Applying late

[cure0008]

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Is it late to be complete with everything (primary, secondary) by first week of October? If so, how late is it?

Thanks

 

[TACMON]

i would say that's late only because it takes a few weeks to be processed, then interviewed. and most schools let students know as early as october 15 whether they're in

but if you have stellar stats, then you may be alright

 

[Catalystik]

IMO, being complete at all your schools in early October I'd call slightly late, very late being ~11/15 through January. How much of a disadvantage this is depends on the schools and how competitive you are for each of them, but it's not likely to be a huge issue at that point of the cycle.

 

[cure0008]

IMO, being complete at all your schools in early October I'd call slightly late, very late being ~11/15 through January. How much of a disadvantage this is depends on the schools and how competitive you are for each of them, but it's not likely to be a huge issue at that point of the cycle.

When would you say a person needs to be complete by to be neither early or late?

 

[Catalystik]

There is no formal definition that everyone uses, but I'd say that 8/15-10/1 would be average.

 

[JJMrK]

To me, that sounds late. I'd call August 1st early and September 1st somewhere in the middle.

 

[DaisyBuchanan]

From reading SDN, I get the impression that if you haven't been AMCAS verified by July 1, you're late... but this is the cream of the crop for pre-med freakouts here

But seriously, just get your stuff in when you can... is there any particular reason you'd wait to get your stuff together?

 

[Systemic]

There is no formal definition that everyone uses, but I'd say that 8/15-10/1 would be average.

From reading SDN, I get the impression that if you haven't been AMCAS verified by July 1, you're late... but this is the cream of the crop for pre-med freakouts here

That's what I thought as well. I usually obtain this type of information from SDN, and from what I've gathered from this website, if you're sending in secondaries after July 30th, you may as well wait until next year, because that is too late.

 

[Catalystik]

To me, that sounds late. I'd call August 1st early and September 1st somewhere in the middle.

from what I've gathered from this website, if you're sending in secondaries after July 30th, you may as well wait until next year, because that is too late.

This sounds like a hardcore SDNers definition. Since August 1 is the deadline for Early Decision Programs, I think it is reasonable for regular applicants to have longer than that, since their applications wouldn't be much regarded while the EDP process is starting up. Of course some schools don't have EDP, so "early" needs to slide up a bit for them.

 

[NickNaylor]

That's what I thought as well. I usually obtain this type of information from SDN, and from what I've gathered from this website, if you're sending in secondaries after July 30th, you may as well wait until next year, because that is too late.

I hope you don't seriously believe this.

 

[Systemic]

I hope you don't seriously believe this.

I don't. But I have searched around this site on this topic, and many here do state that submitting secondaries in August is late.

 

[dumbbell]

it takes a week or two to get your secondaries after your AMCAS, it takes another 4-6 weeks after your secondaries to get interview invites, and wait for a month or two weeks to actually interview. say you use a week to finish your secondary, it would be 3 months to attend an actual interview from the day you completed your primary. if you did it in October, the earliest interview would be in late January, at that time, private schools have already given out number of spots that are equivalent to their class size.
To answer your question, really, it is not too late. My primary was done a day before Nov 1st, rec letters got in before Christmas. all my secondaries were completed in the first two weeks of January. however, this limited the number of interviews to 3...therefore the chance of being accepted to the school of your choice is limited.

 

[riverjib]

Is it late to be complete with everything (primary, secondary) by first week of October? If so, how late is it?

Thanks

It's late. I've lectured plenty of people about applying early, but I'm applying late, too. Supporting yourself while studying for the MCAT sucks, but it is what it is.

Given what I saw with my classmates with high GPAs, the best I'm hoping for applying as late as October (including secondaries) is interviews followed by wait lists. Unless you're truly superior, that's the reality for us both.

 

[betheltim]

I don't. But I have searched around this site on this topic, and many here do state that submitting secondaries in August is late.

It most definitely depends on the school and one's own situation. Certain schools don't even send out secondaries until August or September, while others send them out immediately upon verification (and some of those don't even require any additional effort, including essays!). Last year I was complete at every school at some point in August, and I received two interviews out of five schools, and two of the other three I was OOS applying to public schools (I don't have stellar numbers or extracurriculars). With my anecdotal evidence, I would say that the latest you should submit secondaries if you aren't a stellar applicant would be the end of August, but after my own experience I will be complete at all my schools by mid-July.