It's honestly a bit late, so you will be at a substantial disadvantage... Especially since the scores take an extra month to process, a lot of the interviews will be handed out already and you would have to be that extraordinary applicant to get that acceptance.
Asking others will be slightly anecdotal, and really, there wouldn't be much that they could say beyond turn everything in as soon as possible with the highest level of quality possible. You can't change your activities for this cycle, but you can shape your application and make decisions for the next one.