applying without mcat scores

[Snarkalark]

i'm not taking my mcat until late may, so i won't get my score until early july. is there any reason to submit the application before then or is it wisest to hold off until i know what sort of range i fall into? (i've heard the applications don't even get processed until the scores come in)

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[235009]

if you finish your application before you get your MCAT score you should submit it but only put down one or two (or a few) schools you know you will apply to (like your state schools for instance) so that your application can be in line to get verified. then when you get your score you can add more schools.

good luck!

 

[bravofleet4]

no, there's no reason to file that early. the benefit you'll get from applying early won't be that substantial. if your stats are strong enough, actually you'll be fine submitting even a few months later. it's just usually you want every advantage you can get if your application is less than stellar.

I mean are you planning to gather your LOR's during the summer? in that case, applying that early won't really matter b/c you won't have a complete file at any of the schools until they receive those too anyway. By getting those in advance as well as getting transcripts sent in from your 4-year college AND ANY COMMUNITY COLLEGES YOU TOOK COURSES IN (THESE CAN BE MUCH SLOWER), you can save yourself a lot of time that way.

keep in mind, some med schools will also ask if this is your first time applying to med school and ask which schools those were. being a second time applicant is a disadvantage. however, i'm not sure how much med schools care so much if this is your first time applying to med school or that you're applying to their school in particular.

 

[Catalystik]

if you finish your application before you get your MCAT score you should submit it but only put down one or two (or a few) schools you know you will apply to (like your state schools for instance) so that your application can be in line to get verified. then when you get your score you can add more schools.

If you apply the first week of June, it takes a few days to get your transcripts verified. And yes, AMCAS'll start this without the MCAT score. If you ait to submit your Primary application until the first week of July, it will take 3-4 weeks to get verified because the waiting line is so long. So you'll be complete about early August.

If you have an outstanding application, you'll be fine if you get your Secondaries back within a few days (though it takes most a month to get ddone once the flood begins). If, however your application is weak in any way, you'll be best off if your application is complete sooner, in which case you should consider the pre-MCAT submission plan. At worst you'd be out $130 if you apply to one school and find out that your MCAT is so low that you decide not to add more schools.

 

[Snarkalark]

thanks for the info.

how long does it usually take after the primary is processed for me to receive secondaries? i will be gone for most of july and the first week of august so if secondaries are quick, it may not matter if i hold off on applying.

 

[austinap]

no, there's no reason to file that early. the benefit you'll get from applying early won't be that substantial. if your stats are strong enough, actually you'll be fine submitting even a few months later. it's just usually you want every advantage you can get if your application is less than stellar.

I mean are you planning to gather your LOR's during the summer? in that case, applying that early won't really matter b/c you won't have a complete file at any of the schools until they receive those too anyway. By getting those in advance as well as getting transcripts sent in from your 4-year college AND ANY COMMUNITY COLLEGES YOU TOOK COURSES IN (THESE CAN BE MUCH SLOWER), you can save yourself a lot of time that way.

keep in mind, some med schools will also ask if this is your first time applying to med school and ask which schools those were. being a second time applicant is a disadvantage. however, i'm not sure how much med schools care so much if this is your first time applying to med school or that you're applying to their school in particular.

This is the worst single piece of advice I have ever seen on SDN. I think almost every premed underestimates the importance of early application in rolling admissions. Even the supposed non-rolling schools typically offer interview invites on a rolling basis.

Get everything lined up (including letters!) and submit as soon as you can. The time to verification can be up to a month, so if you get scores in early July you'll be in at the same time as the earliest of them and can start submitting secondaries around that time. Keep in mind that every week you wait to submit your primary app can add more than a week to your time-to-validation, as the AAMC gets backlogged and the verification time can get insanely long. Your MCAT scores aren't necessary for them to validate your application, they'll simply be tacked on as soon as you receive them.

