Application Cycle Question... Are Application Deadlines Misleading?

[ChapoMon]

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Hi,

I am what appears to be called around here a "non-trad". I'm 24 years old and currently working as a biologist for a large biotech company. I have wanted to go to medical school since before college (graduated in 2012), but never wanted to go straight out of college on the "traditional" route. I wanted to make sure that medical school is really something I want -- that being a doctor is really something I desire. After 1.5+ years of being out of school but still immersed in the world of science, research, and clinically-relevant work in particular, I can say with certainty that I still want to go to medical school.

I graduated with all of the standard pre-med requirements completed -- English, math, physics, o-chem, gen-chem, biology, etc (but no bio-chem, which some schools require! -- more on that another time...). I did a couple shadowing experiences (a burn/trauma stint and another with an ENT surgeon -- I love working with my hands in fine detail). I did undergraduate research for a couple years and wrote my thesis on aberrant craniofacial development using transgenic zebrafish as my animal model to study cleft lip/palate.

Fast-forward to now, March 18th, 2014 (time flies!!! WOW!):
I have not yet taken the MCAT. Today I decided: "It's time. Let's buckle down and dive into the MCAT -- I will need at least 3+ months to get in deep with this thing." Incidentally, that is how I stumbled upon this very informative website. But first let's backtrack a little -- just after my freshman year of college -- summer 2009 -- I ran a private SAT tutoring branch back in my home town for a small test prep company called Ivy Insiders (since then acquired by a larger prep company). While this experience was valuable, it left me with a strong sense of distaste for prep company courses as a development tool in my personal opinion. It was a nice way to make money that summer, and I gained many insights into operating a business, but with regard to personal utility...and had I been a student of my own courses -- let me be clear: the courses are bloated and overpriced! The materials are invaluable but the instruction is not, for me at least. I suspect the same is true as regards (yes, that's a real phrase) MCAT test prep courses from major players (Kaplan, Princeton Review, etc.). So before I get even more off-track, long story short, I ended up here for advice on how to gather the best materials for self-prep. BINGO! I struck gold upon learning about "S2Ned" review practices. Sorry Kaplan! Your exam materials are great, but to pay $2K+ for the stuff I shall not!

Anyway. This MCAT prep timeline I am devising today with S2Ned's guidance, if I start within 1 week as I plan to do, has me suddenly wondering whether I actually don't have enough time to apply this cycle... :/

You see... I foolishly assumed that because application deadlines appear to be October 15th and November 15th for many schools -- indeed, even December 15th for others -- that I would have ample time to take my MCAT around August-September, and then apply shortly thereafter.

But upon perusing this forum, I've come to learn that... deadlines are actually May/June/July!?!? Despite what the AAMC website tells me with regard to all the Oct-Dec "deadlines"?

Can anyone explain by when I must apply in order not to "look terrible"? Must I wait another full cycle? I feel incredibly foolish... :/



Thanks and sorry for the long wall of text -- I figured it'd have been shorter, but I guess I wanted to share more details for better responses.
Cheers!

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Hmm its tight for sure... I mean if you are doing the full 2 or 3 months (I cant remember) of SN2 then its really close. Lets go conservative, give it a week and a half to buy all of the materials. Then three months to study, then a month to get your scores back. You are now in the beginning of August. Thats certainly not unreasonable as long as you have everything else in line and you still have a competitive GPA and whatnot. I mean its not as good as coming out of the gate in the beginning of June with everything ready to go, but if everything else in your app is good then in my non-professional opinion, it can be done.

I think there is a big group of people that do not get their stuff in until August, september. Be aware that your verification might take a little longer so you wont get on the secondary applications and interviews until a hair later in the season. But I definitely think its possible.

If you are ready for it then get a move on, time is wasting! haha


Also... i do not know the details of applying without your MCAT, like having a "pending" score. I am pretty sure this is possible, at which point you could apply in like Mid july which is absolutely fine. But even August isnt a death sentence to your app, just on edge of being late.

