Applying to 1 Medical School

[icekream]

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I took my MCAT on May 28th.

Would it be advisable to only apply to 1 school right now, and get the ball rolling in terms of verification, while I wait for my score?

Come June 30ish, when I receive my score, I can add more schools at that time.

Is this good, or dumb?

 

[AdemTD]

I took my MCAT on May 28th.

Would it be advisable to only apply to 1 school right now, and get the ball rolling in terms of verification, while I wait for my score?

Come June 30ish, when I receive my score, I can add more schools at that time.

Is this good, or dumb?

I'm not sure about AMCAS, but I know AACOMAS charges more money if you add schools later than if you were to just apply to those schools at the start.

 

[icekream]

I'm not sure about AMCAS, but I know AACOMAS charges more money if you add schools later than if you were to just apply to those schools at the start.

Thanks for the response, but $ isn't a significant issue at this point. The difference between 150K and 151K in debt is negligible lol

 

[Brent8927]

I took my MCAT on May 28th.

Would it be advisable to only apply to 1 school right now, and get the ball rolling in terms of verification, while I wait for my score?

Come June 30ish, when I receive my score, I can add more schools at that time.

Is this good, or dumb?

I've heard people say this is good advice. I don't see any reason why it would be dumb.

For the record, I don't remember when verification takes place, and if it can occur before your last MCAT score is in. Also, AMCAS does not charge you extra for adding schools late--at least they didn't las year.

 

[Gut Shot]

I took my MCAT on May 28th.

Would it be advisable to only apply to 1 school right now, and get the ball rolling in terms of verification, while I wait for my score?

Come June 30ish, when I receive my score, I can add more schools at that time.

Is this good, or dumb?

Let's examine the possibilities:

1. You apply to 1 school first, MCAT score is good
2. You apply to 1 school first, MCAT score is bad
3. You apply to all schools simultaneously, MCAT score is good
4. You apply to all schools simultaneously, MCAT score is bad

If you horribly bombed the MCAT, you'll probably withdraw and try again next year. That nixes 2 and 4.

Between 1 and 3, choice 1 doesn't accomplish anything except preserve your bank account. To maximize your chances of admission, you should apply to all your schools as early as possible... make your MCAT score the last part of the primary app they receive.

 

[Bacchus]

June 30th is still early in the cycle. I'm a money type of guy so I'd save the money and apply to one and spend only the $160. Its 30 dollars a school extra, regardless of when you add the school. (For AMCAS)

 

[mvenus929]

June 30th is still early in the cycle. I'm a money type of guy so I'd save the money and apply to one and spend only the $160. Its 30 dollars a school extra, regardless of when you add the school. (For AMCAS)

I agree, except that extra schools cost $31 this year 🙂

Apps don't go out to schools until the 24th, and secondaries really don't start rolling in until July, so adding schools around the 30th isn't going to make much of a difference in the long run.

 

[dakker]

This is exactly what I did last year (and I took my MCAT in July).

Excellent idea in my book, unless you are pretty sure you did awesome/horrible or if your school list is still up in the air.

My advice: Apply to one, get your score, cater your school list to that and add the rest of the schools.

 

[Bryson17]

I'd apply to one, then cater to your score.

 

[Law2Doc]

I took my MCAT on May 28th.

Would it be advisable to only apply to 1 school right now, and get the ball rolling in terms of verification, while I wait for my score?

Come June 30ish, when I receive my score, I can add more schools at that time.

Is this good, or dumb?

I personally wouldn't do this, because if your score is bad, you'll likely end up a reapplicant. This process favors those who get all their ducks in a row before applying, and only apply once.

 

[AdemTD]

I personally wouldn't do this, because if your score is bad, you'll likely end up a reapplicant. This process favors those who get all their ducks in a row before applying, and only apply once.

So you're advocating to not apply to any schools until the MCAT score comes in?

 

[supergirl87]

I took my MCAT on May 28th.

Would it be advisable to only apply to 1 school right now, and get the ball rolling in terms of verification, while I wait for my score?

Come June 30ish, when I receive my score, I can add more schools at that time.

