Application Question

[aspiringphysician190]

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Hello fellow SDNers,

I am planning on applying to medical schools in the summer of 2018 - I am thinking about going on a study abroad from May 26th to August 5th, 2018 - I hope to have my primaries pretty much done before I leave so I can just hit "submit" on June 1st, but what I am wondering is will I "miss out" on any of the application process if I were to be gone until August 5th? Do schools expect you to get secondaries in before then? I want to go on this trip but do not want to be stressed about writing secondaries while I am there and I did not know when they are usually sent out/when they need to be submitted back in by.

Thanks in advance!

 

[BigBoss]

Every school has a different deadline. Once your application gets verified, which takes a few weeks, it will be sent to all your schools. After which, the schools will automatically send you their secondaries. This can all happen while you’re studying abroad.


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[CloverBale]

You can always pre write your secondaries and submit them when they come to you. If you look at the school specific threads they will have the prompts there, they rarely change from year to year.

 

[aspiringphysician190]

I tell every advisee that they should assume that applying to medical school is a fulltime job from May thru at least August if not September. If students are not going to be available during that timeframe, they are taking significant risks and should seriously consider adjusting either their plans or year of application

But if I have my primaries submitted by June 1st, aren't secondaries not usually due until September or later - or can some be due in August or sooner? I plan on having primaries ready to go by June 1st and then just waiting for secondaries... I guess I am just confused as to when they are due - would the whole month of August not be enough time to write secondaries?

 

[BigBoss]

But if I have my primaries submitted by June 1st, aren't secondaries not usually due until September or later - or can some be due in August or sooner? I plan on having primaries ready to go by June 1st and then just waiting for secondaries... I guess I am just confused as to when they are due - would the whole month of August not be enough time to write secondaries?

You take the risk of submitting your secondaries late or even passing the deadline if you do this. Check your schools' websites or contact admissions to see when they send out secondaries and the deadlines.

 

[aspiringphysician190]

You take the risk of submitting your secondaries late or even passing the deadline if you do this. Check your schools' websites or contact admissions to see when they send out secondaries and the deadlines.

most that I have checked have secondary submissions starting in july and then the deadline is in late september, october, or november. is it obviously much better to submit these secondaries to schools as soon as possible in july rather than late august?

 

[BigBoss]

most that I have checked have secondary submissions starting in july and then the deadline is in late september, october, or november. is it obviously much better to submit these secondaries to schools as soon as possible in july rather than late august?

It's always better to submit early otherwise your application ends up at the bottom of the stack if you submit late.

 

[aspiringphysician190]

It's always better to submit early otherwise your application ends up at the bottom of the stack if you submit late.

thank you! what is considered "late" for submitting secondaries to schools, and what is considered "normal speed"?

 

[Obstacle1]

If you have really good stats you can maybe get away with submitting in later in September, October etc but I really don’t think it is wise to leverage your success in getting admitted to medical school because of study abroad trip.

As someone is currently in the process, it is easy to underestimate how much time it takes to complete multiple secondaries until you are knees deep in 20+ secondaries with multiple prompts.

So if you want to go regardless- really commit to prewriting!! And have all your ducks in a row before you leave. Last thing you want to happen is there to be problems with a committee letter or with a LOR and you be out the country.


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[seren1051]

Pretty much what gonnif says. If you submit your primaries on June 1st, tons of schools will drop you secondaries in the first week of July. The 'normal' speed would be submitting them back within reasonable period of time - usually 2 weeks. Remember, earlier you submit, better chance that you'll be reviewed early. If you plan to start writing your secondaries by the time you come back from your trip, how long would it take you to write 20+ secondaries (ie. 50+ essays, although a lot are overlaps) in a reasonable quality?

I think if you want to go onto this trip, you should be stressed about writing them while you're there. Or as CloverBale suggests, pre-write a bunch of them (topics usually stay the same..usually)

 

[aspiringphysician190]

Every school has a different deadline. Once your application gets verified, which takes a few weeks, it will be sent to all your schools. After which, the schools will automatically send you their secondaries. This can all happen while you’re studying abroad.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

thank-you!

 

[aspiringphysician190]

If you have really good stats you can maybe get away with submitting in later in September, October etc but I really don’t think it is wise to leverage your success in getting admitted to medical school because of study abroad trip.

As someone is currently in the process, it is easy to underestimate how much time it takes to complete multiple secondaries until you are knees deep in 20+ secondaries with multiple prompts.

So if you want to go regardless- really commit to prewriting!! And have all your ducks in a row before you leave. Last thing you want to happen is there to be problems with a committee letter or with a LOR and you be out the country.


Sent from my iPhone using

thanks for the advice

 

[aspiringphysician190]

Pretty much what gonnif says. If you submit your primaries on June 1st, tons of schools will drop you secondaries in the first week of July. The 'normal' speed would be submitting them back within reasonable period of time - usually 2 weeks. Remember, earlier you submit, better chance that you'll be reviewed early. If you plan to start writing your secondaries by the time you come back from your trip, how long would it take you to write 20+ secondaries (ie. 50+ essays, although a lot are overlaps) in a reasonable quality?

