Should I take it in September?

[omegaz]

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Please help me decide now since seats in my area are almost out.
I am a rising senior that will be taking a gap year but want to take the test in September so I don’t have to deal with it during the school year. However, I am working full time during the summer and will only have time to study after dinner, around 8. Should I start studying now and take it in September? Or not rushing it by procrastinating and study for it during the school year?

 

[mbaumann1123]

If you sign up for a September test you have to go into studying knowing you don't have the option to postpone if you end up not feeling ready (until January obviously). The last date is September 12 and that gives you enough time if you start studying now, but probably not if you start studying at 8pm every night (unless you rocked your prereq's and still have the concepts nailed down). If you start studying content now, you could maybe finish content by August and focus on practice problems during the Fall semester and sit for the January test. That will give you a solid block over christmas break to really focus on studying. I think it's probably better to do a 3 or 4 month schedule where you make studying the priority, but you could probably spread it out and make it work where you use the summer to do light-medium content review since your working full time, then start practice passages and full length's during Fall semester, finishing up with about a month of hardcore studying over winter break before your test. I don't' think many people would be successful rushing into the September test with only a couple hours at night to study. Also there are always those individuals who can pull a 35 working full time while taking care of a family, and those who don't work at all while they study and can't break a 25. It's very personal and depends a lot on your knowledge base coming into studying, what type of learner you are, etc.

Ultimately I would advise against taking a September test if you can only devote an hour or two to studying per day (assuming you go to bed at 10). Of course if money isn't an issue, there's no harm in registering for the test and just canceling if you don't feel ready. In my opinion It's best to go all out and get it right the first time so you don't have to repeat the process a second time however.

Hope this helps

 

[doritos4lyfe]

I would try taking it this Sept if I were you. I really regret stressing over this test during my senior year. Anyway that you can fit in some early morning hours?

 

[pencap]

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[omegaz]

I would try taking it this Sept if I were you. I really regret stressing over this test during my senior year. Anyway that you can fit in some early morning hours?

Not really since I have to be at work at 8 in the morning. So I'll have 3 hours per weekday to study.

 

[SN12357]

Please help me decide now since seats in my area are almost out.
I am a rising senior that will be taking a gap year but want to take the test in September so I don’t have to deal with it during the school year. However, I am working full time during the summer and will only have time to study after dinner, around 8. Should I start studying now and take it in September? Or not rushing it by procrastinating and study for it during the school year?

Contrary to popular opinion around here, it is totally possible to work full time and study for the MCAT. However, the viability of doing so with only two months between now and the test depends heavily on your overall test-taking ability, familiarity with the material (particularly your comfort with verbal), and how much you can clear out the rest of your schedule.

If you're willing to sacrifice your weekends and all weeknights between now and september it may be worth a try. But take the AAMC 3 so you can get an idea what the test is like before you commit.

 

[omegaz]

Contrary to popular opinion around here, it is totally possible to work full time and study for the MCAT. However, the viability of doing so with only two months between now and the test depends heavily on your overall test-taking ability, familiarity with the material (particularly your comfort with verbal), and how much you can clear out the rest of your schedule.

If you're willing to sacrifice your weekends and all weeknights between now and september it may be worth a try. But take the AAMC 3 so you can get an idea what the test is like before you commit.

I went over EK last winter break and haven't touched my MCAT materials until Spring Break, which was when I did the free AAMC 3, on which I scored in the low 20s. I was quite disappointed since I got As and A minuses in my prereq classes.

So I started studying again in June with TBR. Now I barely finished TBR chemistry and there's only 2 months left until Sept. So based on my description, should I push for the september test date?

 

[SN12357]

I went over EK last winter break and haven't touched my MCAT materials until Spring Break, which was when I did the free AAMC 3, on which I scored in the low 20s. I was quite disappointed since I got As and A minuses in my prereq classes.

So I started studying again in June with TBR. Now I barely finished TBR chemistry and there's only 2 months left until Sept. So based on my description, should I push for the september test date?

Hm. What was your distribution? Could you identify specific content weaknesses, or did it feel like overall difficulty with the testing format?

If your goal is just to get up to a 30, you may be able to do that. It will be a bit risky. If you're aiming high and want a balanced 32+, I'd advise against trying for september.

 

[omegaz]

Hm. What was your distribution? Could you identify specific content weaknesses, or did it feel like overall difficulty with the testing format?

If your goal is just to get up to a 30, you may be able to do that. It will be a bit risky. If you're aiming high and want a balanced 32+, I'd advise against trying for september.

I'm gonna go with overall difficulty with the testing format since my scores were 7,7,8.
My GPA is 3.7 and science GPA is 3.6 so what should my goal be? btw, I'll be happy getting into any med school.

Thanks!

 

[SN12357]

I'm gonna go with overall difficulty with the testing format since my scores were 7,7,8.
My GPA is 3.7 and science GPA is 3.6 so what should my goal be? btw, I'll be happy getting into any med school.

Thanks!

https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/2012factstable24.pdf

That link has the statistics for getting into medical school (MD) by GPA and MCAT. You want at least a 30 for MD (average for matriculants is a 31, I believe). For DO, high twenties would be fine with your GPA.

It's a good sign that your score was balanced and didn't have a severe defect in verbal, which can be hard to overcome. If money is not a problem I'd suggest registering for the september date and seeing how things go. You can get half your money back ($135) if you cancel at least two weeks before the date.

The AAMCs are the best practice tests. Don't fool yourself about your scores on those. If you don't *consistently* break a 30 on them, you're very unlikely to on the actual test day.

 

[omegaz]

https://www.aamc.org/download/321508/data/2012factstable24.pdf

That link has the statistics for getting into medical school (MD) by GPA and MCAT. You want at least a 30 for MD (average for matriculants is a 31, I believe). For DO, high twenties would be fine with your GPA.

It's a good sign that your score was balanced and didn't have a severe defect in verbal, which can be hard to overcome. If money is not a problem I'd suggest registering for the september date and seeing how things go. You can get half your money back ($135) if you cancel at least two weeks before the date.

The AAMCs are the best practice tests. Don't fool yourself about your scores on those. If you don't *consistently* break a 30 on them, you're very unlikely to on the actual test day.

Thanks for the info, I guess I'll shoot for 31+ and if I can't get that high by the time I apply next year, I'll just apply DO. Unfortunately, I just found out that my site for the sept. date is taken. Should I just register for a site that's 1.5 hours away (I'll have to drive there myself) or should I pray and hope that someone cancels their sept. reservation?

 

[SN12357]

Thanks for the info, I guess I'll shoot for 31+ and if I can't get that high by the time I apply next year, I'll just apply DO. Unfortunately, I just found out that my site for the sept. date is taken. Should I just register for a site that's 1.5 hours away (I'll have to drive there myself) or should I pray and hope that someone cancels their sept. reservation?

I have no idea how likely it is a seat will open up, sorry. However I was someone who registered for a backup date and dropped it the same day I got my score, which I imagine is a common occurrence.