When should I apply for TMDAS in my case?

[JKiran]

Hello! I am planning to apply for the 2021-22 cycle. My GPA is 3.9 ish, and I have clinical/nonclinical experience but MCAT is in May. I know that applying earliest is best but I have a couple of reasons why I'm confused on when to apply for TMDAS. I was planning to submit on the first week of submission which is 05/17, but I've heard that applying in June is still "early"? Is this true?

1) My MCAT is in late May so scores will only be back at the end of June. This means I won't be able to make a school list till then for both TMDAS and AAMCAS. I was thinking to submit my app to verify anyways and apply to one school only and later add on schools if I like my MCAT score in the end of June. Is this possible with TMDAS?
2) I also have a shadowing opportunity in June which I want on my application. I have around 700 hrs of clinical experience but no shadowing (except virtual) so I'm not sure if waiting a few more weeks in order to add this experience would benefit me . If I could submit by June, I could at least put down a few sentences about what I got from it instead of a generic description with projected hours.

Basically, I'm just wondering if my reasons above would be good enough to submit early June? Is applying in May the better course for someone like me? I just want to make sure I'm putting myself in the best timing

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[BeMoConsulting]

Hi there, good question. My suggestion would be to make a school list with your current MCAT practice test score. This way you can get an idea of where you stand in terms of selecting schools. That school selection process can be time consuming and you want to ensure that you do not have to spend too much time on it when you do get your results. You can even make a couple different school lists, with different projected scores.

In terms of the TMDSAS application process, you can submit your documents as late as August 1 for consideration to early decision programs. Again, I suggest already having you tentative school list before your MCAT scores so that you do not need to spend too long to revise it once you do get the score.

As to your second question, shadowing can be incredibly important for some schools. For AMCAS you can actually go to the MSAR website to see which schools require it and which do not. You can also see other stats to compare yourself to previous successful applicants. By capering your stats you may have a better idea if you should aim to apply as early as possible for less competition, or if you really do need to wait until you have that shadowing experience.

I hope this helps!

Best of luck!

 

[JKiran]

Thank you. I might just put it down as a future activity planned with projected hours. Do you think that's possible?