Applying to medical schools without MCAT Score in

[deleted421268]

Can I apply to various schools after I take the MCAT July 20th although my scores won't come in until August 20th?

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[Rachapkis]

You can apply to schools prior to knowing the results of your MCAT. However, it is not ideal. Here is an article on the subject.

https://blog.accepted.com/can-submit-amcas-application-taking-mcat/

 

[deleted421268]

Is it best to apply only after my MCAT score comes in August 20th? If I applied without MCAT result coming in would I still receive secondaries from those schools?

 

[Rachapkis]

Is it best to apply only after my MCAT score comes in August 20th? If I applied without MCAT result coming in would I still receive secondaries from those schools?

With respect to your first question, read the article I posted above. With the respect to your second question, each medical school has its own application review process. Some invite all applicants to complete the secondary application once their file is complete. Others screen applicants before issuing secondaries. However, schools will generally wait until your application is complete (including your MCAT score) before sending you the secondary.

 

[Goro]

Can I apply to various schools after I take the MCAT July 20th although my scores won't come in until August 20th?

You can, but you shouldn't.

The wise @gonnif can explain.

 

[Goro]

Is it best to apply only after my MCAT score comes in August 20th? If I applied without MCAT result coming in would I still receive secondaries from those schools?

Secondaries are often a tax on the hopelessly optimistic, if not pathologically naive.

 

[deleted966008]

Can I apply to various schools after I take the MCAT July 20th although my scores won't come in until August 20th?

You can apply to one school in June to get your application verified, and then apply to the rest of your list as soon as your scores come in. Have multiple lists ready that are tailored to your possible scoring ranges.

With that being said, I can only recommend doing this if you were to take the MCAT in June and pre-wrote your secondaries for a July submission. Submitting all your secondaries in late August / early September is simply not a good strategy to have off the bat, plus you are running the risk of potentially not getting as good of a score as you'd like and still having to go through with the application.

In Summary: it is a potentially viable strategy for late MCAT testers if done correctly, but understand the risk you're taking.

 

[efle]

^ Yeah do this. Submit to one throwaway burner school, just to get your app in the verification queue. Do NOT submit to your full list of programs, and do NOT use your favorite or most likely option (e.g. your state program) as your single submitted app.

This way you're protected if the MCAT score comes back worse than you expected and you have to take a cycle off. If it comes back good, then you just go add your full list of schools and AMCAS will instantly transmit them all your verified app.

Also you better prewrite secondaries, don't wait until late august/early Sept to start writing them.

 

[Hopefulpremed123]

You can, but you shouldn't.

The wise @gonnif can explain.

What if we take our MCAT in late June and receive our scores by late July? And we submit our primary without MCAT around mid June?

Is this a viable time frame that won’t hold us back?

 

[IlDestriero]

Lots of would be superstars take the MCAT and think they are going to kill it and get an academic scholarship and the key to the city. Many discover the hard way that ain’t the case.
If you’ve already applied, you’re putting all your eggs in that basket. If you end up with a marginal MCAT score, you’re going to be left behind and find yourself having to take the MCAT again AND reapply. You don’t want to be that person.

 

[deleted966008]

What if we take our MCAT in late June and receive our scores by late July? And we submit our primary without MCAT around mid June?

Is this a viable time frame that won’t hold us back?

Yes this is viable. I used this strategy and got all secondaries in by July 20 or so. If you can crush a June MCAT + have everything verified and submitted in July then those two variables will not hold you back.

That being said, it’s definitely a risky way of going about things - monitor your practice scores. If your practice scores are on the fringe of what’s acceptable for MD (508 or so) don’t do this. If you’re routinely practicing in the 515+ or 520+ and can stomach applying with, worst case, an MCAT a few points below your expected result, then your risk is minimized and I say go ahead and do it.

 

[Goro]

What if we take our MCAT in late June and receive our scores by late July? And we submit our primary without MCAT around mid June?

Is this a viable time frame that won’t hold us back?

You've been an SDN member for two years...you should know by know what the early/late time lines are for applying to MD and DO.

 

[Hopefulpremed123]

Yes this is viable. I used this strategy and got all secondaries in by July 20 or so. If you can crush a June MCAT + have everything verified and submitted in July then those two variables will not hold you back.

