<p>I am a second year undergraduate right now, and I have the option of graduating early (total of 3 years undergrad). I will have completed all those upper division biology courses plus more recommended for Medical School. Here is my dilemma...I was going to take time off and study for the MCAT over the summer and graduate in 4 years, but now I am considering graduating earlier (3 years) and taking the MCAT after I finish all my courses. If I took the MCAT in the summer, I would only have 2 months to study for it. Which would you recommend? Your feedback is really appreciated!</p>
<p>I'd suggest taking the MCAT over the summer regardless of when you graduate. I'm trying to work out your exact plan - graduate in 4 years, take the MCAT August 2007, or graduate in three years, and then when?</p>
<p>The August MCAT is pretty solid timing-wise, regardless. It just gives you one less thing to worry about as you're prepping your apps, and summers are a good time anyway. Plus you can know what kind of schools to aim for before you actually send out your apps.</p>
<p>thanks for your responses. Bluedevilmike, my choices are these:</p>
<p>1) Graduate in 2007 (3 years of undergraduate study) and take the MCAT in 2007.
2) Graduate in 2008 (approximately four years of undergraduate study) and take the MCAT this summer in August.</p>
<p>One question, could I apply to medical schools without MCAT results?</p>
<p>Wait, you'd be taking the MCAT later if you graduate earlier? I don't really understand your reasoning.</p>
<p>And yes, it's possible to apply to medical schools without MCAT results. It is a bad idea for two reasons. One reason applies to everybody; one reason only applies to some people.</p>
<p>The first reason is that if your MCAT score comes out lower or higher than expected - mine was four points higher, nothing to sneeze at - then it will substantially change the medical schools you want to apply to. You won't be able to target your list accurately. This is less important; its essential impact is financial.</p>
<p>The second reason depends on how long you are asking medical schools to wait. Medical school admissions go in three stages: primary, secondary, and interview. Schools will refuse to review your secondary - sometimes even your primary - until your MCAT score is in. This means that no matter what, you cannot have an interview, much less an admission, until your MCAT score is reported to them. This is important because of a key feature of medical school admissions: they "roll". That is, they start admitting kids immediately. This means that if you are asking them to wait a couple of months before they get your MCAT score, they will have given away many of their spots already. This restricts your available spots and puts you at a very serious disadvantage.</p>
<p>So if I graduate early (in 2007), I will have as much time as I need to study for the MCATS. But I looked at application dates and the whole deal and I will basically be out of school for two years! My other choice is to take the MCATS this summer and graduate a little later in 2008. I don't mind graduating later, but if I take the MCATS in the summer I will only have 2 months to study. Will this be enough time if I devote all of my time to studying? Thanks for the advice bluedevilmike! I hope that answers your question...could you give me feedback?
Thanks!</p>
<p>I only spent two months studying for the MCAT, and I saw a 9 point improvement.</p>
<p>I did, however, use a prep course (Kaplan). It's my opinion that that works really well, but that's certainly very dependent on what kind of student you are.</p>
<p>Hey bluedevil, I'm kind of curious about your MCAT score. I am familiar with the test through older siblings, and wondered what your score was? If you don't feel comfortable posting it here, could you PM it to me? Thanks.</p>
<p>I read a bunch of your posts, and saw that you talked about improvements and the MCAT in general quite a bit. No other reason that curiosity. But I am impressed, and can definitely take your advice seriously.</p>