Application Advice?

[Bionista]

Hey guys, I have searched around but haven't found something that answers my questions specifically. I contacted AAMC and they were really vague and didn't help. I'm hoping someone on here went through a similar situation or may know about application timing and submission processes?

Basically, I will be applying to medical school once applications open this year, and I am trying to determine whether I will take the MCAT in May (13th, 18, or 19th testing dates) or June 1st.

I understand that applications can be submitted on June 1st and the first completed apps are sent to schools on June 30th, so if I have all of my application complete minus my MCAT score, how long would it take to process/complete the application once I submit my scores? Do they not even start processing it until the score is in?

I know everyone says to submit as soon as possible, so say I do take the MCAT June 1st and everything is submitted by July 6th, would that make a huge difference compared to having everything sent to schools June 30th?

Thanks for the advice!

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[Catalystik]

Hey guys, I have searched around but haven't found something that answers my questions specifically. I contacted AAMC and they were really vague and didn't help. I'm hoping someone on here went through a similar situation or may know about application timing and submission processes?

Basically, I will be applying to medical school once applications open this year, and I am trying to determine whether I will take the MCAT in May (13th, 18, or 19th testing dates) or June 1st.

I understand that applications can be submitted on June 1st and the first completed apps are sent to schools on June 30th, so if I have all of my application complete minus my MCAT score, how long would it take to process/complete the application once I submit my scores? Do they not even start processing it until the score is in?

I know everyone says to submit as soon as possible, so say I do take the MCAT June 1st and everything is submitted by July 6th, would that make a huge difference compared to having everything sent to schools June 30th?

Thanks for the advice!

You don't need an MCAT score to submit your application and get your transcripts verified. You can apply to just one school initially until you know your score, and then add others that are appropriate to your LizzyM score later.

The difference between submitting June 1 and July 6 would be potentially about 3 weeks of added verification time. If one is verified after June 30, one's application is sent out to schools by 1 business day later. This timing is also true if you add additional schools to your list after that date.

 

[Catalystik]

Just my two cents. I am not a fan of doing this as you need to do well both on the MCAT and on writing your application. My opinion is no one should be spending time, energy or focus on an application until after the MCAT is taken

Granted. To use this approach, one must have confidence in a likely MCAT score outcome, as one is putting the base cost of the AMCAS application at risk, not to mention a significant time contribution, and the potential negative outcome of applying with more than one MCAT score (if one did poorly), considering that many schools average scores.