Question about Mcat and applications

[physcigirl27]

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I know there's been threads on this before, but I cant seem to find exactly what I'm looking for.
I'm a rising third year and I was planning on taking my Mcats in April...However, looking at my coursework and job/research stuff it seems like its' going to be extremely difficult to study for it considering that I have 4 classes all year...When would be the latest mcat that I could take without it being late?

I was also considering taking it in January...my only concern is that I need to sign up for an mcat class and the only time I could do that (because my courseload is probably the worst in the fall) is December...is that cutting it too close?

How soon before you take your mcat should you enroll in the class? Thanks!

 

[Mattabet]

If you want to get your primary out with the first batch of applications, then you're not going to be able to go much later than early May for the MCAT. I've heard a lot of buzz recently about that January MCAT administration - might be something to look into. Ideally, the class should lead right up to the MCAT - places like Kaplan schedule thier classes around popular MCAT dates for this very reason.

 

[physcigirl27]

My only concern is that I'm taking 4 classes, working, and researching at the same time... :/ I'd much rather take the April test just because my courseload will be a lot easier (2 science upper divs and 2 arabic classes) whereas right now i'm taking 2 premed classes, 1 upper div, and a foreign lang class...I'm just worried I'm going to have to retake the mcat and if I take it in April/May it'll be too late to retake again for that app cycle...

 

[GoSpursGo]

Plan on taking it once. A lot of times I see people overly concerned about "what if I have to retake," which sometimes turns into "well it doesn't matter if I don't do well on this MCAT, I still have time to retake," which after the exam turns into, "I didn't feel like I did that well, but who knows, let's not study until I get my scores back," which finally turns into, "dangit, I bombed, time to study all over again for another test in less than a month." I know it seems like a silly slippery slope argument, but I've seen it several times and you don't want to be that person.

So just stick to your guns and plan on taking it at the time that you think gives you the best chance to do well on it the FIRST time. Everyone has to fit it in around crowded schedules; it's just one of those things that you have to do. For me, I found it helpful to do one of Kaplan's six month classes where you only had one class each week for six months leading up to the MCAT, rather than cramming all the prep into those 2-3/week classes over 2-3 months, thereby giving me plenty of time to space out my studying.

Good luck.

 

[camaras2480]

Plan on taking it once. A lot of times I see people overly concerned about "what if I have to retake," which sometimes turns into "well it doesn't matter if I don't do well on this MCAT, I still have time to retake," which after the exam turns into, "I didn't feel like I did that well, but who knows, let's not study until I get my scores back," which finally turns into, "dangit, I bombed, time to study all over again for another test in less than a month." I know it seems like a silly slippery slope argument, but I've seen it several times and you don't want to be that person.

So just stick to your guns and plan on taking it at the time that you think gives you the best chance to do well on it the FIRST time. Everyone has to fit it in around crowded schedules; it's just one of those things that you have to do. For me, I found it helpful to do one of Kaplan's six month classes where you only had one class each week for six months leading up to the MCAT, rather than cramming all the prep into those 2-3/week classes over 2-3 months, thereby giving me plenty of time to space out my studying.

Good luck.

That.