Application and MCAT Noob!

[thenykway]

Hey everyone! I'm currently a junior in my fall semester at a private uni in New York. I plan to attend med school right after my senior year, if all things go well. My academic adviser in my school knows absolutely nothing about MCATs or the application process so I hope I've come to the right place! I have questions about two things:

Application Process

1) What is the actual application process for applying to med schools? I know there are primaries and then secondaries but I have absolutely no idea what they are and how the work.

2) Everyone warned me that it is very important to give in my applications as soon as possible. I want to make my application as competitive as possible... so when are the earliest dates I can apply? I'll apply Day 1 if I can 🙂

3) When should I start asking for Letters of Recommendation and from who?

MCAT

1) When should I take it? I know it takes about a month for scores to come in so I want to coordinate it in such a way that I will have the scores ready early so I can apply as early as possible.

2) What type of study schedule should I do for MCATs? I'm reading that most people start studying for the MCAT 3 months in advance, and I've seen that popular 3-month schedule made by SN2ed. It looks great but I really want to start 5 to 6 months in advance because I can afford to do so (I have a very light school schedule/workload this year). Also, I feel like my college doesn't prepare me well enough for the MCATs. I'll probably start off light and then of course pick up the gears as the test gets closer and closer. Would it be a good idea to do a start up course like Princeton Review for the first 2-3 months and then go intensive with the SN2ed schedule for the last 3 months?

3) Any other general tips or advice for the MCAT?


I am SO LOST right now so if anyone could help me answer ANY of these questions, I will give them as much e-props as possible lmao 😍 Thanks!

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[chiddler]

hello friend,

most of your questions are frequently asked and you can find answers to pretty much everything by searching old threads.

 

[Jas1360]

Have you checked out the AMCAS and MCAT websites yet?

That will answer nearly all the basic questions. There is a video explaining the application process too.

 

[Jas1360]

To answer a couple questions:

The first day to apply is usually the first day of June. This year it was June 5th, but the application opens the beginning of May so that you can have it all filled out before you actually submit.

Ask you professors for LOR around March or April. Then check back with them in May and June.

Take the MCAT in April or May if you want your application submitted the first day possible. You can take it before that if you feel you are well prepared. January is a good time to take it if you are going to study in the fall and during winter break.

Do a search and you will find tons of threads about how to study for the MCAT on SDN.

 

[angemon89]

Hey everyone! I'm currently a junior in my fall semester at a private uni in New York. I plan to attend med school right after my senior year, if all things go well. My academic adviser in my school knows absolutely nothing about MCATs or the application process so I hope I've come to the right place! I have questions about two things:

Application Process

1) What is the actual application process for applying to med schools? I know there are primaries and then secondaries but I have absolutely no idea what they are and how the work. Submit primary in June. If schools like you or if you meet their cutoff, they'll send you secondaries which will cost you alot o' money $$. Basically they ask for essays.

2) Everyone warned me that it is very important to give in my applications as soon as possible. I want to make my application as competitive as possible... so when are the earliest dates I can apply? I'll apply Day 1 if I can 🙂 Early June, but you can start filling it out in May.

3) When should I start asking for Letters of Recommendation and from who?
Early. As early as now if you want to pay for a service like interfolio which will hold letters for you until you're ready to send them to AMCAS. Ideally: 2 Science Professors, 1 Non-science professor, PI, and Clinic Supervisor or maybe leadership supervisor.

MCAT

1) When should I take it? I know it takes about a month for scores to come in so I want to coordinate it in such a way that I will have the scores ready early so I can apply as early as possible. Try to see when you can best fit it in. If you can limit your units during Spring quarter(maybe go part time?), you may be able to take it around April/May. General consensus is that it takes ~3 months of studying.

