-
CycleTrack and SDN are teaming up to make medical school admissions more transparent and accessible! Read the announcement to learn how we’re supporting the future of CycleTrack’s free application-tracking tools .
Apply Early
Started by Crete
Get help with your application
Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
Passion461 said:
If you apply in June, you won't have anything else to worry about when you're studying for MCATs and your file will be complete at all schools as soon as scores are put online. This will put you ahead of your August peers and also ahead of the lazy (like me) April MCATers. Do your PS right now and hurry up and submit in June so you can get a solid 2 months of studying. Then you can start off light, take a break after ~3-4 weeks, and pick up again full steam. You can do really well! PM me if you have any specific questions.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Crete said:
Crete, i currently have a low GPA and i think i should wait for my spring grades to come out before i submit my app. they will come out late June, so I am thinking of applying in July. Dont you think waiting for grades that will help your gpa is more important than applying early?
shuzee said:
Shuzee it really depends on your G.P.A. Even if it is "low," if it will not increase substantially with the spring grades, is it worth waiting? Remember, applying early makes the BIGGEST difference for people with lower marks and such. Realistically, how much will you improve by? PM me if you want to go into details or have any other questions. Good luck!
If you guys need some feedback on your PS, you can PM me. Don't freak out if it takes me a while to reply back though! And for those of you going to large public schools, it is ESPECIALLY important you apply early and get your app in before the other 400 people with the EXACT same app!
For people asking about Aug MCAT: if you are not dying to apply this year, you may want to go ahead and wait a year. If you applied now and did not do well, many schools do not look well upon reapplicants unless there is a substantial addition to the application, and timing of application does not count regardless of how much of an impact it would have made. So it would probably do you well to wait. That said, many people, especially on SDN, downplay the importance of significant clinical experience, which is more important that research. That does not mean forget about research, it definitely adds a lot to your application, but you will not get anywhere without significant clinical experience. And don't forget to get letters from ALL significant experiences; only proof of experience for adcoms. If you do decide to apply this cycle, definitely do so June 1 regardless of when scores come out.
Crete said:
agreed!! for the majority of places you apply this is huge, esp. from schools where 350+ are applying.
So would you say it makes a big difference if someone applies June 1 vs. June 10th? Or June 15th? Aren't most people going to apply like June 15th when MCAT scores are out? I figured anytime I send mine before that would be okay (took April 04) and even then it didn't matter when I sent it if it was June/July? I was going to send it June 1st but the personal statement got the back burner due to finals and now summer school. On that note...how long did you guys take on your statement? (days, hours, weeks?) How many people did you have proofread?
If it makes a big difference, I'll do a LOT of work on it this weekend, send it all June 1st. But Friday is my 21st bday, so wouldn't that be a horrible way to celebrate 🙁
Those are our character references here, we usually get 1, 2, maybe 3...I mean how many people actually know someone to do that for them? For example, volunteering in a hospital, I never interacted with a single doctor often enough, or was there the same hours as them even...and I wouldn't get a letter from shadowing, because what are they going to say? They can only write a bunch of useless info in many cases b/c you are just watching them, you aren't up for any form of evaluation. Just my $0.02.
For that matter though, I thought we put down a contact reference? I don't have one for a few (student run organizations/person retired). My advisor said it is kind of "on your honor" to report what you do, who knows, I don't see them tracking down these phone #'s and calling when they hardly have enough time to read apps
If it makes a big difference, I'll do a LOT of work on it this weekend, send it all June 1st. But Friday is my 21st bday, so wouldn't that be a horrible way to celebrate 🙁
Crete said:
Those are our character references here, we usually get 1, 2, maybe 3...I mean how many people actually know someone to do that for them? For example, volunteering in a hospital, I never interacted with a single doctor often enough, or was there the same hours as them even...and I wouldn't get a letter from shadowing, because what are they going to say? They can only write a bunch of useless info in many cases b/c you are just watching them, you aren't up for any form of evaluation. Just my $0.02.
