"2 week rule" on secondaries... True or false?

[dbeast]

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Just like the title says... Do med schools care in the slightest (or even notice?) whether your secondaries come in within the first two weeks of you receiving them? I've heard people say "2 week rule" but I'm thinking it's a myth to make people get to work...

Similarly, if it's more than a month, would that be too long?

 

[LizzyM]

It is a way of showing that you are interested. It is also a way of getting the work to flow to the adcom back office in a way that makes it managable for the staff and get it moved out to the faculty-volunteers who read the applications and recommend interviews. We'd hate to have people sitting around ready to work & have applicants taking their own sweet time.

If you need extra time, call and ask respectfully and I've no doubt it will be granted (particulary this early in the season). However, some schools may see the short deadline as a method of weeding out people who aren't interested enough to drop everything and fill out the application.

 

[ssdk]

I've been paranoid about this question too, as of late. i think schools should realize that some factors prevent students from immediately sending back the secondary, such as how many schools they're applying to, their work schedule etc.

Also, ppl waiting on mcat scores or LORs have less motivation to send them back as their files won't even be looked at until those parts come in as well. Personally, I've sent back secondaries after 2 weeks or a little later, even tho im definitely interested in the schools.

 

[dbeast]

It is a way of showing that you are interested. It is also a way of getting the work to flow to the adcom back office in a way that makes it managable for the staff and get it moved out to the faculty-volunteers who read the applications and recommend interviews. We'd hate to have people sitting around ready to work & have applicants taking their own sweet time.

If you need extra time, call and ask respectfully and I've no doubt it will be granted (particulary this early in the season). However, some schools may see the short deadline as a method of weeding out people who aren't interested enough to drop everything and fill out the application.

Thx Lizzy, you rock. I guess I'm asking because I'll be gone for 10 days with no access to computer (having my mom field interview invites ) so I'll be gone within that two week window after I received many secondaries but be back before a month has passed.

If you turn it in between two weeks and a month since you received it, does it look like you're uninterested / worth calling the schools to tell them?

 

[LizzyM]

Thx Lizzy, you rock. I guess I'm asking because I'll be gone for 10 days with no access to computer (having my mom field interview invites ) so I'll be gone within that two week window after I received many secondaries but be back before a month has passed.

If you turn it in between two weeks and a month since you received it, does it look like you're uninterested / worth calling the schools to tell them?

It might be helpful to be proactive and let the schools know that you will be without computer access (in the back country??) for 10 days ....

 

[dbeast]

It might be helpful to be proactive and let the schools know that you will be without computer access (in the back country??) for 10 days ....

Yup, volunteering at a summer camp... Dang that's a lot of phone calls but as usual you're totally right. Time to get on that.

 

[TommyJohnMD]

It might be helpful to be proactive and let the schools know that you will be without computer access (in the back country??) for 10 days ....

Lizzy (or anyone else),

I will be submitting my primary application within a day or two and my MCAT is the on the 30th. Obviously I won't be verified until mid-late August and my scores don't come out until the end of the month. I assume that in this time, I should do all of my secondaries (or answer the prompts on SDN) for the schools I'm applying to.

Will I have to wait to receive my secondaries until my MCAT scores or is it school specific. And assuming worst case scenario and I have to wait, if I complete the secondaries within a few days of when I receive them, will I still be disadvantaged. I understand that late August/early September is considered late on SDN, but I figure its around average for the general population.

 

[Cramster]

Lizzy (or anyone else),

I will be submitting my primary application within a day or two and my MCAT is the on the 30th. Obviously I won't be verified until mid-late August and my scores don't come out until the end of the month. I assume that in this time, I should do all of my secondaries (or answer the prompts on SDN) for the schools I'm applying to.

Will I have to wait to receive my secondaries until my MCAT scores or is it school specific. And assuming worst case scenario and I have to wait, if I complete the secondaries within a few days of when I receive them, will I still be disadvantaged. I understand that late August/early September is considered late on SDN, but I figure its around average for the general population.

