Application timeline questions- Am I on track?

[zmhs95]

Application timeline questions- Am I on track?

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[Catalystik]

So I I'm currently on my 2nd gap year and planning to apply to med school this cycle. Due to personal and financial reasons, I can't take any more time off and need to apply this cycle. I'm interested in applying to both MD and DO schools, but I'm planning on taking the MCAT on August 3rd. I've been averaging 504/505 on NextStep practice exams that I took a while back, but I've been facing a lot of anxiety over the exam and want to wait until I'm scoring closer to 509/510 to take it. My primary app is basically done, I should have it ready to submit by the end of the week. My transcripts are already received by AMCAS and I have most of my letters of rec. I also have my committee interview scheduled for this week, so all that I have left is my MCAT. I know timing of the app is important, so basically, I was just wondering if this timeline would workout without putting me at a severe disadvantage:

- submit my primary before July 1 and submit it to one throw-away school so that my app gets verified
- take the MCAT on August 3rd, which means I will have my score reported on September 4th
- while waiting for my score to come back, I'll pre-write all my secondaries
- once I receive my MCAT score on Sep. 4, add all the schools I'm interested in to my app and submit my secondaries by the first week of September
- hopefully this will make my app complete by the first week of September

Some background of my app:

- 3.6cGPA, 3.4 sGPA cell bio & neuroscience major
- lots of shadowing, research, volunteering, etc.
- residing in NJ so mostly planning to apply to MD and DO schools in NJ, PA/Phili, NY, Boston.

My two main concerns over this is:
- how long does it take for schools to send you secondaries once you add them to your verified app?
- how long does it take for med schools to mark your app as complete once you submit secondaries and everything else?

1) I know timing of the app is important, so basically, I was just wondering if this timeline would workout without putting me at a severe disadvantage: You won't be at a "severe" disadvantage with AMCAS. On SDN, we say that if you have all materials submitted by Labor Day, you are "on time." With AACOMAS you will have no disadvantage if you have everything submitted by Thanksgiving.

2) how long does it take for schools to send you secondaries once you add them to your verified app? For AMCAS, you will get many within 24 hours as they are sent out automatically. Other schools that screen your application first may take some weeks to get back to you.

3) how long does it take for med schools to mark your app as complete once you submit secondaries and everything else? The answer to this is school specific and will depend on number of office staffers and how backed up they are.

 

[zmhs95]

thank you so much for your response! So would I be ok if I was marked complete by early-mid September for MD schools?

 

[Catalystik]

As Sepember progresses and there are more interview invitations given out and fewer remain to offer, there is a very-slow progressive statistical decline in one's chances. So getting a headstart on Secondary essay responses is a good idea in order to maximize turn-around rate in responding to invitations that one receives.