Leah here from leah4sci.com and in this video we're going to talk about MCAT Zones, deadlines
and fees for registration and cancellation.
Choosing an MCAT date is scary but signing up can sometimes be scarier because that's
when you commit and that's when things get real.
So do you come up with a test date first and just commit to it?
or you choose a ballpark of when you wanna test, find out if you're on track and then
sign up for a date.
And if you wait, how long should you wait before you sign up?
There's no hard and fast answer, it's more about understanding what's involved to help
you make the best decision for you.
The MCAT or Medical College Admissions Test is given through the AAMC, the American Association
of Medical College.
This exam is the pre-test for getting into medical school.
The exam is given multiple times throughout the year in United States and Canada with
an international calendar that varies by country so check that separately.
There's typically a winter cycle with about 3 dates in January and then the intense testing
season which starts late March early April all the way to September with multiple exams
each month.
Registration opens in October for the January through May exams and second registration
opens in February for June through September exams.
The cost associated with registration has to do with zones or specific dates leading
up to your exam.
But the tricky thing is that registration isn't open all at once.
The AAMC has three zones, Gold, Silver, and Bronze.
In my opinion, the zones are created to reward early behavior and to discourage last minute
decisions because the AAMC has to be able to resell a seat if it's dropped and by allowing
you to drop at the last minute it might be too late for someone to pick up that date.
The Gold zone is up to 29 days before your exam.
This means one month, two months, three months, anything greater than 29 days out to your
exam is considered the Gold zone.
After the gold zone, you transition to the silver zone which ends at 15 days before the
MCAT and after the Silver zone, you start the Bronze zone which ends at 8 days before
the MCAT.
See the link in the description for a complete testing calendar that shows the Gold, Silver
and Bronze zones for every test date for this cycle.
Registration fees can go up from year to year but in 2018 you pay 315 if you sign up for
you MCAT for the Gold or Silver zones and 370 if you sign up in the Bronze zone.
While I highly advise against waiting til the bronze zone to sign up, the fact that
they're charging for 8 days out means that maybe you can still get a test date then.
If you decide you want to change your test date of postpone exam you have to pay a rescheduling
fee.
That fee is 90 in the Gold zone, a 150 in the Silver zone, and once you hit the Bronze
zone you can't change or reschedule anymore.
If you think there is a chance you are going to change your test date, try to do it in
the Gold zone so that you are paying the silver zone fee and you're not losing your money
in the bronze zone.
If you choose to cancel your exam, maybe you're not ready to take it or maybe you wanna postpone
but you don't know the date you can get a refund of 155 in the gold zone only but if
you wait until the silver or bronze zone, you'll lose your registration fee.
The fees are slightly lower if you qualify for FAP, To see if you are eligible for FAP
or the Free Assistance Program, see the AAMC details linked in the description.
The FAP registration cost is 125 in the gold and silver zones and 180 in the bronze zone.
The FAP fee is 45 in the gold zone and 65 in the silver zone to change or reschedule
your dates and 60 in the gold zone to cancel and get a refund.
But again, no refund in the silver and bronze zones.
So we have the information, what does this mean for you?
First, if you already have a test date and you're not sure about it or you're trying
to figure out when to sign up for a date, try to make your decisions as early as possible.
If you want to change or cancel, make sure you do that as soon as possible so you don't
risk running out of time at the end of the gold zone and get a lower refund.
Other thing to keep in mind is if you decide to reschedule your exam, even though the cancellation
fee is higher, sometimes that might be the wiser choice because a lot of students will
fall into a pattern of signing up, rescheduling, rescheduling.
Every time they panic they pay to reschedule and if you reschedule twice you already paid
more than the refund fee so you're better off either sitting and voiding the exam and
then signing up brand new for your next exam or simply cancelling the exam waiting until
you know when you're ready to test and then sign up again.
The one thing that is different this year is that pearsons and replaces per metric as
the testing center.
And with more test dates with fewer sites there might be fewer seats available.
I'll do a full update on the pearson's testing center experience after the January test date
so that I can bring you a variety of first hand student feedback and experience to make
sure you know exactly what to expect.
Before you sign up for your test date make sure you're on track.
Many students will pick a test date based on a nice looking date on the calendar.
Knowing that applications opens in May and submission begins on June many students will
aim to test on April whether or not they're ready thinking that's the right thing to do.
