Taking August MCAT?

[TigerLilies]

I don't know much I will be able to study for the MCAT this semester because I have a lot of work in my classes and so I was planning on taking the MCAT in August so that I can study for it full-time over the summer. What do you think about this? How much would it affect me if I took it in August instead of June or July?

Thanks

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[njbmd]

If you are planning on applying that year, your application will be late. This isn't as much of a problem if you are a well above average candidate but if you need the advantage of early application, you would have to wait out a year.

If you take the August MCAT, your score won't be back until late Sept or early Oct. Most schools won't consider your application until your MCAT score is there which will be far later than a majority of the applications that year.

If you waited to see your score before submitting AMCAS, you would likely skirt the application deadlines before you would be complete. Final line, it is important to take the MCAT when you are thoroughly prepared for the exam. If you can't prepare to take it earlier, then work hard on prep over the summer and get the rest of your application submitted earlier. This is definitely the route to go if you have an above average uGPA. In that case, you would be in the best situation when your MCAT score came in.

If your uGPA is below average (below 3.65) then you might want to wait out the year and apply very, very early the next year because a later application coupled with a below average uGPA might not get you in.

 

[TigerLilies]

If you are planning on applying that year, your application will be late. This isn't as much of a problem if you are a well above average candidate but if you need the advantage of early application, you would have to wait out a year.

If you take the August MCAT, your score won't be back until late Sept or early Oct. Most schools won't consider your application until your MCAT score is there which will be far later than a majority of the applications that year.

If you waited to see your score before submitting AMCAS, you would likely skirt the application deadlines before you would be complete. Final line, it is important to take the MCAT when you are thoroughly prepared for the exam. If you can't prepare to take it earlier, then work hard on prep over the summer and get the rest of your application submitted earlier. This is definitely the route to go if you have an above average uGPA. In that case, you would be in the best situation when your MCAT score came in.

If your uGPA is below average (below 3.65) then you might want to wait out the year and apply very, very early the next year because a later application coupled with a below average uGPA might not get you in.

What do you think about taking the MCAT in mid-to-late July then? I can send my AMCAS application without MCAT scores first, right? My GPA is above average (overall GPA is roughly 3.75-3.79)

Thanks!

 

[TigerLilies]

bump, anyone?

 

[coldweatherblue]

I think the most important thing is that you take the MCAT at a time when you feel most prepared. If taking the exam in June/July means that you will be rushed in your studying, perhaps it is best to wait until August. However, if you are scoring 30+ consistently on practice tests early in the summer, your application would be helped by taking it in June/July.

Personally I had to wait until August to take the exam and I felt that applying late hurt my application. My G.P.A. is average for matriculants and my MCAT score was 1.5-2 standard deviations above average in each category, however I was rejected pre-secondary from a couple schools where I should have been very competitive.

Of course if in the end you apply successfully, all of the particulars don't really matter!

 

[lfdrc]

I'm taking Organic over the summer, and finishing second semester of Physics in mid-June. I've taken Gen Chem and Physics I within the last year, as well as some upper Biologies. Should I bother applying for 2009? I'm a non-trad, working in a hospital as a unit clerk and volunteering in the ED while getting my pre-reqs. My science GPA is 4.0, but my (original) undergrad was only 3.1. The two schools I would most like both indicate on the AAMC page that "taking the September MCAT should not put an applicant at a disadvantage." Should I go ahead with my application with out OChem, or wait until I have those grades to add, or just save $ (and make my wait a nice even 10 years) and hold off until next year?

 

[Zorrix]

Make your own thread!

 

[Virtucon]

August MCAT didn't hurt me any

 

[JKM1]

August MCAT didn't hurt me any

That's because you are an URM!
I've noticed that many URMs aren't aware that they can have lower stats than whites/Asians and still get in.

 

[TheRealMD]

August MCAT didn't hurt me any

Don't be naive enough to think that those stats will work with just anyone.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

August MCAT didn't hurt me any

Is that a real MDapps?

What is the adversity you overcame?

 

[Myuu]

Don't be naive enough to think that those stats will work with just anyone.

Certainly didn't work for me...

 

[mdgator]

DO. NOT. TAKE. AUGUST. MCAT. DO NOT. DON'T. I took the MCAT in September. It DRASTICALLY impaired the strength of my application.

1. I was rejected pre-interview by my alma mater/state school/top choice, and I can say with a pretty high level of confidence that if I had submitted my application 2 or 3 months earlier, I would have interviewed and stood a relatively good chance of acceptance. My scores were above avg there, and the rest of my app was very solid.

2. I did not have the opportunity to apply to many schools that I would have liked to apply to, b/c by the time AMCAS finally verified my app, the deadlines had either come and gone or were with that day.

3. 2 of the schools that I did interview at, I interviewed for WL spots b/c of how late my app was.

I am happy with how I did in the application cycle. I have been accepted to two schools that I really like, and another I liked much less, and I'm on the WL at another school that I like with a relatively good chance of being accepted, I think. I interviewed at 5 of 11 schools I applied to, and was/will be accepted to either 3 or 4 of those. I do not blame my rejections on my late application entirely, but I know that at at least 2 schools, it was a major issue. (2 of my state schools.)

Some people may be unaffected by late applications due to stellar stats or other factors. MOST are affected. Don't apply late. My advice would be take the MCAT by early July at latest.

 

[sunny1]

DO. NOT. TAKE. AUGUST. MCAT. DO NOT. DON'T. I took the MCAT in September. It DRASTICALLY impaired the strength of my application.

1. I was rejected pre-interview by my alma mater/state school/top choice, and I can say with a pretty high level of confidence that if I had submitted my application 2 or 3 months earlier, I would have interviewed and stood a relatively good chance of acceptance. My scores were above avg there, and the rest of my app was very solid.

2. I did not have the opportunity to apply to many schools that I would have liked to apply to, b/c by the time AMCAS finally verified my app, the deadlines had either come and gone or were with that day.

3. 2 of the schools that I did interview at, I interviewed for WL spots b/c of how late my app was.

I am happy with how I did in the application cycle. I have been accepted to two schools that I really like, and another I liked much less, and I'm on the WL at another school that I like with a relatively good chance of being accepted, I think. I interviewed at 5 of 11 schools I applied to, and was/will be accepted to either 3 or 4 of those. I do not blame my rejections on my late application entirely, but I know that at at least 2 schools, it was a major issue. (2 of my state schools.)

Some people may be unaffected by late applications due to stellar stats or other factors. MOST are affected. Don't apply late. My advice would be take the MCAT by early July at latest.

I definitely appreciate that you may not have done as well as you had hoped and that probably the stress of your late application was intense, but you still have 2 acceptances and 2 waitlists. Good job!!

 

[mdgator]

I definitely appreciate that you may not have done as well as you had hoped and that probably the stress of your late application was intense, but you still have 2 acceptances and 2 waitlists. Good job!!

Thanks for the kudos. I actually got the third acceptance last week, I just didn't update the mdapps. Yes, although I wish I had done things much differently, I feel very blessed to have done as well as I have. You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned the stress caused by the late application. I would advise people to apply early just to avoid this level of stress, (not to mention the greatly increased chance of matriculation.) It may appear that the late app didn't turn out to hurt me that much, but the fact is, only 3 weeks ago, I was still without an acceptance and was beginning to make preparations to reapply. You can probably imagine how crazy I was going, and what a relief that first acceptance letter was.