!)

 

[bazinga14]

A six point improvement is not impossible but it will be an uphill climb between now and January 24th. I wouldn't suggest rushing to take the MCAT in January if you don't feel prepared. If you feel good about your knowledge, you can try taking an AAMC exam to see if the Kaplan tests are giving you an inaccurate picture of your score - but if you do not feel adequately prepared, don't take the January exam.

Are there any tests in neighboring states in March/April? Maybe an exam that falls near your Spring Break?

 

[bazinga14]

Hi All,

I'm really concerned about my upcoming test date and confused as to whether I should postpone from January 24th...

Right now my scores on my practice FLs (Kaplan) are ranging from 24-27 and my goal is a 30+ (I will be applying to DO and MD schools). I am still weak in some content, which I'm reviewing along with taking practice tests. (I've only taken 3 practice tests in the past 2 months or so and am worried because I haven't seen real/consistent improvement in scores at this point)

The main problem is that I will be taking a full load of classes from Jan-June and sending in my apps in June (as soon as I get my final grades), which will be a lot to handle with MCAT studying and ECs, etc.
The next available test date in CA is 5/18 which is really far away and in the middle of my spring quarter. I'm worried that my scores won't get to schools until the end of June if i take it as late as 5/18, which will affect how quickly my apps are verified...

With less than a month until my 1/24 test date, do you think it would be possible to improve a solid 6 points? (right now I'm studying 10+ hours a day) ... Or should I postpone until May, and risk getting caught up in classes, ECs, and work (which I have to get back to by the end of Jan/early Feb ) ...

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! (Sorry if my post is confusing at all... my anxiety has been taking over and I feel like I need to decide soon, before the 5/18 date fills up as well!)

A six point improvement is not impossible but it will be an uphill climb between now and January 24th. I wouldn't suggest rushing to take the MCAT in January if you don't feel prepared. If you feel good about your knowledge, you can try taking an AAMC exam to see if the Kaplan tests are giving you an inaccurate picture of your score - but if you do not feel adequately prepared, don't take the January exam.

Are there any tests in neighboring states in March/April? Maybe an exam that falls near your Spring Break?

 

[Ronnie90]

Thank you for your reply! I'm sure there are available test dates in nearby states, but I don't think it would work out for me, I think I'll take an AAMC test soon and go from there, but I'll most likely postpone :/

 

[nisarg2010]

Hi All,

I'm really concerned about my upcoming test date and confused as to whether I should postpone from January 24th...

Right now my scores on my practice FLs (Kaplan) are ranging from 24-27 and my goal is a 30+ (I will be applying to DO and MD schools). I am still weak in some content, which I'm reviewing along with taking practice tests. (I've only taken 3 practice tests in the past 2 months or so and am worried because I haven't seen real/consistent improvement in scores at this point)

The main problem is that I will be taking a full load of classes from Jan-June and sending in my apps in June (as soon as I get my final grades), which will be a lot to handle with MCAT studying and ECs, etc.
The next available test date in CA is 5/18 which is really far away and in the middle of my spring quarter. I'm worried that my scores won't get to schools until the end of June if i take it as late as 5/18, which will affect how quickly my apps are verified...

With less than a month until my 1/24 test date, do you think it would be possible to improve a solid 6 points? (right now I'm studying 10+ hours a day) ... Or should I postpone until May, and risk getting caught up in classes, ECs, and work (which I have to get back to by the end of Jan/early Feb ) ...

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! (Sorry if my post is confusing at all... my anxiety has been taking over and I feel like I need to decide soon, before the 5/18 date fills up as well!)

Dude, it is totally possible to improve your score by 6+ points in the time you have remaining. I was able to improve my score from 24 - 34 in 2 weeks. Don't give up yet. There is defiantly hope for great improvement.

My score details: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=949390&page=24
- its towards the bottom of page 24.

