Should I delay submission until after re-taking MCAT

[Jag33]

Just got my score back, and WOOF. My application is nearly complete and ready to submit, but I'm so scared I'll get rejected before I can re-take. I am planning to re-take on July 30th. Would submitting to one school to get verified and then waiting to get my scores back (Aug 31st) be a huge mistake? Need advice.

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[TradClimber]

Are you planning to apply just MD, MD+DO, or just DO? What's the score? I think the classic advice is you want at least 510 for MD, and at least 500 for DO.

Also if that's your real name you might want to change it. This is an anonymous forum

 

[Jag33]

Thank you for the advice - changing the name now. And I was planning MD. To be honest, I got very sick DURING the exam and lost a lot of time. Also my prep was compounded by a full-time job and a new puppy. I under-prepared without a doubt

 

[TradClimber]

You may get more engagement with this question if you post in the pre-medical MD forum. Also it’s hard for forum members to advise whether you should either apply, delay applying, or retake without us knowing what your score is.

 

[Jag33]

Thank you for the advice - changing the name now. And I was planning MD. To be honest, I got very sick DURING the exam and lost a lot of time. Also my prep was compounded by a full-time job and a new puppy. I under-prepared without a doubt

Oh and my score was 495.

You may get more engagement with this question if you post in the pre-medical MD forum. Also it’s hard for forum members to advise whether you should either apply, delay applying, or retake without us knowing what your score is.

I apologize, I am new to this platform and trying to figure out how to best effectively post. My score was a 495

 

[TradClimber]

Welcome to SDN, we are glad to have you.

I'm no expert (I'm a pre-med applying this cycle) but my gut instinct is that if you want to apply MD only, you should take a gap year. I don't think you have enough time to re-take the MCAT this cycle, frankly.

Keep a light work/volunteer schedule, give yourself at least 3 months to study for the MCAT, and crush it on the retake. If you want any study tips I am glad to help. I got a 517.

edit: if you wanna apply DO only, you could retake this cycle, get 500+, and apply September

 

[Jag33]

Welcome to SDN, we are glad to have you.

I'm no expert (I'm a pre-med applying this cycle) but my gut instinct is that if you want to apply MD only, you should take a gap year. I don't think you have enough time to re-take the MCAT this cycle, frankly.

Keep a light work/volunteer schedule, give yourself at least 3 months to study for the MCAT, and crush it on the retake. If you want any study tips I am glad to help. I got a 517.

edit: if you wanna apply DO only, you could retake this cycle, get 500+, and apply September

Thank you very much. I am going to think long about this, and I appreciate your advice a lot, and I will take any study tips I can get.

 

[Jag33]

I agree with the above. If your goal is MD then it's best to take a gap year and get an MCAT score you're proud rather than submitting and hoping for the best (and stressing yourself which could lead to another low score). I don't doubt you were very sick but most people score +/- 2 retakes. Even if you scored +6 or +8 (unlikely without lots of practice and figuring out what went wrong) you would barely be around the DO average (502-3).

What I've seen happen often is people rush to take MCAT, do bad, submit while retaking then it comes back as a <505. They get frustrated and apply DO just because they don't like waiting. End up matriculating then have tons of regrets because they had a 3.8, 1000s of research hours, tons of ECs etc all which "Check the box" so to speak for MD and the only differentiator was their MCAT.

This is great advice, and I completely agree. I think I need to take a step back from this ideal timeline I had in my head and do what makes the most sense and perfect my application in the meantime. Two follow up questions:

- if I submit for the next app cycle, this would mean my transcripts and letter-writers would have to re-submit as well?
- also with working full-time, volunteering, etc., do you think that taking the test in October is a good plan? I am registered for July now, but planning to re-schedule to a more realistic date.

 

[TradClimber]

This is great advice, and I completely agree. I think I need to take a step back from this ideal timeline I had in my head and do what makes the most sense and perfect my application in the meantime. Two follow up questions:

- if I submit for the next app cycle, this would mean my transcripts and letter-writers would have to re-submit as well?
- also with working full-time, volunteering, etc., do you think that taking the test in October is a good plan? I am registered for July now, but planning to re-schedule to a more realistic date.

Yes, you would need to re-submit your transcripts. As for your letters of recommendation, you have a few options. You could either (1) keep in touch with the letter writers and have them re-submit the letters next year, or (2) ask your writers now to send the letters to Interfolio, a $49 (I think?) service that holds your letters for you, so you can send them next year without having to pester your recommenders in the future. It's a pretty nice option, really.

The MCAT is generally offered Jan-Sept, so October isn't an option. You can tailor your study schedule however you want, but you should plan to devote 3 months of full-time effort (or the equivalent of that) to studying. If you're working and volunteering concurrently with studying, you may need longer than 3 months.

The safest option would be to plan to take it between January 2022-April 2022. That way, you will have plenty of time to study, and your scores will come back before June 1st, 2022, so you will have peace of mind knowing your scores, and can submit early.

 

[Jag33]

Yes, you would need to re-submit your transcripts. As for your letters of recommendation, you have a few options. You could either (1) keep in touch with the letter writers and have them re-submit the letters next year, or (2) ask your writers now to send the letters to Interfolio, a $49 (I think?) service that holds your letters for you, so you can send them next year without having to pester your recommenders in the future. It's a pretty nice option, really.

The MCAT is generally offered Jan-Sept, so October isn't an option. You can tailor your study schedule however you want, but you should plan to devote 3 months of full-time effort (or the equivalent of that) to studying. If you're working and volunteering concurrently with studying, you may need longer than 3 months.

The safest option would be to plan to take it between January 2022-April 2022. That way, you will have plenty of time to study, and your scores will come back before June 1st, 2022, so you will have peace of mind knowing your scores, and can submit early.

Thank you for the clarification. I think if I am being honest with myself and my current schedule, I will need more than 3 months, as for my last preparation, I tried to cram and my sleep suffered, which only hurt me in the end. I think this added time will allow me to gain more clinical experience and truly perfect my application.

If I were to go with the Interfolio option, are the letters in there permanently for one flat fee? Or is it a monthly renewal-type situation?
Also, if I am currently scheduled for a July date, do you know if I can re-schedule for a January spot for the MCAT (when they are released) by using this reservation/payment?

Thank you again for the insight.

 

[TradClimber]

No problem! You got this!

Here is some more info about Interfolio. Basically, you can collect your letters now for free, and they stay in your interfolio account forever. Then sometime next year, you would pay one flat fee which gives you the option to deliver those letters to AMCAS for up to a year.

 

[Jag33]

No problem! You got this!

Here is some more info about Interfolio. Basically, you can collect your letters now for free, and they stay in your interfolio account forever. Then sometime next year, you would pay one flat fee which gives you the option to deliver those letters to AMCAS for up to a year.

Thank you so much ! Also do you have any knowledge on the other question? No worries if not, I can reach out to AAMC.

 

[TradClimber]

Thank you so much ! Also do you have any knowledge on the other question? No worries if not, I can reach out to AAMC.

I don't think you can reschedule your already-booked MCAT for next year, but that info is probably on their website somewhere. I think you can get a partial refund though if you cancel it altogether.

 

[Jag33]

I don't think you can reschedule your already-booked MCAT for next year, but that info is probably on their website somewhere. I think you can get a partial refund though if you cancel it altogether.

Got it. Thank you for your help!