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PhantomBlot
Underclassman
1 Posts |
 Posted - 04/07/2004 : 12:43:20
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Dear Sirs
I am a 49-year old medical school applicant who decided to pursue medicine. Since I did my undergraduate schooling in another country, I did my premed courses again at Harvard Extension School. I am in my final semester and have a 4.0 GPA.
I am struggling to determine if I should take the April or August MCAT. I feel fairly confident that I will get around 38-40 (based on my scores in the AAMC practice exams) if I study for 3 months and do the exam in August. But that would delay my application until November and rolling admission policies would reduce my chances.
On the other hand, if I do the April exam, I feel that I am less well prepared and might do worse (say around 30-32 with a possible 9 in Verbal). I could sit for both exams but am not sure of the negative impact of having two scores.
Realistically speaking, I don't think I have more than one chance to apply to medical school and I would like to put my best foot forward. I would be grateful if you could advise me about the tradeoffs of sitting for the April vs the August exam.
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twu
Admissions Expert
USA
570 Posts |
Posted - 04/07/2004 : 16:23:58
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quote:
Originally posted by PhantomBlot
I am a 49-year old medical school applicant who decided to pursue medicine. Since I did my undergraduate schooling in another country, I did my premed courses again at Harvard Extension School. I am in my final semester and have a 4.0 GPA.
I am struggling to determine if I should take the April or August MCAT. I feel fairly confident that I will get around 38-40 (based on my scores in the AAMC practice exams) if I study for 3 months and do the exam in August. But that would delay my application until November and rolling admission policies would reduce my chances.
On the other hand, if I do the April exam, I feel that I am less well prepared and might do worse (say around 30-32 with a possible 9 in Verbal). I could sit for both exams but am not sure of the negative impact of having two scores.
Realistically speaking, I don't think I have more than one chance to apply to medical school and I would like to put my best foot forward. I would be grateful if you could advise me about the tradeoffs of sitting for the April vs the August exam.
The disadvantage is as you've described. Taking the August MCAT means the earliest your application will be complete and available for AdCom review is October. By then a significant number of interview spots, and even some seats in the incoming medical school class, have been given away.
Test-takers don't tend to have such big swings in their MCAT scores between the April and August MCAT, according to available data. If you've been taking practice MCATs now and studying, you should be scoring somewhere in the neighborhood of those 38-40s on the AAMC practice tests. The April MCAT is in a week or two -- if you've already registered for it and have been doing well on the practice exams, I'd advise you to take the plunge now. Your scores will be back in June when AMCAS begins accepting applications and you'll be getting a ton of interviews afterward.
Taking the MCAT more than once serves only to confuse the situation, especially if you get a 30 the first time around and then a 40 the second. It neither helps nor hinders your application -- it just leaves the AdCom puzzled. The best advice is to take it once and do well.
What's as important as your high GPA and MCAT score is a well thought out application. You've worked hard to earn a perfect premed GPA, and the only way to convey your accomplishments to the AdComs is a good application. We have experts on staff who have worked with many students with your background who can be of tremendous help in getting you into a top-choice med school. Let us know if we can be of help.
Good luck.
Timothy Wu, MD
AdmissionsConsultants
703.242.5885 |
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bobbysjunkemail
Underclassman
1 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2005 : 00:30:07
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Phatomblot,
I would be interested in corresponding you on this topic. Please email me at bobbysjunkemail@yahoo.com
thanks,
bobby |
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Taking Multiple MCATs
