Applying Late: Need Advice

[toronto123]

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Hey guys,

I am a Canadian applicant and am new to this forum. I am completing my third year and have a GPA of 3.75 and MCAT of 26P (8 in verbal). I also have good extracurriculars (research, hospital volunteering, club exec). I am very confident that I can increase my MCAT score to 30+. I plan to take my MCAT late August so that I can get as much practice as possible.

I really need some information about the disadvantages associated with completing my application in September vs July. September will be when I receive my new MCAT scores as well as when my LORs will all be completed/submitted. I am not sure as to how secondary apps are sent out (will I get them after submitting my MCAT+LORs or am I able to get them before?). I am also not sure as to how strict rolling admission policies are. I would really appreciate it if you guys could give me somewhat of an idea about all this, it is worrying me quite a lot. I really wouldn't like to have to wait another year for the next cycle, I really hope I have a good chance..

Some of the medical schools I'm looking at are - Baylor, Duke, Wayne State, NYU, Cornell (no rolling admissions), Georgetown, GW.

I apologize if this thread seems repetitive, I did a search but could not find an answer for my particular situation.

 

[qw098]

I am in the same boat though my GPA is higher 😛

 

[NeuralNetwork]

Being complete in September is pretty late..I have a couple friends who applied in September. By the looks of their applications, they would've gotten at least a couple interviews but ended up with no invites. I am sure someone will come here and post more statistically based information.

 

[toronto123]

I'm seeing a trend where most schools that have rolling admissions are usually ones with really high academic standards

 

[Catalystik]

I am a Canadian applicant and am new to this forum. I am completing my third year and have a GPA of 3.75 and MCAT of 26P (8 in verbal). I also have good extracurriculars (research, hospital volunteering, club exec). I am very confident that I can increase my MCAT score to 30+. I plan to take my MCAT late August so that I can get as much practice as possible.

1) I really need some information about the disadvantages associated with completing my application in September vs July. September will be when I receive my new MCAT scores as well as when my LORs will all be completed/submitted.
2) I am not sure as to how secondary apps are sent out (will I get them after submitting my MCAT+LORs or am I able to get them before?).

Some of the medical schools I'm looking at are - Baylor, Duke, Wayne State, NYU, Cornell (no rolling admissions), Georgetown, GW.

1) Late Application: Definitions vary by a person's experience, but I consider September "Completeness" to be late, with just a bit of negative effect on 9/1 which slowly accelerates over time, until it becomes devastating. The degree to which it hurts your chances (slope of the curve) depends on how competitive you are for a given school. My observation is that those with great stats still may get acceptances but that they often tend to be for less selective schools than those to which they might have aspired.

2) Sometimes you receive Secondaries before your application is Complete, because schools send them out to everyone (as they a nice source of extra funds). Other schools wait to get all your information before inviting you to submit Secondaries. You will have access to all the Secondary essays here on SDN so you can get an early start on writing them and have a more efficient turn-around time.

 

[weezynation]

I'm seeing a trend where most schools that have rolling admissions are usually ones with really high academic standards

Most med schools do rolling admissions but the ones that don't typically are the ones with high academic standards. They like to wait until they've seen everyone who has applied and interviewed so they can then choose the best of the best as opposed to admitting someone early in the application season and encountering an applicant who might have taken their spot had they applied earlier.

 

[toronto123]

thanks a lot for the input. I think I have no choice but to take the risk and apply, but its great to know that the supplementary essays are available here. I can get them done way far in advance.

 

[Chrome19]

I applied to 12 schools, and received interviews to 5. Due to logistical issues, I applied very very late and was complete at most places in November/December. I think I would've done better if I were even complete in September. If you are a strong applicant, September isn't too bad and August is great IMO. For perspective, I had a very late interview at a good school and some of my co-interviewees were complete in July/August.

So if you think you will be complete in September, then that's ok. Just submit your AMCAS in July so can get processed early and all that remains is your secondary. It will help to pre-write your essays too. (I didn't do that though.)

