When should I take the MCAT?

[anty_carl]

Hi everyone. I'm very new to this website but I am desperate for some advice!

I am graduating with my undergraduate degree in biological sciences this semester. I want to apply to medical schools this summer to attend the 2017 class, but I have not yet taken the MCAT. I am trying to decide what date I should register for. I am debating between June 18 and July 9. I know it seems like the earlier date is better, but I am not sure if I will be ready by June 18. Please help!

If I take it on June 18, scores will be released on July 19. If I take it on June 18, scores will be released on August 9.

Will school not even bother looking at your AMCAS application until they have your MCAT scores?

Any advice is welcomed. Thank you very much if you choose to reply!

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[Optimist Prime]

June 18th would definitely be your best bet but only if you are prepared for it. Taking it July 9th will put you at a slight disadvantage but its better then scoring really low and having to retake it anyway. I believe they need your MCAT score before they will send your application to schools, but you can submit your application to AMCAS before you have your MCAT score so that you won't have to wait for it to be verified after you receive your score.

 

[anty_carl]

June 18th would definitely be your best bet but only if you are prepared for it. Taking it July 9th will put you at a slight disadvantage but its better then scoring really low and having to retake it anyway. I believe they need your MCAT score before they will send your application to schools, but you can submit your application to AMCAS before you have your MCAT score so that you won't have to wait for it to be verified after you receive your score.

Thank you very much for your reply! It is greatly appreciated! The problem is that I haven't even started to study for it. I had been misinformed that the application process would not begin until Fall. Now I need to really plan things out. The very last thing I would want to do is score poorly and have to retake it.

 

[Optimist Prime]

If you start soon you will have 2.5 months before the June 18th test date. For some this is sufficient time while others need longer. It will also depend on how many other responsibilities you have. If you can dedicate those 2.5 months completely to the mcat then you may be in ok shape.

 

[eteshoe]

Thank you very much for your reply! It is greatly appreciated! The problem is that I haven't even started to study for it. I had been misinformed that the application process would not begin until Fall. Now I need to really plan things out. The very last thing I would want to do is score poorly and have to retake it.

Do not take the exam yet. Unless you are an amazing test taker, you want time to do proper content review and a couple of practice exams before the real deal. It looks like you're looking at fall 2018 to be in the best position. There is enough time if you dedicate a lot of time to MCAT studying but I'm assuming you'll have finals coming up soon and that would just be a bad combo. Remember it is to your advantage to take the exam once and to take it well. No med school will care if you took a gap yr or two since many students do so.

 

[aldol16]

The best answer is to take it when you are in a position to do the best on it. No one on here is qualified to tell you to push it back or to take it on any particular date - we don't know the particulars of your situation and do not know your abilities. Only you know that. If you feel adequately prepared for it by June 18, it is better to take it earlier because schools that have rolling admissions will begin reviewing applications early. The general trend is, get your AMCAS in as early as possible so you maximize your chances at those schools.

However, if you do not feel prepared for it by June 18, it may be advisable to take it at a later date (later than July). This is because if you're not ready for it in June, you're likely not going to feel much better only a month later (unless you can devote a lot of time studying in the intervening time) and you'd be shooting yourself in the foot by having your score in late. Plus, if you take it at either of those dates, you would be submitting your AMCAS before your MCAT scores are in and if you don't do well, you're kind of screwing yourself over.

So what's a good indicator that you're prepared or not? Well, you should try doing AAMC OG questions or at least the Sample Test and see where you fall. If you're not doing as well as you hoped, you might be able to pull yourself up by some intensive studying. There is a spreadsheet on here that shows peoples' scores on the real thing and how they did on various FLs. If you're doing worse on FLs than people who scored your target score on the real thing, that's not a good sign.

So the bottom line is: take the MCAT when you feel best prepared for it. Don't be influenced by what I or others say because we don't know you. We can only give you the tools with which to assess yourself.

 

[Ad2b]

they need your MCAT score before they will send your application to schools

Actually, AAMC will send the package to the schools before the MCAT score is released, and it is likely you will get asked for secondaries from those schools.

HOWEVER, you won't be considered "complete" at those schools until they receive the updated MCAT information (score) and therefore, will be reviewed later than someone who has their MCAT score at same time as application.

How big of a deal is this? I don't know but I will be submitting June 1 without my MCAT score. Last year, I submitted to exactly 1 school to get the AMCAS verification completed before I took the MCAT. I received a secondary from the one school. Due to family matters, I never sat for the MCAT and thus, withdrew from last cycle.

FYI what that means (if anyone does similarly):

At that one school, I WILL BE A REAPP (if I actually applied to this school which is highly unlikely).

At every other school, I will be a 1st time applicant.