I am going to be graduating from Georgia Tech in the summer of 2007. I will have a degree in both Psychology and Management. When should I take my MCATs and when should I apply for the schools. Does it make a difference to the schools if I take a year off to get some work experience and save up money for school?
According to the AAMC web site (see recommended college timeline here), they suggest taking the MCAT it in your 3rd year in the spring, or in the summer following 3rd year. They also suggest applying to medical school in the summer after 3rd year. I honestly don't remember when I took the MCAT (I believe it was in the summer before my last year of college - as the med schools had to wait for my MCAT results before inviting me for interviews). You generally want to make sure you've taken all of your pre-med classes before taking the MCAT, as that is mostly what the MCAT tests on (physics, biology, chemistry, organic chemistry).
I don't think it makes much difference if you take a year off before medical school, as long as you have good justification for taking the year off. I think most medical schools will allow you to defer your acceptance for 1 year, as long as you can provide them with a valid reason for wanting to take the year off. The work experience you obtain may be valuable to you in the long run. The amount of money you will make towards medical school will likely be minimally significant relative to the HUGE debt you will incur while in medical school.
[ Edited by Admin on 2004/7/14 6:52 ]
I recommend that one should take the MCAT when one is good and ready to take it... if you are taking a year off, then you can wait one extra year and prepare even more to kick butt on it. The MCAT is the most important exam of your professional life to that point (uh, yeah, no pressure...).
If you DO decide to take a year off, make sure you aren't just sitting around watching Perry Mason re-runs. Well, not exclusively, anyway!
Do something you are passionate about, and relate it to medicine in some way. The most fascinating applicant I met at my school this year had just returned from a trip to the Ukraine as a photojournalist, where she scrubbed in and took amazing pics of open heart surgical procedures in an operating room. Another guy had worked at a clinic in West Africa for 6 months. Another person played semi-professional soccer and is going into sports med. Whatever it is, have a good time doing it, and try to relate it to medicine somehow -- I really believe that it will then be a boon to your application!
Good luck to you... 😎
Curtis Nordstrom
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"Unum nihil, duos plurimum posse..."