When Should You Take the MCAT? (With Examples)

Deciding when you should take the MCAT is an important part of the pre-med process and requires some forward planning. The best time to take the MCAT will ultimately be determined by when you plan to apply to medical school. You’ll need to make sure you’ve taken at least most of the prerequisite courses, determine when you’re going to study, and for how long. It’s also a good idea to plan ahead so you can budget for the cost of applying to medical school.

Take the MCAT Before Applying to Medical School

First and foremost, you need to take the MCAT before you apply. Your MCAT score is an incredibly important component of your medical school application and is weighed heavily by admissions committees. You can submit the application without a score, but I’d seriously advise against doing so. Knowing your MCAT score before you apply can help you determine which medical schools to apply to, which means you’ll want to give yourself enough time to receive your score (which takes about a month) and research which schools fit your stats (GPA, etc.). The bottom line is don’t take unnecessary risks with the med school application!

Your Medical School Application Timeline Determines When You Should Take the MCAT

You can start working on your medical school application when the AMCAS application portal opens at the beginning of May. You’ll have about a month to complete the app before it opens for submission in early June (you don’t have to submit as soon as it allows you to, but you’ll want to submit as early in the cycle as possible since it’ll have to be processed by AMCAS before it’s sent to any of your designated schools). This means that you’ll want to take the MCAT by April of the year you plan to apply so you’ll get your score back in time.

What if You Have to Retake the MCAT?

Best practice would be to consider the possibility of having to retake the MCAT if you don’t get the score you were aiming for the first time around. Remember that the MCAT is the longest and toughest entrance exam of any professional school and it deserves a dedicated study period. Retaking the exam is a reality for many students, and you won’t want to have to delay your application just because you didn’t account for this in your timeline. I recommend giving yourself at least a two-month window to account for the possibility of needing to retake the exam. This will allow enough time for studying and ensure that your preferred exam date is still available for scheduling.

So When’s the Ideal Time to Take the MCAT?

The absolute latest you should take the MCAT so you’ll have your score back in time to submit the primary application when it opens in June: April of the application year. Keep in mind that most medical schools will accept MCAT scores that are up to three years old. And again, when determining when the ideal time to register for the MCAT will be, plan for the possibility of having to retake the exam or having to reapply for a second round.

Example MCAT Timeline:

If you want to start medical school in 2026, you’ll apply during the 2026 admissions cycle. The AMCAS application portal for 2026 will open at the beginning of May 2025, so the ideal time to take the MCAT would be around the summer of 2024. By this point you will have taken at least majority of the MCAT prerequisites, and it allows ample time for you to retake the MCAT (if needed), take a gap year, or reapply without your score expiring.

The earliest MCAT exam date you should schedule with an anticipated matriculation year of 2026 is 2023.

The latest you’ll want to take the MCAT for admission in 2026 is April 2025. (Bear in mind that this option doesn’t give much time to compare schools relative to your MCAT score before the application opens for submission in June.)

Good luck! And feel encouraged to reach out here or on Instagram if you have any questions or want to discuss your specific situation!

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