Will it hurt my application to wait for spring semester grades?

[ProbablyAPenguin]

I have been receiving very conflicting information about if I should send my spring semester grades to AMCAS. I will get my final grades for this semester back by May 21st at the latest, and can have my transcript sent out within 1-2 days after my final grades come back. However, I have a friend who told me that waiting this long to send in my transcript would hurt my application because....

"then it'll take about a week for AMCAS to receive your grades through snail mail, which puts you at June something. And then AMCAS will take approximately two to three weeks to process your transcript because by then 50% of applicants will be sending in their transcripts to be processed, which will create a long line of transcripts waiting to be processed. Optimistically, they will take two weeks to process your transcript, which puts you at mid June when you finally are able to submit your AMCAS application (you can only submit once your transcript is processed). Then by that time you'll be applying mid cycle which means it will take them about a month to process your primary application, so you won't be verified until mid July. And yeah...you see how it goes. Submit your official transcript to AMCAS by early May without your spring semester grades, unless they will significantly increase your GPA (and I still wouldn't recommend doing so)."

However, other people have told me that waiting until May 21st and submitting my transcript with spring semester grades would make applications easier in the long run (no updating schools with transcripts) and would not put me behind schedule.

Thoughts?

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[Lifeman]

Who cares, just send it in right now. Better to get accepted and do extra than not get in at all.

 

[Microglia]

I have been receiving very conflicting information about if I should send my spring semester grades to AMCAS. I will get my final grades for this semester back by May 21st at the latest, and can have my transcript sent out within 1-2 days after my final grades come back. However, I have a friend who told me that waiting this long to send in my transcript would hurt my application because....

"then it'll take about a week for AMCAS to receive your grades through snail mail, which puts you at June something. And then AMCAS will take approximately two to three weeks to process your transcript because by then 50% of applicants will be sending in their transcripts to be processed, which will create a long line of transcripts waiting to be processed. Optimistically, they will take two weeks to process your transcript, which puts you at mid June when you finally are able to submit your AMCAS application (you can only submit once your transcript is processed). Then by that time you'll be applying mid cycle which means it will take them about a month to process your primary application, so you won't be verified until mid July. And yeah...you see how it goes. Submit your official transcript to AMCAS by early May without your spring semester grades, unless they will significantly increase your GPA (and I still wouldn't recommend doing so)."

However, other people have told me that waiting until May 21st and submitting my transcript with spring semester grades would make applications easier in the long run (no updating schools with transcripts) and would not put me behind schedule.

Thoughts?

Isn't the earliest you can submit in June anyway? It was like June 5th or something when I applied. I would wait if I were you..but it's been a bit since I applied. Also, what is "processing" of primary applications? Is there something else now other than transcript verification?

 

[ProbablyAPenguin]

Isn't the earliest you can submit in June anyway? It was like June 5th or something when I applied. I would wait if I were you..but it's been a bit since I applied. Also, what is "processing" of primary applications? Is there something else now other than transcript verification?

That's what I wasn't sure of. I have heard a lot about verification of application after transcripts have been received and applications are submitted, but from no other source have I heard about an initial transcript processing period... which makes me think that as long as my transcript can arrive by mail to AMCAS by the date I want to submit my app, I should be OK?

 

[Microglia]

That's what I wasn't sure of. I have heard a lot about verification of application after transcripts have been received and applications are submitted, but from no other source have I heard about an initial transcript processing period... which makes me think that as long as my transcript can arrive by mail to AMCAS by the date I want to submit my app, I should be OK?

When you first submit your transcript, there is a wait time that ranges from a week to months depending on the submission date of your transcript, where amcas verifies it. Other than that, there should be no down time involved I think.

 

[ProbablyAPenguin]

When you first submit your transcript, there is a wait time that ranges from a week to months depending on the submission date of your transcript, where amcas verifies it. Other than that, there should be no down time involved I think.

And if you submit your transcript before your application, that wait time begins when your application is submitted, correct?

