When to take the MCAT?

[NeurosciencePrincess]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I will be a sophomore this fall and I have been wondering when is it best to take the MCAT. Some people are saying after sophomore year and others are saying after junior year. I would like to go straight into medical school after senior year. I wont be finished with my prerequisties until the end of junior year. Balancing classes and MCAT studying might be a little difficult but if any of you have done it and had a good experience let me know. I plan on doing an MCAT prep course when the time comes.

 

[Blueprint MCAT Tutor]

I think taking it in January of Junior year is ideal. You will have winter break free to fully devote your attention to the AAMC material, which is the most important. You don't want to be doing those and focusing on school and other activities as well and thus potentially not fully benefit from going through them.

Also, if your score doesn't come back as good as you want, you still leave yourself plenty of time to study for a retake and still get another score back before the application cycle starts. At the end of the day though, the best time to take the MCAT is when you feel ready and your practice exam scores are fairly close to the your goal score. I hope that helps and please reach out if you have any other questions!

 

[NeurosciencePrincess]

I think taking it in January of Junior year is ideal. You will have winter break free to fully devote your attention to the AAMC material, which is the most important. You don't want to be doing those and focusing on school and other activities as well and thus potentially not fully benefit from going through them.

Also, if your score doesn't come back as good as you want, you still leave yourself plenty of time to study for a retake and still get another score back before the application cycle starts. At the end of the day though, the best time to take the MCAT is when you feel ready and your practice exam scores are fairly close to the your goal score. I hope that helps and please reach out if you have any other questions!

I actually like that idea! After finals I have a whole month until I go back to school for the spring semester so maybe that is better than what I was initially going to do. The only pre-req's that I would have left to satisfy is physics 2 and biochemistry. I was thinking about studying from January - April and taking it mid-April. But if i can dedicate a full month towards studying for the MCAT without any distractions would that suffice? Or would I NEED to have 3 months of studying? The only pre-req's that I would have left to satisfy

 

[Blueprint MCAT Tutor]

It depends on how much you can accomplish during school time as well! You'll need to complete content review, third-party practice questions and exams, and aamc materials. You'll need a month of dedicated study for the aamc materials alone, so if you can finish up the other stuff while also in school, then having that last month completely free and dedicated to aamc materials would be great!

Also, if you haven't looked into any materials yet, there is a link to a free mcat bundle from Next Step in my signature, if you want to try out some material and see if it fits your learning style!

If you have any other questions at all, please do not hesitate to reach out and good luck with everything 🙂

 

[23LeGoatJames23]

From my experience, studying during the summer after your sophomore year and taking the exam in January of your Junior year yields the best results. You want to not only make sure you have taken the required courses, but that you have had experience with research as the ability to read/understand research articles is key to doing well on the exam.

 

[NeurosciencePrincess]

From my experience, studying during the summer after your sophomore year and taking the exam in January of your Junior year yields the best results. You want to not only make sure you have taken the required courses, but that you have had experience with research as the ability to read/understand research articles is key to doing well on the exam.

So I would do an 8 month study plan? I am taking physics 1 & biochem in the fall so the only prerequisite I would be missing is Physics 2.

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

I took the MCAT after my sophomore year and it was the perfect time. Studying for the MCAT was completely draining and it consumes all of your waking hours to do it right. The last four weeks are ones where you need to focus 100% on the MCAT. IMHO, you should not take the exam while you're in classes. I think 8 months is far too long to study for the MCAT, especially if you are doing it at the right intensity. Three to four months is plenty of time is you spend it well. I casually studied for a month and then had three months of intense studying, and that was perfect for me. You may be different, so take my opinion accordingly, but I think it's a mistake to drag it out for that long and into the school year.

 

[23LeGoatJames23]

So I would do an 8 month study plan? I am taking physics 1 & biochem in the fall so the only prerequisite I would be missing is Physics 2.

8 months sounds rough but it doesn't have to be super intense throughout. Honestly I didn't really study at all from September-November (a few passages per week). I really started back around Thanksgiving and locked in for 4 weeks during winter break (8-10 hrs a day). Overall I think getting exposure during summer gives you a head start because there is a sort of feel for the questions that you develop over time. Additionally, you don't have to stress out over it during the summer because you have so much time. Just my personal opinion of course and I understand not everyone has this much time.