For that matter though, I thought we put down a contact reference? I don't have one for a few (student run organizations/person retired). My advisor said it is kind of "on your honor" to report what you do, who knows, I don't see them tracking down these phone #'s and calling when they hardly have enough time to read apps
dr.z said:
I got great grades this semester, and I want to wait until mid-June to submit my application. Do you think this will be a problem? Should I submit without the grades?
damn nikki you have got to trim down the # of schools you are applying to. THat is really excessive! Pick your top 10 choices; 5 highly ranked and 5 lower ranked (at least one of which should be your state school, if possible)
well look at the whole early application issue this way... If you are interviewed after the class is full, you will be waitlisted/deferred/hold/whateveryouwanttocallit no matter how good an applicant you are. I was fortunate to be admitted to 4 of the 5 schools I interviewed, and I was put on hold at all but one (which was a special situation where I interviewed in march and was accepted in late april).
I did not submit my amcas to the last few days before the deadlines. I am a nontraditional applicant is many aspects so our situtations are different. However, I have not heard of anyone yet who interviewed late and got in early
well look at the whole early application issue this way... If you are interviewed after the class is full, you will be waitlisted/deferred/hold/whateveryouwanttocallit no matter how good an applicant you are. I was fortunate to be admitted to 4 of the 5 schools I interviewed, and I was put on hold at all but one (which was a special situation where I interviewed in march and was accepted in late april).
I did not submit my amcas to the last few days before the deadlines. I am a nontraditional applicant is many aspects so our situtations are different. However, I have not heard of anyone yet who interviewed late and got in early
Lots of people applied to that many, its a tentative list, I've been told 10-20 is the average. People often apply to all the schools in their homestate, and NY happens to have a lot. I don't even have them all on there!
What we're wondering (caffeine and I) is if it makes a difference to apply late June, June 1st, mid-June....and if the problems possibly arising when doing so are less than/greater than the benefits of waiting (me: more time to do PS so I can get drunk on my 21st birthday, caffeine: grades)
What we're wondering (caffeine and I) is if it makes a difference to apply late June, June 1st, mid-June....and if the problems possibly arising when doing so are less than/greater than the benefits of waiting (me: more time to do PS so I can get drunk on my 21st birthday, caffeine: grades)
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Does anyone have any advice to give for my particular situation? I am an early June applicant, I took the April 2004 MCAT so I wasn't even waiting for my scores this time around. My secondaries will be basically done by the time AMCAS releases the primaries on July 15, but I've chosen to do a medical program abroad from August to November. I plan to submit a letter explaining to adcoms when I will be abroad, but will this hurt my chances of acceptance if I am unable to interview until December?
Dr. TT said:
You may just want to wait until you start getting interview offers to explain your situation (but by all means update your file if the trip isn't on AMCAS). Other than coming back early, you can't do much. If you can get ALL your interviews in December, I would say you're not in too bad of a position, but if some of your reach schools invite you over in October, that would be tough for me to pass up! PM with any questions, but I would wait to see how many offers I get and based on that, try to cut the program short (or just fly from the program to the interviews instead of from home to interviews). Good luck and PM with any qs.
Something I think is relevant here: Everyone, including people who'd be expected to know, is saying that medical schools aren't looking at applications until either July 6th or July 15th. If this is the case, I think that a lot of this "must submit on June 1st to have a chance" talk is ridiculous. Keep in mind, guys, that it's much easier to deal with being rejected by a school when you tell yourself it was because you applied late.
I'm not saying it doesn't make a difference when you apply; I'm sure that it does. But I submitted my application today, and assuming it's verified by mid July, when schools can first supposedly see it, I'm not so sure the June 1st people have much of an advantage over me.
Don't be thrown into discouragement or into a panic, as I was when I first read some of this crap three weeks ago.
I'm not saying it doesn't make a difference when you apply; I'm sure that it does. But I submitted my application today, and assuming it's verified by mid July, when schools can first supposedly see it, I'm not so sure the June 1st people have much of an advantage over me.
