Question regarding timing of MCAT

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

when did you/plan to do your MCATS?

  • Summer after freshman (1st)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Fall of Sophomore (2nd)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Winter of Sophomore (2nd)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Summer after Sophomore (2nd)

    Votes: 4 13.3%
  • Fall of Junior (3rd)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Winter of Junior (3rd)

    Votes: 7 23.3%
  • Summer after Junior (3rd)

    Votes: 10 33.3%
  • Other (explain)

    Votes: 9 30.0%

  • Total voters
    30

Oceaner

Certified smartass
15+ Year Member
Joined
May 14, 2007
Messages
327
Reaction score
0
I've looked through various guides and they all seem to give the sugestion that it should be done the summer after second year in university (when you've met all the basic req. and perhaps have done some advanced classes) However, I am curious as to whether this is the real consensus among the general pre-med population. I'd appreciate any information you can provide.

(ps. sorry if this is an obvious question that has been asked to death... ;) )

Members don't see this ad.
 
my advice: take it when you feel you are ready. i took mine at the end of my 3rd year after i was done with physics. it may be nice to take it early so that you have time to retake before you apply, but with so many dates offered now and a faster turn around on the scores, this isn't as much of an issue in my opinion.
 
What level physics?

I've pretty much finished all general courses in the year (including english etc.) and I'm doing organic in the summer. I am first year by the way-- I am trying to set up a time scale in my head.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
just regular physics. it is a good idea to plan ahead. if you feel like you are ready for it after 2 years of college work (which you may be, i don't know). you can spend the summer after 2nd year studying and take it in august or sometime around there. that way, if your score isn't what you want, you can study some more and take it again in january or whatever. that way, you will have your scores (hopefully what you want) before you begin applying summer after your 3rd year.
 
A few of my pre-med friends are considered "traditional" and took the MCAT sometime junior year. The rest of us are slackers and didn't even start studying for the test until after graduation.

In the end, I found that waiting so long helped because a lot of material in upper division biology classes (genetics, microbiology, cell bio, etc.) that I took junior and senior year showed up on the test. The downside was that I had to relearn g-chem, o-chem, and physics. :D

I recommend taking the test your junior year if you want to go to med school right after graduating. If you plan on taking time off, the test can wait until you've taken more classes/have more time to study for it. Either way, it's a beast of a test. Good luck!
 
You should list another category for non-traditionals:

During/After post-bacc

I'm taking the MCAT this June, right after I finished my post-bacc classes (i.e., the pre-med prereqs).
 
I took mine the summer after sophomore year partly because I was done with all the prereqs and some upper levels and partly because it was the last paper exam.

Things turned out well and I highly reccommend anyone able to do so to go ahead and get it out of the way. My junior year has been much more stress free than my fellow pre-med classmates.
 
Took mine 11 months after graduation. I was originally going to take it the summer after grad, but wasn't able to prepare adequately because I had too many other things on my plate.
 
I'm planning on taking it the summer after soph year. I'll be finishing my prereqs in my soph year (physics and orgo), so it makes the most sense to take it then.
 
Top