Would taking August MCAT hurt my application?

[doublehh03]

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I won't take the April b/c of my school and workload. But i plan on applying to med schools this year. if i start applying and turn in everything by July-early August, would taking the August MCAT hurt my application in any way?

thanks for feedback

 

[sheepunite]

i was told not to take the august mcat unless i was willing to delay my application for a year.

i took it anyway and have gotten a number of interviews. however, most schools won't look at your application until your mcat scores arrive, which will be in october. this denies you the opportunity to apply for early decision and chucks you very late into the interview season. this may or may not matter to you, but if your top schools employ rolling admissions, your delayed application will most likely put you at a disadvantage.

 

[doublehh03]

did you get accepted w/ those interviews?

 

[kirexhana]

yes, your scores won't come out until mid october, when many interviews (+secondaries from UC schools) have already gone out. even if a school is non-rolling, the number of available interviews drop, which still hurts your chances.

 

[notdeadyet]

yes, your scores won't come out until mid october, when many interviews (+secondaries from UC schools) have already gone out. even if a school is non-rolling, the number of available interviews drop, which still hurts your chances.

Actually, August MCAT hurts you least at UCs. They traditionally interview very late into the season due to the number of applications.

Some schools an August MCAT is a BIG disadvantage, but UCs much less than most.

 

[ahumdinger]

This question has been answered time and time again, but there will always be disagreement. The answer that is tailored to YOU will depend on other aspects of your application. Here's how it breaks down:

if you have a pretty decent GPA (3.5+), taking the August MCAT will not disadvantage you. This is because your GPA is good enough to get the school's attention, and they'll invite you for an interview once they get your MCAT scores (if you score well). Most schools wait to send the majority of their invites out after the august scores are released. (this is the cause of much unnecessary anxiety on SDN, as april takers are waiting to get interviews but they are trickling in slowly)

If you have a crappy GPA, as I did, you should NOT take the August MCAT during the year of your application. What I did was take the August 2004 MCAT and applied for the 2006 cycle. I didn't want my GPA to be the first thing schools see, without my MCAT. They would surely reject me on the spot. I knew I would score well on the MCAT, so I wanted that number on my application to balance out the GPA.


bottom line is, really early in the cycle (september-november), schools interview the superstars-- those with 4.0s and 35+ MCAT because these people are gonna get interview no matter when they apply. But the bulk of the interview spots are saved for when the school has seen most of its applicant pool (after august scores are out). If you take the August MCAT, just don't freak out about getting late interviews. A friend of mine in the same situation (3.5/35AugustMCAT) racked up 6+ interviews in the months of january/february. She even got a interview just last week from SLU.


Just have a lot of patience.

Good luck

 

[notdeadyet]

if i start applying and turn in everything by July-early August, would taking the August MCAT hurt my application in any way?

Double- I pushed out my April MCAT to August for similar reasons and researched your same question pretty much to death. The consensus amongst those who seemed to know is that an August MCAt is a disadvantage, but not NEARLY as big a disadvantage as a poor April score.

If you can take it in April and do well, go for it. If you can not, do it in August. And many August MCATers get accepted to med schools. It puts you at a disadvantage at many places, but it's not the kiss of death...

 

[ahumdinger]

Some schools an August MCAT is a BIG disadvantage, but UCs much less than most.

OP, to amend my advice, take the above into consideration. try to find out at which schools you will be at a disadvantage and don't apply to many of those. I imagine there aren't that many that fall into this category, but do the research.

 

[tomorrowgirl99]

OP, to amend my advice, take the above into consideration. try to find out at which schools you will be at a disadvantage and don't apply to many of those. I imagine there aren't that many that fall into this category, but do the research.

Where do you think we could find the information for that?

 

[njbmd]

I won't take the April b/c of my school and workload. But i plan on applying to med schools this year. if i start applying and turn in everything by July-early August, would taking the August MCAT hurt my application in any way?

thanks for feedback

Hi there,
If you take the August MCAT, your application will not be complete until about October 15th. That being said, for some folks, the earlier everything is in, the more competitive they look so earlier is better if you need that small competitive edge.

You should not take the MCAT until you have the time to prepare for this test. If you are not ready in April, then you should opt for August. A poor or mediocre MCAT score can tank your application more than being complete a bit later. Don't take the MCAT until you can solidly prepare.

I took the August MCAT one time, had everything in by July 1st and had interview invitations in my hand by the third week of October. I did not have the option of taking the April exam because of schoolwork obligations. In the end, it didn't make any difference other than my last interview was in late February (might have been earlier if I had taken the April test but I don't know).

Take the MCAT when you are ready but if you opt to take the August exam, make sure that everything is in place with your AMCAS. Don't wait for your August scores before you submit AMCAS or you will likely put yourself in a huge hole as it might take several weeks for you to become certified by AMCAS.

Good luck!
njbmd 🙂

 

[ahumdinger]

Hi there,

Take the MCAT when you are ready but if you opt to take the August exam, make sure that everything is in place with your AMCAS. Don't wait for your August scores before you submit AMCAS or you will likely put yourself in a huge hole as it might take several weeks for you to become certified by AMCAS.

Good luck!
njbmd 🙂

👍 👍 👍 great advice

 

[doublehh03]

hopefully, the UCs won't be as bad since I've read up their websites and most state that the first interviews will be in October). but they do have rolling admissions so 😕

but I have a pretty good GPA (3.8+) and I go to a very tough science school (UCSD) so hopefully they'll at least hear me out

thanks for all the feedback guys.

 

[physicsnerd42]

would taking the August MCAT hurt my application in any way?

Not as much as if you take the April MCAT and aren't ready...