Will taking the July MCAT be too late?

[229141]

Hey guys, I'm planning on taking the early July MCAT this summer...everyone here seems to take them then. I know a lot of people on here take then in April...but if I took them in July I'd have an additional 8 weeks of studying hard and I won't be in class. Wouldn't it be best to take them in July making sure I rock them rather than taking them in April while I'm simulataneously studying for all of my finals?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[tiamat360]

Taking the MCAT in July means you'll get your scores back in August, so you'll be sending out secondaries no earlier than that. In general, that's fine. It's not on the very early side of things, which is always a disadvantage, but it's more important that you score well on the MCAT when you take it. If you think you'd do significantly better taking it in July than in April, it's worth delaying your application for that long.

In addition, most schools' secondaries will be posted on this site by those who receive them in June/July. You can write the essays for those secondaries you expect to receive before you get them, then have a near-immediate turnaround when you do get your secondaries.

 

[chiz2kul]

Hey guys, I'm planning on taking the early July MCAT this summer...everyone here seems to take them then. I know a lot of people on here take then in April...but if I took them in July I'd have an additional 8 weeks of studying hard and I won't be in class. Wouldn't it be best to take them in July making sure I rock them rather than taking them in April while I'm simulataneously studying for all of my finals?

Ah, I had the exact same train of thought when I was at your stage. I went ahead n took it in July...and i'm guessing that, and other factors is why I became a reapplicant for the next cycle.
There is nothing wrong in doing this, if you get a stellar MCAT n ur app is pretty much stellar...cos then you'll kinda be late in the game...not so much, but still a lil late in my opinion. I reapplied this year super early with the same stats (kinda low on MCAT side..), and now hav admission into a couple schools w tons of interviews. Previously, I had gotten interviews into only 2 schools...
So really its your call...if you feel u need the time to study for it, then go for it. Just do your best.
But make sure u take into account the turnaround it takes from when you submit your app/mcat, to when schools actually get it and start reviewin ur stuffs...you may finally get everything in by aug/sept, but before the schools actually get everything, it may even be later than that...and we all know that time is key here

 

[229141]

Yeah..you guys make great points. I am starting to wonder if people from my school would be getting in if they applied sooner. Also a lot of them apply to schools WAY out of their league. I am going to study every day for MCAT this break..and if I am ready maybe I'll take them Jan 30th. I've had all subject matter except physics 2 which I can just teach myself. Took a practice test without studying (AAMC) and pulled a 33...so I really want to see how high I could get..ahh tough decision!

 

[Aladdin]

I took it in July this past summer and it worked out fine. I talked to 3 schools and they all said that was fine. You obviously get your application in a little late, but not too bad.