 

[235009]

This is the worst single piece of advice I have ever seen on SDN. I think almost every premed underestimates the importance of early application in rolling admissions. Even the supposed non-rolling schools typically offer interview invites on a rolling basis.

some things can be out of your control..especially when it comes to letters of rec. for instance premed committees routinely don't send out letters until july-august anyway so getting your stuff in on the first day the app opens doesn't help you much since you could've easily submitted it a month later and end up in the same position. in fact it is detrimental to submit earlier than you're ready

 

[bravofleet4]

This is the worst single piece of advice I have ever seen on SDN. I think almost every premed underestimates the importance of early application in rolling admissions. Even the supposed non-rolling schools typically offer interview invites on a rolling basis.

Get everything lined up (including letters!) and submit as soon as you can. The time to verification can be up to a month, so if you get scores in early July you'll be in at the same time as the earliest of them and can start submitting secondaries around that time. Keep in mind that every week you wait to submit your primary app can add more than a week to your time-to-validation, as the AAMC gets backlogged and the verification time can get insanely long. Your MCAT scores aren't necessary for them to validate your application, they'll simply be tacked on as soon as you receive them.

early july is not late by any measure and is actually still pretty early. this person is not asking if there is any advantage applying early but if they should go ahead and apply without an MCAT score. As i've already stated that there are possible downsides to submitting early as a re-applicant and that any benefit is completely lost if you can't or don't know if you'll have everything ready by then as well.

I submitted my primary app in late June and got verified late July. I still had interviews as early as October and i'm pretty sure this experience is not at all atypical of what most applicants applying the same time frame experience. therefore, not much is going to be lost by waiting.

lastly, i think most people would agree that waiting a few weeks to revise a personal statement or to collect more favorable LOR's would outweigh applying in June. hell, people have delayed a couple weeks just to receive their transcripts from their last quarter so they can boost their GPA by as a little as 0.1, show an upward grade trend, or prove they can handle upper-div coursework. All this tells you that it's nowhere as important as you make it out to be.

 

[dancingdoctor13]

what about having an old score on your record, but making note on your application that you will be taking it again this summer? Should I wait to submit my application until i know that new, hopefully improved score is visible to them? Or go ahead and apply with that old score on record hoping they will not reject me outright seeing that old score and ignoring the fact that I told them that a new one is coming?

 

[fritolays08]

what about having an old score on your record, but making note on your application that you will be taking it again this summer? Should I wait to submit my application until i know that new, hopefully improved score is visible to them? Or go ahead and apply with that old score on record hoping they will not reject me outright seeing that old score and ignoring the fact that I told them that a new one is coming?

I would like to know this too

 

[dudewheresmymd]

If one submits one's primary the last week of June after having taken the MCAT on June 20th, should one apply to only one school or all schools at that time without knowing one's mcat score? Is the one school thing only if one applies the first week of June? If one adds the rest of the schools on July 23rd after receiving one's scores is this too late?

Lastly, are there any disadvantages of applying to one school and being a reapplicant next year if one has to withdraw from the cycle this year? From the AMCAS website: "If you need to withdraw your application from consideration after your AMCAS application has been processed, you will need to contact the medical schools directly. You are not eligible for an AMCAS refund in this case." Does this hurt your application at all for next cycle?

Thanks!

 

[DOunderdawg1]

If you apply the first week of June, it takes a few days to get your transcripts verified. And yes, AMCAS'll start this without the MCAT score. If you ait to submit your Primary application until the first week of July, it will take 3-4 weeks to get verified because the waiting line is so long. So you'll be complete about early August.

If you have an outstanding application, you'll be fine if you get your Secondaries back within a few days (though it takes most a month to get ddone once the flood begins). If, however your application is weak in any way, you'll be best off if your application is complete sooner, in which case you should consider the pre-MCAT submission plan. At worst you'd be out $130 if you apply to one school and find out that your MCAT is so low that you decide not to add more schools.

Sorry to dig up an ancient post (figured I should do this rather than create a new thread)
Would this be a similar situation to finishing up a bachelor's degree? I won't be complete with that until August (only one course). Should I also go ahead and submit early?

TYIA!

 

[gyngyn]

A new thread is far superior to a necrobump.