Is this good, or dumb?

No, it's not dumb 😉 This is exactly what I did. Like you, I took the MCAT at the end of May last year, and didn't want to wait until I got back my scores to start the verification process (which btw took 3 weeks when I applied). I also applied to just one school and then added the rest once my score came back. If you aren't happy with your score, you'll at least be able to take it over this summer (assuming there will be seats). If the retake also doesn't pan out and you decide to apply again next year, as Law2Doc said, you WILL be considered a reapplicant even though you only applied to one school this year. Of course, this is the worst case scenario... It's a risky business to send the app without knowing your score, but time is of the essence here. If your practice scores have consistently been 30 or higher, chances are you will probably do around there on the real deal. I also mulled it over like you, and I'm glad I decided to send the app... Though, hindsight is 20/20 ,eh? 😛

 

[vickpick]

just apply to one school... but bear in my mind that if u chose to withdraw, ur status would be of a reapplicant next year - no matter what or how many schools u apply to.

 

[pianola]

I took my MCAT on May 28th.

Would it be advisable to only apply to 1 school right now, and get the ball rolling in terms of verification, while I wait for my score?

Come June 30ish, when I receive my score, I can add more schools at that time.

Is this good, or dumb?

I don't think it's dumb at all so long as you are 100% sure you are applying this cycle (that your MCAT could not possibly be low enough to sink you). Or if it is, that you're going ahead with this anyway.

Personally, though, I just sent all mine out June 26th after getting my score June 24th. You're in good shape no matter what decision you make, though.

And good luck.

 

[scarletgirl777]

You're only considered a reapplicant at that one school you applied to, so it's really not going to hurt future application cycles that badly. I think your idea is a good one.

 

[pianola]

You're only considered a reapplicant at that one school you applied to, so it's really not going to hurt future application cycles that badly. I think your idea is a good one.

Yeah, there's some debate over whether you're a reapplicant at ALL if you never send in a secondary to that single school you applied to...

 

[ErikLen]

OK

This issue is recurrent and probably covered in 1 of every 10 SDN posts. My advice, DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR AMCAS PRIMARY UNTIL YOU HAVE YOUR STRONG MCAT SCORE IN HAND! You don't want to 'risk' (regardless of what people say) being screened out by adcoms who only look at apps ONCE (due to the excessive volume of applications). The whole point of having a high MCAT score is hitting the adcom members between the eyes with it when they first review your application. At this point, it is fairly obvious weaker applicants apply early--adcoms are well aware of the fact that many people come in during the months of august and september. They know this from experience and have become less eager to interview students who applied early with mediocre scores. If your stats (mainly MCAT, assuming your GPA is solid) are good, and you apply once the MCAT is in hand, you will be considered and probably interviewed. If you apply with your crappy stuff and claim "oh but the good score is coming soon, hang on to this, it will improve in a few weeks!" you lose effect, and you probably will get passed.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Law2Doc]

So you're advocating to not apply to any schools until the MCAT score comes in?

I'm saying do not submit AMCAS until you are ready to be an applicant. And once you are ready to be an applicant, you apply to all your desired programs. None of this half in - half out crap. You get all your ducks in a row, and if you are happy with them, you apply. If not, you do something cool for another year and try the following year. The goal should be not to become a reapplicant, because at least at some programs (according to some deans), they are regarded less positively and have to prove themselves more -- showing "substantial improvement" etc.

 

[pianola]

I'm saying do not submit AMCAS until you are ready to be an applicant. And once you are ready to be an applicant, you apply to all your desired programs. None of this half in - half out crap. You get all your ducks in a row, and if you are happy with them, you apply. If not, you do something cool for another year and try the following year. The goal should be not to become a reapplicant, because at least at some programs (according to some deans), they are regarded less positively and have to prove themselves more -- showing "substantial improvement" etc.

Well you can be 100% sure that you're applying but only 50% sure where you're gonna be competitive.