2) What type of study schedule should I do for MCATs? I'm reading that most people start studying for the MCAT 3 months in advance, and I've seen that popular 3-month schedule made by SN2ed. It looks great but I really want to start 5 to 6 months in advance because I can afford to do so (I have a very light school schedule/workload this year). Also, I feel like my college doesn't prepare me well enough for the MCATs. I'll probably start off light and then of course pick up the gears as the test gets closer and closer. Would it be a good idea to do a start up course like Princeton Review for the first 2-3 months and then go intensive with the SN2ed schedule for the last 3 months?Looks like you already have a good grasp on what you need to do. If you've done good in your science classes and you're a good test-taker, skip the course and self-study+ take all of the AAMC tests under timed conditions.

3) Any other general tips or advice for the MCAT?


I am SO LOST right now so if anyone could help me answer ANY of these questions, I will give them as much e-props as possible lmao 😍 Thanks!

To get you started

 

[thenykway]

Have you checked out the AMCAS and MCAT websites yet?

That will answer nearly all the basic questions. There is a video explaining the application process too.

To answer a couple questions:

The first day to apply is usually the first day of June. This year it was June 5th, but the application opens the beginning of May so that you can have it all filled out before you actually submit.

Ask you professors for LOR around March or April. Then check back with them in May and June.

Take the MCAT in April or May if you want your application submitted the first day possible. You can take it before that if you feel you are well prepared. January is a good time to take it if you are going to study in the fall and during winter break.

Do a search and you will find tons of threads about how to study for the MCAT on SDN.

Thanks! Can you link me to this video?

So let's assume that the first day I can give in my application this time around is June 5th again. Does that mean I have to have my MCAT score already sent back to me by this time? Or can I submit an application right on the first day (June 5th) and then submit my MCAT score to schools in a few weeks?

 

[thenykway]

To get you started

I hope you know that you are a life saver! 😀

A few more questions, if you don't mind.

When do the secondaries come in and does each medical school require a different essay?

As of right now, I can get recs from a Clinic Research Supervisor, the professor I am doing genetics research with/taking genetics class with, a Calc professor and a physician I shadowed. Is that enough?

And someone said earlier that applications around allowed to be submitted at earliest, June 5th (or at least that was the case last year). Does that mean I should take my MCAT May 5th or earlier so I can submit my application right on Day 1 or is it possible to just have the application submitted and then give in the MCAT scores a bit later?

 

[IncognitoGuy]

I hope you know that you are a life saver! 😀

A few more questions, if you don't mind.

When do the secondaries come in and does each medical school require a different essay?

As of right now, I can get recs from a Clinic Research Supervisor, the professor I am doing genetics research with/taking genetics class with, a Calc professor and a physician I shadowed. Is that enough?

And someone said earlier that applications around allowed to be submitted at earliest, June 5th (or at least that was the case last year). Does that mean I should take my MCAT May 5th or earlier so I can submit my application right on Day 1 or is it possible to just have the application submitted and then give in the MCAT scores a bit later?

1. Varies. Some schools send the day you're verified, others take more time. They will come.

2. I would also try and get a humanities letter/non-academic source. And are you confident that your writers know you well enough to write an excellent recommendation?

3. Yep, you can send and verify without scores - in this case, people usually add only one state school to avoid a prohibitive cost, then add schools after getting scores. However, schools have their own organization systems, and you won't be complete and ready to look at as a file until your scores are in.

 

[sinombre]

You should start looking at the specific letter requirements of the schools you think you'll apply to, as there is a fair amount of variation. This combination will work for most schools (at least as far as I can tell... it worked for every school I applied to):

-2 science letters (from professors you have taken actual classes from)
-1 non-science letter (if you majored in a non-science, get this letter from a professor in your major)
-1 physician letter
-1 research letter

 

[Jas1360]

Thanks! Can you link me to this video?

So let's assume that the first day I can give in my application this time around is June 5th again. Does that mean I have to have my MCAT score already sent back to me by this time? Or can I submit an application right on the first day (June 5th) and then submit my MCAT score to schools in a few weeks?

Its on the first page of AMCAS:

https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/amcas/

 

[MedPR]

You should start looking at the specific letter requirements of the schools you think you'll apply to, as there is a fair amount of variation. This combination will work for most schools (at least as far as I can tell... it worked for every school I applied to):

-2 science letters (from professors you have taken actual classes from)
-1 non-science letter (if you majored in a non-science, get this letter from a professor in your major)
-1 physician letter
-1 research letter

And some schools also require a volunteer lor. Utah comes to mind 👍

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

 

[sinombre]

And some schools also require a volunteer lor. Utah comes to mind 👍

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

You applied to Utah? Are you from Utah?

