AAMC has announced the dates and locations for the 2007 MCAT exams. See: http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/cbt.htm and look at the links on the right side of the page.
19 separate dates to take the exam beginning January 27th through September 8th. Some dates have both an am and a pm opportunity.
Cheers,
Judy
This is seriously fantastic for those of us with difficult schedules. A question, though - will the quicker turnaround time for the scores mean it will be less of a liability to take the MCAT in August (or September)? Maybe it is too early to tell, since this is still really new…
I like the flexibility… may end up taking a July MCAT, or something around then.
Here are the dates and times of the MCAT in 07 (pulled by hand from the official pdf, so please double check on the site) :
jan 27 am
jan 29 pm
april 7 am
april 12 pm
april 16 pm
may 11 pm
may 16 am
may 25 am
may 31 pm
june 15 both
july 13 both
july 24 pm
aug 6 am
aug 9 both
aug 14 pm
aug 16 am
aug 20 pm
sept 7 pm
sept 8 am
Quote:
AAMC has announced the dates and locations for the 2007 MCAT exams. See: http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/cbt.htm and look at the links on the right side of the page.
19 separate dates to take the exam beginning January 27th through September 8th. Some dates have both an am and a pm opportunity.
Cheers,
Judy
Hey Judy,
Thanks for getting this information out. This should help people in preparing as there are so many more dates. This is just great!!
Natalie
Does anyone think that tests later in the year would be easier/harder than those offered sooner?
Before you call me crazy, there is a similar notion in the legal community regarding the two bar exam dates. I’ve heard them say that the February exam is easier because the pool of individuals taking the bar are either retaking from a prior July failure or are third year law students taking the exam in advance of the crowd (before they have graduated and as such, are studying for it while still in school). Because the bar grades are scaled depending on how everyone does (like the MCAT), it is relatively easier to receive a higher score with this group of candidates.
So does the same philosophy apply to the MCAT? Is it possible to generalize and say that the majority of people taking the exam earlier in the year are the better students who have prepared and want to benefit from an early application? Could you say that those taking it later are also aware of the benefit of submitting April scores but are retaking the test because of poor performance? If these generalizations were true, would not it be better to take one of the later exams hoping that your scores would be scaled with those who have problems with the test?
I don’t know about later tests being easier than earlier ones but I have heard that overall, the new 2007 exams are easier. There were some “test runs” of the new format at select universities and what I have heard is that 1) they’ve made the exam shorter, 2) only one essay, and 3) slightly easier. And of course the biggest change being that there won’t be a paper format any longer.
I wouldn’t put much weight into it being “easier” though just because that’s too subjective. But I think it’s great that it’s shorter and with a more frequent schedule! Makes a girl want to put off her August MCAT until next year! 
Bea
Since the scoring is relative, “easier” won’t matter - you’ll just have to get that many more questions right in order to get a higher score. Take the MCAT when you’re ready, whichever format that might be.
Mary
How quickly are scores returned with the new computerized format? The medical school that I’m interested in (UCHSC) takes applications between June and November of the school year prior to the first year of medical school.
I need to finish some summer school classes (O-Chem II) by the beginning of August 2007 to have full preparation, so I was thinking about taking the MCAT in Aug 2007. I plan to graduate in May of 2008.
Would that be enough time to get scores back and an application filed?
My pre-med advisor told me the scores take about 30 days, but I’ve heard of other folks getting theirs a little faster (16-20 in some cases). I wouldn’t count on faster though, especially after going 100% computer. I imagine they will be up to their ears in result-processing & wanting to be careful to avoid the kind of bad press the SAT has recently gotten.
As far as deciding when to apply; I wouldn’t touch that with a 10’ pole. Someone a little more savvy should answer that one for you.
G’luck!
Tim
Oldmeezer, people do that now - there are lots of folks who apply and take the MCAT in the summer in the hopes that they’ll matriculate the following fall. If the August MCAT were absolutely, positively impossible as an entry avenue for that application cycle, then I would guess med schools wouldn’t follow the timeline they do.
The immediate, practical downside of a later MCAT is that, in order to maximize your application chances, you’ll need to have already sent in your AMCAS and/or AACOMAS applications prior to knowing your score. For some people, that becomes quite a dilemma if their practice scores are hovering in the “wow is this going to be acceptable?” category. There IS the possibility that you’ll widely disseminate an application with an MCAT score that knocks you out of contention - and you’ll have paid the fee, too.
But that’s negative thinking! I have known people who sent in their AMCAS applications in June, then sat for the August MCAT, got interviews shortly after the MCAT scores came out in October, and were admitted for the following year. YES, it can happen.
Only you can decide your comfort level with the risks involved - good luck!
Mary