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How long is MCAT valid?


Guest archchivalry

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Guest archchivalry

Hello.

 

I foudn out that some of the

med schools in Canada accept students

after 2 years of undergraduate study.

 

Doesn't it mean I should write MCAT after

I finish 1 year of undergraduate?

How long is MCAT valid?

Is it good to write after first year of university?

(like in August)

 

A MCAT prep book I found in Chapters say

"MCAT test is valid for 5 years".

Is that true?

 

Thank you for your time.

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Guest dopetown

Now why would the prep books lie?

 

Writing the MCAT after first year is fine as long as you've prepared yourself.

 

Do some searching in other threads. These questions have been answered before.

 

-Dopetown

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Guest Lactic Folly

Yes, if you want to go into medicine after two years, you'd need to write the MCAT by the August after your first year. A lot of schools do consider the MCAT valid for five years, but this can vary, so always check with each particular medical school for the final say.

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Guest avisee

I think I remember hearing that some schools will only consider an MCAT valid for 3 years. Not completely sure on that, so you should check with specific schools. But if you wrote the summer after 1st year, a 3 year limit would mean that the test score should be valid even if you were to apply after you'd finished your 4 year degree and were applying while taking a year off to work or travel or do a quick master's.

 

If you are to apply to a school that will admit you after 2 years, then you will need to write the MCAT by August after your 1st year. However, these schools are few and far between. I think U of Alberta and/or Calgary may do this, and possibly USask(?), but I'm pretty sure they will only consider in-province applicants. Also, you would probably need to have a pretty stellar GPA (a really really rough estimate might be 3.9 or higher).

 

If you want to, you can write the MCAT after 1st year even if you don't plan on applying until later. Aside from organic chemistry, you should have covered all of the material in your 1st year courses, and it should be fresher in your mind. However, taking second year courses might also help you (aside from taking organic chemistry) by building up your multiple choice-testing skills, your critical thinking/reading skills, your essay writing abilities, and even might provide a bit of advanced knowledge that might help (eg, biochemistry).

 

That said, you could write after 1st year if you want to, but you probably won't need to. A benefit of writing early is that it will free up your summer after 2nd year if you want to devote energy to preparing applications or traveling or committing yourself to something other than the MCAT. Or, you have a chance to rewrite before you apply, if your score ends up lower than you'd hoped. But most people write after 2nd year (if not later), and you'd probably benefit by having a few friends or classmates also studying with you if you wait.

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Guest aneliz

Some US schools consider the MCAT to be valid for only 3 years after you write... I believe most (if not all) of the Canadian schools consider it valid for 5 yeas....but check the information issued by each school you are interested in to be sure.

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Guest Lactic Folly

I *think* that Alberta and Calgary will accept OOP students without a degree (2/3 yrs).. Saskatchewan needs OOP students to have your two required years completed at the time of application, so that would mean entering medicine after three years for most.

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Guest ctrain07

U of A and U of C do accept 2/3 year applicants. U of A accepts 25-30 per year, while U of C has accepted about a dozen each of the past couples of years.

 

U of C for sure accepts MCATs as far back as around 1991, the last time the format of the exam changed significantly. I know this because when I applied this year I needed to make sure my Aug 2000 scores were still valid. Luckily they were and I'm off to U of C in a couples of weeks :D

 

I think U of a may be the same, but don't quote me on that one......

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