 

[ChapoMon]

OK thanks!

Does anybody know why schools bother stating that deadlines are Oct/Nov/Dec if the de facto deadlines are actually months before? Seems needless.

 

[snowflakes]

You can still apply this cycle if you can take the MCAT in May/June. However, you will not have a chance to retake your MCAT.

So, an overview of the application process:
1. You submit your primary application and add schools (earliest submission is ~June 1st)
2. The primary gets verified (takes anywhere from 2-6 weeks depending on when you submit)
3. Your verified primary gets sent to schools on your list
----BUT, your primary will only be sent to schools after ~June 28, so there's no difference between being verified on June 4th versus June 27th. If you are verified after June 28th, it will get sent to schools right away
--your primary will be sent to schools without your MCAT score if its unavailable, but most schools will not consider your application until your MCAT score has been added. Once your score is released, it will automatically be added to your application and updated to schools.
4. Schools receive your primary and send you a secondary
5. You submit your secondary, and your app is considered complete if the school now has your LORs, your MCAT score, and your primary/secondary aps.

To be complete early, you want be at step 5 by July. August is considered normal. September and onward is getting late. Schools always give out their interview invites in a rolling manner and most schools give out acceptances in a rolling manner as well. So, the earlier your app is in, the less people you are competing against. If you have a very strong app, you can still apply after September and be fine, but for most people, this is a bad bad idea.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

I mean technically that is when the deadlines are. Like those are the hard and fast times. But just with so many applicants, they start scooping people up earlier. But i mean heavy interview season is like November-Feb if I am not mistaken, so yea August isnt too bad.
I think the key would be:
1) start studying as soon as physically possible. Buy your books now and during the waiting period while your books arrive, plan what you are gonna do.
2) make sure every other part of your application are in order, especially letters of recommendation, because those can slow your app down too
3) Once you apply and hopefully get secondary applications, turn those secondaries in as fast as possible, possibly pre-write while you are waiting for your MCAT scores to come in.

 

[SN12357]

The deadlines are basically lies. Why? Because they can. Or, probably it is an artifact of the days when they were true deadlines. As admissions got more and more competitive, it became more and more advantageous to apply early. Eventually you HAD to apply early to be competitive. But the official deadlines are the same, probably just because no one has ever bothered to change them. The schools have no incentive to change things, particularly since students pay to apply.

 

[Catalystik]

If you have a very strong app, you can still apply after September and be fine . . .

Or if you have an in-state school with a small application base, like one that takes no OOSers. Or if you're a special snowflake, whose application will be noticed no matter when it comes in (ex-military or Peace Corps workers come to mind).

 

[snowflakes]

OK thanks!

Does anybody know why schools bother stating that deadlines are Oct/Nov/Dec if the de facto deadlines are actually months before? Seems needless.

Some schools will give out all their interviews before the deadline, but many schools will keep a couple interview spot open for their late applicants. However, by the end, there are so many more applications in the schools' app pool that it becomes much much harder to get an interview slot.

Check out this interview with UChicago: http://pritzkerpodcast.com/2010/08/03/33-admissions-update/

So we got our first complete application, I think, about two or three weeks ago, again, in that slow trickle of anywhere from five to ten complete on any given day. Just three weeks later now we’re seeing more like 50 complete on any given day. As we keep moving further into the admission season, we’re going to start seeing 150 complete on one day or 200 complete on one day. If you wait until December 1st, you will be one of close to 1,000 who completes on that day because that’s our final deadline....
So it definitely is in every applicant’s best interest to get their application in as soon as humanly possible. By the time we get to December 1st, which is our last possible day to send us information, typically by that point about 1 in 100 to 150 applicants is given the opportunity to interview because by then, we only have–I mean, we start interviewing August 24th, we finish the last day of January. So if you don’t turn in your application until December 1st, we have very little time in which to interview you. So definitely apply early as possible.

 

[ChapoMon]

Great!

Thanks for all the information guys. This has been the most useful post on the internet I've ever made 🙂