Shall I apply early without MCAT scores?

[blugobblin]

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I have browsed through the various messages but haven't found an answer to my question. Most of you guys seem pretty knowledgeable about the admission process and I'll be so thankful if you could give me any insight on this.

I am taking the August 2004 MCAT but I want to apply for the Class of 2005. I understand that my chances of being accepted go down because the scores for August don't get released until mid-October and that puts me behind because of the rolling admissions.

So my questions are: Shall I apply in June without the MCAT scores & state on my application that I'll be taking the August MCATS? Or apply after taking the MCATs? Are there any benefits of applying early without MCAT scores?
Has anybody done that?

I am CA resident, have a 3.58 GPA, psychology major, a medical assistant with plenty of ECs. But I am not sure how my Aug MCAT is going to be? What if I don't do very well on the MCATs but then I would have already applied. I am quite confused, so please advise. 😕

 

[Rugger81]

I'm not sure if you can apply without an MCAT score, but even if you can, most schools probably won't look at your application until October anyway. In which case you are still considered applying late.

My roommate applied late and he had some trouble getting interviews.

 

[dankev]

Many of us who took the Aug '03 MCAT were accepted. I suppose applying now might get your app closer to the top of the pile, but you really just want to be sure that your AMCAS is verified by the time your score is up.

I submitted about a week after the test, so I was verified WAY before I got my score. More important though, is getting your secondaries done as fast as possible. I slacked on them, and I think it hurt me, but I still got in.

 

[ridirkulous]

Are you set on going to the best school you possibly can, or would you be content to go anywhere? The benefit of waiting is that you can choose your schools according to where you will be competitive. If you choose now you will need to have an extremely broad range of lower tier to dream schools. If you wait and end up having smoked the MCAT, you can focus your efforts, time, money, etc. on those schools you really want. In this scenario, it would have been a waste of time and money to fill out applications to Drexel or DO schools. Also, if you did poorly on the MCAT, it might be a waste of your money to apply to Harvard, Wash U etc.
As long as you get your secondaries in as soon as you can, it probably won't slow you down too much since most admissions committees won't consider your application without MCAT scores anyway.

 

[edj80]

I think the above posts make some good points, but I thought I would share my experiences to offer a different perspective. I took the August MCAT, and aware of the potential timing disadvantage, I submitted my AMCAS early and had it verified before I even sat for the test. I feel this was an advantage for me for three reasons: (1) AMCAS made a mistake in my app., but b/c it was in early compared to my scores, I had enough time to get it fixed before the score was out and schools would begin considering me; (2) B/c it was in early and verified, the moment my scores came in, my application was complete and ready for the schools; (3) Schools that don't prescreen went ahead and sent me secondaries, so I had those completed and in before the scores appeared, which (I think), helped me hear back regarding interviews sooner that if I had waited until after my scores to submit everything. The obvious risk was the uncertainty of scores and how that translated into which schools I would consider. I decided to take the number of applications I was financially willing to sumbit and divided it by three and applied to schools I considered to fall into one of three categories: "big reaches," "reasonable shots," and then "safety schools" to cover the spectrum of possibilities given unknown scores. All in all, I have no regrets with my decision to do things this way. Though I was in some of the last groups of interviewees at some schools, I don't think my late application hurt me significantly at any school but one that specifically discouraged Aug. MCATS. Hope this offer you an additional perspective to consider. Good Luck!

 

[GutsyGal]

bluglobbin-Thanks for posting your question. I've been wondering the same thing myself!

I took the April MCAT but I want to retake the August one so that I have a better chance at the schools that I really want to go to. Do all the previous advice still apply to me? Will AMCAS wait for my Aug scores before they send my application out to the schools? Or if I submit it now and get it verified, will they just send it with my April score? Thanks!

 

[bkmonkey]

I have to agree with EDJ80. It can take a long time for your application to get verified. Transcripts go missing, etc. If your application is in early, all you need is your MCAT scores in order for it to be complete. Get it in ASAP...

 

[adamj61]

I would apply now, I have some friends that are in that boat, and they are being somewhat lazy I think. I actually picked out all of my schools before I got my scores, and it turns out I made good choices. You can designate the schools whenever you want, so apply to the lower tier or other schools that don't screen right away. Can't really lose anything from it....besides $$ Good luck on the test!