I'm planning on taking my MCAT in August or September the Summer after my Junior year. Will this put me at a disadvantage for schools who do rolling admission since my MCAT score will be in late?
Taking MCAT too late?
- Thread starter ranson
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if you are applying during that cycle.... yes
I´ll comment a little here from personal experience:
I took the MCAT August 20th of last year, applied broadly, had 5 interviews and so far only heard back from one so far but it was an acceptance. So is it a death sentence if you take your MCAT late? No it´s not, however I don´t think you want to do that if you don´t have to...
First off in my experience a late MCAT is fine for schools that have lower numbers of applicants....2-5000 applicants or something like that, however by doing that late MCAT, your application will be seen a lot later, and with schools that have higher numbers of applicants, that may mean it doesn´t get seen at all, or at least with the sort of attention you want....
Second, taking the MCAT in August means you´ve only got one shot to get it right, because you are sending in your application to AMCAS before you even know what you got on the MCAT. If you do poorly, you just wasted your money, and possibly a year. In my case, I was finishing my pre-reqs (I´m a non-trad) over the summer and so I wanted to finish my organic chemistry classes before I took the MCAT.
So to answer your question, no, it might not kill you to take the MCAT in August, but if there´s any way for you to avoid doing that, and still doing well on it, take it early and get that application in as soon as possible.
Good luck and study hard!
I took the MCAT August 20th of last year, applied broadly, had 5 interviews and so far only heard back from one so far but it was an acceptance. So is it a death sentence if you take your MCAT late? No it´s not, however I don´t think you want to do that if you don´t have to...
First off in my experience a late MCAT is fine for schools that have lower numbers of applicants....2-5000 applicants or something like that, however by doing that late MCAT, your application will be seen a lot later, and with schools that have higher numbers of applicants, that may mean it doesn´t get seen at all, or at least with the sort of attention you want....
Second, taking the MCAT in August means you´ve only got one shot to get it right, because you are sending in your application to AMCAS before you even know what you got on the MCAT. If you do poorly, you just wasted your money, and possibly a year. In my case, I was finishing my pre-reqs (I´m a non-trad) over the summer and so I wanted to finish my organic chemistry classes before I took the MCAT.
So to answer your question, no, it might not kill you to take the MCAT in August, but if there´s any way for you to avoid doing that, and still doing well on it, take it early and get that application in as soon as possible.
Good luck and study hard!
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Took my MCAT early August. One interview. No acceptances. Is it possible, sure, but however strong your application is, do realize that this could be the ONE thing that prevents you from receiving an interview and getting an acceptance. Only because it delays your application.
Take early, apply in June -- profit.
Take early, apply in June -- profit.
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underpants ftw
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Take it early!
I unfortunately decided to take it late b/c I was not sure if I wanted to apply in the cycle or not x-x.
I submitted my primaries and some secondaries before I got the score b/c I felt confident and I did receive 7 interviews, several from top schools, but I always regretted the time I submitted my ap. Submitting late can never help you so why do it if you don't have to?
If you don't feel that your ready, take less classes pump "The Eye of the Tiger" and montage the **** out of the MCAT until May. You could just make up "needed" units in summer school and be way better off.
I unfortunately decided to take it late b/c I was not sure if I wanted to apply in the cycle or not x-x.
I submitted my primaries and some secondaries before I got the score b/c I felt confident and I did receive 7 interviews, several from top schools, but I always regretted the time I submitted my ap. Submitting late can never help you so why do it if you don't have to?
If you don't feel that your ready, take less classes pump "The Eye of the Tiger" and montage the **** out of the MCAT until May. You could just make up "needed" units in summer school and be way better off.
