Apply July 25th or August 4th?

[sachan]

Dear SDN:
I'm pretty much done with my application and I could send the application in a few days. Problem is, my MCAT scores don't come in til August 4th. Do you think I should submit now without knowing my scores because of a two week difference? I hear that it's getting around the peak time so I should send it while it's still July. Or do you think it might be a good idea to send it to one school but then send more once I get my scores (Is that even possible)?

Also, I heard that if I don't get a good score this year, apply and, get rejected, I'll be worse off as a reapplicant next year than just holding off. Is this true? My friend told me that being a reapplicant is a really bad idea but I never heard this on SDN. I don't really mind the money as much as the whole stigma that I might get as a reapplicant.

If I get a bad score, should I still try to apply for this cycle or do I wait til next year?

Thanks so much!! I really appreciate your help

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[JJMrK]

I don't know the verification times if you submit right now, but I'm going to guess at least 6 weeks. What are your practice scores like? If you're pretty confident, you probably should have submitted yesterday.

 

[ucsfstudents]

I would wait for the score. August 4th is still an OK time to submit your application.

 

[sachan]

My practice scores were around the 30's. What about sending the app to one school but then adding more once I get my score? Is there a disadvantage for doing that? Also, I'm not that confident in my scores because I had a very bad migraine the whole test but I would say that I could have still managed since I've been getting migraines during the practices as well.

 

[jal06c]

I'm in the same boat. I get my scores back August 4 too, so what I did was submit my application with only one school just to get it in the verification line. Once you get your scores you can add schools as you please. If your not verified by then, re-submitting won't affect your place in the verification line. Or if you are verified, the schools you add will get your application in about 1-2 business days.

According to the verification thread, people who submitted around June 30 - July 2, are getting verified now, which is about a 3 week waiting period. So if you submit now, I'd say there will probably a 4 or 4.5 week waiting period before you are verified. My advice: submit now, you'll get your app in line and be able to wait until the scores are released to add your entire list of schools.

good luck!!

 

[Jolt21]

submit now, you'll get your app in line and be able to wait until the scores are released to add your entire list of schools.

thats not your advice...thats the CORRECT advice.

don't add any schools. just submit it for amcas to verify it and add schools once you see the score. I added Case Western last week and got the secondary the next day. once you're verified, there is no such thing as a wait. this far in, 2 weeks can make a difference. about a month ago, probably not.

 

[sachan]

so there's pretty much no way to lose if I send it out early without any schools? So what if I decide after I get my MCAT scores that I didn't want to apply to any school. Next year when I apply, would any school know what I put for my application this year? Is there any disadvantage at all to this strategy?

 

[Jolt21]

so there's pretty much no way to lose if I send it out early without any schools? So what if I decide after I get my MCAT scores that I didn't want to apply to any school. Next year when I apply, would any school know what I put for my application this year? Is there any disadvantage at all to this strategy?

no, because the schools will ask, "have you ever applied to school X before," and your answer will be no because you would not have. you submitted the primary, but never actually applied to any school.

i'm 99% positive on this.

 

[plsletmein]

so there's pretty much no way to lose if I send it out early without any schools?

You have to add at least 1 school in order to be able to submit your application

 

[Brent8927]

no, because the schools will ask, "have you ever applied to school X before," and your answer will be no because you would not have. you submitted the primary, but never actually applied to any school.

i'm 99% positive on this.

I don't believe this is the case--I think that if you applied anywhere (submitted your AMCAS application) the previous year, then you are considered a reapplicant if you apply again the following year(s)--even if you never submitted a secondary application. I was a reapplicant and applied to a number of schools where I never submitted a secondary application (but submitted a primary) and am pretty sure that I was considered a reapplicant by AMCAS to those schools (I can't remember 100%--I filled out my last AMCAS application a bit over a year ago so my memory may not be exact).

If all else fails, call AMCAS--they'll be the ones who can give you the absolute and correct answer.

 

[Brent8927]

OOpps--I think I misread the two relevant posts. I believe you are correct Jolt21.

If you submit an AMCAS application (I do believe you have to apply to at least one school to do so) this year, and do so again next year, you are only considered a reapplicant at the schools you applied to this year. I was in this situation as well--I applied to some schools for 2009 where I didn't submit a primary application to for 2008, and was not considerd a reapplicant. But then for some schools I had sent a primary application for 2008, and for these schools I was considered a reapplicant for 2009.

If I'm not mistaken, what matters is if you are a reapplicant to a particular school, not a reapplicant in general.