Applying before MCAT?

[soccergirl11]

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I'm scheduled to take the mcat in June so I won't have the score until July so I was thinking of sending my application before my mcat scores would be released. Should I only submit to one school first and add more after the mcat scores come back? Should I even submit the application before the scores come out?

Thanks!

 

[SN12357]

Yes, you can and should submit to one school before your scores come back. You don't want to submit to more than that so that you can adjust your school list once you see your score and don't waste money on schools you end up not wanting to apply to. That first school should be a school you know you will apply to regardless of your MCAT--probably your state school.

 

[ChemNerd07]

I took mine June and submitted July. I had absolutely no problems. I'm really glad I waited because I didn't do as well as I had hoped and ended up having to change the schools I was applying to. I was still verified by mid-August well before the August mad rush.

 

[medmedman]

I'm scheduled to take the mcat in June so I won't have the score until July so I was thinking of sending my application before my mcat scores would be released. Should I only submit to one school first and add more after the mcat scores come back? Should I even submit the application before the scores come out?

My stats are:
cGPA: 3.88
sGPA: 3.75

Thanks!

What have you been getting on your practice MCATs?
If you've been scoring 32+ then apply to all your schools now. If you are worried about your MCAT and aren't sure how well you will do, apply to your safety and middle-tier schools. Once you get your MCAT score back, you can adjust accordingly. Do not just apply to one school if your confident in your MCAT score. Holding onto a few bucks is not worth the risk of applying late

 

[Cmdr_Shepard]

What have you been getting on your practice MCATs?
If you've been scoring 32+ then apply to all your schools now. If you are worried about your MCAT and aren't sure how well you will do, apply to your safety and middle-tier schools. Once you get your MCAT score back, you can adjust accordingly. Do not just apply to one school if your confident in your MCAT score. Holding onto a few bucks is not worth the risk of applying late

She won't be applying late. If she submits with one school, AMCAS will begin verification of the grades. During that time, the MCAT will be written and scores will come back. No time is wasted here.

After verification, any new school that is added (presumably targeted via the MCAT score) will receive the application immediately and a secondary invite will be sent.

 

[medmedman]

She won't be applying late. If she submits with one school, AMCAS will begin verification of the grades. During that time, the MCAT will be written and scores will come back. No time is wasted here.

After verification, any new school that is added (presumably targeted via the MCAT score) will receive the application immediately and a secondary invite will be sent.

There is though. If you submit on the first dat, your verification will take far less than the 4-8 weeks that it would usually take if you applied later in the cycle. MCAT score won't be out til July and there is a chance that the verification process can be over before the MCAT scores are received.

 

[Cmdr_Shepard]

Yes, there is a chance. But at maximum you're waiting an additional 2 weeks, which at that point in the cycle means nothing. Is that worth submitting with schools you may never apply to? No.

 

[soccergirl11]

does it matter if my application would be verified before the scores for the MCAT come out?

 

[trino]

does it matter if my application would be verified before the scores for the MCAT come out?

No it doesn't matter. Schools won't send you secondaries until they receive your MCAT score. Apply to one school, start thinking about what schools to apply to depending on a couple MCAT ranges. When you get your scores back, you'll be able to add those schools that same day - no time wasted (even though it doesn't matter because at this point, you're early/on time)

 

[ZebAkers]

You should be fine. I took the MCAT (first time) on August 16 and didn't submit my AMCAS primary until August 24. I meant to submit AMCAS earlier (July time-frame) but MCAT prep took priority and I didn't buckle down on my application until after the test. I would definitely not suggest submitting as late as I did, much too stressful. Took me months to get AMCAS verified, so my MCAT scores ended up coming in way before my app was made available to schools. Worked out for me regardless though; secondaries were sent to me almost immediately after verification, II was offered within a week of my one secondary submission, and acceptance was offered ~24 hours after my interview. So it can be done, but early submission seems like the way to go.

 

[soccergirl11]

You should be fine. I took the MCAT (first time) on August 16 and didn't submit my AMCAS primary until August 24. I meant to submit AMCAS earlier (July time-frame) but MCAT prep took priority and I didn't buckle down on my application until after the test. I would definitely not suggest submitting as late as I did, much too stressful. Took me months to get AMCAS verified, so my MCAT scores ended up coming in way before my app was made available to schools. Worked out for me regardless though; secondaries were sent to me almost immediately after verification, II was offered within a week of my one secondary submission, and acceptance was offered ~24 hours after my interview. So it can be done, but early submission seems like the way to go.

Do you think if I wait until mid-July to submit that is too late? I talked with my advisor and she said it would be fine but after reading posts on here I'm not sure.

What is really considered "late" for an application submission?

 

[ZebAkers]

Do you think if I wait until mid-July to submit that is too late? I talked with my advisor and she said it would be fine but after reading posts on here I'm not sure.

What is really considered "late" for an application submission?

I agree with your advisor, I do not think that mid-July is too late for the average applicant. However I would plan to submit earlier than you really want to have it done, just to avoid running into any unforeseen delays that cause you to submit later than planned. As far as SDN posts causing you to doubt your advisor, take everything you read on this site with a generous serving of salt (including my advice, as bias is ubiquitous). Your advisor knows you much better than anyone on SDN, and therefore can probably provide the best insight as to when the ideal submission time for your situation would be. Many SDN users are hyper-overachievers, and while conforming to their standards likely won't do you harm, doing so may be overkill in certain situations. I agree with many other posters that submission AS SOON AS POSSIBLE is your best bet, however you have to take a look at your own situation and decide what will work best for you. For some, such as myself, submitting in June is detrimental. Your schedule may not permit, you may need to commit more time to MCAT prep, you may have something going on in July that you would like to include in your application, etc. I would have LOVED to have submitted my application in June, however realistically it just wasn't beneficial for me to do so. Assess the risks/benefits of submitting earlier/later, and go with what would be best for you. If it benefits you to submit in mid-July, I don't think you have anything to worry about as far as being late is concerned.

There are probably others that could qualify what is late better than I, but with that being said I think that August would be considered a late submission by most, and that September would be definitely be considered late. I think that mid to late July would be as far back as you want to push your submission.

I know that it is hard not to stress at this point in the process, but remain calm and keep trucking. Thousands have gone through this before you, you can get through it too. Good luck on the MCAT and application process!