I think if you want to go onto this trip, you should be stressed about writing them while you're there. Or as CloverBale suggests, pre-write a bunch of them (topics usually stay the same..usually)

thank you for your help

 

[aspiringphysician190]

1) Stop thinking like an UG about due dates and deadlines as that concept will serve you poorly
2) You really, really need to understand the level of competition that every applicant is facing, especially when individual schools will receive several thousand applications for a 100-200 spots
3) A large fraction of schools have rolling admissions meaning they grant acceptances on a rolling basis and will be reviewing applications soon after getting them. Subsequently, a large fraction of applicants will be complete at schools by August 1st
4) All schools have rolling interview slots. That is, there is a finite number of interview slots and invites are done throughout the cycle. So the later you are, the fewer slots
5) Being close to the official deadline will put you at the bottom of a very big pile of applications to evaluate and review.
6) applying to medical school is about optimizing chances and reducing risk. Here you have situation that is fully under your control and you are choosing to start the application process and then focus elsewhere for 6 - 8 weeks. That is very poor judgement
7) So I will repeat, every advisee should assume that applying to medical school is a full time job from May thru at least August if not September. If students are not going to be available during that time frame, they are taking significant risks and should seriously consider adjusting either their plans or year of application.
8) So make a decision, is your goal to maximize your chances to get into medical school or to lessen then with the study abroad.
9) BTW, the majority of successful medical matriculants take 1 or more gap years before applying.

that is very very helpful thank you so much I really appreciate it

 

[HomeSkool]

@gonnif is right: going for a study abroad program at that time is a bad idea that's going to decrease your likelihood of getting into med school. If you actually are God's gift to medicine, that probably wouldn't change things much. If you're a mere mortal, however, it would be very unwise to miss July in the application process.

It sounds like you really want to do this program, and that's just fine. A gap year, if used correctly, can really bolster your application. I took a gap year myself while my wife finished her degree, and I came out of it with several publications that made me more attractive to schools. Participating in the study abroad experience during a gap year may work well for you. But doing it during your own application cycle would be unwise.

 

[aspiringphysician190]

@gonnif is right: going for a study abroad program at that time is a bad idea that's going to decrease your likelihood of getting into med school. If you actually are God's gift to medicine, that probably wouldn't change things much. If you're a mere mortal, however, it would be very unwise to miss July in the application process.

It sounds like you really want to do this program, and that's just fine. A gap year, if used correctly, can really bolster your application. I took a gap year myself while my wife finished her degree, and I came out of it with several publications that made me more attractive to schools. Participating in the study abroad experience during a gap year may work well for you. But doing it during your own application cycle would be unwise.

Thank-you for this advice. I do have one more question on a semi-unrelated note - if I were to actually take a gap year to additionally travel/intern for a humanitarian organization abroad (where my interests lie, and this is what the study abroad I was originally asking about is focused on that I wanted to do next summer - it is an internship with a NGO through my university) wouldn't I technically have to take two gap years since it takes a whole year basically to apply and would have to stick in the country during the year I am applying? (i.e. if I were to graduate in May 2019, travel/intern for humanitarian org abroad from Sep 2019-May 2020, apply for medical schools beginning May 2020 and matriculate 2021...also I am taking my MCAT in April 2018 regardless if I take a gap year because I have already started to study for it. I guess I am asking specifically about people who say they are going to travel/volunteer abroad during their gap year, wouldn't they theoretically have to take two gap years? Also, would my MCAT be expired if I am applying in 2020 with a score from 2018? thank-you.

 

[aspiringphysician190]

1) Stop thinking like an UG about due dates and deadlines as that concept will serve you poorly
2) You really, really need to understand the level of competition that every applicant is facing, especially when individual schools will receive several thousand applications for a 100-200 spots
3) A large fraction of schools have rolling admissions meaning they grant acceptances on a rolling basis and will be reviewing applications soon after getting them. Subsequently, a large fraction of applicants will be complete at schools by August 1st
4) All schools have rolling interview slots. That is, there is a finite number of interview slots and invites are done throughout the cycle. So the later you are, the fewer slots
5) Being close to the official deadline will put you at the bottom of a very big pile of applications to evaluate and review.
6) applying to medical school is about optimizing chances and reducing risk. Here you have situation that is fully under your control and you are choosing to start the application process and then focus elsewhere for 6 - 8 weeks. That is very poor judgement
7) So I will repeat, every advisee should assume that applying to medical school is a full time job from May thru at least August if not September. If students are not going to be available during that time frame, they are taking significant risks and should seriously consider adjusting either their plans or year of application.
8) So make a decision, is your goal to maximize your chances to get into medical school or to lessen then with the study abroad.
9) BTW, the majority of successful medical matriculants take 1 or more gap years before applying.

Thank-you for this advice. I do have one more question on a semi-unrelated note - if I were to actually take a gap year to additionally travel/intern for a humanitarian organization abroad (where my interests lie, and this is what the study abroad I was originally asking about is focused on that I wanted to do next summer - it is an internship with a NGO through my university) wouldn't I technically have to take two gap years since it takes a whole year basically to apply and would have to stick in the country during the year I am applying? (i.e. if I were to graduate in May 2019, travel/intern for humanitarian org abroad from Sep 2019-May 2020, apply for medical schools beginning May 2020 and matriculate 2021...also I am taking my MCAT in April 2018 regardless if I take a gap year because I have already started to study for it. I guess I am asking specifically about people who say they are going to travel/volunteer abroad during their gap year, wouldn't they theoretically have to take two gap years? Also, would my MCAT be expired if I am applying in 2020 with a score from 2018? thank-you.

 

[HomeSkool]

wouldn't I technically have to take two gap years since it takes a whole year basically to apply and would have to stick in the country during the year I am applying?

Sounds like your timing would necessitate a two-year gap. I guess you just need to decide if this is true love.

would my MCAT be expired if I am applying in 2020 with a score from 2018?

Depends on the school. Your score doesn't expire with the AAMC, but most schools have a two- or three-year limit on scores they'll accept. You'd need to do your research on each school to make sure.

 

[aspiringphysician190]

Sounds like your timing would necessitate a two-year gap. I guess you just need to decide if this is true love.


Depends on the school. Your score doesn't expire with the AAMC, but most schools have a two- or three-year limit on scores they'll accept. You'd need to do your research on each school to make sure.

Thank-you for your input. I appreciate it. I have some decisions to make.