 

[About28]

Your primary doesn't even get sent to the schools until late June, so as long as you've been verified by then you're still among some of the earliest people to apply

 

[ProbablyAPenguin]

Your primary doesn't even get sent to the schools until late January, so as long as you've been verified by then you're still among some of the earliest people to apply

Late January? Or Late June?

 

[About28]

Late January? Or Late June?

Sorry, June. I think I've heard like June 23rd? It varies from year to year. Let me just edit my post so I don't look like an idiot...

 

[Microglia]

And if you submit your transcript before your application, that wait time begins when your application is submitted, correct?

Nope, the wait time starts when the transcript is submitted. But no worries, data isn't sent to schools for anyone until late June so as long as it's verified before then you'll be transmitted at the same time as the rest of em!

 

[Ismet]

Wait for the spring grades.

 

[ProbablyAPenguin]

Wait for the spring grades.

Could I ask why you recommend that?

 

[BioMedic]

I too am interested in peoples opinions on this. What if spring grades could hurt your GPA?

 

[ProbablyAPenguin]

My spring grades won't particularly help or hurt my GPA, and they don't include any important pre reqs. Therefore, I would rather submit my transcript early to help ensure that there are no unexpected delays in my verification... but I don't know if this is a good idea...

 

[ProbablyAPenguin]

Yeah I'm in the same boat. My spring grades aren't too important -- they WOULD raise my gpa by a few pts though. :\ I'm just not sure of the process of updating the schools on the grades... Also I wonder if we can submit one copy first just in case but submit a second copy as soon as our spring grades are processed. Will AMCAS use the most recent one they receive?

Nah they don't update it.
https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/amcas/faqs/183144/amcas_2010_faqs-6.8.html

 

[ProbablyAPenguin]

Ahh thanks for the information! The only comforting thought I have is that my school is located relatively close to DC (where AMCAS is located), so it won't take too long for it to be processed (2 business days) and received by AMCAS. My next question is once AMCAS receives my transcript and given it's before 6/3, will that put me in the same running start as everyone else or am I still behind?

So, again I'm not an expert. But the amcas website says that it can take them up to ten business days to process your transcript and mark it as "received". So this might mean that if the transcript arrives on June 1st, you would be set back until June 14th. However, if it is processed as received by June 3rd, you should be on the same playing field as everyone else who submits that day.

 

[ProbablyAPenguin]

That makes a lot of sense, thank you! My finals end on the 10th for my school and professors are asked to submit grades 2 days after... however, some of my professors suck at putting out grades, and some of them take like 2 weeks. UGH haha. One of my professor hasn't even posted up our 2nd exam and we've had like 2 more since then...

Right... and these are all facts about how the application is processed. What I would really like to know is if one choice (pre reqs or effects on gpa aside) will give me a benefit in the application process over the other.

 

[Lamel]

I'm wondering the same thing. My spring semester has Orgo 2 though...so I don't know how bad that would be.

 

[alt12345]

You can send your grades in an update. Use the update to tell schools how interested you are in their specific school. One semesters grades won't raise your GPA by much.

 

[Why Not MD?]

Hi, @ProbablyAPenguin and @airgear.

I know it's quite late, but this should at least be food for thought and for any reader as well.

Consider the 5-7 business days (or however look it would take due to proximity to AMCAS). AMCAS even says the process from the time it receives all materials to the time an application is verified could take up to 6 weeks.

I'm kind of sleepy right now so I'm too tired to find the graph AMCAS made that showed the number of days it took them to verify transcripts per month.

Basically, because of the high volume of applicants and applications to be verified, there is a certain period that the turnaround time for them took more than 15 days.

In June it is pretty benign, and in July starts to exceed 15 days and starts to go up to more late in July and in August reaches up to 25-35 days (I think this was the max that I saw) and slowly descends through September and goes back down in October.

In the graph, August and September were highlighted suggesting this would be the slowest time for them to verify your application, with June being the fastest.

Hope your applications are going well!