Application Strategy--Help Needed

[ToXicity09]

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I'd appreciate any help/advice on this matter. I'm in ROTC and just recently found out I have training from July 6th until September 1st. There is no wiggle room with this timeline. I am scheduled to take my MCAT on May 19 so I'm looking at getting my score back ~June 19/20.

My question is, in my situation would it be worth it to submit my primary application on June 1 so I am hopefully able to turn in a few secondaries before I have to leave for cadet training? When I'm in training during the month of July I will have basically no access to electronics (I'm looking to see if I can get an exception made) and in August I will essentially only have weekends available to work on anything. Is such a fast (two weeks or so) turnover from submission of primary to secondary reception possible if I submit my primary that early? Or do I need to look into ways to finish my application submissions during the month of July? Thanks for the help!

 

[ToXicity09]

Bump! Would appreciate some clarity on this matter! Thanks in advance!

 

[Frogger27]

I would have your application ready to go with pre written secondaries and submit as soon as you can. If you're secondaries are pre-written and you have weekends in August to submit, you won't be too late. I was complete mid-late August at all my schools and had a successful cycle/

 

[DrDwayneJohnson]

Take practice MCATs that give you a score. Absolutely take the AAMC full length because it's really close to what you'll actually get. Mine was spot on. Based on that, develop your school list and make sure to have a couple low-mid tier schools and state schools.

Be ready to convince your public state school that you want to return home after your commitment.

Lastly, when you get back from camp, do your secondaries ASAP.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[ToXicity09]

Thanks for the advice. Wondering if anyone has specifics as to the earliest possible times we could feasibly get our hands on secondaries this upcoming cycle (assuming I turn everything as soon as possible)?

 

[ToXicity09]

I was unaware that I could simply email the schools. What kind of format for the email would be appropriate? Like so?:

"Adcom of school X,

Please be advised that I will be partaking in military training duties from July 6 to September 1st, making it difficult for me to turn in my secondary application in a timely manner."

 

[Frogger27]

I was unaware that I could simply email the schools. What kind of format for the email would be appropriate? Like so?:

"Adcom of school X,

Please be advised that I will be partaking in military training duties from July 6 to September 1st, making it difficult for me to turn in my secondary application in a timely manner."

I would say ".....making it difficult for me to submit my secondary any time before my service is complete. I will submit my secondary as soon as possible. Love you"

 

[Toutie]

Thanks for the advice. Wondering if anyone has specifics as to the earliest possible times we could feasibly get our hands on secondaries this upcoming cycle (assuming I turn everything as soon as possible)?

Go read the individual school threads for this year. Most have this years secondary questions listed. For most schools the secondaries change very little (if at all) from year to year. So use the old ones to work with and adjust as/if necessary when they officially come out.

 

[ToXicity09]

need to include that you will/have submitted primary app...

post your draft and we can help polish it

How does this sound?

"Adcom of school X,

Please be advised that I will be partaking in mandatory military training from July 6th to September 1st, making it difficult for me to turn in my secondary application before my training commitment is complete. I am not asking for any special treatment; however, I ask that you please keep this in mind should there be any delays in my secondary submission. I will submit my secondary as soon as possible.


Respectfully,

ToXicity09"

Also, although I realize that this is a valid reason for a delay in my application's submission to schools, would a warranted, delayed submission still negatively affect my chances? I do plan on applying to in-state schools, USUHS, and mid-low tiers (especially considering I'll be crafting my primary while waiting for my MCAT score), but if I score high enough to be competitive at a higher range, would this put me at a disadvantage with, say, T20 schools? Thank you for the help, I really appreciate it.

 

[ToXicity09]

Sorry to be a bump nag/troll, but I just need this totally resolved ASAP for my ROTC instructors.

 

[gyngyn]

I am scheduled for, engaged in, participating in, anything but "partaking."

 

[kraskadva]

If you submit your app the first day in June, you should get most of your secondaries dumped on you the first week of July. If you already have secondary essays prewritten and $ in the bank for the fees, you can return most of these within a weekend (eliminating the need for this email). And than any you receive after that can be done on your August weekends. NBD.

 

[BKNbkn]

You're in cadet training.
You're not in 24/7, SERE, secret-squirrel killhouse training for in-extremis environments, so accommodations can and should be made.
Even if you're going to bivouac in austere situations, the whole situation can be remedied with a laptop and cellphone (as WiFi hotspot).
If they think you're not using it FOUO, have them watch you retrieve your pre-written secondaries in google drive and copy+paste your secondaries into the med school portals.
Hell, you can probably do it just using your phone.
I mean, I was able to submit my tort law paper while deployed overseas, so no reason why you can't copy+paste your diversity essay while you're stateside.

If your ROTC instructors are not accommodating this, they need a knife hand to the carotid artery.


EDIT:

"Dear sir or madam,

I respectfully request limited access to electronic devices and connectivity to the Internet in pursuit of my application to medical school. Applications are time-sensitive and require immediate attention of requested materials to be submitted electronically. Inattention can result in disqualification from consideration.

To ensure timely return of requested materials, I respectfully request, no more than once per day, the ability to check my email during downtime and submit materials requested by medical schools. Access is limited to the above activity for no more than 30 minutes per day, and can be monitored by ROTC staff, as desired.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if further information or clarification is required. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Very respectfully,
Cadet Toxicity"