And even if schools are non-rolling, interview invites are rolling so it helps to apply early. I've done ok (not great) in the cycle.

 

[Catalystik]

its great to know that the supplementary essays are available here. I can get them done way far in advance.

For preview of what you have to look forward to, since they are 95% unchanged from year to year, here is a summary of many Secondary essays from 2010 cycle: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=10763720

 

[Wishing4MD]

For preview of what you have to look forward to, since they are 95% unchanged from year to year, here is a summary of many Secondary essays from 2010 cycle: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=10763720

Wow! This Excel sheet is amazing!

 

[Alejandro]

State schools may be a little more forgiving with applying late, but usually not the "elite" ones. Also, I've noticed a little trend with eastcoast vs west coast schools in that schools out west i think are a little more lax (not by much though) with applications than east coast ones. But I think it's more that their deadlines are later, and they start the process a little later than the east.

To be honest, if you aren't on schedule (i.e. able to be complete by july,) I wouldn't sacrifice applying and already putting yourself at a disadvantage. Applying to school is somewhat of a crapshoot because there is wide variability with interviewers and app evaluators. IMO, i'd do everything i could to increase my odds, which would include applying as early as possible.

 

[Ismet]

Some of the medical schools I'm looking at are - Baylor, Duke, Wayne State, NYU, Cornell (no rolling admissions), Georgetown, GW.

I was complete in late September/early October at all of my schools and I received interview offers at all but one (Cornell). I was rejected from Cornell in January along with a bunch of other "late" applicants. Just because the school doesn't have rolling admission doesn't necessarily mean they will offer interviews to late applicants.

Also, this might not be completely true, but I read somewhere on SDN that NYU doesn't look much at late applications (I had them on my AMCAS but decided against sending the secondary since it was already late September). This might have meant they don't look at apps complete in November-December, so with a September complete date you might still be okay, just more disadvantaged than summer applicants.

I'd suggest going through the school-specific threads and seeing which schools are handing out invites to people who were complete in late fall. I know NYMC is one of those schools, I'm sure there are more.

 

[toronto123]

I applied as an international student to 12 schools, and received interviews to 5. Due to logistical issues, I applied very very late and was complete at most places in November/December. I think I would've done better if I were even complete in September. If you are a strong applicant, September isn't too bad and August is great IMO. For perspective, I had a very late interview at a good school and some of my co-interviewees were complete in July/August.

So if you think you will be complete in September, then that's ok. Just submit your AMCAS in July so can get processed early and all that remains is your secondary. It will help to pre-write your essays too. (I didn't do that though.)

And even if schools are non-rolling, interview invites are rolling so it helps to apply early. I've done ok (not great) in the cycle.

I was complete in late September/early October at all of my schools and I received interview offers at all but one (Cornell). I was rejected from Cornell in January along with a bunch of other "late" applicants. Just because the school doesn't have rolling admission doesn't necessarily mean they will offer interviews to late applicants.

Also, this might not be completely true, but I read somewhere on SDN that NYU doesn't look much at late applications (I had them on my AMCAS but decided against sending the secondary since it was already late September). This might have meant they don't look at apps complete in November-December, so with a September complete date you might still be okay, just more disadvantaged than summer applicants.

I'd suggest going through the school-specific threads and seeing which schools are handing out invites to people who were complete in late fall. I know NYMC is one of those schools, I'm sure there are more.

Can you guys tell me the places you applied and (if you don't mind) your GPA/MCAT? I'd like to get an idea of what places I would have a chance at.




Anyways, I really appreciate the input guys, glad to be here! I've done some more reading around the forums and I cant really find an answer for my next few questions -

1. Does the primary application include MCAT and LORs? I know it does include my Transcript and Personal Statement/Extracurriculars. I am asking this because my new MCAT score will probably come in September 24. I should have all my LORs be on the way as well by this time. I will definitely have the secondary app essays ready for whenever they come in so that I can send them out ASAP.

2. If the primary does include these components, do you guys recommend that I send the primary ASAP without MCAT/LOR and just update it afterwards? Or is it better to hold it off until I receive my new MCAT score and LORs. I wouldn't like to be judged based on my old MCAT.

