It’s important for pre-meds to know their best time to take the MCAT. A good MCAT score is incredibly important for college pre-meds and can seriously boost a medical school application. When a student chooses to take the MCAT and whether they’ve had enough time to adequately prepare significantly impacts the outcome of their score. Read our guide below to help decide the best time to take the MCAT:
The Best Time for Pre-Meds to Take the MCAT
The MCAT is one of the most important factors in a student’s medical school application. A good MCAT score can significantly increase chances of acceptance, especially if an applicant’s undergrad GPA is relatively low.
A good MCAT score demonstrates a student’s understanding of critical concepts and material, regardless of their undergraduate grades. The MCAT takes considerable preparation to get the best score possible, so timing is everything and can seriously impact a student’s score. Ultimately, the best time to take the MCAT is whenever a student is adequately prepared.
So this article highlights both “traditional” and “non-traditional” times to take the MCAT, because every pre-med student is different. There is no single “correct path” to medical school, and more and more schools are prioritizing “non-traditional” applicants.
So students should not rush to take the MCAT before they feel they are ready. And for students that are disappointed in their MCAT score, it is perfectly okay to retake the exam. In fact, nearly 40% of students who took the MCAT between 2018 and 2020 were taking the exam for the second or third time. Read more about when and how to retake the MCAT here.
The Traditional Pre-Med Timeline
Traditionally, a pre-med student takes the MCAT the spring of their junior year of college and begins primary medical school applications that summer. Read the full pre-med timeline here. Secondary applications are usually completed by the end of that summer and interviews are conducted the fall of the student’s senior year, sometimes into winter of the student’s senior year. Decisions are usually known by that spring, before the applicant’s college graduation.
By the end of junior year, when most medical school applicants take the MCAT, students have usually completed all the pre-med material that will be tested on the MCAT. Specifically these courses include general physics, general biology, anatomy and physiology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry as well as introductory psychology and sociology (important courses for the “new” MCAT as of 2015).
It is recommended students designate at least 1-3 months of intensive MCAT studying. This means students would likely begin preparing for the MCAT around January or February if they intend to take the exam spring semester. Because exam scores take 4-6 weeks to be released, it’s recommended students take the MCAT no later than April of their junior year. This would give students adequate time to retake the exam if necessary and still be able to complete their application in time for that application cycle.
| Example Mcat timelines | MCAT attempt 1 | scores | mcat attempt 2 | scores |
| Example 1 | March 15 | April 30 | May 30 | July 15 |
| Example 2 | April 15 | May 30 | June 30 | August 15 |
| Example 3 | May 30 | July 15 | August 15 | September 30 |
Primary applications are usually due by September (or August 1 for early decision applicants). But applications are almost always reviewed in the order receive. So the earlier an application is complete, the better. In the examples above, the first timeline would be ideal. The second timeline would be acceptable, but the third timeline would not allow the student enough time to retake the exam if needed and still be able to apply within that year’s application cycle.
Alternative Pre-Med Timelines
Students do not always follow the “traditional” pre-med timeline, and non-traditional applicants are becoming increasingly common. And no matter what year a student chooses to apply, the application cycle remains the same.
Some students choose to take the MCAT their senior year, as they find their junior year course load to be too heavy to have time to simultaneously study for the MCAT. In this case, a student could spend the summer before their senior year focusing on preparing for the MCAT. They could then take the MCAT in the fall or winter, but again, should not take the exam any later than April. The student would then have at least one gap year before entering medical school, assuming they were accepted their first application cycle.
Some students choose to retake the MCAT after one or more unsuccessful application cycles after college graduation, meaning they may have multiple gap years between college graduation and medical school matriculation. Read more about gap year opportunities here. Again, this is not unusual and retaking the MCAT can be a great opportunity to improve an application. MCAT scores are only valid for about 3 years, so some students find they need to retake the MCAT to keep their application up to date. Read more about retaking the MCAT here.
Final Thoughts
The best time to take the MCAT is whenever a student is ready. Traditionally, students take the MCAT the spring of their junior year of college. But it’s not unusual to wait until senior year of college or even after college graduation to take the MCAT. Regardless of which year a student takes the MCAT, they should take the exam no later than April to apply within that years application cycle without risking missing any deadlines.