The problem is a bad score on an early exam just means a faster rejection so you're better
of testing a little bit later but making sure that you're ready.
Don't wait until the last minute because you'll never feel a hundred percent ready.
But when you create your schedule, ideally map it out with a detail timeline.
If you know that you're here at point A and you have to get to point B, know what your
timeline looks like, know what the milestones should be along the way.
And if you're reaching a couple of your initial milestones and you estimate you'll continue
progressing at the same rate then you have an idea of when that test date is for you,
that's when you go ahead and register.
Definitely don't wait til the last minute.
The longer you wait, the more likely the seat will be gone and less likely you'll find a
date.
Does that mean if all the seats are gone you won't be able to register?
Not quite, because when someone else do sign up too early cancels or reschedules, that
seat just opened up and you might be able to snatch it up.
But keep in mind, a lot of students are dropping their dates but a lot of other students are
looking for dates so you're competing with everyone else trying to catch those few seats.
When registration open in October a lot of students jumped in and signed up right away
because I wanna test early.
I chose March, I choose April.
Come January, a lot of these students realize life got in the way, I didn't study as much
as I should.
Studying is taking longer than I expected and suddenly March or April doesn't seem a
reality.
There goes 90 box to reschedule.
Know this in advance and don't sign up unless you know you're ready.
Say you waited for the last minute.
Say you didn't realized that you have to sign up for the exam early and you logged in, you
want to test in two and a half month and there's nothing left.
It's not the end of the world, and chances are you'll still be able to find a date.
The first thing to keep in mind, be flexible.
Instead of committing to one date, pick a range.
Pick about 4 dates that are within a few weeks of each other and be as flexible as you can
be with the testing center.
If you live in a big city, chances are there are many testing sites.
What if you have to drive an extra half hour?
It's not the end of the world.
Of course if you don't live in a big city you might be limited.
Ask yourself, do I want to drive or fly if that's all that's available.
Don't panic!
If you signed up and realized there's nothing available for your chosen range and you're
still at least 2 months out, don't panic.
Chances are there's nothing here today but remember the zones.
The students who signed up for your test date and know that they're not ready are still
buying their time.
Maybe they want to wait one more week, maybe they want to take one more full length but
as they get closer and closer to the deadline that's when they make their decision, that's
when they'll drop their exam and that's when you'll likely be able to pick up their seat.
Make sure you're diligent about your research.
Login about at least twice a day and check the testing centers near you for multiple
dates.
I have seen students get seats up to six weeks out from the exam.
If you're getting to the end of the gold zone, highly consider being okay with a later test
date just in case your date isn't available and maybe there are more dates available a
little bit further out.
On the other hand, if you know there's plenty of time and plenty of seats, should you lock
it in when you're not sure?
This is the difficult question.
The more time you'll have, the less certain you are about your data, the less sure you
can be about your test date.
A couple of things to take into account.
Are you the type of person that will stick to your plan?
Say it's February and registration just opened for September.
Are you the type of person who can create a detailed schedule from February to September
and stick to it or is there a chance you're likely to slack off and maybe have to postpone
to the following cycle.
Worst case scenario, you're not ready on test date and you have to pay to cancel or reschedule.
Are you okay eating that cancellation or rescheduling fee?
And if you know you'll stick to your plan and you're okay losing your fee, have you
proven to yourself that you are where you need to be today to keep you on track your
entire study period.
Based on your answer to these three questions, think about it.
Do I sign up today or do I wait until I'm about 4 to 5 months out where I'm sure of
where I need to be and therefore less likely to lose what I pay for this exam.
And look worst case scenario, if you're not ready on test day, it's not the end of the
world to just take that exam, void it and get that first hand testing experience.
You can set it at money well invested into learning a little bit more about the MCAT.
Of course if you're not sure where you need to be every step of the way and when you research
online you see so much conflicting information about what it takes to prepare for the MCAT,
what are you supposed to do?
Having worked with so many overwhelmed premed students, I got sick and tired of all of these
conflicting information and took matters into my own hand and created the ultimate MCAT
Prep Guide.
The guide will walk you through everything from what the MCAT is, which classes to take,
how to create a study schedule and so much more and it comes with a free companion workbook
that helps you along step by step to make sure you know what to do, when to do it and
that you're tracking every step of the way.
You can access the guide alongwith the free companion workbook.
Click the link in the description or visit mcatstrategyguide.com