Applying Early

[Marquis_Phoenix]

For top schools (Harvard, JHU, etc.) does it matter how early you apply (obviously before the deadline)?

People talk about applying in July... September would be too late?

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[Stolenspatulas]

Its advantageous to apply early no matter what.

Its absolutely 100% off-the-wall important to apply early for rolling schools. Harvard is not rolling, so its not as important, though there is still some advantage in applying early. JHU is rolling, so its definitely more important for them.

My premed advisor told me to have my AMCAS submitted by mid-July at the LATEST in order to harness any advantage of ''applying early.'' So I made my magical date the first week of July and worked on my AMCAS the month prior, getting help on my PS etc. My AMCAS was processed at the end of July and I completed most secondaries in the early weeks of August (which alligns with the bubble period of post-summer vacation and before school gets going). Pump them out as soon as possible, yet don't do them too hastily.

I decided which ones to do first by:
1. dividing groups into rolling and non-rolling
2. dividing rolling group into reach and average

Do the rolling reach schools first (ie, JHU, etc) since they have a large in-flux of applications from uber-competitive applicants and you want to gain any advantage you can over members of this group. Then complete the rest of the rolling schools. Lastly complete the non-rolling schools in order of reach and average.

I had all my secondaries in by September (besides Prtizker and Duke since they just took so long and I was getting tired..ha).

 

[Doc206]

The short is...it can't hurt. As the above poster said it is especially important for schools with rolling admissions. If you have great scores (and apply early) you will most like end up with earlier interviews and then acceptances. Also, the later you wait the more applications the schools have to deal with. Earlier = better.

 

[AnEyeLikeMars]

For non-rollings, I would say it does NOT matter how early/late you apply. The only non-rolling school I applied to was Duke (primary mid-october, secondary Jan 1, interviewed 2/9, accepted 3/3) and being late didn't hurt me.

That being said, for the love of God, APPLY EARLY!!! For school's with rolling admissions, it really makes a difference. Since I'm sure you'll apply to some non-rollings and some rollings, you should apply to all of them as early as possible. It don't think it's a coincidence that my only acceptance is from a non-rolling school, and I got waitlisted at 3 rolling schools (Pitt, Wake, and Vandy, still waiting to hear from a couple places). Please, don't be like me, learn from people who've been through it and apply as early as possible.

 

[ryandote]

So, yeah.... as has been implied: September is too late to be "early." Not too late to apply, but too late to be "early."

Especially if you are talking about submitting your AMCAS primary application in September.

 

[ADeadLois]

For non-rollings, I would say it does NOT matter how early/late you apply. The only non-rolling school I applied to was Duke (primary mid-october, secondary Jan 1, interviewed 2/9, accepted 3/3) and being late didn't hurt me.

That being said, for the love of God, APPLY EARLY!!! For school's with rolling admissions, it really makes a difference. Since I'm sure you'll apply to some non-rollings and some rollings, you should apply to all of them as early as possible. It don't think it's a coincidence that my only acceptance is from a non-rolling school, and I got waitlisted at 3 rolling schools (Pitt, Wake, and Vandy, still waiting to hear from a couple places). Please, don't be like me, learn from people who've been through it and apply as early as possible.

Do keep in mind that some schools who claim to be non-rolling are such only on final decisions. They may still hand-out interviews on a rolling basis, in which case it's advantageous to apply early.

Most of the advantage of applying early comes from increasing the likelihood that you will get an interview.

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

Do keep in mind that some schools who claim to be non-rolling are such only on final decisions. They may still hand-out interviews on a rolling basis, in which case it's advantageous to apply early.

What schools don't do interviews on a rolling basis? The answer, none. It's impossible.