What I have done to improve: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=972692

 

[Ronnie90]

Your improvement has been great! Although part of me really wants to give up on Jan, your post gave me hope that it can be done... Thank You!
I'm going to continue my content review with Kaplan online lectures and take an AAMC exam within the next few days...

I really hope this works out

 

[ssee77]

Hi! I have been studying since Feb with the Kaplan course and on their section tests for verbal I always get 13-15 because their passages are way shorter than the aamc. I took first prac aamc and got 11 both because of running out of time (on verbal only). I got 10s in both sciences (right when I finished content)... I noticed though that on the second one I took in the Bio section i made 6 stupid mistakes - be it missing the word "not" or misreading the question etc. so I know I can do way better than a 31. My test is may 30. should I push it back to june 20 since I only have 2 weeks left? I know I can score 13 ish on verbal if I improve my timing I just was shocked cause they were so much longer than the kaplan passages but not harder at all. i only missed the qs I didnt get to and 1 that I got to. Also I think my science scores will at least go up due to the stupid mistakes and the fact that I had just finished content and now I am actually going back and refreshing stuff I havent seen since Feb- march etc .... I am taking another prac aamc 10 tomorrow. The one I took and got a 31 was aamc 8.... I just dont know if two weeks and taking only a couple prac exams is enough to raise score to a 33 esp when people say they drop 3 pts from their prac scores. I have a 3.85 gpa , head ta of medical ethics course for 3 semesters , head ta of a psych course of 500 students,ta another premed course , key note speaker at ethics conference, applying to 5 yr md/ma ethics programs, lots & lots of research but no publications... also published poetry and got trained and start the international poetry for alzheimers program where I have volunteered for years...really great letters of rec too. .and if you guys dont think i can improve my timing /score in 2 weeks, do you think a 31-32 is better in may than 33-35 in june. I took a test untimed and got a 35 and no i didnt take hours i took like an extra 5 min in verbal . my dream schools are georgetown (32 avg) and nyu (34 avg)...


thanks so much ! also if you have advice on what aamc is most realistic Id appreciate it -from what Ive read it seems like 10/11.

 

[ChemEngMD]

Hi! I have been studying since Feb with the Kaplan course and on their section tests for verbal I always get 13-15 because their passages are way shorter than the aamc. I took first prac aamc and got 11 both because of running out of time (on verbal only). I got 10s in both sciences (right when I finished content)... I noticed though that on the second one I took in the Bio section i made 6 stupid mistakes - be it missing the word "not" or misreading the question etc. so I know I can do way better than a 31. My test is may 30. should I push it back to june 20 since I only have 2 weeks left? I know I can score 13 ish on verbal if I improve my timing I just was shocked cause they were so much longer than the kaplan passages but not harder at all. i only missed the qs I didnt get to and 1 that I got to. Also I think my science scores will at least go up due to the stupid mistakes and the fact that I had just finished content and now I am actually going back and refreshing stuff I havent seen since Feb- march etc .... I am taking another prac aamc 10 tomorrow. The one I took and got a 31 was aamc 8.... I just dont know if two weeks and taking only a couple prac exams is enough to raise score to a 33 esp when people say they drop 3 pts from their prac scores. I have a 3.85 gpa , head ta of medical ethics course for 3 semesters , head ta of a psych course of 500 students,ta another premed course , key note speaker at ethics conference, applying to 5 yr md/ma ethics programs, lots & lots of research but no publications... also published poetry and got trained and start the international poetry for alzheimers program where I have volunteered for years...really great letters of rec too. .and if you guys dont think i can improve my timing /score in 2 weeks, do you think a 31-32 is better in may than 33-35 in june. I took a test untimed and got a 35 and no i didnt take hours i took like an extra 5 min in verbal . my dream schools are georgetown (32 avg) and nyu (34 avg)...


thanks so much ! also if you have advice on what aamc is most realistic Id appreciate it -from what Ive read it seems like 10/11.

