<p>My D will be starting her junior year this fall. She has been exploring MCAT prep courses. She'd like, if possible, to take an actual on-site classroom course as opposed to an online one; however, we're not sure that's going to be possible. She is a student athlete and the only physical classroom course in her college town that doesn't conflict with her schedule won't prepare her for January 2013's test but rather the April 2013 one. I have always read that it's optimal to take the test in January of your junior year especially if you are a Texas resident hoping to match early in the fall of your senior year. True? If so, what are your thoughts about the online MCAT courses as that seems like it might be her only option?</p>
<p>Unless Texas is different on this, you can’t submit your application before early June, and MCAT scores only take about a month to return so an April test date wouldn’t hold up the application. If your daughter really wants an on-site class I think it’s worth making sure you’re in the best environment to learn.</p>
<p>D. took MCAT in a mid/second part of May, 2 weeks after junior spring finals and it has worked for her very well. She applied in June. She was not in sport, but had very busy schedule having all of her ECs during school year at college and also having minor, sorority board…Since she was that busy, she decided to take the longest prep. class (starting in October) at her college. Classes were on Sundays, so they did not interfere with anything on her schedule, but again, she dropped her sport after freshman year and did not have anything like out of town meets on the weekends. It has worked for her as she needed to stretch her prepation time and not cramped it up closer to exam. Many others were taking a shorter class.</p>
<p>@Brown</p>
<p>Texas is different. Texas med school have their own separate application process: TMDAS They don’t use AMCAS. TMDAS opens for applications on May 1.</p>
<p>I would think it might work, PM Curmudgeon. She can apply to all the TX schools on the one application so it is not like she needs the score to choose her schools and she would have it in time to choose AMCAS schools for June. If it is there early enough in May, it may not delay things at all.</p>
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<p>Just to clarify (for all the lurkers out there) the TMDSAS is used for Texas public schools (iow, not Baylor), and is not used for MD/PhD programs (even at Texas public schools) </p>
<p>I have several Texas public schools on my current application list but will not use the TMDSAS (as was probably the case with i<em>wanna</em>be_Brown)</p>
<p>Yeah I knew about tmdas but I didn’t know it had a different submit date. Does it have a different submit date? The day it opens isn’t necessarily the day you can submit. Sorry if I am mistaken again.</p>
<p>I believe May 1 is the TMDAS submission date since secondaries start getting sent out as early as May 15.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses, everyone. I think she’ll try to take an online classroom course through PR or Kaplan this fall in effort to prepare her for the January test. We’ll see how it goes.</p>