will postponing MCAT till august hurt my chances?

[Jack Swift]

I planned on taking the april 06' mcat that's coming up in about a month to make up for the 25 i got before. But today i had a sudden realization that i havent covered nearly enough material as i should have (taking a full course load in my masters program so i had less time i guess). I wanted to apply as early as possible to give myself a better shot at getting in and I'm afraid that postponing the test until august will hurt my chances of acceptance. you guys have any imput?
thanks

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[AStudent]

Yes. Take it early and often.

 

[gujuDoc]

If this is your second time taking it, and you are not prepared for it as indicated by practice tests then WAIT.

Don't just take it for the sake of taking it because your score will always have the chance of going down and that would look worse.

Also, if you are taking a full load, that is not going to help your case much.

 

[Rockhouse]

Of course your chances will be worse. However, they will be nill if you score poorly on two MCAT's in a row. If you have another year, just take them in August and wait one more cycle-provided you are that worried you won't be getting a seat.

 

[njbmd]

I planned on taking the april 06' mcat that's coming up in about a month to make up for the 25 i got before. But today i had a sudden realization that i havent covered nearly enough material as i should have (taking a full course load in my masters program so i had less time i guess). I wanted to apply as early as possible to give myself a better shot at getting in and I'm afraid that postponing the test until august will hurt my chances of acceptance. you guys have any imput?
thanks

Hi there,
Get everything else in your application done as early as possible and take the August MCAT. There will be a box that you check on your AMCAS application that indicates you are taking the August MCAT. For some schools, this means that you application may not be complete until October 15th but they will review everything else and invite you for an interview in November, which is still fine especially if you do well.

Do as much studying as you can and when you are done with classes, go full out and get totally prepared. As someone said above, you cannot afford to have a poor second score and you need to keep your masters grades up too. Take your time because quality beats early everytime.

njbmd

 

[mostwanted]

take the august mcat and apply this year. the key is to get ur amcas and secondaries in early. i was in a similar position last year except it was my first time taking it. i ended up doing fine. best of luck

 

[theblastopore]

I think taking the August MCAT DOES hurt your chance of acceptance, but not as much as scoring poorly in the April MCAT. I would definitely wait for the August MCAT. If you score high on the August MCAT, there's a good chance of getting in. Even if you don't get in the first time, you can always use that score for the next cycle. If you don't do well on the April MCAT, it'll haunt you for a very long time.

Bottom line: don't take it if you are not ready

 

[UCDavisdude]

heh, i was gonna take it next month too, and decided to wait til august as well.

 

[snobored18]

YES taking the August MCAT will hurt your chances a bit...in fact if you want to go to a school like MCW it will essentially kill your chances...but it is definitely possible to still get into medical school and take the august MCAT. My suggestion as an August MCATer who bailed on the April MCAT because of my courseload last year is to start your AMCAS and get your rec. letters lined up now. Get that stuff ready to go ASAP and the study like mad...I waited until I got my score and I think it hurt my chances at a couple of schools (well Pritzker mainly). That said its not impossible I am the MSAR average right on the dot and I have 5 acceptances at the moment and high enough up on the mayo hold list to have a realistic chance of getting in if I sweat it out into the summer. It is possible to take the august MCAT and still be very successful but unless you can bring a very balanced application you are gonna kill your chances.

 

[Jack Swift]

thanks for the imput guys. I do plan on still applying early but with a postponed MCAT score. Another quick question though (might be a dumb one) Will schools look at my 25 and send in rejections prior to my taking the August MCAT or will they wait until they recieve the new scores?

 

[theblastopore]

thanks for the imput guys. I do plan on still applying early but with a postponed MCAT score. Another quick question though, Will schools look at my 25 and send in rejections prior to my taking the August MCAT or will they wait until they recieve the new scores?

I think there's an option on AMCAS where you can indicate that you are taking the August MCAT. I would bet that the schools will wait to see your score first.

 

[AnEyeLikeMars]

thanks for the imput guys. I do plan on still applying early but with a postponed MCAT score. Another quick question though (might be a dumb one) Will schools look at my 25 and send in rejections prior to my taking the August MCAT or will they wait until they recieve the new scores?

I can't imagine a school would outright reject you before receiving your updated scores. Most likely, they'll just wait until they receive them before they review your app. Having everything else complete beforehand seems like a great idea.

