When Should I Take the MCAT?

[Tamu2016]

Hello everybody!

I am going into my junior year, and I was wondering when the best time to take the MCAT would be. I have a few issues though, I am no where close to completing my med-school pre-reqs and I will not graduate on time. I will graduate Fall 2016 instead of Spring 2016, so I would be applying for entrance for fall of 2017, if I am not mistaken. I know you are supposed to take the MCAT the spring of your junior year, however, as I said, I do not have all of the pre-reqs completed. Due to incorrect advising my freshman year, I have only complete Biology and Inorganic Chemistry. I will be completing Organic Chemistry this school year (first one in the fall, second in the spring) along with the first Biochem in the spring. and I will take physics next summer (summer 2015) Obviously I will not be prepared if I take the MCAT next spring, or the summer, so I was just wondering if anyone could give me a time line since my graduation will be delayed a semester.

I just get confused with trying to think of when to get everything done by since I will be taking a semester or even a year off.

Any thought and advice is welcomed, and I would appreciate only positive feedback.
Thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[rachel993]

Okay so just by lining your intended entrance date up with the application timeline, you'd want to take the MCAT in the spring/early summer of 2016. And leave room for a retake not too late in the summer.

 

[rachel993]

PS. if you could somehow fit in physics along with organic, you'd be back on the "normal" timeline. I didn't have biochem before the MCAT, and yeah it might have helped but its not necessary.( I'm taking it this fall). but you do need physics. So if you could switch them, and take physics I and II along with orgo, you'd have all the classes in and could take it in 2015.

 

[mehc012]

PS. if you could somehow fit in physics along with organic, you'd be back on the "normal" timeline. I didn't have biochem before the MCAT, and yeah it might have helped but its not necessary.( I'm taking it this fall). but you do need physics. So if you could switch them, and take physics I and II along with orgo, you'd have all the classes in and could take it in 2015.

You will need biochem more on the upcoming 2015 exam. If anything, orgo will be the 'least required' course for the MCAT at that point

 

[rachel993]

You will need biochem more on the upcoming 2015 exam. If anything, orgo will be the 'least required' course for the MCAT at that point

ohh, really? okay well yeah then in that case, just go with what I mentioned in my first post. OH also in thinking of the new MCAT, dont forget about your social sciences as well.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

I never really bought into the "MCAT should be taken in the spring of jr year" timeline. Although, I'm sure this has worked for a lot of ppl. Some of the most successful applicants from my school took a gap year and took the exam their last semester, or right after graduating.
Just make sure you're doing well on your practice exams before you take it aka be as prepared as possible.

 

[allantois]

I would not blame poor advising for being uninformed as it is ultimately up to you to find out about your requirements and there is tons of information on the internet (pre-med advising of different universities, this forum, etc.). Some schools do not let you take Biochemistry until after you take Organic Chemistry, also don't forget that you will need Sociology as well as Psychology for the MCAT you will be taking. Do not take it until you complete your prerequisites and study for it very intensively and try to do your best the first time you take it. It does not matter if you will graduate in Spring 2016 or Fall 2017, so do not feel like you have to rush things. In order to start medical school in the Fall 2017, take your MCAT no later than April/May 2016.

 

[Tamu2016]

Thank y'all so much this really helps. I appreciate everything.
Just to be clear, I should take it in January of 2016, that way I have all of my Christmas break to study for it, and to allow time for a retake if necessary?
Also, what classes should I make sure that I have for sure completed before taking it?

 

[rachel993]

Well firstly, I don't know if you were implying this, but you'll need MUCH much more than just a christmas break to study for the MCAT. . . most people devote at LEAST three months of a routine study schedule and/or a prep class outside of their regular classes to the MCAT. Assuming you're gonna be taking classes while studying for it, I hiiiighly recommend you do what my advisor basically forced me to do, and take a reduced class schedule. i took 13 credits this past semester where as I usually take 17, and devoted that extra time to pure, strictly scheduled mcat studying (i used Kaplan's prep materials). every day.

You could take it in january if you have all the classes done, but that is still kind of early . what I did was take it in mid may. that way, I had completely finished orgo II but it was still fresh in my mind. and it was like 3 weeks after all my school finals so i didnt have to worry about both too close together. But if you want an earlier retake window, take it in perhaps march or april.

Classes to have done:

definitely physics 1 and 2
definitely gen bio and gen chem 1 and 2
definitely orgo 1 and 2

classes im not sure about:
biochem. i didnt have this done, but apparently the new mcat has a lot more biochem
psych and sociology courses. I would say at least have an intro psych class. but if you are too crunched in your class schedule, I would think that psych/soc concepts would be the easiest to "self-teach" of all mcat stuff (this is also going off of the material i saw on the trial section)

hope this helps

 

[Tamu2016]

yes, this helps!!

Sorry for not being clear, what I was meaning to say was that I would take a prep course in the fall and then I would be able to have a full month that I could devote to studying on top of the two or three months from the fall semester with the prep course.

You said you used Kaplan test prep, did you like it? I've heard Kaplan and Princeton are both good options. Is there a specific reason you chose Kaplan?

Thanks again for all the advice.

 

[Direction of Time]

The 2-3 weeks of Christmas break is not enough time for most people to learn all that material well enough to perform at their best during the actual MCAT. To be considered for fall 2017 entry, you need to take your MCAT by September 2016, ideally at least 3 months earlier to leave room for a possible rewrite. Take a diagnostic test by the end of your fall 2015 term (hopefully the AAMC will have made some available for the new 2015 MCAT by then). If your score on the diagnostic test is close to your target score across all 4 sections, then perhaps 2-3 weeks will be enough for you. Bear in mind that verbal reasoning scores are much harder to improve than science scores. Unfortunately, we do not know anything about the behavioural sciences section yet.

For the physical/chemical sciences section, it would be helpful to have first year general chem and physics.
For the biology/biochem section, the most helpful course is physiology, followed by introductory biochem and genetics/molecular biology. It seems like organic chem is being replaced more and more by biochem/genetics.
It's probably a good idea to take intro to psych and sociology for the behavioural section.
If you've taken lots humanities like english/philosophy/political science, it will definitely help on the verbal section.

 

[rachel993]

I did like Kaplan overall. aside from the fact that it costs $2,000. . . you get a whole bunch of resources. hard copy books with really good color graphics and good "big picture" connections, as well as a whole online resource center with flashcards, "fact fact" videos, and TONS and tons of practice questions/practice tests. oh and you also get this super nifty little booklet with all the equations EVER summarized and laid out for you. for the in-class component, I also had a GREAT teacher. kaplan takes away the online component once the class is officially over, which was annoying because I took the mcat a month after the class end date, but I called and complained and they gave me back access for free. I dont know much about princeton review, but ive heard it's good too. I chose Kaplan just because it seemed to offer a larger amount of resources. (i forget how the prices compared though).

 

[Polonium-210]

I took mine on June 20th of the year that I applied and finished off my application while waiting for my scores to be released. I was told for that for Texas schools (Texas resident), it is ideal to take the MCAT before the first week of July.