Pushing MCAT date to later - advice?

[sln12]

Hi all,

I'm an undergraduate pre-med student. I'm considering pushing my MCAT date to July 20 (scores release August 20). I will have my AMCAS application completed (except MCAT score) by early June and will submit it for the verification process since it takes 6-8 weeks. I will choose one medical school initially to have my application verified and then select additional medical schools the day before or day of MCAT score release.

I know there are advantages to having the AMCAS application submitted with everything but I do not feel completely ready and would rather not sacrifice my first attempt at MCAT exam, even if that means I still won't get a high score or if I don't get in the 2020 cycle. I would at least like to have additional time to prepare and solidify everything.

Any advice is appreciated.

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[wysdoc]

Hi all,

I'm an undergraduate pre-med student. I'm considering pushing my MCAT date to July 20 (scores release August 20). I will have my AMCAS application completed (except MCAT score) by early June and will submit it for the verification process since it takes 6-8 weeks. I will choose one medical school initially to have my application verified and then select additional medical schools the day before or day of MCAT score release.

I know there are advantages to having the AMCAS application submitted with everything but I do not feel completely ready and would rather not sacrifice my first attempt at MCAT exam, even if that means I still won't get a high score or if I don't get in the 2020 cycle. I would at least like to have additional time to prepare and solidify everything.

Any advice is appreciated.

You can do this, but add more schools only AFTER you have seen your MCAT score and are satisfied with it.

 

[TheAverageDoctor]

Do you have a pre-med advisor at your school? More importantly a good advisor? This might be a great question to ask them.

Coming from someone who had a very similar experience to you, I wasn't able to reschedule my test until it was fairly late into the application cycle. July/August that year I believe. I talked to my advisor (who wasn't so good) and pushed it back a year. Not gonna lie, it's pretty stressful to take a year off because of a test, but it's also pretty stressful to apply with a bad score. I pushed mine back a year, still got into med school, still got into residency, and still passed my boards, so it's not the worst thing.

Do you have a study plan in place? Have you taken a practice test to gauge where you're at? Can you still take it at whatever day you're currently scheduled for after completing a good study plan? And again, do you have a good advisor who can help you figure this out?

 

[Pillar Prep]

Hi all,

I'm an undergraduate pre-med student. I'm considering pushing my MCAT date to July 20 (scores release August 20). I will have my AMCAS application completed (except MCAT score) by early June and will submit it for the verification process since it takes 6-8 weeks. I will choose one medical school initially to have my application verified and then select additional medical schools the day before or day of MCAT score release.

I know there are advantages to having the AMCAS application submitted with everything but I do not feel completely ready and would rather not sacrifice my first attempt at MCAT exam, even if that means I still won't get a high score or if I don't get in the 2020 cycle. I would at least like to have additional time to prepare and solidify everything.

Any advice is appreciated.

If you are going to push your MCAT back, be sure to start looking at secondary questions (which are usually posted on SDN) as soon as your finish your MCAT exam. That way, once you are verified and you are invited to fill out secondaries, you can submit them immediately!

 

[wysdoc]

I would aim to take the test in August and really consider schools that have a history of taking students w/ a similar background/academic profile to you with a later submission date. If the schools you are interested in don't seem to accept late applicants - it is better to delay an application cycle, and live the gap year life for a year or two before committing fully to medical school. Better, cheaper, and wiser to apply once with a strong app.

I think telling them to take it in August is lame advice. The score won't be out till September!