text: After [hopefully] years of shadowing, volunteering, and diligently maintaining your GPA, you’ve arrived at the next big step in your journey to medical school: the Medical College Admission Test. It’s no secret the MCAT is a big deal, from its arduous length to how long it takes to prep for the MCAT and even the sprint to register for the test. MCAT exam dates are released in September, but MCAT registration opens up twice every year; you can register for January-June test dates in October and then July-September test dates the following February.