Secondary holds for MCAT Scores

[Stagg737]

---

Members do not see this ad.

So I've seen plenty of threads about late MCATs but none that address my situation. I took the MCAT in May, submitted my apps in June, got them verified and have turned in my secondaries in July and August. I wanted to retake the MCAT to bump my score (originally 28). I rescheduled my retake for early August figuring my scores would be in by mid September and I'd be fine for apps. However, there was a major family emergency and I missed the test. Fortunately I was able to reschedule. Unfortunately, it wasn't until the Sep. 11 test date, meaning I'm still waiting for the test scores to be released.

I haven't been rejected anywhere, but I've had multiple schools send me e-mails saying they're "waiting for the most recent test scores" to either process the application or make a decision. I had every other part of the application in pretty early, so how much is this late test date really going to affect me?

 

[Ismet]

You're not complete until your MCAT score is in. That means that if you indicated that you were taking a retake during the cycle, they'll wait for the new score to come in. You should be getting the score in a couple days, right?

You're not super late in the game, but you're obviously not early. Doesn't really matter that you submitted your primary in June. Depends on your schools and how long their interview season is, but you should be fine if you get a better MCAT. With the major AMCAS delay this year, you'll still be complete sooner than people who submitted their primary in mid-August. And honestly, there's not much you can do right now, so just sit back and wait for that score to come in.

 

[bear2roo]

You're not complete until your MCAT score is in. That means that if you indicated that you were taking a retake during the cycle, they'll wait for the new score to come in. You should be getting the score in a couple days, right?

You're not super late in the game, but you're obviously not early. Doesn't really matter that you submitted your primary in June. Depends on your schools and how long their interview season is, but you should be fine if you get a better MCAT. With the major AMCAS delay this year, you'll still be complete sooner than people who submitted their primary in mid-August. And honestly, there's not much you can do right now, so just sit back and wait for that score to come in.

can anyone else comment on this? I took 09/11 MCAT b/c of an emergency retake and I already submitted my primary way back in july and submitted like 3/4 of my secondaries (or 80% of them). Obv I did not plan on having to retake it but I've been ambivalent on completing all my secondaries (~26) =(

Also because of my MCAT retake, I could not turn around my secondaries in the 3 weeks or less timeline....Maybe 60% of them i did but there are/were like 5 or 6 or more where I have either sat on the secondaries or I've been struggling with them since I first received them (late August).

Thanks!

 

[Stagg737]

You're not complete until your MCAT score is in. That means that if you indicated that you were taking a retake during the cycle, they'll wait for the new score to come in. You should be getting the score in a couple days, right?

You're not super late in the game, but you're obviously not early. Doesn't really matter that you submitted your primary in June. Depends on your schools and how long their interview season is, but you should be fine if you get a better MCAT. With the major AMCAS delay this year, you'll still be complete sooner than people who submitted their primary in mid-August. And honestly, there's not much you can do right now, so just sit back and wait for that score to come in.

I understand that the application isn't complete until an MCAT score is in, but the point is that I already do have a score submitted (from May of this year). Some schools have that score, but have said they are not going to process my apps until the most recent MCAT is in. My question is will they see that I completed their secondary months ago or will they think I just turned it in?

Also, I still have not received my MCAT score and took it well over a month ago, so the application could seem even later than it should...

 

[xffan624]

I understand that the application isn't complete until an MCAT score is in, but the point is that I already do have a score submitted (from May of this year). Some schools have that score, but have said they are not going to process my apps until the most recent MCAT is in. My question is will they see that I completed their secondary months ago or will they think I just turned it in?

WTF does it matter? You're not considered complete until your MCAT score is done, when the secondary was completed doesn't matter.

Chill out and just wait for it. If you didn't kick bottom on it and improve by at least 5 points, then I think you wasted your time retaking it, but that's irrelevant at this point. I really have no idea what answer you're fishing for here, but the other posters already answered the pertinent questions.

 

[Ismet]

I understand that the application isn't complete until an MCAT score is in, but the point is that I already do have a score submitted (from May of this year). Some schools have that score, but have said they are not going to process my apps until the most recent MCAT is in. My question is will they see that I completed their secondary months ago or will they think I just turned it in?

Also, I still have not received my MCAT score and took it well over a month ago, so the application could seem even later than it should...

It probably depends on the school and how their secondary application website works, but yes, they should have a timestamp on there saying when you submitted. Remember that secondaries are school-specific and there's not one generalized answer for this.

Looks like release date for the 9/11 exam is this Tuesday. Schools know about the release dates for scores, so it's not going to seem later than it should be.

 

[Stagg737]

WTF does it matter? You're not considered complete until your MCAT score is done, when the secondary was completed doesn't matter.

Chill out and just wait for it. If you didn't kick bottom on it and improve by at least 5 points, then I think you wasted your time retaking it, but that's irrelevant at this point. I really have no idea what answer you're fishing for here, but the other posters already answered the pertinent questions.

The point is that I'm trying to find out if med schools are going to count it against me or if they'll see I finished my application early and realize I'm not some slacker. I know people who have been granted interviews without schools knowing their latter MCAT because they already had a score submitted (I actually had that happen this year with one school). I just wanted to know if there was some standard or if it was completely dependent on the individual schools.

 

[Stagg737]

It probably depends on the school and how their secondary application website works, but yes, they should have a timestamp on there saying when you submitted. Remember that secondaries are school-specific and there's not one generalized answer for this.

Looks like release date for the 9/11 exam is this Tuesday. Schools know about the release dates for scores, so it's not going to seem later than it should be.

Thank you, that's pretty much what I was trying to find out. I saw the release date is Tuesday, I'm just getting antsy because I've had the majority of my secondaries submitted since early August and have basically been waiting.