3. Am I at a disadvantage if I use the same LORs in the next cycle. (Obviously the dates on them will be changed.) I hope it doesn't come down to this...

 

[Ismet]

Can you guys tell me the places you applied and (if you don't mind) your GPA/MCAT? I'd like to get an idea of what places I would have a chance at.

Click on my MDApps (under my avatar) for stats and schools I applied to.

1. Does the primary application include MCAT and LORs? I know it does include my Transcript and Personal Statement/Extracurriculars. I am asking this because my new MCAT score will probably come in September 24. I should have all my LORs be on the way as well by this time. I will definitely have the secondary app essays ready for whenever they come in so that I can send them out ASAP.

On AMCAS, you have to indicate the date(s) you took or plan to take the MCAT. So you would put in the date of your past MCAT and you would also put in the August date. You also have to input information on your letter writers, whether you are getting individual writers or it's a school committee letter. AMCAS will generate a "cover letter" that has to be sent in along with the LOR.

2. If the primary does include these components, do you guys recommend that I send the primary ASAP without MCAT/LOR and just update it afterwards? Or is it better to hold it off until I receive my new MCAT score and LORs. I wouldn't like to be judged based on my old MCAT.

Yes, submit it early (June) so it can be verified and you just wait for the MCAT/LORs to come in. Verification takes a really long time if you wait to submit until August (usually over a month) but it only takes 1-2 weeks or even less if you submit in June. Since you are going to indicate that you are taking the MCAT in the future, your AMCAS will not be released to schools until that MCAT score comes in.

3. Am I at a disadvantage if I use the same LORs in the next cycle. (Obviously the dates on them will be changed.) I hope it doesn't come down to this...

If they're good, strong LORs, I'm pretty sure you can reuse them (although you might want to get 1-2 new ones to show what you have done in the year between applications). If you think some of them might be weak or might have contributed to the reason you didn't get accepted, then you need to replace those.

 

[Catalystik]

Since you are going to indicate that you are taking the MCAT in the future, your AMCAS will not be released to schools until that MCAT score comes in.

It's my experience that when one has an old MCAT score, it will be released to schools before the new score is available once verification is completed, however schools will hold the application for consideration until the new score returns since a future MCAT date has been indicated on the Primary application.

Since you cannot be sure of how the second test will turn out, you might consider applying to a single less-selective school initially, just to get the verification done. When the score returns, you can add more schools appropriate to the new score (and pay for them). Newly added schools get the entire application within a business day.

 

[toronto123]

Click on my MDApps (under my avatar) for stats and schools I applied to.



On AMCAS, you have to indicate the date(s) you took or plan to take the MCAT. So you would put in the date of your past MCAT and you would also put in the August date. You also have to input information on your letter writers, whether you are getting individual writers or it's a school committee letter. AMCAS will generate a "cover letter" that has to be sent in along with the LOR.



Yes, submit it early (June) so it can be verified and you just wait for the MCAT/LORs to come in. Verification takes a really long time if you wait to submit until August (usually over a month) but it only takes 1-2 weeks or even less if you submit in June. Since you are going to indicate that you are taking the MCAT in the future, your AMCAS will not be released to schools until that MCAT score comes in.



If they're good, strong LORs, I'm pretty sure you can reuse them (although you might want to get 1-2 new ones to show what you have done in the year between applications). If you think some of them might be weak or might have contributed to the reason you didn't get accepted, then you need to replace those.

Does all of this apply to TMDSAS - is it pretty much an identical procedure?

 

[Ismet]

Does all of this apply to TMDSAS - is it pretty much an identical procedure?

I didn't use TMDSAS, but I know their deadline is October 1, so being completely in late September is extremely late. Hopefully someone who used TMDSAS sees this and can better answer your question.

 

[notbobtrustme]

I would advise against applying late.

I had a 37T/3.66 application complete on 9-13ish (when my MCAT score was released) and I only received 2 IIs (ultimately waitlisted) out of 7 or 8 schools I was complete at.