Tell me no. Tell me to wait until January 2013. Tell me that whether I’m 48 or 49 won’t matter. Tell me not to rush to the finish line. Tell me to continue being methodical in my application process, and wait.
I see the MCAT dates for this year, this summer, my original intent was July 6th. I see that it is up. But my life changed (yet again) and I feel pressured… to click the registration button.
And yet, if I wait until my ducks are really in a row, I could take it the first open date in Jan 2013, apply to med school June 1, 2013.
If I take the MCAT in July of this year, I rush my app, cram a lot into my last semester, apply without a finalized app (August 8th would be first feasible date given my MCAT score).
Eeesh. See, that’s a hard one–because I’ve followed your story, and I know how hard you work. I know what a good student you are. And I know how badly you want this.
I also know my propensity to just jump in and go for things…
So given what you appear to be capable of, I’d honestly go for it in a heartbeat. But, then again, I tend to be a little impulsive.
I don’t envy your position… it’s SO hard to be patient. We repeat that mantra over and over (marathon, not a sprint), but it’s easier said than done. I just met with my state school and was told it was perfectly fine to apply early with items pending… that the MCAT would go straight there, and if I wanted to take it in June, it wouldn’t hurt me.
I guess it depends on the schools you are applying to, what the rest of your application looks like, and what the rest of the people you’re competing against look like this year. It’s a huge risk. Huge. But it would pay off big time if it worked. People apply in August all the time. All the time.
On the other hand… it’s harder to recover in a re-application, and you don’t want to do this twice.
Again, I say… eesh. Sorry, I’m no help at all. Just comiserating. 
You’ll do the right thing…whatever that ends up being. You’ll know it… you’ve come too far not to.
I’ve relented and am taking the free MCAT online to see how I do. Also talked to Kaplan about their physics-in-depth course (or some such thing) and am considering it as well.
Oh boy… seems weird to be looking at the registration button… I’m finally “here” … after all this time.
/shoves lump back down my throat
Adoc2Be
I can’t really help with your decision. However, if the free MCAT you are talking about is the AAMC3, then be careful because the consensus is that is it the easiest of all and it is not a fair representation of the actual test. It seems that 11 is the best out there, but it is not free.
Good luck.