I will keep it short. I have a high gpa (>3.9) and strong ECs. Only problem: haven't taken MCAT and will take it in early August. I plan to submit my AMCAS soon and be verified late July so when my MCAT comes out in early September, med schools are notified right away. If worse comes worst and I bomb my MCAT, what options will I have then? Will I still be considered a "reapplicant" for next year if I decide to withdraw from this cycle after getting verified but not submitting any secondaries and not actually getting denied by any med schools (I hope that makes sense). I know I'm taking a gamble by applying so late but I have been told my rest of strong application should still keep me competitive (granted I do well in MCAT).
AMCAS submission plan: is it suicide?
- Thread starter Calikuli
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Search this topic, as I posted this very same question last year.
In short, do it. Add one safety school so that way you're verified by the time your scores come out. If you bombed, withdraw. Most schools ask if you've specifically applied to their school rather than any. If you did well, add more. It won't delay your app once you're verified aside from the time it takes them to download.
GL
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Depends on how well you do on the MCAT. You can still apply if you want as you still have a chance with a late application but know that there is a very real possibility that you won't meet success since you will be complete at schools in mid Sept. That was shown rather consistently this cycle on SDN where multiple "strong stat" members (including myself) were complete around the same time and are now becoming reapplicants.
But yeah, if you bomb the MCAT and withdraw then you will be considered a reapplicant.
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This. Just use the schools specific threads to get the secondary prompts and write those during that month wait for your MCAT score to come back. That way, the second you get your score back, you add all the additional schools, and right when they send you their secondary, you send it right back, so you are complete in early September. This makes you a bit late, but given your MCAT score is competitive, it shouldn't make that much of a difference.... And if you do bomb, you only spent like $135 or w/e on that first school.
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Why do you need to apply this cycle? If I were you I would rather know my MCAT, apply early and get in on the first cycle.
Why not study for your MCAT this summer, crush it, line up a good gap year job, then apply next year. Applying late will just make things more difficult in an already difficult process. Just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt...
Thanks for all your responses.
Lucidity: I just graduated (so already on my way to my first gap year..don't know if I need to do two gap years with my stats, although I should have been more proactive with that MCAT)
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It is not that it will help improve your chances because of your stats. It is just that applying late will hurt your chances for no reason. An extra year off is not that bad.
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This is true, too. I didn't realize until now that you're taking the MCAT in August. It's definitely not a death knell, but will definitely adversely affect your app overall. It comes down to how badly you want to shoot for the moon and start now.
<----- FWIW, on my second try, 5 acceptances & 1 WL with verification date late August, MCAT posted Sept 5th.
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If you do well on your MCAT and apply broadly, you will likely still get in with a late application, but your options are going to be much more limited. So, I think that your decision should depend on how important it is to you where you get in vs if you get in. I was verified in September, and because of issues with getting one of my LORs, didn't get any secondaries submitted until late October, which is just ridiculously late (hopefully you you will be able to get in at least a month earlier). I ended up getting only 4 interview invites. In the end, I am happy with the school that I will be matriculating at, but my options were definitely less than what they would have been otherwise.
If you end up doing poorly on your MCAT, and have only one school listed, little is lost if you wait another year. So, I see the decision really being based upon how picky you want to be about what medical school you go to.
As a point of reference: 3.85/35Q non-trad with previous work experience in healthcare field, plenty of ECs.
If you end up doing poorly on your MCAT, and have only one school listed, little is lost if you wait another year. So, I see the decision really being based upon how picky you want to be about what medical school you go to.
As a point of reference: 3.85/35Q non-trad with previous work experience in healthcare field, plenty of ECs.
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This.
Even if you assume you'll get a high MCAT, apply BROADLY with plenty of mid and backup schools. Don't be cocky and apply to only upper tier schools because you assume you'll get in with high stats. I've seen too many posters with high stats + apply late = not get in/still praying for wait list because they underestimated the process.
And like livelong said, just make sure you're comfortable with the fact that your options will be much less than if you applied early/on time.
