Applications Time. What should I be doing? Someone help out please.

[limit]

Hi. My school doesn't have a pre-med advisor or committee, and I've recently realized that a few deadlines are supposed to be coming up and I may be a bit behind in the process.

I took the MCAT on Apr 20, now someone told me that we have to start applying June 1st because or rolling admissions -- but, I wont have my MCAT scores back by that time, will I ? Nextly, I don't have any recommendations (I know 3 who would be willing to give me though -- 3 professors that is), when should I start asking and when are they due? Next, I don't know anything about a "personal statement", when are those due?

What should I be doing now and how should I be prioritizing my time from now until June 1st, and from there?

Any help would be appreciated, sorry if I may seem a little clueless but I'm in a difficult situation.

Thanks!

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[Jalby]

Check out my thread on applying to med school. Just click on my name and go to recent posts to find the thread. It should outline all of my thaughts, and is has even been updated to include waitlists.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

Read that, and then ask any specific questions and we'll be happy to answer them.

<a href="http://forums.studentdoctor.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=010171&p=" target="_blank">Jalbrekt's Guide</a>

 

[limit]

If you spend all this time creatine an application, submit your application on June 1st, then come mid-June you find out you did bad on your MCAT -- what then?

Next, you mentioned transcripts and sending those in. How is that process done, i.e., where do I get them and how do I send them?

Lastly (for now), how do letters of rec work? I just ask a professor, he writes a generic (format-wise) letter -- then how do they get sent out?

Thanks

 

[deva]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by limit:
•If you spend all this time creatine an application, submit your application on June 1st, then come mid-June you find out you did bad on your MCAT -- what then?

Thanks•••••limit,

You are way ahead of schedule. The application doesn't need to be submitted ON June 1. You can submit it up until October (when I submitted mine). Sure, it may help to apply early, but maybe you could slow down a bit.

Your college registrar should handle transcripts. Go there and ask. You may have to pay to have them sent (it will be cheap - just a couple dollars normally, if they charge at all).

Since your school doesn't have a pre-med committee, you will have to get your letters of rec sent out without their help. (At many schools, a committee puts the letters together, and writes a cover letter, which they send to med schools.) Read the instructions that the med schools give on how to submit letters. I just asked for generic letters.

 

[The Fly]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by limit:
•If you spend all this time creatine
Thanks•••••Is somebody spending a little too much time in the gym?? (creatine)

 

[Doctora Foxy]

limit,

You can and probably should wait for your mcat scores. You will probably get them in the middle of June, which is fine. Just submit your app then, so you don't waste money applying to the wrong med schools.

You need to have all of the transcripts from every college you attended sent directly from the registrar to AMCAS. On the AMCAS application, there will be a form you can print out to give to your registrar, to ensure the transcipts are sent to the appropriate place.

I had a premed committee, so I'm not sure how you will handle your letters. What's important is that you waive your right to see them. It is usually best not to let them pass through your hands at all, so if your recommenders can send them directly to each med school, they should. Recommendations are due with the secondaries, but usually schools will accept them beforehand.

Hope this helps.

Any more questions?

 

[limit]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by GG16:
• •••quote:•••Originally posted by limit:
•If you spend all this time creatine
Thanks•••••Is somebody spending a little too much time in the gym?? (creatine)

•••••Guilty!! LOL I'm a bodybuilder

 

[TommyGunn04]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by limit:
•
Next, you mentioned transcripts and sending those in. How is that process done, i.e., where do I get them and how do I send them?

Lastly (for now), how do letters of rec work? I just ask a professor, he writes a generic (format-wise) letter -- then how do they get sent out?

Thanks•••••Concerning transcripts, I think I remember just printing out a special page in the AMCAS application that is set up to fit perfectly in one of those window envelopes. It has your name, the AMCAS address, etc., and you just give it to your school's transcript office, and they'll send in the transcript. Make sure it has your spring semester grades included.

Regarding letters of rec, some people do what you described, but that strategy doesn't produce the greatest letters. It's best if you go to someone who really knows you well, if possible, perhaps someone you did research with, took a few classes with, somehow interacted with in a significant way, etc. Sometimes it's hard to get 2 BCPM profs like this though. Perhaps you should ask around at your school. I know that here we have an orgo professor who's famous for writing great letters for students who did well in his class.

And sending the letters out varies depending on your school, I think. Here we have a "pre-med committee letter" that gets written by our pre-med dean/advisor. So we submit the 3 letters of rec to him, he composes his own letter, and he sends all 4 off in a package to whatever schools we designate. I think he sends them in July. It's a nice system because the students don't have to deal with finding correct school addresses, buying envelopes/postage, paper cuts :wink: etc.