I was planning to apply in June for the 2007 year, but I need to take the MCAT in August. Since my file won’t be complete until October, is it going to be too late? I know I’ll miss the first round of interviews. Any thoughts on timing of the MCAT and the application?
Doug -
You won’t be too late. The general consensus is that it does put you at a disadvantage compared to April test takers, but how much of a disadvantage is debated. You are at more of a disadvantage if you wait until you receive your scores before submitting your AMCAS. If you are willing to risk applying without MCAT scores, then go ahead and submit your AMCAS relatively early. This gives you plenty of time to get your AMCAS verified. Plus - there are a number of schools that will send you secondaries prior to receiving your MCAT score. For those schools, you can be totally complete except for you scores.
Get your LOR’s around early and have them ready to go so that as soon as you receive a secondary, you can send them in. If your school doesn’t have a letter service, I recommend using a service such as Interfolio where you writers can submit their letters (you can waive your right to see them), and then you can go online at any time and request your letters to be sent wherever you need them to go. This eliminates your writer having to write multiple letters and the chance that your app will languish in a pile somewhere waiting for that ONE LOR that the prof keeps telling you they will get out tomorrow.
It can be done - I wasn’t complete at any of my schools until November, and I got several acceptances. However, that is the exception and not the rule. I really should have gotten my application submitted sooner.
Good luck!
thanks Amy. I’ll probably do the August MCAT - still debating the application though - maybe another year to improve my application package will help too.
Doug
If you’re considering taking the MCAT this August (2006) and then applying next year (June 2007 to start summer 2008), let me say that this is exactly what I did, and it worked out fantastically. I took the MCAT in Aug. 2004 and then applied in June 2005. Instead of being one of the last AMCAS submitters of 2004, I was one of the first of 2005. I went on my first interview at the end of Aug. and had my first acceptance at midnight on Oct. 15, before the Aug. 2005 test-takers even had their scores back. Really, the only downside to doing this that I can think of is that it is hard to be patient and wait until the following June to apply after you get your scores in Oct. 
I just took the MCAT this past April. I was planning on waiting for my scores first before I submitted my apps. However, people are telling me to just submit the primary in June. Don’t I have to pay money though for the intial application also? What do you recommend? Thanks
Bryan -
Your scores will be out June 15th or so. There is absolutely no reason you can’t wait until your scores are out to submit your AMCAS, especially if those results are going to influence whether or not you apply this year. You can go ahead and have everything ready and send your transcripts in before you actually submit the app (and pay money).
Typically, people will advise you that you might not want to wait for your scores if you take the August adminisration. However, if you submit your app by the end of June, you will still be plenty early.