when to take the MCAT

[Guest Windig0]

I'm a freshmen this year, but i'm taking the three sciences PHY CHM BIO, but its unlikely i'll take physics my second year, so would it better to take the MCAT this summer so that all the stuff is still fresh?

[Guest patentforamenovale]

Hi, I would recommend taking the MCAT this summer, because most of what you need to learn for the physics component wil be in your first year course. This way you will already have your scores when you get around to applying and not have to worry about the cutoffs. The only "con" I can think of is that you will not have done any organic chemistry (unless you're taking it this year), although that should not be a significant hurdle.

 

Sincerely,

PFO

[Guest Windig0]

i have orgo as well, however I don't have an english component (and MCAT has a writing section IIRC)

[Guest patentforamenovale]

The writing sample is pretty straightforward....you dont need an english course to ace it.

 

Good luck with your MCAT....

 

PFO

[Guest thegamez]

speaking of a sad experience , here's my 5 cents:

 

write your MCAT on april of your 3rd year .. its just the perfect time .. earlier than that will put u in disadvantage; and writing on summer will put u in horrible position of not knowing your score until after u submit your medschool application and pay the admin- fees

[Guest Windig0]

How am I suppose to apply for medical school in the summer of my first year?

[Guest silverjelly86]

Good idea, except in April, you have like, a million finals. And don't you mean April of 2nd year? (Since you can get into med school after 3 years in most cases).

[Guest Windig0]

another question, our biology course is mainly focused on ecology and evolution, I know enough about cellular biology on my own, but I don't know jack about physiology like nephrons, kidney action, neurology, do they comprise a bit componet on the MCAT as well?

[Guest joshto]

Isn't the best time to take the MCAT in the summer of 2nd year? That way when you apply in your 4th year, you will already know your scores.Taking the MCAT in April will be a complete overload because finals are in April. And if you take it in your summer of 2nd year and dont do well, i think you can re-take it in the summer of 3rd year.

[Guest Madz25]

Winidig0 - there is none or very little evolution on the MCAT and I don't think there is any ecology (I don't remember studying for it). The physiology component is a big part of the biological sciences section.

 

Madz

[Guest 007]

I highly recommend taking it the summer after 2nd year. You will have taken the appropriate courses by then (including organic chem and a physiology) and will have the study skills you need too. You will also know your scores before you apply in 4th year and have 2 opportunities to rewrite it if you need to. Personally, I don't know anyone who successfully wrote it after 1st year (or even many people who tried). My friends who wrote it after 3rd year almost all wished they'd written it after 2nd year.

(And don't worry, you can recall the physics fairly easily a year later with a little effort. It's harder to recall every year after that though.)

[Guest joshto]

If you know your scores when you apply in your 4th year, can't you apply in April rather than the ppl who havent taken the test and must apply after they take it, in August after their 4th year?

[Guest Madz25]

Canadian schools don't have rolling admissions so there is no benefit of applying early - aside from having your applications out of the way! Most Canadian schools make their applications available in July, some sooner, some later. I don't think any schools have applications available as early as April.

 

For people who write the MCAT in August, there is no 'must' that they must wait until they receive their scores to apply. They can apply before the scores are out, it's just that their file wont be complete until the scores are received by the school.

 

The advantage to writing the MCAT after 2nd year is that you will know your MCAT scores and wont be applying 'blindly' as those who have written it in August do.

 

Madz

[Guest joshto]

Wouldnt another advantage be that if you apply in the U.S. already knowing your scores, you can apply in april and then you have better chances of getting accepted. And I also heard that they dont look at your application until your MCAT scores come in.

[Guest rubberoduck]

i wrote in april of my 2nd year, and i shall list the advantages vs disadvantages:

 

Pro

1. you will know your scores before you sumbit that hefty admin fee to OMSAS (big thumb up)

2. you can always try again if you are unhappy with your april score

3. take psl302 in your second year (as is mandated by several specialist programs), and you'll have all you need for the MCAT's bio section

4. you don't need an english course, at most get a MCAT tutor for your writing sample. it's straight-forward when you have someone who knows the tricks and can grade your paper

5. if you write in the summer, you're competing against ppl with very good science background. (reflect on your science abilities vs english)

6. also, the summer spaces are taken up very quickly, so seating is another issue.

 

con

1. you're writing the MCAT along with 5 finals (big thumb down). it's a lot of stress. I took a kaplan course during the year to keep me on track. i wouldn't say that it was very useful, but it does keep your focus on the material from time to time. at least you won't feel fresh at the time of the exam

2. your stress might compromise your mcat and exam score. it happened in my case, with about a 3% drop in my BIO final avg (BIO exam 2 days after MCAT this year), and no impact to other courses; I'd say my MCAT was a bit lower than I should have gotten.

3. if you're writing in april, you're competing against ppl who are in arts and literature majors, so your verbal score will probably be 1 pt lower than summer

 

so this is my comprehensive 2 cents. hope it helps

[Guest joshto]

It seems there is an overall benefit of writing the MCAT after 2nd year, but not in April, rather in August. This way the finals do not get in the way with the MCAT studying. This is just my postulation;please correct me if I am wrong. A few other questions though:

Why did you take it in April, should you have taken it in August?

What is "psl302"?

Where can you get an MCAT tutor?

[Guest joshto]

Is this some sort of English course?