Most will not send a secondary while you are still unverified and without mcat score. However, GW, BU, Cincinatti, dartmouth, and some other places will send a secondary pre-verification

 

[Luveroni]

The earlier the better, especially for rolling admissions! That being said, its better to take a month or more if you're really working hard on a couple essays. Unless the school explicitly states a deadline, your fine.
I don't think they really notice, in my experience.

 

[NickNaylor]

Most will not send a secondary while you are still unverified and without mcat score. However, GW, BU, Cincinatti, dartmouth, and some other places will send a secondary pre-verification

Pretty sure most will send out a secondary without a MCAT score as long as they don't screen...

 

[Dianyla]

If you went on a date with someone and they didn't call you for two weeks, would you think they were interested?

 

[NickNaylor]

If you went on a date with someone and they didn't call you for two weeks, would you think they were interested?

Calling someone is slightly less involved than bucking up $60+ and writing multiple essays.

 

[chrisoc13]

Pretty sure most will send out a secondary without a MCAT score as long as they don't screen...

Especially since they want your check 🙂

 

[ihave6packabs]

how would a school even find out the applicant did not return the secondary within 2 weeks. Most schools wont even take notice.

 

[pelliper]

for the non-rolling schools it doesnt matter much, i finished secondaries at 3 non-rolling top20s near their due dates (11/15) after having my amcas verified in august (terrible, i know! schoolwork got the better of me). got interviews at all 3.

for rolling schools it obviously matters more.

 

[Keem]

I'm finding it incredibly difficult to keep up with secondaries, especially when you receive close to 15 in 2-3 weeks. I can't imagine schools will be that upset if they are past two weeks... I'd far rather have a quality essay written, than a rushed one...

 

[bball]

Does this "rule" even apply if you're not verified yet or if your committee letter isn't in yet? (Mine will most likely not be available until mid-August). I can't imagine it would, as schools don't even review your file until everything is in.

Also, on a more personal note, is being out of the country a legit reason for not being able to turn around secondaries fast enough? I'm debating whether I should email the schools to let them know that I might be slow in returning them but I don't want it to sound like I'm making excuses. (Maybe LizzyM can help here?)

 

[dbeast]

If you went on a date with someone and they didn't call you for two weeks, would you think they were interested?

No way, I'm just playing hard to get

 

[Antibodies]

It is a way of showing that you are interested. It is also a way of getting the work to flow to the adcom back office in a way that makes it managable for the staff and get it moved out to the faculty-volunteers who read the applications and recommend interviews. We'd hate to have people sitting around ready to work & have applicants taking their own sweet time.

If you need extra time, call and ask respectfully and I've no doubt it will be granted (particulary this early in the season). However, some schools may see the short deadline as a method of weeding out people who aren't interested enough to drop everything and fill out the application.

Are you referring to the actual deadline some schools set (ie want it back within 2 or 4 weeks) or the unspoken rule that pre-meds keep spreading? If a school sets a deadline, then sure you need to inform them. But if no deadline (aside from the ones AMCAS has) is set then I feel like the admission offices will get mad from all the phone calls. During my application cycle I found a lot of admissions staff not care much when answering the phone.

 

[Longshanks]

What about secondaries which won't let you submit until they receive your committee letter through AMCAS, like BU? I have rather ready to click submit but still waiting on my letters to get sent to them from my undergrad, so I've obviously gone past the "two week rule" since they sent their secondary 15 minutes after I submitted my primary, waayy before I was ever verified unlike the other schools, which I've been able to follow the "two weeks".

 

[barcoderider]

I was shooting for two weeks at first, but after doing 10 in the past 2 weeks I'm getting really burnt out. I hate that they're all so similar, but not interchangeable! At first I was excited to see secondary invitations in my inbox--now I dread them, because it just means more work! 🙁

 

[LizzyM]

Are you referring to the actual deadline some schools set (ie want it back within 2 or 4 weeks) or the unspoken rule that pre-meds keep spreading? If a school sets a deadline, then sure you need to inform them. But if no deadline (aside from the ones AMCAS has) is set then I feel like the admission offices will get mad from all the phone calls. During my application cycle I found a lot of admissions staff not care much when answering the phone.

I'm talking about school specified deadlines. I do think that requests for extensions will be granted.