Not sure if you know this or not, but there are only like 5 states that have available June 20th test dates...Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, New Mexico and somewhere else...this is why I did not reschedule to June 20th and am sticking with my May 23rd date. If you're in NY, I don't think you'll find a test available within 500 miles (west virginia may be the other place...so unless you're looking to shell out some big money to fly halfway across the country to take the test, you're stuck with May or July...unless some spots clear out before Thursday at midnight)

As far as whether to push back or not it's really up to you. There are people who walk into the test averaging 38s on practice tests and score a 33 and some people average around 29 or 30 and somehow pull a 34 or 35...it's really going to come down to if you feel you have a good strategy for yourself. Most people do tend to hit around their AAMC average, but there is so much luck involved as far as topics...the 30th might be all topics you feel comfortable with and in July you may feel really uncomfortable.

Personally, I think taking it at the end of May and being able to be complete with schools around the beginning of July is probably a better choice than not being complete until the beginning or middle of August (since only July dates are available).

I vote grind it out over these last 17 days (that's what I'm doing over my last 10) and I think you can make it happen.

 

[ssee77]

I randomly checked the system and a spot opened up in literally my home town at 2 pm(which is way better than morning tests for me) so I took it as a "sign" ... No spots even near florida, then boom my hometown? I think I will study better/more calmly now knowing I have time to work on timing... and i didnt wanna risk retaking it. i also am done with amcas app , so I can still submit that at least and then get some secondaries and I will check forums and prewrite the secondaries for ones I get later. June isnt THAT late right? I will have my app verified and mcat in by july? and I will have secondaries in soon as i get them because i will prewrite them while waiting for the mcat score.

 

[ChemEngMD]

I randomly checked the system and a spot opened up in literally my home town at 2 pm(which is way better than morning tests for me) so I took it as a "sign" ... No spots even near florida, then boom my hometown? I think I will study better/more calmly now knowing I have time to work on timing... and i didnt wanna risk retaking it. i also am done with amcas app , so I can still submit that at least and then get some secondaries and I will check forums and prewrite the secondaries for ones I get later. June isnt THAT late right? I will have my app verified and mcat in by july? and I will have secondaries in soon as i get them because i will prewrite them while waiting for the mcat score.

Hey man I definitely would have taken that as a sign I think you'll be fine being complete at the end of July, especially if you have pre-written secondaries ready. Don't use that extra month to procrastinate though! Good luck

 

[Psych69]

I need some advice on this topic as well.

I'm scheduled to take the MCAT for the first time in 3 days, on July 25th. I've already submitted AMCAS and am definitely applying this cycle. My plan is to pre-write secondaries as I wait for MCAT scores to come in and my apps to be complete.

I'm considering delaying by 2 weeks and taking it on Aug 9th. This would involve cancelling and paying the entire fee again since I'm less than 2 weeks from my scheduled test date, which is obviously not ideal but I'm just not feeling quite ready so I'm considering it. I've done a pretty thorough content review (BR) over the past 6 weeks or so but haven't had time for that many practice tests so haven't honed my timing very well. With the extra 2 weeks I could fit in at least 8 more practice tests, which I think would make me feel a lot more confident. That being said, I'd have to pay an extra registration fee and I'd be pushing my application complete date into September.

So far, I took AAMC 4 (10/12/11) and AAMC 9 (10/10/9). Ran out of time on AAMC 9 verbal and BS which is why the low scores. I'm planning to do another AAMC practice test tomorrow morning and see how it goes, but I'm feeling pretty stressed right now and would rather be feeling confident. I think I have the potential to do really well, and since my app is already going to be late, I wonder if an additional 2 weeks will matter.

I'm a non-trad applicant in my early 30s with solid grades and an interesting (IMO) life story. I think I'm probably a decent (or at least unusual) candidate with the missing MCAT and late app being my potential weaknesses.

One additional issue: I have no way of telling if there are even any available MCAT dates anywhere remotely near me for Aug 9, because I can't click "reschedule" and can't register for another date unless I cancel my current seat first.

Any thoughts?
Thanks!!