Medical School Admissions Cycle (2013-2014): To delay or not to delay the MCAT

With the AMCAS medical school application opening upon us (opens May 8), I have been receiving frequent e-mails from pre-med clients wondering, "Is it ok for me to delay the MCAT?" Many of these premeds are scheduled to take the exam at the end of May and want to move it to the end of June. Here are the issues every premed should consider if contemplating delaying the MCAT:

1. A low MCAT score (below 30 and less than 10 in each section) can sink an otherwise stellar application. You want to take the test when you will be best prepared.

2. Applying "early," which means submitting your AMCAS application in June, offers a large advantage in the admissions process of rolling admissions schools.

3. It takes about 30 days to get your MCAT score back. So if you take the test in late May, you'll get the score back in late June and still have enough time to submit the AMCAS in June. But if you take the late June MCAT, you won't get your score back until late July, which is not an ideal time to turn in the AMCAS. Further, submitting your application without knowing your MCAT score is a huge risk. If you don't do well, you may want to take a year off, retake the MCAT, and apply the next cycle. And you don't want to be a re-applicant, which is treated as a red flag by medical school admissions committees. Unless you are scoring near the 40s on your practice test, don't apply without seeing your MCAT.

So, we have a "catch 22" here. If you take the test in May, you may not be ready. If you take it in June, your application will be late. So how do you make the decision?

If you are scoring well on practice tests (mid to high 30s consistently) and only want more time to boost confidence, then take the test in May. If not, take the test in June and be sure to have your AMCAS application 100% done other than the MCAT score so that you can hit the submit button the minute your score comes back.

Good luck!

--Dr. Miller

Suzanne M. Miller, MD, FACEP

Emergency Physician
CEO of MDadmit Medical Admissions
www.MDadmit.com, 415.939.5251

Author of:
How to be Pre-Med
The Medical School Admissions Guide
How To Get Into Medical School with a Low GPA

Pre-meds: Stay on top of changing requirements!

Change in coming to the pre-med world. With the onset of MCAT 2015, universities are considering changing science major general education requirements. This is because the MCAT 2015 has added a new section emphasizing social sciences (psychology, sociology, etc), statistics, and research methods. Georgetown, for example, is already talking about a possible change in this The Hoya article.

Though I fully support these changes and a focus on the "softer" side of science, these changes will require pre-meds to stay on top of their school requirements and possibly add new classes. Be sure to pay attention as your school discusses such changes. I even suggest getting involved in the discussion. As a pre-med, your voice should be heard!

--Dr. Miller

 

Suzanne M. Miller, MD, FACEP

Emergency Physician
CEO of MDadmit Medical Admissions
www.MDadmit.com, 415.939.5251

Author of:
How to be Pre-Med
The Medical School Admissions Guide
How To Get Into Medical School with a Low GPA

Medical School Admissions: Before the MCAT

Two nights before the test:

·      Get a full eight hours of sleep. 

·      Sleep experts have shown that the “night before the night before” is the most critical night of sleep to ensure highest performance on exams.

The day before the test:

·      Do NOT study! You have done enough already and one day is not going to make or break you. Take the day off and try to relax. Rest your mind.

·      Review how to get to the exam site.

·      Pack snacks and a bag lunch.

·      Get to sleep early.

The morning of the test;

• Do your normal morning routine. 
• Ensure you have a valid ID containing both a signature and photo (passport or driver’s license). An expired ID will NOT be considered valid.
• Wear layers in case the test center is hotter or colder than you like. 
• Arrive at the test center 30 minutes before your appointment time. 
• A locker will be provided to place your personal items. 
• Unfortunately, you will not be able to choose your computer. 
• Noise-reducing headsets/earplugs will be made available by the test center to help you concentrate.

For step-by-step advice on how to get into medical school and more MCAT tips, check out The Medical School Admissions Guide: A Harvard MD’s Week-by-Week Admissions Handbook. If you’d like to communicate directly with Dr. Miller, medical school admissions expert, please email info@MDadmit.com or call 415.939.5251.

