Fall 2017 Admissions: Secondaries?

[Dr. McPanda]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering when would secondaries be sent out for this cycle? (Range of dates?) I submitted my AMCAS June 8th already and will be retaking my MCAT July 22nd. Retaking mainly for the CARS section, aiming for a 508+.

Some basic stats of mine: 3.85cGPA, 3.79 BCPM GPA, 502 on my April 23rd MCAT (128/121/125/128), great LoRs, and fantastic extracurriculars, etc... So I would like to believe that with my GPA and eh overall MCAT score (at the moment), I would be screened and passed for most schools to receive secondaries.

I am worried that I might get swamped with secondaries sometime in July while studying for my MCATs. Currently devoted full-time to MCAT studying.

Also: What is the suggested timeframe in which secondaries should be returned once you receive one?

Looking forward to hearing everyone's comments and suggestions.

Thank you!

 

[doctorleospaceman]

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering when would secondaries be sent out for this cycle? (Range of dates?) I submitted my AMCAS June 8th already and will be retaking my MCAT July 22nd. Retaking mainly for the CARS section, aiming for a 508+.

Some basic stats of mine: 3.85cGPA, 3.79 BCPM GPA, 502 on my April 23rd MCAT (128/121/125/128), great LoRs, and fantastic extracurriculars, etc... So I would like to believe that with my GPA and eh overall MCAT score (at the moment), I would be screened and passed for most schools to receive secondaries.

I am worried that I might get swamped with secondaries sometime in July while studying for my MCATs. Currently devoted full-time to MCAT studying.

Also: What is the suggested timeframe in which secondaries should be returned once you receive one?

Looking forward to hearing everyone's comments and suggestions.

Thank you!

As long as you noted in AMCAS that you are set to take the MCAT again for this cycle then you should not be screened out (by schools that actually screen) since you're application won't be complete until the new score is in. Did you already add all your schools on AMCAS? It would have been a good idea to add just one school so you could get verified and add the rest of the schools after receiving your score and seeing how you did(since your primary would get sent to the new schools the same day).

AAMC will send out your primary to schools on June 24th. How long it will take to get a secondary from then will vary school to school. Some are nearly instant (For schools that don't screen. Some even send a secondary before having any MCAT score) while other can take weeks. Once you receive a secondary, ideally you want to submit it within a week. However, since you'll be waiting on the MCAT and schools won't view your application until the new score is in you could just wait to submit them until you get your score without consequence.

Edit: See gyngyn's post below.

 

[gyngyn]

As long as you noted in AMCAS that you are set to take the MCAT again for this cycle then you should not be screened out (by schools that actually screen) since you're application won't be complete until the new score is in. Did you already add all your schools on AMCAS? It would have been a good idea to add just one school so you could get verified and add the rest of the schools after receiving your score and seeing how you did(since your primary would get sent to the new schools the same day).

AAMC will send out your primary to schools on July 24th. How long it will take to get a secondary from then will vary school to school. Some are nearly instant while other can take weeks. Once you receive a secondary, ideally you want to submit it within a week. However, since you'll be waiting on the MCAT and schools won't view your application until the new score is in you could just wait to submit them until you get your score without consequence.

Many schools will screen when the application is complete whether there is an indication of a future score or not.

 

[Cotterpin]

Did you already submit your primary application to all of your schools even though you don't know what your MCAT will be?

 

[candbgirl]

AMCAS will send verified primaries JUNE 24 not July 24. Did you list all of your schools and did you indicate you were retaking? A 502~ 26 so some MD schools might screen you out. It really depends on where you applied but 502 is low for MD.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile app

 

[doctorleospaceman]

Many schools will screen when the application is complete whether there is an indication of a future score or not.

Ah, okay. Seems a bit odd, no? Is it because the screening is usually just done automatically through a program? Guess goes to show why just adding one school if you're retaking is good advice not just for financial reasons.

AMCAS will send verified primaries JUNE 24 not July 24.

My mistake. I know it's june but keep saying july for some reason...

