When to start applying.....

[Chris609]

I'm about to finish my second year of college in may and i was wondering when should i think about taking the Mcat and when should i start applying for med school?
-Also what are some schools i should apply to with a 3.6 gpa?

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[Swiper]

Most folks would recommend you take the MCAT in April of your junior year, and then apply in June of that summer. As long as all other aspects of your application (extra-curricular activities, letters of recommendation, MCAT scores) are strong, you should be competitive with your GPA (keep up the good work!) at most schools.

Good luck!

 

[docquaker]

if you want to go straight from college, most people take the mcat in april of junior year and apply in june. don't worry about the schools yet...just focus on doing well in your classes and on the mcat. good job so far...

 

[Integra96]

Definitely. That's a good GPA for most schools. Just make sure you get your stuff in as early as possible - including the secondaries when the time comes around. Good luck.

 

[Sharkfan]

The early bird gets the worm. Take the MCAT in April and get your AMCAS application in as early as possible. Start working on your AMCAS as soon as you are done with the MCAT. That personal statement can take a long time to perfect!

Good luck!

 

[Chris609]

all sounds good, so i should start studying for the mcat now or still wait

 

[Adapt]

If you finished taking Bio, Physics, Chem, and OChem, I would recommend taking the MCAT in August after your sophomore year. That way, you can study without having to worry about classes. Also, if you don't do well, you can take it again in the April of your junior year and then apply in June of your junior year without being late in the process.

 

[Sweet Tea]

Originally posted by Chris609
all sounds good, so i should start studying for the mcat now or still wait

wait until you know you're definetly going to be taking it. i'm not saying you'll decide against going to med school, but it's quite possible that you'll get into your junior year and decide that you want to take time off. if you take the test now and then take time off, you run the risk of having that test expire. you don't want to take that bad boy twice!

so wait. no need to study now, especially if you're doing well in your pre reqs (and it sounds like you are). best of luck.

 

[jlee9531]

doesnt hurt to take a year off either if you feel like it.

meaning you would take mcat april sr. year and apply that june.

about studying...well it all depends how confident you are in yourself. some students study for a year, others for a few months and others even less than that.

if you want to feel comfortable and cover everything i guess i would give yourself a nice 4 month time period to prepare for the mcat the year that you are planning to take it.

 

[gschl1234]

Originally posted by Slickness
If you finished taking Bio, Physics, Chem, and OChem, I would recommend taking the MCAT in August after your sophomore year. That way, you can study without having to worry about classes. Also, if you don't do well, you can take it again in the April of your junior year and then apply in June of your junior year without being late in the process.

I think that's a great point. Also, one thing I hadn't thought about until I started this process was how long it takes AMCAS to verify your applciation. If you're all done with MCAT in August before your junior year, you won't have to wait till the end of June for your MCAT scores to be out. Your AMCAS file could be complete as early as beginning of June.

 

[Adapt]

Originally posted by gschl1234
If you're all done with MCAT in August before your junior year, you won't have to wait till the end of June for your MCAT scores to be out. Your AMCAS file could be complete as early as beginning of June.

Yes this is true but it is a minor point. To give you an example. I took the MCAT in the August after my sophomore year and applied on June 3rd (it was the first day we could submit) the following year. My application was verified in 3 days although usually it takes 4 to 6 weeks.

For those that took the April test, they received their scores sometime in mid to late June. However, all of us had our applications transmitted to the schools beginning around mid July anyway, so those of us that applied in early June didn't really have an advantage over those that applied in late June who were waiting for their scores. Actually, what matters more is how long it takes for AMCAS to verify your application which could take anywhere from 3 days to 6 weeks. I think not having to wait for your MCAT scores is a plus because you can't wait to be in line to get verified until AMCAS has your scores.

The real advantage is that you have the whole summer to study solely for the MCAT if you take it in August while if you take it in April you will have to study for that and your classes at the same time. I have many friends who chose to just take the April exam in their Junior year but ended up not taking it because they couldn't study as much as they wanted due to other classes. They ended up taking the August exam and applying in November of the same year. As a result, they had a lot less luck when applying and didn't get as many interviews as me even though they had a higher score and gpa.

The best advice for anyone is to apply the earliest you can and have your secondaries out within a couple of days of receiving them. That will give you the best shot at getting accepted.