apply june 1st or wait 2 weeks

[J.Pearlman]

Hello everyone, there is a certain rumor going around that applicants shouldn't apply rite on june 1st, and that they should wait 2 weeks. Not just friends, but even a few advisors are telling me to do that - is this true? And if it is ture, how come?

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[dukeblue01]

Advisors and others usually recommend this to students taking the April MCAT. They say apply around June 15th or 20th because by that time you have your MCAT scores which may significantly affect which schools you apply to. If you took the August the year before, then apply as soon as you can, but if you are taking the April, it is always a good idea to wait for your scores before you submit. That does not mean you should wait until June 1st to start. Just finish the whole thing in April and May and then submit when you find out how well the MCAT went for you.

 

[basha]

thanks dukeblue, thats really helpful info. I might have a problem doing that though - by waiting that long, i also have to keep my recommenders waiting on where to send the recomm.'s. And that whole procedure takes long - cuz i've letters of recomm going from the schools pre-med office plus i have individual letters like DO/MD letters going to certain schools.

 

[mpp]

You would not send the letters of recommendation until you receive the secondary applications anyway. Some secondary applications can take several months to arrive (others will arrive in a mater of weeks). It will all depend on when AMCAS verifies your application.

 

[basha]

So, I can send in my recomm. only after recieving secondaries. Why not before, aren't they going to decide whether to send me a secondary or not judging by how good my letters of recommendation are.

 

[Nikki]

If you are concerned about individual recommenders (and not the premed committee), I gave one individual recommender all of the addresses for the schools I applied to, and he signed and sealed the envelopes for each school and addressed them, but gave them to me to mail off when I was ready. It shouldn't be hard to find the mailing addresses for all of the schools that you are applying for even if you have yet to receive the secondaries. Just an idea.

 

[mpp]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by basha:
•So, I can send in my recomm. only after recieving secondaries. Why not before, aren't they going to decide whether to send me a secondary or not judging by how good my letters of recommendation are.•••••Issuance of secondaries is judged on the primary AMCAS application only...except of course for the non-AMCAS schools. And after the mess with AMCAS this year, there may be a few more schools going without AMCAS this coming application cycle.

 

[rajneel1]

WHOAAAAAAAAAAAA BASHA!!!!
DO NOT send in your letters of rec to any school UNTIL they ask you to via secondary! or else the schools will just throw them away when they get them.
this is how the med schoool thing works: you apply via AMCAS, AMCAS adds your MCATs, does whatever, and then sends your applications to the schools that you applied to. The schools then decide whether to send you a secondary (which will take atleast one month after you send off your AMCAS application). in the secondary they will ask you to send in your letters and give you instructions on how to do that (for example: to use a letter writing service if your undergrad school offers it). and THEN you send in your letters. got it?

 

[basha]

O man, I was hoping more schools would join into amcas. This year, it better be working smoothly.

 

[basha]

got it rajneel, thanks. Good to see desi's helping each other out. :wink:

 

[mpp]

My comment regarding the number of schools using AMCAS is purely speculative. I have absolutely no idea what schools will be doing for this coming application cycle.

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

I sent in my letters before I received secondaries. However, I contacted the schools first to make sure they would accept them. One said they'd accept it but I wouldn't be able to verify they'd been received until after they had amcas. I gave one writer all of the schools' addresses and he mailed it. (i really trusted him to mail it immediately) For the others, they wrote them, stuck them in an envelope, placed a piece of tape over the seal and signed it. Then, I gathered and sent them together to each school. Everything worked out fine for me.

 

[drjo2002]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by rajneel1:
•WHOAAAAAAAAAAAA BASHA!!!!
DO NOT send in your letters of rec to any school UNTIL they ask you to via secondary! or else the schools will just throw them away when they get them. •••••That isn't true, my school automatically send out the pre-med committee letters to your selected schools in early August and by that time I had only recieved like one secondary, and none of my schools threw them out. Also, our pre-med advisor tells us to sumbit as close to June 1st as possible, even if you don't know your MCAT score yet. I don't know if that really gives you an edge or not, I got interviews before other people I knew who did submit earlier than me, I had my MCAT scores before I applied because of the delay, I would bet just about everyone did.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

rajneel...while you may be right about when to send rec.s, my school sends them as soon as you let them know where you are applying (or right when you submit your amcas app). This way they get them early and start a file on you. I had no problem achieving a complete application status with this method. The only school that I applied to that requests rec.s after or with secondaries is U Miami.