 

[Jack Swift]

Do you think they will send secondaries before they get the scores?

 

[chandelantern]

Do you think they will send secondaries before they get the scores?

The majority of secondaries are automatic, so yes, they will send them before your MCAT scores come in. The ones that screen may wait until you have your scores in, but I know that some of them send secondaries if the rest of your application looks good. However, your file will not be complete (and thus, not offered an interview) until your verified AMCAS is in, secondary and fee is turned in, and LOR are in. Make sure you don't lag on any of these things because yes, the early bird gets the worm in this game! Have everything else ready to go so when oct 15 rolls around, your file is complete EVERYWHERE.

 

[theblastopore]

Do you think they will send secondaries before they get the scores?

I would think not. But it depends on the school policy. Technically, before your score is in, your file is considered incomplete.

 

[chandelantern]

YES taking the August MCAT will hurt your chances a bit...in fact if you want to go to a school like MCW it will essentially kill your chances...but it is definitely possible to still get into medical school and take the august MCAT. My suggestion as an August MCATer who bailed on the April MCAT because of my courseload last year is to start your AMCAS and get your rec. letters lined up now. Get that stuff ready to go ASAP and the study like mad...I waited until I got my score and I think it hurt my chances at a couple of schools (well Pritzker mainly). That said its not impossible I am the MSAR average right on the dot and I have 5 acceptances at the moment and high enough up on the mayo hold list to have a realistic chance of getting in if I sweat it out into the summer. It is possible to take the august MCAT and still be very successful but unless you can bring a very balanced application you are gonna kill your chances.

Snowboarder, I was wondering about the Mayo hold list (one of my friends is waiting to hear from them since her "ranked" notification.) Did they actually rank their hold list and they told you that you're high on the list??? I was under the assumption they didn't even create a ranked waitlist until all applications had been reviewed and the appointments had been made (which I guess is now March 31).

 

[TriniToDeBone]

Hi there,
Get everything else in your application done as early as possible and take the August MCAT. There will be a box that you check on your AMCAS application that indicates you are taking the August MCAT. For some schools, this means that you application may not be complete until October 15th but they will review everything else and invite you for an interview in November, which is still fine especially if you do well.

Do as much studying as you can and when you are done with classes, go full out and get totally prepared. As someone said above, you cannot afford to have a poor second score and you need to keep your masters grades up too. Take your time because quality beats early everytime.

njbmd

This is sound advice - it's exactly what I did and I was accepted at a couple of schools. Rushing in when you're not ready can hurt you more in the long run.

 

[tifa]

I planned on taking the april 06' mcat that's coming up in about a month to make up for the 25 i got before. But today i had a sudden realization that i havent covered nearly enough material as i should have (taking a full course load in my masters program so i had less time i guess). I wanted to apply as early as possible to give myself a better shot at getting in and I'm afraid that postponing the test until august will hurt my chances of acceptance. you guys have any imput?
thanks

no, don't listen the hype. It doesn't matter when you take it. If you're good, you'll get accepted.

 

[roo425]

I was an Aug MCAT taker and I think I lost a lot of chance in many schools. Especially for the schools that pre-screen for secondaries-all the UC schools. I ended up completing at most of schools in the mid -late Nov. even though I finished all the other stuff before the MCAY score came out. This lead me to late interviews. All my interview was in late Jan and early Feb. For Oos, most of schools ddidn't have any more spots left. So, even though they really liked me, they had to put me in the waitlist. If you get super MCAT (maybe above 35 more close to 40), you won't have much probelm getting interviews right after you get your score. But if your score is about the average for the schools (~ 30), it really takes long to get invited. I highly recommend to take it in April but you have to get ready. If you could wait, I would say to take in Aug 06 and apply early next year. If you have any more question, please PM me.

 

[MollyMalone]

Snowboarder, I was wondering about the Mayo hold list (one of my friends is waiting to hear from them since her "ranked" notification.) Did they actually rank their hold list and they told you that you're high on the list??? I was under the assumption they didn't even create a ranked waitlist until all applications had been reviewed and the appointments had been made (which I guess is now March 31).

Yeah, ditto that.

 

[Hari Kari]

I'm operating under the assumption that you want to get into A medical school, and not a highly selective one.

If the rest of your application is strong, I say take the April MCAT, and bring the 25 up to at least a 27. With anything less, acceptance is not gonna be easy, and this will likely be a deal breaker. I'm sure the Master's degree will be a boon.

