One of the best ways to avoid stress, rescheduling fees, and even worse, underperformance on the MCAT, is to make a smart choice when picking a Test Day.
This is one of the first conversations I have with students and I’m always surprised how often they pick a date without considering the whole picture. Let focus on three key facets of this decision.
1 ) How Long Will It Take to Study?
This may seem boldly obvious, but so often I encounter students that haven’t fully considered the time that goes into MCAT prep.
The MCAT is a cumulative final for all of undergraduate science (with a tough verbal section mixed in). For your own sake, please do not underestimate that!
It certainly depends on where you are starting, but if you try to fit a study plan that usually takes students 4 months or more, into 1 month or less, you are going to have to cut corners. Cutting corners means cutting scores.
Fortunately, there are ways to speed up the process without cutting corners. If you’d like to explore more about how to make a good estimate of how long it will take YOU to prepare for the MCAT, check out my post that gives a detailed look at the question:
2 ) What is my Application Timeline?
To be honest, this is one I see students usually putting too much emphasis on, but without a doubt it is important to consider.
We’ll say that day one of Med School is Fall of Year 3. During Year 2, you’ll want to submit your application as close to the earliest submission date, usually around June 1st. It takes about 3-4 weeks to process your transcripts, so the earliest your application will be sent to med schools is the end of June.
Ideally you would try to take your first MCAT sometime before April Year 2. This allows you to receive your scores (a month after taking), and, in the unfortunate event your score isn’t what you’d like, still have time to take it again before your application is submitted.
Ideally you would have started planning for all of this sometime early in Year 1, so that you aren’t cramming your MCAT and application material preparation into a few-month span (in addition to everything else you have going on).
If you did wait until Year 2 to start planning, stay open-minded about pushing your timeline back another year. Your MCAT score and your application will be better for it. See my post that discusses the benefits of taking a gap year:
“Should I Take a Gap Year?”
3 ) Will I be Focused on MCAT close to Test Day?
This is such an important consideration that is so often overlooked.
Although important prep is done in the months leading up to test day, the final month is the most important. These are the weeks that everything starts to come together. These are the weeks that we ensure we have everything memorized and that we feel well-practiced and confident in our strategies. These are the weeks when we put everything in place to be ready for that one day.
This also includes five days of easing off before your exam, which is essential to making sure you’re not under slept and strung out on Test Day.
This all ensures that you will peak on Test Day and not two weeks before hand.
So what does this look like functionally? No, you don’t have to lock yourself in a room for four weeks. But yes, you shouldn’t schedule your MCAT during Finals Week. No, don’t plan a bender in Cancun the weekend before, plan that for the weekend after. ;)
Do you have a big project due in those weeks? Do you have major deadlines at work around that time? Will you be starting a new job close to Test Day? Are you planning a vacation during that time?
If your answer is yes to any of these, see if you can find another test date where your mental bandwidth will be less devoted to other activities. Taking a month to focus on something that will impact the rest of your career is completely worth it in the long view.
Cautionary Tale of MCAT Prep Lore:
The reason I make such a big deal about this last point is because of a hard lesson I learned from a student several years ago. She had taken the summer to study for MCAT and had committed to it fully. Things were going great, she was already at her goal score one month out from Test Day. Then September came and school began. Along with it came several extracurricular obligations, the most consuming Sorority Rush Week. Before we knew it, she was spending less and less time on MCAT prep and her test scores were dropping. Unfortunately, she decided to go through with Test Day anyway. She scored 10 points below her goal score, 10 points below where she was at just a month before.
Heartbreaking…especially after putting in so much work. Please, don’t let this be your story as well.
Hopefully this all has rounded out your perspective on why picking the right Test Day is so important. Congratulations on avoiding one huge pitfall that stops so many students on their way to Medical School.
If you’d like to discuss more about your specific situation, click here for more information on MCAT tutoring with me. The first session is totally free and I’m happy to give advice for any complicated scenarios (I’ve seen a lot of them).
So when are you planning to sit for Test Day? What sorts of other obligations are you working around? Let me know in the comments below. And as always, feel free to ask any questions at all.
Paul
Summit the Score
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