Why this is good: The second you send in your secondary you want schools to start reviewing your file, but they won't until they receive your rec.s. I think it's best to send them in ASAP as long as the school doesn't specify otherwise.

I think it's wise to check with your premed advisor on this issue. I am not saying I am right about when to send them, just that this is what I did.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

I just wanted to demonstrate the redundancy of this thread by having it appear next to the other exact same one

 

[Jalby]

As a second time applicant, I have learned the right and the wrong way to apply. First off, start working on your personal statement around february or march. Finish it a LONG time before you need to turn in the app. Secondly, start working on the online app the second the online application is active. At least put in all of your classes and activities. At this time, not many applicants have started entering the data, so the app shouldn't be slow. Also mail off your transcripts to AMCAS in early may and call to be sure that they have them. Preferably, call before the online app is able to be turned in so you won't be on hold for an hour.
I definatly would turn in the app on June 1st. It should be done about a week before that. If you procrastinate a long time, you could be SOL because everybody will be online at that time. Your goal is to only have one thing to do on June 1st. Maybe cut and Paste in your essays. BUT DON"T LEAVE THE THINGS THAT TAKE MANY BUTTON CLICKS UNTIL THE END!!!!! Also, if you are invovled in many activities, be sure to be very descriptive in the place provided. For example, your research. This is the only place that some schools could get an idea about your research before they ask you for an interview.

I turned in my letters of rec to all the schools a week after I turned in my primary application. I thaught it would take our Pre-professional office three weeks to mail them, it took 2 days. Not a single school threw away the letters of rec. I didn't send the letters to the UC's or university of Mich, because I knew that they ask for them later.

I then found a friend who applied the year before. I took all of the secondaries that he had on him from last year from schools I was applying to and started working on all of the questions. I finished about 80% of the questions when I started getting secondaries. I was able to have the questions read by someone else and send out the secondaries within a day. Then I called the schools a month later if I recieved no indication my apps were complete. Use Excel to keep track of everything. I think that's everything. Hope this helps.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

wow I AM IMPRESSED. you will make an excellent doctor and you have great organization and motivation. I wish I had that advice a year ago, as I procrastinated and am paying the price for it now.

 

[basha]

i agree. you've definitely motivated a lot of ppl here to get focused. I was wondering whether you know which schools definitely won't accept recomm. without secondaries.

so far, this is true for U of mich., tulane, all the UC's.

 

[J.Pearlman]

jalrekt - good advice. Can you tell if this a good idea so the recommenders can know more about you and so give a more in depth recomm. about you - giving them a your personal statement, and a list of EC's and awards, and maybe even your transcript. Maybe even have a talk with them about your medical career that they might be able to help you in.

 

[basha]

i doubt you need to worry about that because the people who will write you a GOOD recomm. will know you - not just from what you give them. If you think there is some lazy prof. who just writies down what you want him to then go for it, but other than that just let the prof.'s judge you themselves.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

•••quote:••• jalrekt - good advice. Can you tell if this a good idea so the recommenders can know more about you and so give a more in depth recomm. about you - giving them a your personal statement, and a list of EC's and awards, and maybe even your transcript. Maybe even have a talk with them about your medical career that they might be able to help you in.
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Posts: 9 | Registered: Jan 2002 | IP: Logged

basha
Member
Member # 8718

posted February 06, 2002 03:40 PM
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i doubt you need to worry about that because the people who will write you a GOOD recomm. will know you - not just from what you give them. If you think there is some lazy prof. who just writies down what you want him to then go for it, but other than that just let the prof.'s judge you themselves.

••••I doubt J pearlman will get good recs. Man, you better think up some good lies to give to your professors!