If you have some "trouble" in your past, hold off and take the August MCAT, do extremely well in it, bolster the rest of your application, and apply the following June.

Best of luck.

 

[DolfinGrl11]

I was in a similar position. I took the MCAT for the first time in April amidst my busiest semester, 3 jobs, and recovering from my double knee surgery plus water polo. Needless to say my 25 accurately reflected my studying. However, I bucked up, studied during the summer, and came out with a 30 in August. I made sure to get the AMCAS done super early and checked the box indicating I would be taking the August MCAT. I did receive a lot of secondaries, and a lot came before they got my scores (my scores went out to the schools I applied to in mid-October). I don't really think it hurt me at all since I got everything else done in advance and made sure to do my secondaries as soon as I got them. A lot of secondaries also have a place to say whether or not you would like the school to wait to review your app until your August scores come in. For some schools that end interviewing early on (NYU, etc.) this can suck, but the majority of schools will be cool with it. I applied to 20 schools, got 8 interviews - interviewed at 6, and 3 acceptances / 2 waitlists (still waiting on 1). One acceptance was to MCW so don't listen to the earlier post saying that August MCATs will kill you at MCW, lots of August-MCATers were at my interview day in January. Bottom line: Study hard, take the test when you are ready, and be dilligent about making sure that you get everything else done early and right the first time. Good luck!

 

[snobored18]

Snowboarder, I was wondering about the Mayo hold list (one of my friends is waiting to hear from them since her "ranked" notification.) Did they actually rank their hold list and they told you that you're high on the list??? I was under the assumption they didn't even create a ranked waitlist until all applications had been reviewed and the appointments had been made (which I guess is now March 31).

There isn't a hold list persay yet...just a rank

 

[Jack Swift]

I was an Aug MCAT taker and I think I lost a lot of chance in many schools. Especially for the schools that pre-screen for secondaries-all the UC schools. I ended up completing at most of schools in the mid -late Nov. even though I finished all the other stuff before the MCAY score came out. This lead me to late interviews. All my interview was in late Jan and early Feb. For Oos, most of schools ddidn't have any more spots left. So, even though they really liked me, they had to put me in the waitlist. If you get super MCAT (maybe above 35 more close to 40), you won't have much probelm getting interviews right after you get your score. But if your score is about the average for the schools (~ 30), it really takes long to get invited. I highly recommend to take it in April but you have to get ready. If you could wait, I would say to take in Aug 06 and apply early next year. If you have any more question, please PM me.

I understand your point but it will really kill me to have to wait another year to apply. I'm hoping that, just like DolfinGrl11 said, if i complete everything before my august scores come out, my application will be ready on october 15 (or whenever scores are out) so I can start hearing something from the schools i applied too by then. How many seats are usually left by the time the August scores come out?

 

[MNsocsci]

Since a lot of us are just giving advice based on our own experience or anecdotal evidence, I thought I'd throw my story in here. I don't know if I just got lucky (there doesn't seem to be anything stellar about my app) but I applied at the last possible moment and have gotten acceptances.

I know that they are probably lying, but during all my interviews admissions people told us that we had "just as good of a chance of being accepted as if we had interviewed at the beginning of the season." I don't believe that this is true, but I also don't think that applying late hurts your chances as much as everyone says it does. Maybe it does at some schools, but I have a suspicion that people like to use the "I applied late" excuse to explain their rejections rather than look for flaws in their app.

 

[riceman04]

take the august mcat and apply this year. the key is to get ur amcas and secondaries in early. i was in a similar position last year except it was my first time taking it. i ended up doing fine. best of luck

so how did you get all of your secondaries early?

 

[jebus]

so how did you get all of your secondaries early?

Most schools just give you 2ºs upon receipt of the AMCAS application.

 

[riceman04]

Most schools just give you 2ºs upon receipt of the AMCAS application.

oh ok

 

[UCDavisdude]

I planned on taking the april 06' mcat that's coming up in about a month to make up for the 25 i got before. But today i had a sudden realization that i havent covered nearly enough material as i should have (taking a full course load in my masters program so i had less time i guess). I wanted to apply as early as possible to give myself a better shot at getting in and I'm afraid that postponing the test until august will hurt my chances of acceptance. you guys have any imput?
thanks

hell yeah it wil!l..but its okay, im doing the same thing just be charming during your interviews.