January 21

Medical School Admissions: MCAT Tips

A few things to know before you hit the books to study for the MCATs:

• As of 2007, the MCAT is only offered on computer.
• The test includes four sections

1.     Physical Sciences (PS)

2.     Verbal Reasoning (VR)

3.     Writing Sample (WS)

4.     Biological Sciences (BS)

• The test is a little over 5 hours long including breaks. Total content time is approximately 4.5 hours.
• The test is self-paced (ie., you choose when to take a break) but each section has a time limit.
• You are able to review a change answers within a section until you reach the time limit for that particular section. Unfortunately, once you have completed a section, you cannot go back and change answers.
• The Writing Sample section is typed and you can edit, cut, paste, and copy just like in a Word document. However, spell check is not available. 
• Scores will be available in 30 days or less after exam completion. Scores are sent directly to AMCAS. Be sure to select sending them to your pre-med advisor as well (it’s free).
• The PS, VR, and BS sections are scored on a scale of 15 (15 being the highest score possible). The writing section is score by letters J to T. You will see scores reported as: PS 15 WS T VR 15 BS 15 or 45T.

For step-by-step advice on how to get into medical school and more MCAT tips, check out The Medical School Admissions Guide: A Harvard MD’s Week-by-Week Admissions Handbook. If you’d like to communicate directly with Dr. Miller, medical school admissions expert, please email info@MDadmit.com or call 415.939.5251.

Medical School Admissions: Should I Take an MCAT Class?

Taking an MCAT prep course is often a difficult decision. Whether or not to take a class depends on your economic situation and time management skills. If you have the money and excel in a structured learning environment, a class can be quite helpful. But you do not need a course to ace the exam. You can easily obtain used study materials and set up a study plan on your own. Also, you can now purchase online review courses that provides increased scheduling flexibility. 

Pre-meds often ask my opinion on the best MCAT classes available. As I did not take a class, I cannot speak from personal experience. But I have heard good things about Kaplan, Princeton Review, and Examkrackers.

For step-by-step advice on how to get into medical school and more details on MCAT strategy, check out The Medical School Admissions Guide: A Harvard MD’s Week-by-Week Admissions Handbook. If you’d like to communicate directly with Dr. Miller, medical school admissions expert, please email info@MDadmit.com or call 415.939.5251.

Medical School Admissions: MCAT Scheduling

The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a hurdle every physician must cross. For those of you with amazing grades, you simply need to show those marks were not a fluke. For those of you who may have faltered in certain classes or are taking a non-traditional path to medical school, MCATs are your chance to prove that you have mastered the required basic science and language skills. 

The MCAT is computer-based and offered on 19 different days spread out over the year. Select a day that maximizes your study time and fits into your overall admissions timeline. For exact details on exam times and registration requirements, visit www.aamc.org/mcat. MCAT Essentials provided free online at www.aamc.org/mcat provides useful information as well. January is likely the best time to schedule the exam and map out sufficient preparation time. If you plan to apply in the current cycle, I suggest you take the exam before May in order to receive your scores prior to turning in the AMCAS application in June. 

 

For step-by-step advice on how to get into medical school and more details on MCAT strategy, check out The Medical School Admissions Guide: A Harvard MD’s Week-by-Week Admissions Handbook. If you’d like to communicate directly with Dr. Miller, medical school admissions expert, please email info@MDadmit.com or call 415.939.5251.

Medical School Admissions: More MCAT Tips

 

·      Don’t waste time studying things you already know. Mastered Van der Waal’s forces and Zeroth’s law? Why study them again? What’s the point of studying if you aren’t going to learn anything new.

·      Answers with extremes such as “always” and “never” are rarely correct.

·      If two answers are very similar, one is likely to be the right answer.

·      Eliminate (cross out) any questions that you know are wrong immediately. This will often leave you with two answers to decide from and a 50/50 shot at getting the question correct.

·      If you think of an answer before you see the list and that answer is present, it is likely to be correct

• Practice, practice, practice. Do as many practice tests as possible and be sure to time yourself. Time management is a huge factor in doing well on the MCAT.

For step-by-step advice on how to get into medical school and more MCAT tips, check out The Medical School Admissions Guide: A Harvard MD’s Week-by-Week Admissions Handbook. If you’d like to communicate directly with Dr. Miller, medical school admissions expert, please email info@MDadmit.com or call 415.939.5251.

Interesting Article: Will You Be Ready for the New MCAT?

New MCAT set to roll out in 2015? Will you be ready?

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/a-better-medical-school-admissions-test/