<p>I'll be a senior this fall and I'll be applying in the 2011 cycle. I haven't taken the MCAT yet but I prefer to take it in August or September of 2011. But I was warned this will put me at a disadvantage because my application will be delayed until schools receive the MCAT score. So I was suggested to take it in May or June of 2011. But then I feel like I need more than a month to study for it because it's been a while since I've taken all the prereqs. (Btw, I won't have time to study for it from September to April because of heavy courseload and ECs in my final year of undergrad.)
I'm so lost and scared. There seem like so much to review. Any suggestions on how I should prep for the MCAT would be appreciated.</p>
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<p>I think your best bet is to shuffle your schedule around to accommodate MCAT prep this spring, which is the most popular/tried-and-true way to go. Could you add a required class to this semester? Forfeit taking an elective so you have time for preparation? Take a class over winter break or online? Postpone a class until summer (assuming your school would allow you to walk but not receive your diploma until your class is complete)?</p>
<p>If that won’t work, maybe you should take it in January and prepare for it starting…essentially NOW or very soon (give yourself at least 3-4 months, especially if you’re going to self-study).</p>
<p>If none of those will work, perhaps you’ll just have to take it in the summer and apply “late.” It will likely put you at a disadvantage (or so I’ve heard), but I imagine that disadvantage is overstated at places like SDN and here. If you were really at such a HUGE disadvantage for taking it in August or September…then why would the test be offered then? If you do decide to go that route, make sure your AMCAS is finished and submitted BEFORE your test day, and that you’ve found the prompts for the secondaries of schools you’d like to apply to and have gotten a jump on them before your test day too. Have you rec letters written and your committee interview/letter completed too. That way, the only thing “holding up” your app will be your MCAT scores, which will be available (and automatically sent) about a month after you test.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
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BDM: But the problem is I’ll already be doing a million things at a time during my final year of undergrad. My courseload for the fall won’t necessarily be hard but very time-consuming: immuno, vert bio with lab, nucleic acids, human genomics, biochem lab. I’ll also be mentoring freshmen and working as a career advisor. :(</p>
<p>kristin5792: Thanks for your post. Really helpful!</p>
<p>Kristen’s advice is excellent, but notice that it means you have to be writing essays at the same time as you’re studying for the MCAT – essays that mean a great deal in your process. Notice, too, that it means you have to select a list of schools without the benefit of an MCAT score. And, finally:</p>
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For students who wish to take it EARLY. I took it the August before my junior year.</p>
<p>Why not take your time to take it, and then apply next cycle? It could be less stressful. Retaking the MCAT is really annoying, I would not like to go into the at exam feeling unprepared.</p>
<p>OP, DS was in a similar situation last year, due to various reasons. But at least he took the prep course in the summer after junior. (This begs a question: Why didn’t he take the test back then?! Who knows! He might be thinking about preparing/taking “the other” professional test back then 
) He ended up taking MCAT on 5/27/2010, almost a year after he was actively studying for the test. He was still graduated in time, because he heard it is not a good idea to graduate late, unless he has a very good reason. (Most students graduate in time at his school.)</p>
<p>Since the unwritten “contract” among us is he needs to graduate in time and to complete most (if not all) prereqs in case he ends up pursuing this career path in the future, he actually did something more than expected, i.e., taking the MCAT test, before graduation. No complaint here.</p>
<p>Preparing the primary essay in advance is a good suggestion. But it is easy said than done. DS knows VERY WELL about the “Timing Alert” post (by BDM) on this thread. He still started to think/write his essays late. He ended up submitting his AMCAS in the middle of July, even though he knew his scores half a month before that. Hopefully, you can do better than him on this front. Also, try to get LORs as early as possible. It will be a pain if you can not get it well before the final in senior year.</p>
<p>I remember BDM once posted it is better to know your score at the end of April or beginning of May (so that you have enough time to configure out the list of schools to apply to.) DS was late for two months according to this standard. And he was delayed for another half a month because the primary essay was not ready.</p>
<p>Still do not know how disadvantage he would be as he is still in the application process.</p>
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<p>Take it from someone who applied late - it is not a good idea. I was complete anywhere from September to December at various schools, which sounds about the period when you would be completing your applications. I’m guessing I missed out on a lot of interviews, which made for a very, very stressful application process. It took a lot of effort and some luck to get any acceptances at all, and in retrospect, I could’ve walked away with nothing at all. Given all the hiccups you seems to have encountered during your college career, I strongly advise you not to make things harder for yourself and put yourself into the same position.</p>
<p>BDM is right. You need to take the exam sometime during the school year. Many people take the exam while being very busy. During the time I was prepping for the MCAT, I was taking bio, p-chem, and doing research, among other things. With discipline, it is possible to do well on the MCAT despite a busy schedule.</p>
<p>My DD had no way to take the MCAT before the August after her junior year. She chose to do that and apply the next cycle. The school she actually attends did a November interview, she would have known she was applying there anyway (excellent state school); one could contend she could have done a later app and been just fine, but one could also contend she could have applied to only that school. Either of those would have been both nerve wracking and potentially meant a 2nd application cycle.</p>
<p>Personally, I would recommend taking the MCAT after full prep, whatever you feel you need to do for you, and then apply the next summer and plan for a gap year.</p>
<p>Med school is like trying to get a drink from a fire hose, from day one. Enjoy a year off to work and relax a bit and be refreshed for studying.</p>