That being said, it’s definitely a risky way of going about things - monitor your practice scores. If your practice scores are on the fringe of what’s acceptable for MD (508 or so) don’t do this. If you’re routinely practicing in the 515+ or 520+ and can stomach applying with, worst case, an MCAT a few points below your expected result, then your risk is minimized and I say go ahead and do it.

Thanks for your reply! So my MCAT date is scheduled for June 27th. I plan on prewriting m secondaries in the period between June 27th and July 27th. However, keeping in mind that I’ll have only 1 filler school prior to July 27th and I will be adding the rest on July 27th, how will my secondaries timeline look like?

Do schools send our secondaries even without MCAT scores for example? Obviously not interview invites, but what about secondaries?

 

[deleted966008]

Thanks for your reply! So my MCAT date is scheduled for June 27th. I plan on prewriting m secondaries in the period between June 27th and July 27th. However, keeping in mind that I’ll have only 1 filler school prior to July 27th and I will be adding the rest on July 27th, how will my secondaries timeline look like?

Do schools send our secondaries even without MCAT scores for example? Obviously not interview invites, but what about secondaries?

You can pre-write secondaries without your MCAT scores in. So say for example after tons of practice tests you were very confident that you were going to score in the 514-520 range. Make two school lists, one for where you score 514-517 and one where you score 518-520.

If you use 20 schools, there will inevitably be some overlap between the two school lists. Say 12 you would apply to no matter what and 8 are variable because your score would affect your competitiveness. Pre-write the first 12.

 

[Hopefulpremed123]

You can pre-write secondaries without your MCAT scores in. So say for example after tons of practice tests you were very confident that you were going to score in the 514-520 range. Make two school lists, one for where you score 514-517 and one where you score 518-520.

If you use 20 schools, there will inevitably be some overlap between the two school lists. Say 12 you would apply to no matter what and 8 are variable because your score would affect your competitiveness. Pre-write the first 12.

Got it, thanks for the advice! But quick question....

Would you recommend I only use one placeholder school when I submit my primary in Mid June?

Also, say for the schools that screen when can I expect a secondary from them if I add them onto my verified primary on July 27th?
- I heard some schools that don’t screen will send you a secondaries right after your primary is verified even without an MCAT score.

In my situation, when would you say should be my “target” date for getting the secondaries out... to be good to go?

I guess I’m just worried a June 27th MCAT might be a disadvantage, but from what I’m gathering a June MCAT is the absolute latest we should do it.

 

[deleted966008]

Got it, thanks for the advice! But quick question....

Would you recommend I only use one placeholder school when I submit my primary in Mid June?

Also, say for the schools that screen when can I expect a secondary from them if I add them onto my verified primary on July 27th?
- I heard some schools that don’t screen will send you a secondaries right after your primary is verified even without an MCAT score.

In my situation, when would you say should be my “target” date for getting the secondaries out... to be good to go?

There's no advantage to submitting more than one placeholder, so yes.

It might take a couple weeks to get the screened ones out to you but keep in mind that's also the case for every other applicant to that school.

If you get most of them done before the end of July and the rest done by August 15th, you should be okay.

 

[Hopefulpremed123]

You've been an SDN member for two years...you should know by know what the early/late time lines are for applying to MD and DO.

I really don’t think it’s fair or nice to say this considering how many differing answers we get from everyone. I don’t see what’s wrong in double checking with an experienced admissions member such as yourself.

 

[Goro]

I really don’t think it’s fair or nice to say this considering how many differing answers we get from everyone. I don’t see what’s wrong in double checking with an experienced admissions member such as yourself.

I get tired of typing in the same info that can be found by a simple search.

 

[lbrez98]

I'm kind of in the same case with applying this year or waiting until next year and am looking for some advice on it. A little bit about me:

GPA: 3.766
sGPA:3.635
~80 hours of volunteering (in the emergency room, at a free clinic where I do vitals and patient history, on a children's floor in the playroom)
100+ hours of shadowing (ER, sports med, orthopedic surgery, pediatric orthopedic surgery, general practitioner)
I also do research but dont have a count on the hours

The only thing I am struggling with is my MCAT. I was supposed to take it tomorrow but have decided to push it back since I have been scoring 497 on the practice exams. I am now planning on taking it in the middle of July but am wondering if I should wait to apply next cycle or would be okay to apply to mostly DO schools in August and some MD schools with lower MCAT scores. I am hoping to raise it to at least a 506