Car accident complications - applying as early as possible even more important?

[alyxvance]

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Hey everyone,

I've recently been in a car accident and was hospitalized and this has complicated my study schedule a bit. I was planning to take my MCAT May 21st, but I'm getting worried about being prepared for this date and think I might switch to June 16th. From what I've read around SDN, this seems to be the latest test date to take to still have a relatively early application.

I have a few questions though:

1) I want to have my app all ready to go beforehand and submitted before my MCAT scores come in. Is this a bad idea for any reason that I'm not aware of? I suppose there is always the chance that I bomb my MCAT or something but I figure that it's better to take that chance (as long as I've studied well of course) then delay my entire application.

2) I have some "flags" I guess on my app. Had an eating disorder which led to a few Ws and a university action (as a result of getting Ws). Since this of course makes me stand out... in a bad way... do I need to be more careful about the timing of my app? As in, is it going to hurt me to take a June 16th MCAT and not have my app complete until July more than others?

3) Is there any disadvantage to the "submit to one school only (and then add more later)" thing while waiting for my scores to come out? As in, if I feel relatively ok about my test, even before having my scores, is there any advantage to just adding all my intended schools immediately?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[DrMcCoy]

Bk it's best to take your MCAT in May if you can. Delaying until June will mean your application won't be complete until mid/late July and I think you won't get any secondaries until you are complete.

 

[raltima07]

Bk it's best to take your MCAT in May if you can. Delaying until June will mean your application won't be complete until mid/late July and I think you won't get any secondaries until you are complete.

Some schools do send secondaries without being complete, but I don't think too many do

 

[gravitywave]

sorry to hear about your accident. hopefully everything is ok and you are healing well.

in general, i'll repeat what i said in an earlier thread.

you will get secondaries from most schools once your AMCAS is verified. others will send them earlier, as soon as you submit AMCAS. whether or not you have an MCAT score will not affect this; i doubt that anyone waits for your scores to post before they send the secondary.

it's true you won't be complete for review without a set of scores, but schools won't wait on your scores to send you everything you need.

your questions specifically:
1) it's not a bad idea at all if you are ready to submit and are feeling good about your MCAT practice tests. you should be good to go so long as you submit AMCAS by mid-June.

2) i don't know how your situation will affect your chances, but all things being equal, earlier is better. earlier in the context of June vs. July is not better if your app could be improved with the extra time - so make sure you are ready for the MCAT when you take it.

3) no, there is no difference. i'd even say that if you were verified by mid-July, you could wait for your scores, and then add schools once you knew what you got.

 

[phnerd1105]

Hey everyone,

I've recently been in a car accident and was hospitalized and this has complicated my study schedule a bit. I was planning to take my MCAT May 21st, but I'm getting worried about being prepared for this date and think I might switch to June 16th. From what I've read around SDN, this seems to be the latest test date to take to still have a relatively early application.

I have a few questions though:

1) I want to have my app all ready to go beforehand and submitted before my MCAT scores come in. Is this a bad idea for any reason that I'm not aware of? I suppose there is always the chance that I bomb my MCAT or something but I figure that it's better to take that chance (as long as I've studied well of course) then delay my entire application.

2) I have some "flags" I guess on my app. Had an eating disorder which led to a few Ws and a university action (as a result of getting Ws). Since this of course makes me stand out... in a bad way... do I need to be more careful about the timing of my app? As in, is it going to hurt me to take a June 16th MCAT and not have my app complete until July more than others?

3) Is there any disadvantage to the "submit to one school only (and then add more later)" thing while waiting for my scores to come out? As in, if I feel relatively ok about my test, even before having my scores, is there any advantage to just adding all my intended schools immediately?

Thanks for any advice!

First off, sorry to hear about your accident! Feel better!

In regards to the first point, I would definitely have everything ready to go before your MCAT scores come it. The thing is, you don't want to leave any doubt about getting a bad score. If you're not sure you'll do well, then don't submit and take maybe a gap year to raise that MCAT score.

 

[alyxvance]

Thanks for the advice guys. It sounds like a June MCAT date will really only set me back a little bit. I was mostly just concerned because SDN generally seems to stress being as early as possible with app submission and I didn't want to screw up my chances.

I guess you never REALLY feel ready for the MCAT though... so who knows, maybe I'm just being paranoid and should take the darn thing in May anyway.

 

[HAV000]

Thanks for the advice guys. It sounds like a June MCAT date will really only set me back a little bit. I was mostly just concerned because SDN generally seems to stress being as early as possible with app submission and I didn't want to screw up my chances.

I guess you never REALLY feel ready for the MCAT though... so who knows, maybe I'm just being paranoid and should take the darn thing in May anyway.

Yea SDN can really motivate us to shoot for the most ideal application experience, but don't get down if not everything goes right in the best way. Best of luck on your mcat!