To the August MCAT takers..another question

[bond007]

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Hey guys, I just wanted to ask some you- who are more experienced now with the application cycle. My qustion is that should I wait till August for the MCAT- did you all notice a high disadvantage compared to your April counterparts? Any regrets? Any advice?

Thanks,
Confused MCATER;-) <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

 

[vyc]

this year, taking the August MCAT didn't mean anything really.

but AMCAS should be better by next year (though it'll still have significant problems, i suspect) and i would highly recommend taking the April MCAT.
it will allow your application to be complete faster and it will also help you decide what schools to apply to since you'll KNOW your score, instead of having to guess what your application strength or weakness is going to be. this will save you a ton of time and money!!

 

[bond007]

thanks vyc, but do you think it is worth waiting for a higher score? Also does the August MCAT matter with the non-rolling med schools?

 

[italianlove]

hey bond,

the August MCAT doesn't matter to non-rolling admissions, but the only place i know of that's non-rolling is Harvard so....

also, if you can do so, i would take like 12 credit hours and devote serious time to studying and taking ther mcat in April. Us august mcater's were actually lucky this year with the amcas debacle (wait, did i just say that? ok let me rephrase) we were better off because everyone was behind, but i don't think that the extra time off is worth the higher score, just my opinion though. Take care and good luck with everything! Ciao.

 

[SMW]

I think it's definitely worth taking the August MCAT if your score will be significantly higher.
Just make sure to submit AMCAS on the first possible day (which means have your personal statement ready), have your letters of rec all done way early in the spring, and don't do anything over the summer but study for the MCAT and bird-dog your application, including sending secondaries back as soon as humanly possible.

I took the August MCAT because I just hadn't studied enough to take it in April as I'd originally planned. I'm doing fine in the interview sweeps, just a bit delayed from those whose April MCAT scores allowed them to have complete files earlier than me. True, this year was the best year to be an August MCATer, but I still think if you're a good candidate, and have your app complete and just waiting at schools for those August scores to roll in, then it won't put you at a terrific disadvantage. Some, yes; huge, no.

Columbia and Pittsburgh are also non-rolling. Keck (USC) is kind of semi-non-rolling (or so they say).

Best of luck to you. 🙂

 

[bond007]

it seems like most of the top 10 are non-rolling? true?

 

[vyc]

why do you think that your August MCAT score will be significantly higher than your April one?
is it bc you'll have more time to study?

i would still really recommend taking the MCAT in April, if you can and take a lesser class load that semester so you can study. One thing that's good about taking the April MCAT is that you'll probably find a lot of study buddies.
I went home and studied over the summer and didn't really know anyone else at home taking the test. That worked out fine for me but if you like studying with other people, it might be a good motivator.

 

[brandonite]

Yale and Duke are also both non-rolling.

I, for degree reasons, had to take an overload in the term before I wrote the MCAT. This, combined with my job as a TA, left me with no time to study at all. So, that's the main advantage of the August MCAT. If possible, you could take the whole summer off, do your AMCAS, take an MCAT course, study your a$$ off for the MCAT, and get all of that stuff out of the way for the fall.

I think the bottom line is that if you get your AMCAS in early, the August MCAT doesn't hurt you. Like I said in that other thread, my score went up a lot in August after I had a chance to study. I think that extra 6-8 points that I scored really improved my application, much more than taking the MCAT later hurt it. The big thing is getting your AMCAS in early!!