When is a good time to take the MCAT?

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FutureERDoc16

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So, I just completed my sophomore year of college. I've been studying for the past three weeks or so, and I am just trying to figure out when would be the best time to sit for the exam? I took the AAMC #3, second semester of freshman year, and scored a 26 (9PS,9V,8BS). At the end of last semester, I scored a 25 (9PS,6V,10BS) on the TPR Demo. Anyways, I know pretty much that both of these scores are highly unreliable since both were taken without completing physics 2, and the material from previous courses were "fuzzy" at best. The good thing, however, is that if I can score a 26 on AAMC #3 with no knowledge of physics, organic chemistry, or genetics, then I probably have a lot of room to improve that score substantially.

In your opinion, when will it be acceptable for me to sit for the exam? I want to aim for the August 22 test date, but I'm not sure how smart that would be. I don't have the time to invest into studying for this exam full time (due to research), so I'm not going to obviously reach my full potential. If I'm averaging, lets say, a 31 on the AAMC's, should I just go and take it even though it might be possible for me to get much higher if I studied full time (and took the second physics)? I kind of just want to get it out of the way, and I'm an AA male with a 3.45 GPA if it makes a difference.

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A good time to take the MCAT is so you can be early in the application cycle for medical school.
 
don't rush to take this exam. Complete your pre-reqs to maximize your score. Take it next year (2014) though to avoid the 2015 exam.
 
I would say January-March of the year you plan on applying. I took it in March, that way I could get my scores in April and re-take it in May or June if I needed before submitting my application. Use your winter break and spring break to intense study if you can.

But most importantly, do well in your classes. Learn the material for long term, don't just cram and regurgitate for the test. It will make your test prep easier if you truly LEARN the material the first time.

Oh, ya. Try to get in before the new test comes on-line.

Good luck.

dsoz
 
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But I feel like taking the exam junior year would be so much harder. I couldn't imagine studying for classes + the MCAT at the same time. January is an option, but that would leave me with only three weeks to study (our winter break is pretty short).
 
Start studying now and sign up for a late summer date, if your pratice scores aren't where you want them, you could push the back to Jan.


One thing I should say is that when I did this, I kept pushing the date back and ended up taking it in May because I just wasn't satisfied with my score. I achieved my goal score though but it took months of studying.

It worked for me but I'm not a procrastinator. I doubt this method wild work on a procrastinator.
 
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