Applying while abroad?

[Steeler7588]

I did a search to see if there were any threads concerning this, but any previous ones only asked about interviewing while abroad.

I'm going to study abroad and do some research for my senior thesis in Australia from around early June to August 3rd. I'm planning to have my recommendations lined up and to submit my primary as soon as it opens. I'd leave for Melbourne basically right after submitting, and I don't see any issues with that.

However, will secondaries be a problem? I thought I'd be fine with those, but someone told me I might end up being too busy to work on them in a timely manner. For those of you have have studied abroad, did you end up being that busy? Assuming I'm able to find the time to work on secondaries, are they generally submitted online? If I'd have to send any in through snail mail I guess just emailing my parents what I've written and having them do it might be an option. What do you all think?

I'll be back in time for interviews, so I'm not worried about that part of the process.

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[goldenwest]

I'm probably going to have the same problem. I'll be in Uruguay the whole summer that I'm applying; I don't have any advice for you though except to try to apply as early as possible and get better bearings on what your time constraints will be like.

 

[146233]

The majority of my secondaries were online, but there were still quite a few that were snail mail. It'd be ideal to try and turn your secondaries around within 24-72 hours wherever possible, so that's something to consider.

Plenty of people have studied abroad during the application cycle and plenty have succeeded in gaining admission, too.

 

[235009]

It'd be ideal to try and turn your secondaries around within 24-72 hours wherever possible, so that's something to consider.

that's not ideal that's overly neurotic ....the accepted guideline is that you should turn in a secondary within two weeks of getting it

As for the original question....if you're only gonna be gone until early august this shouldn't be a problem at all. There are a handful of schools that require you to send in a paper copy but what might be a problem is that you might run into a couple of schools that either require you to sign your secondary or send in a signature page after submitting online... you can't get your parents to do that for you and that might be a problem

 

[Californiaswim]

Hey, OP, I did all my application stuff while in Asia with no problem. You can find most of the secondary questions on this forum so you can have them all pre-written before they actually come out which helps speed things up a ton.

I did get a few secondaries that needed to be mailed and/or signed. I just printed, scanned, emailed, and had my parents print them out and mail them on the other end. No big hassle.

Good luck!

 

[146233]

that's not ideal that's overly neurotic ....the accepted guideline is that you should turn in a secondary within two weeks of getting it

Judge not... The quicker you turn it around, the faster your file is complete, and the quicker you get looked at for interviews.

 

[tessa108]

I did it this summer. I was in Prague from mid-June until August, and I didn't have any problems.

I submitted my primary before I left, and took care of the secondaries as they came out. As long as you have internet access, it shouldn't be an issue; pretty much everything is online. If I needed anything mailed, I just had my parents do it for me or mailed it from Prague.

Just stay on top of your e-mail, and you should be fine!

 

[Steeler7588]

Alright, so the main issue seems to be what skinMD brought up:

What might be a problem is that you might run into a couple of schools that either require you to sign your secondary or send in a signature page after submitting online... you can't get your parents to do that for you and that might be a problem.

But Californiaswim's way of handling that problem seems to work pretty well:

I did get a few secondaries that needed to be mailed and/or signed. I just printed, scanned, emailed, and had my parents print them out and mail them on the other end. No big hassle.

I'm lucky enough that quite a few of the schools I'm considering have very short secondaries, and I'll try to prewrite for the other ones as much as I can. Thanks for the replies and help, guys!

 

[Golden Joe]

I did 19 secondaries on a ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and everything turned out okay for me. I also worked everyday during my time on the ship and the internet was slower than dial-up...it's definitely manageable.

 

[RSAgator]

It won't be a problem at all.

I applied this past summer while backpacking in europe for 2 months. Almost everything was done electronically, though I did have to send a signed paper to my school to have them send transcripts to AMCAS. Granted i finished my secondaries when I got back (because I got back in July) but you'll have ample time to complete everything on time. If you're that paranoid about not having enough time while you're there then you can pre-write your secondaries, very few of them change. Seriously though, you'll have no problem and anything that will require a hard copy you should be able to just have someone send out for you.

 

[kiyomander]

Did all my secondaries from an internet cafe in Africa in a town with regular power outages! If med school is your dream, do whatever it takes to get those secondaries done (and done well) even if it means sacrificing other things. Good luck!

 

[Sangria]

I studies abroad for a month this past summer. I submitted my AMCAS 2-3 weeks after you were allowed to submit it and I became verified in the middle of my trip.
I did not do any secondaries while abroad. One reason was that my LORs were still not done (they were completed about a week before the end of my trip). A bigger reason was that I did not want to spend my time abroad writing essays and being stressed out. I only had several weeks there and I thought that enjoying them was more important than getting my secondaries in two weeks earlier than i would have otherwise.
I did my secondaries when I came back, I was keeping track of my secondary deadlines while abroad and luckily the secondaries with 2-3 week deadlines came toward the end of my trip, so i had time to complete them at home