Timing Applications

[JR2K]

Hey there! So I originally thought I had my timing down, but I wanted thoughts given some conflicting stuff I've read. I'm applying this summer for Fall 2016, but will be out of town traveling from July 2-Aug. 3 (I will be able to check my email daily but won't be able to type long essays/access a computer more than once a week).

I have my MCAT done/LORs will be ready and uploaded in June, and wanted to submit my primary for processing at the end of June, which would give me a few days for those auto-secondary schools before leaving but hopefully take 4 weeks to fully process meaning I wouldn't have most secondaries arriving until I'm back early August.

In general, would giving myself one week after clicking submit on primaries to full time be ready for secondaries, then having ~5 weeks total before returning be a safe bet (as in, I wouldn't get random ones before my application is verified in that one month or so?) I know it's tough to be gone then but if I get in I literally wouldn't have a chance to travel until at earliest when I'm ~30, so the plan is to do it this summer hopefully while my app is processing.

Tl;dr: I want to submit my app late June, but will have minimum computer access the month of July. Is it a safe bet that I won't be flooded with secondaries pre-verification in late july/early august, given that I'm drafting responses to last year's prompts ahead of time?

More importantly, which schools ssend secondaries before verification? Advice really appreciated.

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[Ismet]

1) AMCAS isn't released to schools until July 1 so you won't be receiving auto-secondaries until July 1 at the earliest.

2) Pre-write your secondaries and save them or email them to yourself. The school-specific discussions forum has a thread for each school and the prompts for their secondaries that rarely change from year to year, so you can get started on that before you leave. That way when you check your email, you can see the secondaries, copy/paste your essays, and send them off.

I applied in 2011 so my info on this may be out of date, but IIRC, GW and Cincinnati sent out secondaries when I submitted my primary. GW was a paper app that you had to snail mail in. Cincinnati did not have essays. That might have changed.

 

[moonwake]

Hey there! So I originally thought I had my timing down, but I wanted thoughts given some conflicting stuff I've read. I'm applying this summer for Fall 2016, but will be out of town traveling from July 2-Aug. 3 (I will be able to check my email daily but won't be able to type long essays/access a computer more than once a week).

I have my MCAT done/LORs will be ready and uploaded in June, and wanted to submit my primary for processing at the end of June, which would give me a few days for those auto-secondary schools before leaving but hopefully take 4 weeks to fully process meaning I wouldn't have most secondaries arriving until I'm back early August.

In general, would giving myself one week after clicking submit on primaries to full time be ready for secondaries, then having ~5 weeks total before returning be a safe bet (as in, I wouldn't get random ones before my application is verified in that one month or so?) I know it's tough to be gone then but if I get in I literally wouldn't have a chance to travel until at earliest when I'm ~30, so the plan is to do it this summer hopefully while my app is processing.

Tl;dr: I want to submit my app late June, but will have minimum computer access the month of July. Is it a safe bet that I won't be flooded with secondaries pre-verification in late july/early august, given that I'm drafting responses to last year's prompts ahead of time?

More importantly, which schools ssend secondaries before verification? Advice really appreciated.

I agree with @Ismet . Also... When I applied last year I'd say that half of the schools had a trend in having the same secondaries year after year (I had 1-2 who did't even has a secondary required but that was out of the ordinary). So I definitely think you should type them up. The sooner you send that secondary the better- they recognize who gets back to them soon after secondaries are sent out and take that as shown interest in the school.