is 8/29 late for this cycle

[deleted959268]

I had my exam cancelled and im nervous that a 8/29 (Sept 14th RELEASE date) would make my application behind? I am submitting secondaries as they come.

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[KnightDoc]

I had my exam cancelled and im nervous that a 8/29 (Sept 14th RELEASE date) would make my application behind? I am submitting secondaries as they come.

If you're submitting secondaries now, then you are fine, because schools realize testing is delayed, and most are making accommodations -- some of them will even possibly send out IIs without the scores. If everything else is in, being marked complete on 9/14 is totally fine this year.

The risk is all yours, however, because if your score is not where you think it will be, your applications could wind up being DOA once the scores are released.

 

[JimKimSlim]

A rule of thumb is to get MCAT scores no later than Labor Day (when schools start sending out interview invites and seats could fill up). However, I don’t think it will be too late to receive it slightly past Labor Day for the 8/29 test date.

 

[KnightDoc]

A rule of thumb is to get MCAT scores no later than Labor Day (when schools start sending out interview invites and seats could fill up). However, I don’t think it will be too late to receive it slightly past Labor Day for the 8/29 test date.

P.S. -- when schools start sending out IIs isn't really a barometer -- some schools have already begun, and MANY will be doing so well before Labor Day. For what it's worth, they don't "fill up" so fast, because schools realize that all the really good applications have not yet been received, and they just don't risk "filling up" on early applicants at the expense of not being able to interview better candidates who, for one reason or another, have not been received by some arbitrary date early in the cycle.

This is where the "early, on time, late" debate comes from. Common wisdom says Labor Day is fine, and the speculation is that it will be later this year due to everything going on. What nobody knows is whether this is really true, or just hopeful speculation.

While people have been frustrated by delays in being verified, and delays in being able to take the MCAT, and delays in first primary transmissions to the schools, things are progressing pretty much as they normally do. At least one top school has reported receiving over 1,000 completed applications as of around a week or so ago, and, as you can see if you check out active specific schools threads, IIs have already started going out, just like they do every year around this time, so there is really no guarantee that end of September or sometime in October will be any more okay than it is any other year.

Some schools have advised not to wait for scores to send in secondaries (or primaries), which is also counter to conventional wisdom, and is a sign that schools are not going to delay their process while waiting for scores. Other schools will push back their process, while yet other schools will make no accommodation at all. It is all school-specific, and the only way to know for sure is to refer to their website or call.

 

[JimKimSlim]

P.S. -- when schools start sending out IIs isn't really a barometer -- some schools have already begun, and MANY will be doing so well before Labor Day. For what it's worth, they don't "fill up" so fast, because schools realize that all the really good applications have not yet been received, and they just don't risk "filling up" on early applicants at the expense of not being able to interview better candidates who, for one reason or another, have not been received by some arbitrary date early in the cycle.

This is where the "early, on time, late" debate comes from. Common wisdom says Labor Day is fine, and the speculation is that it will be later this year due to everything going on. What nobody knows is whether this is really true, or just hopeful speculation.

While people have been frustrated by delays in being verified, and delays in being able to take the MCAT, and delays in first primary transmissions to the schools, things are progressing pretty much as they normally do. At least one top school has reported receiving over 1,000 completed applications as of around a week or so ago, and, as you can see if you check out active specific schools threads, IIs have already started going out, just like they do every year around this time, so there is really no guarantee that end of September or sometime in October will be any more okay than it is any other year.

Some schools have advised not to wait for scores to send in secondaries (or primaries), which is also counter to conventional wisdom, and is a sign that schools are not going to delay their process while waiting for scores. Other schools will push back their process, while yet other schools will make no accommodation at all. It is all school-specific, and the only way to know for sure is to refer to their website or call.

I agree. People often obsess over submitting their secondaries within 30 minutes they receive it. While some schools do prefer that way, a majority of the schools don’t. Also, when most schools mention rolling admission, submitting early doesn’t necessarily increase your chance of admissions; it simply means applying late will not negatively affect you. Again, this is not the case for all schools, but it is for majority of schools (source: a family member was the director of admissions committee for a top 20 school).