Confused About MCAT Testing Dates

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Hi guys,</p>

<p>I've been quietly browsing CC's pre-med dicussions a bit as well as SDN's forums the last few days, but I'm still a bit confused as to when I should be taking the MCAT. I see that some people suggest that it be taken after finishing sophomore year, towards the end of summer, so that one has an entire break to prepare for it. Others say a spring test during junior year would be best. Any advice on which one it would be in my case?</p>

<p>I'm currently a rising sophomore planning on taking Organic Chem I and II this year, as well as Physics I and II. I'll have all pre-reqs completed by the start of my junior year. I've already taken Biology and General Chemistry and have begun reviewing a little this summer for the MCAT.</p>

<p>I'm a bit undecided about when to take the MCAT because I would like to work or volunteer 40 hour weeks next summer (2010) but I also worry that I won't be able to commit fully towards test prep if I do. At the same time, I plan to take Biochemistry and Cell Biology together my junior year, two courses notorious for being difficult at my university. Studying for the MCAT while taking those courses could be double-edged, affecting my GPA as well as my MCAT score. Should I just go with the summer MCAT test date or is there something detrimental about taking it that early? </p>

<p>Also, how long ahead of time should I begin preparing? Is preparing this summer (after my freshmen year) too excessive? I know I will be extremely busy my sophomore year, perhaps busier than the rest of my years in college, due to an important leadership position I've decided to take on. Any advice would be much appreciated! </p>

<p>You guys are awesome. :) I'm sorry if any of my neurotic pre-med tendencies are showing through right now!</p>

2

<p>Either time works fine. Since coursework and other things change a great deal over time, there’s no sense planning this sort of thing two years in advance.</p>

<p>The MCAT takes 8-10 weeks to prepare for; this early is clearly ridiculous.</p>

<p>At the end of your sophomore year, you should decide whether to take it that summer (I don’t see any reason why not) or next spring. But until then, don’t worry about it in the least.</p>

3

<p>

Not if you develop good time management skills.</p>

<p>Anyway BDM is right, it’s pointless worrying about it this early.</p>

4

<p>Honestly, if I had it to do over again, I’d probably take it in January of my junior year. I think that I would’ve done well to study for it (I self-studied) some during the fall semester and then really hit the books during winter break, which always began the first week of December, continue to study the first three weeks of the spring semester before the semester really got underway, and then take it at the end of January. I ended up taking it at the end of May because I was taking physics II that semester (because a semester abroad had messed up my schedule a little bit). It all worked out, but it did delay my AMCAS submission slightly. And of course I realized after I’d already registered that physics II isn’t tested very heavily at all on the MCAT.</p>

<p>But BDM is right that there’s no reason not to take it after your sophomore summer if you’ve finished the classes (although in my case, to take it then would’ve meant a semester where I had to take a biology course, organic chem, physics, and calculus which would’ve been a little much).</p>