When to submit primary with mcat looming

[younggun92]

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Hey y'all, so I will be a reapplicant in the 2014 cycle and, like everyone else here, want to submit my primary June 1st. But I am scheduled to retake the mcat June 20 and am wondering if more competitive schools will look at my previous 30 and ignore me from that point on. What I'm asking is should I wait to submit my primary until I retake my mcat ( both take about a month to verify/score), or should I submit it ASAP and just tell them ill be taking it soon?

 

[SSCCSS]

If you submit at the beginning of June, your AMCAS will be processed quickly; however, you'll have committed financially to the primary without the assurance you've improved your MACT score.

On the other hand, if you wait for your MCAT score before submitting AMCAS (late July), you can assure you have the improved score in hand but your AMCAS processing time will take quite a bit of time.

The last thing you want to do is to spend a ton of money on primaries and then have to withdraw your application because - God forbidding - you don't improve the score. Perhaps, submit AMCAS to one school to get the processing started and when late July comes around and you confirm you achieved an improved score that would warrant re-applying, you can simply add more schools, which will download your AMCAS soon thereafter.

 

[younggun92]

Lets say that no matter what I'm getting in somewhere this year...if my mcat score increases 5-6 points, would upper tier schools judge me more harshly because they saw nothing but my 30 until 3 weeks after my primary was verified?

 

[Like]

They would wait for the score before deciding what to do with you.

 

[jemstone]

Just put in your state school(s) and "safetys"/ lower tiered schools until you get your score, then add your gunner schools. Your 30 should be fine to at least get you some interviews. Submitting more schools in July when you get your score back will just potentially get you January interviews.

 

[eHombre]

Just put in your state school(s) and "safetys"/ lower tiered schools until you get your score, then add your gunner schools. Your 30 should be fine to at least get you some interviews. Submitting more schools in July when you get your score back will just potentially get you January interviews.

This is mostly correct advice, but the risk of getting late interviews is lower than you'd imagine if you're just adding schools in July to an already complete application. Also, if I remember correctly from last year, when you apply there will be spaces in your primary and secondary applications to indicate that you took/are planning to take another MCAT on such-and-such date, so the schools will know to expect a second score.

 

[earf]

I remember reading several threads where people applied and said they were retaking the mcat, but still got rejected pre or post secondary before that score even came out. It might be better to wait since some schools might not look that closely and will just see your first score as your only score. You should call some admissions offices and ask them though

 

[jemstone]

This is mostly correct advice, but the risk of getting late interviews is lower than you'd imagine if you're just adding schools in July to an already complete application. Also, if I remember correctly from last year, when you apply there will be spaces in your primary and secondary applications to indicate that you took/are planning to take another MCAT on such-and-such date, so the schools will know to expect a second score.

I was just speaking from my experience from this cycle when I added extra schools in July, I got an interview in January. Could be different for OP.

 

[younggun92]

Thank you everybody for your insight. I suppose I should just call my 4 gunner schools and ask them how receptive they are toward mcat updates. I will have fairly average "hard stats" (3.65 G.P.A., 3.6 sGPA) but I have good ECs (have 500 hrs organic research experience, 1000 hours organic tutoring, 2 publications, 100 hours clinical volunteerism, continued full time research and part time volunteerism all next year), but I feel like gunner schools wont give me the time of day without seeing a 35+ MCAT...