 

[thenykway]

1. Varies. Some schools send the day you're verified, others take more time. They will come.

2. I would also try and get a humanities letter/non-academic source. And are you confident that your writers know you well enough to write an excellent recommendation?

3. Yep, you can send and verify without scores - in this case, people usually add only one state school to avoid a prohibitive cost, then add schools after getting scores. However, schools have their own organization systems, and you won't be complete and ready to look at as a file until your scores are in.

Sorry for bombarding everyone with questions. Just to clarify:

1. Does each school require a different essay?
2. By non-academic, do you think I can include a letter from someone I volunteered under?
3. Is there any advantage of submitting the application on June 5th if there are no MCAT scores ready? Would it be any different than waiting a few weeks for my score and then submitting the application at lets say late June or early July?

 

[dbeast]

Thanks! Can you link me to this video?

So let's assume that the first day I can give in my application this time around is June 5th again. Does that mean I have to have my MCAT score already sent back to me by this time? Or can I submit an application right on the first day (June 5th) and then submit my MCAT score to schools in a few weeks?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL-hNMJvcyI

Tis the season.

 

[IncognitoGuy]

Sorry for bombarding everyone with questions. Just to clarify:

1. Does each school require a different essay?
2. By non-academic, do you think I can include a letter from someone I volunteered under?
3. Is there any advantage of submitting the application on June 5th if there are no MCAT scores ready? Would it be any different than waiting a few weeks for my score and then submitting the application at lets say late June or early July?

1. Yes. As a note, most schools will have multiple essays. Refer to the School-Specific threads to see the prompts for this year.

2. Sure. But don't include it for the sake of filling a checklist - do it because you're going to get an awesome letter.

3. In a way - you can avoid the bottleneck that inevitably slows verification, and you can send secondaries without scores. So, you get to finish essays quickly and not sit there twiddling your thumbs waiting to be verified. All it would take is for your MCAT scores to come in for schools to mark you as complete and ready for review. So see it as more of a modular process instead of a linear one, where you NEED all the pieces in, but you don't need to send them in any particular order.

 

[thenykway]

1. Yes. As a note, most schools will have multiple essays. Refer to the School-Specific threads to see the prompts for this year.

2. Sure. But don't include it for the sake of filling a checklist - do it because you're going to get an awesome letter.

3. In a way - you can avoid the bottleneck that inevitably slows verification, and you can send secondaries without scores. So, you get to finish essays quickly and not sit there twiddling your thumbs waiting to be verified. All it would take is for your MCAT scores to come in for schools to mark you as complete and ready for review. So see it as more of a modular process instead of a linear one, where you NEED all the pieces in, but you don't need to send them in any particular order.

Thanks bro!

I just watched the video on the AMCAS website and it says that the earliest transmission of primaries to med schools/the earliest time secondaries will start coming in is June 29th. Wouldn't that mean that there is no significant difference/advantage between getting your MCAT score back lets say for example, June 2nd instead of June 24th? Because even if you get your score back June 2nd and you can include your MCAT score in your primaries a lot quicker than someone who would get it back on June 24th, it really doesn't matter in the end cause AMCAS doesnt send out anything till June 29th. Is that correct? Am I making any sense? The reason why I ask is because I am trying to plan out when to register for my MCATs and start a study schedule based off that.

Also, in that video it says that you can list up to 15 extracurricular activities. Let's say I'm applying in June but I plan to do a summer research program in August or something. Can I list future activities?

Thanks again!

 

[Fivo]

Thanks bro!

Stuff

Thanks again!

You're basically right about just making sure your mcat score is received before the initial broadcasting of your app to all the schools. Also, it's not recommended to put future activities under one of those 15 tabs, because there is no guarantee that you'll do it. You can, however, send an update during the cycle if you've already began the activity or completed it.