 

[Dr. McPanda]

As long as you noted in AMCAS that you are set to take the MCAT again for this cycle then you should not be screened out (by schools that actually screen) since you're application won't be complete until the new score is in. Did you already add all your schools on AMCAS? It would have been a good idea to add just one school so you could get verified and add the rest of the schools after receiving your score and seeing how you did(since your primary would get sent to the new schools the same day).

AAMC will send out your primary to schools on June 24th. How long it will take to get a secondary from then will vary school to school. Some are nearly instant (For schools that don't screen. Some even send a secondary before having any MCAT score) while other can take weeks. Once you receive a secondary, ideally you want to submit it within a week. However, since you'll be waiting on the MCAT and schools won't view your application until the new score is in you could just wait to submit them until you get your score without consequence.

Edit: See gyngyn's post below.

Thank you for your reply! Yes I have already added all my schools to AMCAS and submitted ~30-35 schools. I am confident I will do better this time around given that I have devoted to full time studying. I was studying during the semester for my April 23 exam and it was really tough balancing my classes and extracurriculars.

 

[Dr. McPanda]

Did you already submit your primary application to all of your schools even though you don't know what your MCAT will be?

Yes. I applied very broadly ~30-35 schools. I believe I will do better this upcoming MCAT, I kind of explained my circumstances above 😛

 

[Dr. McPanda]

AMCAS will send verified primaries JUNE 24 not July 24. Did you list all of your schools and did you indicate you were retaking? A 502~ 26 so some MD schools might screen you out. It really depends on where you applied but 502 is low for MD.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile app

Thank you for your reply! Yup I listed all my schools and indicated a retake! I applied very broadly with schools from tier 1-4 schools. Its tough because I have the GPA for most schools and all the leadership, hours, etc... but its the MCAT thats holding me back at the moment. So I've been devoting full time to it 🙂

 

[Dr. McPanda]

Secondaries can come anytime from now until weeks after the application is transmitted. There are several methods for secondaries to be initially sent to applicants

Most Common
1)Some get your contact info only from AMCAS and send out secondaries unscreened prior to primary application being verified
(ie as soon as you indicate you are applying to them).
2)Some send out secondaries unscreened when they receive transmitted primary app from AMCAS
3)Some do a preliminary basic screen with a predetermined MCAT/GPA "forumla". This could simply mean they look at "outstanding" candidates first before sending secondaries to the next batch.

Less Common
4)Some do a full review of primary before sending out secondaries to candidates it has voted on
5)Extending the above, some send secondaries out only to those it will invite to interview.

Thank you reply! This was really helpful!

 

[Dr. McPanda]

That 4/23 CARS seemed to destroy half of the SDNer's MCAT scores (including mine)

Yup! It is such a struggle! Looking at my scores, I did fairly well/avg in other sections :/

 

[Dr. McPanda]

........However, since you'll be waiting on the MCAT and schools won't view your application until the new score is in you could just wait to submit them until you get your score without consequence.

Edit: See gyngyn's post below.

To clarify, could someone confirm this? So in theory if I do get secondaries in beginning of July, would I be okay submitting the secondaries later after I get my MCAT score without consequences? Due to the amount of schools I applied to, I do not think I will be able to complete all of the secondaries while studying for my MCATs.

@gyngyn

 

[PeruvianMD]

That 4/23 CARS seemed to destroy half of the SDNer's MCAT scores (including mine)

Yeah!! I thought I was the only who thought the same!! It also destroyed my score :/

 

[aldol16]

As to your question, it wont matter. Schools are not going to somehow say "look how long it took you to return this secondary!"

This is a refreshing break from your usual "from the adcoms' perspective, it's about separating applicants using whatever factors available" line. 😉

 

[gyngyn]

To clarify, could someone confirm this? So in theory if I do get secondaries in beginning of July, would I be okay submitting the secondaries later after I get my MCAT score without consequences? Due to the amount of schools I applied to, I do not think I will be able to complete all of the secondaries while studying for my MCATs.

@gyngyn

If your application is complete with a previous MCAT, schools are free to screen and sort the application without regard to your intent to re-take.

 

[Dr. McPanda]

Thank you for everyone's suggestions and opinions!