late submissions for first-time vs reapplicant

[dchasse]

hey guys i turned in my application yesterday, all transcripts are in but i wont take the mcat till sept 7th. Is that going to really hurt me to the point that I should apply next year?

I am a good, but not great, applicant with a 3.7 sci/allother gpa. I have some unique extracurricular experiences on top of the usual research, shadow and volunteer stuff, with strong LORs to back it up. I got help with grammar/(sounding better?) from my schools writing center and the pre-med office, so my PS is well written too. Will being complete by like october hurt me big time? Im in MA so my state school is insanely difficult to get into (avg mcat= 33)... While preparing for the mcat, ive been doing a bunch of secondaries in advance so that it will be submitted the second my scores are out and im verified.

a friend of mine is a reapplicant and is also taking the sept. mcat. she said that its not a bad thing for her to be complete in october since she's already applied once. apparently thats what my school's pre-med office told her. Is that true that re-applicants dont need to apply as early??? I would say that shes a better overall candidate than me since she's older.

from what i've read on here, it seems like youre "late" if youre not complete by august regardless of you being a re-applicant or a first timer..

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[Oxygen206]

hey guys i turned in my application yesterday, all transcripts are in but i wont take the mcat till sept 7th. Is that going to really hurt me to the point that I should apply next year?

I am a good, but not great, applicant with a 3.7 sci/allother gpa. I have some unique extracurricular experiences on top of the usual research, shadow and volunteer stuff, with strong LORs to back it up. I got help with grammar/(sounding better?) from my schools writing center and the pre-med office, so my PS is well written too. Will being complete by like october hurt me big time? Im in MA so my state school is insanely difficult to get into (avg mcat= 33)... While preparing for the mcat, ive been doing a bunch of secondaries in advance so that it will be submitted the second my scores are out and im verified.

a friend of mine is a reapplicant and is also taking the sept. mcat. she said that its not a bad thing for her to be complete in october since she's already applied once. apparently thats what my school's pre-med office told her. Is that true that re-applicants dont need to apply as early??? I would say that shes a better overall candidate than me since she's older.

from what i've read on here, it seems like youre "late" if youre not complete by august regardless of you being a re-applicant or a first timer..

Being complete in October is late. They are already interviewing people by this time. The general consensus is the earlier the better, and I can't possibly understand how this would change if you're a re-applicant. My guess is that your friend was advised wrong (this happens a lot).

You GPA is good, and if you do well on the MCAT you may get a few interviews...but applying is a crapshoot sometimes, and you might not. Its up to you if you want to take the chance and possibly need to reapply next year. If I were you, I would try for this cycle even with the late app. You seem like a strong candidate.

 

[Catalystik]

from what i've read on here, it seems like youre "late" if youre not complete by august regardless of you being a re-applicant or a first timer..

I'd change that to state "by end of August" for the majority of schools and agree that it's the same regardless of how many cycles you've been through. There are some schools where later applications don't seem to make much difference.

 

[dchasse]

wow thanks for the quick replies guys!

so i tried grilling my friend a little bit more last night over drinks hahah and she said that the only reason she didnt get in last cycle because because of her mcat (she didnt want give details..) she was saying that all the schools will see when she turned in her app, read it and set it aside since they are just waiting for the new score to make a decision? i think its probably true that her mcat doomed her last time because she is way more qualified than me, I was shocked she didnt get in the first time (no interviews either!!)

i guess my school advisers told her to just focus on the mcat and not to worry about the date/ timing... does that sound legitimate?

In all honesty I've stopped following my pre-med office's advice after lurking on sdn for about a year hahaha, im just really worried now that ill be putting a lot of money to waste if my app is "wicked late" (sorry im in new england) given that there are more people like my friend who will definitely get selected above me.

 

[cgk]

I'd change that to state "by end of August" for the majority of schools and agree that it's the same regardless of how many cycles you've been through. There are some schools where later applications don't seem to make much difference.

Does "Complete" constitute that AMCAS has been verified, Secondary application has been submitted, and all LORs, MCAT scores have been received by the Medical Schools?

 

[WorldChanger36]

To put this in perspective by October you will already have at least 15,000 people ahead of you and while some schools do thing later then others and some don't even have rolling admissions, most schools have already selected the first round of people to interview and are just starting the second. So by the time you get through the people in front of you youre already in December. Applying late kills your chances. Work on MCAT now and apply next cycle. There is no rush.

 

[Catalystik]

Does "Complete" constitute that AMCAS has been verified, Secondary application has been submitted, and all LORs, MCAT scores have been received by the Medical Schools?

Yes, as well as additional requested supplemental materials, like a photo, proof of residency status, etc.

 

[sciencebooks]

Being complete in October is late. They are already interviewing people by this time. The general consensus is the earlier the better, and I can't possibly understand how this would change if you're a re-applicant. My guess is that your friend was advised wrong (this happens a lot).

You GPA is good, and if you do well on the MCAT you may get a few interviews...but applying is a crapshoot sometimes, and you might not. Its up to you if you want to take the chance and possibly need to reapply next year. If I were you, I would try for this cycle even with the late app. You seem like a strong candidate.

This. And accepting the first wave of students on the 15th! It'd make it way too intimidating for me even with great scores.