I mean, call me arrogant, but I *knew* after taking the MCAT that the lowest score I could reasonably get was a 31 (I ended up with a 36). With a 31, I was sure as heck going to apply to medical schools and see what my luck was. At the same time, I wasn't going to fill out my entire list with places to apply until I had the exact score.

I think the OP is making a good choice (unless, as I said in a previous post, he is in any danger of deciding NOT to apply this cycle).

 

[pianola]

Obviously people are unable to predict exactly what their MCAT score will be. But if you really have *no* idea whether you're going to make a score in a reasonably competitive range for schools in this country, then (1) you probably didn't take enough practice tests and (2) you probably shouldn't be applying in the first place.

Take a worst-case-scenario approach.

 

[VMSmith]

I would say wait for your score and decide whether to apply based on your score. June 30 is still pretty early in the process. The reason it seems to be considered "late" on SDN is because we're a bunch of paranoid, neurotic go-getters who make each other even more paranoid and neurotic than we already are.

 

[pianola]

Also, yeah, to agree with the people who are telling you to wait, OP: June 30th is far from a late AMCAS application. I sent mine in just a couple days before that. The real trick is to not drop the ball on secondaries and get them out in a reasonably-timely manner.

 

[Cardiac]

As an aside, my friend did this (applied to 1 school just to get verified), and was verified within 6 hours yesterday. Apparently it takes a couple weeks minimum if you wait. If you're sure you will be applying this year, at least send in the app to your state school.

 

[Stixman28]

I took the May 20ish MCAT last year and waited to apply until they came in around the end of june.

I interviewed in the first possible week of interviews at more than one institution.

I submitted on July 4th. End of June is NOT late. I would wait for your mcat and keep working on your PS and toning up the rest of the AMCAS. Don't worry about this half applying thing. Just dont wait until sep/oct. you can still send in all your transcripts, just don't hit submit.

 

[mikey014]

Hi OP,

I think I kind of know where you're coming from. I ended up with a pretty good MCAT score. However, coming out of the exam I didn't feel good about it at all. And I think that's how most people feel. I had no idea what my score would be.


I think applying to just one school to get verified is perfectly fine. Especially, if you know you're applying this year and you just don't know where you're applying to.

 

[sunsfan]

Hey OP, we share this dilemma. I also took the MCAT last May 28.
Here is my reply to a similar thread. I hope it helps.


I've polled friends from last year's cycle and I want to share their advice to me. Make of this what you want.

- Decide now what's the minimum score I'll run with. Wait for my score to come out June 30. Meanwhile get everything else - EVERYTHING - ready.

- Best Case: No retake necessary. If so, they assured me a July 1 submission is not a huge disadvantage as long as I can guarantee a short turn-around time on my secondaries. Some of them took a June MCAT last year and felt "late" submitting their app in July/Aug but surprisingly many of them still got early interviews - within days of those who applied really early in the UCs.

- Worst case: Retake necessary. In this case, I should already be CALLING SCHOOLS NOW to check their policy about MCAT scores. Some schools prefer to have all scores including retakes before submitting the app. This is actually on the AMCAS Instruction book. A friend pointed this out to me. There are probably some schools who will wait for your scores if it comes out in a reasonable time frame.

So there it is. Again, this is the opinion of friends who know me well and this is personal advice that may not apply to you. I hope you find it somewhat helpful.

 

[Law2Doc]

...
I mean, call me arrogant, but I *knew* after taking the MCAT that the lowest score I could reasonably get was a 31 (I ended up with a 36). ....

If this is true you are a very unique person -- so unique in fact that your advice is not useful for most here. I wouldn't call it arrogant, but I would call it uncommon. Almost everyone else I know comes out of that test unsure of whether they got a 21 or a 41. Assuming the OP fits this bill more than yours, you simply don't apply until you know. If that means burning a year to avoid being a late applicant (not the case here), then that's what you do.

