daftypatty Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 Hey guys, so I'm in kind of a dilemma. I could either write the MCAT at the end of Aug (22) or sometime in the beginning/middle of september (I think like around the 12th or something like that). I don't think I will start studying for it until a week and half into May, so I'm losing some time there. Also, throughout the summer I plan to be working a part time job + volunteering... So I'm a little worried that the end of August won't be enough time for me to get ready. When do you guys think would be a better time to write it if you were under my circumstance? I plan to be applying in the upcoming cycle, so I'm not even sure if my score would arrive on time if I write it in September. The other disadvantage to writing in September is that I will have my hands full with school + school ECs. :/ suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmd7 Posted April 6, 2015 Report Share Posted April 6, 2015 I would do August, those extra 2-3 weeks you get by writing in September probably won't make a huge difference because you'll be busy with a new term ad ECs. 3 months is tons of time in my personal opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daftypatty Posted April 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2015 I would do August, those extra 2-3 weeks you get by writing in September probably won't make a huge difference because you'll be busy with a new term ad ECs. 3 months is tons of time in my personal opinion. Really? idk, 2-3 weeks seems like a lot of time.. :/ Couldn't one go through a lot practice tests in this span? Im in a thesis, so theres not really a lot of school work in sept since the majority of my credits are full year based. Its just that I dont want to regret not spending that extra 2-3 weeks studying, and then getting back my score and realizing i was off by a point or 2 on the cutoff.. That would be the worst Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted April 8, 2015 Report Share Posted April 8, 2015 are you willing to apply to schools without knowing the results of the test? If so there is not much drawback to holding off a bit I think - you cannot rewrite in time if you do poorly regardless, extra may help etc. You would have to be prepared to deal with potentially throwing away cash to apply is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfdes Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 For some schools (mostly out west, definitely UBC and possibly Calgary and Alberta), the latest date to write is the last sitting in August, so if you were thinking of applying there, keep that in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruhh Posted April 11, 2015 Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 You can write the MCAT in September for Calgary and Alberta. Dalhousie and UBC are the only ones I can think of that accept up to Auaguat MCAT only Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daftypatty Posted April 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 I'm from Ontario, so I'm only planning to apply to Ontario schools. Not knowing the score isn't really a big factor for me... I don't mind applying even if there is a chance I don't make the cutoffs. But yeah, is the general consensus that the extra 2-3 weeks could really help one's score? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruhh Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 If you don't mind not knowing your score (and possibly losing money for applying to schools with low MCAT scores) then it's probably better to write it in September. I have to write the MCAT this summer as well and I'm pretty sure I'll do it in September. I'm sure having more time won't make things worse, better safe than sorry if I don't care about knowing my score Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 the thing is the difference between some of the cut offs can be just a bit of extra so you never know - 2-3 can make a difference. More importantly why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daftypatty Posted April 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 Thanks for the feedback guys. I think that I will take the extra 2-3 weeks to study more. For those of you who've written the mcat, you can't possibly get worse with 2-3 weeks more weeks of studying right?.. Lol I can see burnout before the test as being the only problem, but I'm going to take frequent breaks to make sure that doesn't happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maybenow Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 For some schools (mostly out west, definitely UBC and possibly Calgary and Alberta), the latest date to write is the last sitting in August, so if you were thinking of applying there, keep that in mind. You can write the MCAT in September for Calgary and Alberta. Dalhousie and UBC are the only ones I can think of that accept up to Auaguat MCAT only So if you're planning on applying to OMSAS schools, writing in mid September is OK? OMSAS will accept your mid September scores? The only schools REQUIRING you to write by Aug 22 ish is UBC or Dalhousie... Then why is everyone scrambling to write by Aug 22? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daftypatty Posted April 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 So if you're planning on applying to OMSAS schools, writing in mid September is OK? OMSAS will accept your mid September scores? The only schools REQUIRING you to write by Aug 22 ish is UBC or Dalhousie... Then why is everyone scrambling to write by Aug 22? Yes it is okay, I confirmed with the Ontario schools (U of T, McMaster, UOttawa, Queen's) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruhh Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 So if you're planning on applying to OMSAS schools, writing in mid September is OK? OMSAS will accept your mid September scores? The only schools REQUIRING you to write by Aug 22 ish is UBC or Dalhousie... Then why is everyone scrambling to write by Aug 22? You can write in September for ontario schools. The reason people prefer to have it over with by the end of August is so that they can see their MCAT scores before applying. If you do it in September you don't get your scores until mid October and you need to have applied by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 You can write in September for ontario schools. The reason people prefer to have it over with by the end of August is so that they can see their MCAT scores before applying. If you do it in September you don't get your scores until mid October and you need to have applied by then. it is "only money" but it still sucks applying to schools where you realize shortly later you don't really have a shot at some schools and need to come up with another approach. Still there are worse things - having the extra time for many is useful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruhh Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 it is "only money" but it still sucks applying to schools where you realize shortly later you don't really have a shot at some schools and need to come up with another approach. Still there are worse things - having the extra time for many is useful Agreed. Personally I am totally fine with writing it in September because in the worst case I at least get to become familiar with the whole application process, give CASPer a try, and ultimately be more prepared for the next cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maybenow Posted May 1, 2015 Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 Thanks all for your input. So mid-september is a-okay for OMSAS then. You don't get to see your scores - you just make sure to "submit" your scores to OMSAS so that it's part of your application, correct? Which schools do require a mid-august sitting then? To my knowledge it's Dalhousie... somebody mentioned U of C (I've written to them about this, but not sure)... any pointers here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.