Don't be thrown into discouragement or into a panic, as I was when I first read some of this crap three weeks ago.
pancarre12 said:
This is what I've heard as well. Hopefully it is true since I plan on submitting in about a week after my essay's more polished. However, how does it justify 2ndaries that are sent to applicants early (if they're sent in July)? When is the earliest you can receive 2ndaries by the way?
7
71263
Thank God!! I am soooo glad somebody finally started a thread about this. While it is true that committees wait till july to start looking at files, the first files they see are the first files that they receive, ie June 1. Applying in July is great too, August is decent, after august, you start to get late. I applied last year, but i wasnt serious, because i already had a spot in a BA/MD program, so I sent out my AMCAS in mid october. I got my guaranteed acceptance, thankfully, but of the 10 other schools I applied to, i only got 1 interview, which turned into a waitlist. If i didnt have that spot, I would have done things ALOT differently, ie turning in my AMCAS NOW, If not already!!!!!!!
Good luck to everyone this year!! 👍
Good luck to everyone this year!! 👍
pancarre12 said:
The vast majority of people who say apply early do not do so because of sour grapes or because that is what they are "blaming" their application success or lack of success on. (Take a look at the profiles of these people.) Do you honestly think that ADCOMS will look at YOUR application first because they received it on July 15th, even though hundreds of people got their applications in BEFORE you? ADCOMS review applications not randomly, but in the order they receive them. So while individual ACDOMS may meet on a certain date (July 15th), the will go through the queue based in order of application received.
No offense, but to ridicule this "crap" before you've even filled out a secondary is a bit presumptous. Post back next year when you have actually had some experience interviewing and comparing your success with others (always subjective, I know, but you will quickly see is still valid as a rough estimate). By the way, applying before July 1st is considered early (which is why I posted last week as a reminder). And yes, the June 1st applicants do have an advantage over current applicants as long as they schedule their interviews accordingly earlier.
Crete said:
Oh I'm sure you're very right.. I happen to be a lazy mofo and it worked out for me but that was more of a freak happening... but still, don't scare these neurotic pre-meds going through the apps process too much.. you're gonna start getting posts like oh no, I submitted my secondary on the 4th day, have I ruined my chance for an interview?!
question: i got my amcas in early (june 3, verified june 13). i'm working on secondaries now, but my stupid premed office is taking forever on my committee letter. like, they all of a sudden need one more thing from me before they start writing it. so my question is, when is it still considered "early" to get secondaries/secondary materials in? i'm afraid my apps won't be complete until the beginning of august.
thoughts? thanks in advance.
thoughts? thanks in advance.
SpeedRacer said:
Early August will still be great, but I would bitch to them about you being a great applicant, responsible, etc. and don't want to jeapordize your chances, but be tactful and DON'T PISS THEM OFF! Also, early August would still be early to be complete at schools. A few will even give you interviews before you are complete, so don't worry!
Applying early is good advice, no doubt. However, applying late is not the end of the world, as some would have it. I applied 9/1 and I ended up very happy. The main thing it'll do to you is push your interviews back. This probably does cause more rejections than you might otherwise get, but it also makes getting waitlisted very likely. I was told outright that I would have been admitted at one school had I applied earlier. I was waitlisted, then got in off the waitlist. I got admitted to Columbia off their waitlist. (They're serious about the waitlist.) One of the main things it did was make me wait and wait to know where I was going, if anywhere. I would recommend applying ASAP, but if circumstances outside of your control intervene, don't give up.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Does anyone here think it makes a difference for kids taking the August MCAT (who have already submitted their AMCAS and are about to complete secondaries) to submit an additional letter to deans of admissions expressing interest in their school and ASKING them to look at their application BEFORE the August MCAT scores come in? Can applicants actually get considered for interviews this way before Oct/Nov.?
rivers said:
I think that would be seen as fairly obnoxious. Everyone in your position wants to get an interview quickly, so your letter wouldn't express anything they don't know. I'm all for sending additional letters of rec and such when you get them during the process, but don't make unreasonable requests.