 

[icekream]

hi im the OP

thanks for the replies guys, i sent out my application with 1 school listed this morning. i'll wait until the 30th, which is when i get my scores, to add in more schools at that time...

oh and also my practice test range was 33-35 (kaplan) and 30-33 (aamc). i took the may 28th mcat which was really brutal, and ill just be happy with a 30 or better since my gpa is semi decent

 

[pianola]

If this is true you are a very unique person -- so unique in fact that your advice is not useful for most here. I wouldn't call it arrogant, but I would call it uncommon. Almost everyone else I know comes out of that test unsure of whether they got a 21 or a 41. Assuming the OP fits this bill more than yours, you simply don't apply until you know. If that means burning a year to avoid being a late applicant (not the case here), then that's what you do.

OK, well, OP...don't make a 21 (how's that for helpful advice? 😛).

I mean, yeah, you want to estimate conservatively. Always estimate conservatively if you're guessing about your MCAT score.

Always look at your most recent low scores. And look at your LOWEST scores because the MCAT you get will likely be harder than your practice tests.

 

[Law2Doc]

...

Always look at your most recent low scores. And look at your LOWEST scores because the MCAT you get will likely be harder than your practice tests.

The rule of thumb is that most applicants tend to score within 3 points above or below the average of their several most recent full length practice tests. So if the average is a 32 or lower, then scoring below 30 on the real thing wouldn't be uncommon, and you have to brace yourself for this possibility.

 

[pianola]

The rule of thumb is that most applicants tend to score within 3 points above or below the average of their several most recent full length practice tests. So if the average is a 32 or lower, then scoring below 30 on the real thing wouldn't be uncommon, and you have to brace yourself for this possibility.

Well assuming a 27-29 (likely worst case scenario for the OP) I think it's really up in the air whether s/he applies or not...(unless s/he's in California or applying to only 2 schools or only has 1 EC or something).

People get accepted with 27s.

 

[Law2Doc]

Well assuming a 27-29 (likely worst case scenario for the OP) I think it's really up in the air whether s/he applies or not...(unless s/he's in California or applying to only 2 schools or only has 1 EC or something).

People get accepted with 27s.

Sure, but if you are scoring 30+ on practice tests nobody would fault you for retaking and skipping an application cycle if you ended up with a 27. It's the difference between having a difficult time to get any med school vs a not as difficult time to actually have some choices.

 

[Caprica6]

I took May 28th as well and am planning on only applying to one school and then adding. Although no one can predict what their MCAT score will be, if my practice tests are any indication it will be at least a 30 (I hope). I want to get the verification process rolling this weekend. Whether I get a 30 or a 35 though is going to determine what schools I add.

 

[Law2Doc]

I took May 28th as well and am planning on only applying to one school and then adding. Although no one can predict what their MCAT score will be, if my practice tests are any indication it will be at least a 30 (I hope). I want to get the verification process rolling this weekend. Whether I get a 30 or a 35 though is going to determine what schools I add.

See my three points above or below comment above. If your practice test average is 32 or less, you very well could be expected to come up short of 30 on the real deal. If not, the odds are with you. (And that's only full length practice tests, taken recently and in a single sitting). Either way, if you took it in may you could find out the score and THEN submit AMCAS and still not be a particularly late applicant. Submitting in June is very different than submitting in the end of August. You are better off having all your ducks in a row before pulling that trigger, because you do not want to find out you need to retake the MCAT and end up either a late applicant or a reapplicant. You are, plain and simple, better off waiting IMHO.

 

[pianola]

See my three points above or below comment above. If your practice test average is 32 or less, you very well could be expected to come up short of 30 on the real deal. If not, the odds are with you. (And that's only full length practice tests, taken recently and in a single sitting). Either way, if you took it in may you could find out the score and THEN submit AMCAS and still not be a particularly late applicant. Submitting in June is very different than submitting in the end of August. You are better off having all your ducks in a row before pulling that trigger, because you do not want to find out you need to retake the MCAT and end up either a late applicant or a reapplicant. You are, plain and simple, better off waiting IMHO.

Is he or she really a "reapplicant" if s/he doesn't finish the rest of the application? (secondaries, etc.)

 

[Law2Doc]

Is he or she really a "reapplicant" if s/he doesn't finish the rest of the application? (secondaries, etc.)

I think if you submit AMCAS more than once you are a reapplicant in some school's eyes.