Going on vacation right after AMCAS submission?

[timeturner]

So, basically this was terribly planned but since what is done is done I want to make sure I submit at the best time to ensure I do not get any secondaries while I am away for about 5 days. Sigh.
Originally I had planned to submit June 3, the first day application opens, since I already pretty much have everything set up. I am leaving on June 6 and coming back June 12. I am applying to about 25-30 schools, and I am worried I might be receiving secondaries while I am away and unable to complete them "timely" i.e. within 1-2 weeks. So in short, my questions are:
- Do schools send secondaries before verification?
- If I submit on June 6 would I be safe to not worry about getting secondaries while away since it usually takes a few business days to verify anyway?
- Should I just submit after I come back to be safe but risk having my application verified for an entire month while I would have been ready to submit June 3?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[masaraksh]

Relax. You'll be fine.

You can't get secondaries until the app verifies.

If you are that neurotic - prewrite more secondaries in the meantime. And write some common theme essays like:
- diversity
- adversity
- humbling experience
- difficult situation
- most meaningful accomplishment
...

 

[familyaerospace]

I think you should be fine. AMCAS sends out the first batch a few weeks after the application opens. I want to say late June is usually the first batch although I may be wrong. I would have to check my mdapps to verify (I've applied the past three years and generally have been in the first batch every year, MCG sends me a secondary the first day.) Last year, I was sent a secondary before I was verified but that was because I was applying ED. Generally they do wait to get verified before they start sending a batch to the schools you applied to.

 

[timeturner]

You can't get secondaries until the app verifies.

.

Thank you for the input! Can I just get a second opinion on this only because I heard from multiple trusted friends that they got secondaries before verification.

 

[NervousNerd]

Relax bud. I leave for Hawaii June 8th after I submit. Nothing to worry about as verification can take 6-8 weeks.

Albeit, it is a good idea to bring a computer and check your verification status if possible, just incase you need to change a simple error in the application

 

[Mr Roboto]

Thank you for the input! Can I just get a second opinion on this only because I heard from multiple trusted friends that they got secondaries before verification.

How would the schools even know they'd be applying before they'd been verified and their apps passed onto the schools? This isn't making sense to me, but I could just be fundamentally misunderstanding the sequence of events.

 

[timeturner]

Relax bud. I leave for Hawaii June 8th after I submit. Nothing to worry about as verification can take 6-8 weeks.

Albeit, it is a good idea to bring a computer and check your verification status if possible, just incase you need to change a simple error in the application

Glad I'm not the only one! Sadly where I am going has no internet...which I guess adds to my concern.

 

[Omppu27]

Glad I'm not the only one! Sadly where I am going has no internet...which I guess adds to my concern.

I'll be gone from June 13th to about the 20th. But I do have internet. Nonetheless, I think we'll all be straight.

 

[Runican]

So, basically this was terribly planned but since what is done is done I want to make sure I submit at the best time to ensure I do not get any secondaries while I am away for about 5 days. Sigh.
Originally I had planned to submit June 3, the first day application opens, since I already pretty much have everything set up. I am leaving on June 6 and coming back June 12. I am applying to about 25-30 schools, and I am worried I might be receiving secondaries while I am away and unable to complete them "timely" i.e. within 1-2 weeks. So in short, my questions are:
- Do schools send secondaries before verification?
- If I submit on June 6 would I be safe to not worry about getting secondaries while away since it usually takes a few business days to verify anyway?
- Should I just submit after I come back to be safe but risk having my application verified for an entire month while I would have been ready to submit June 3?

Submit the first day it opens! Schools are not able to access applications until the last week of June, so you won't be getting any secondaries until then. People who have said they got secondaries before verification must have been verified in July or later.

Also, last year, many people who submitted just 12 hours after AMCAS opened were not verified until early/mid-July, so just get everything in a few minutes after it opens.

 

[Mad Jack]

Might as well just throw your app in the trash and the money you'll be spending on it into a paper shredder.

But really, you'll be fine. Verification takes a bit.

 

[Tijou]

Relax! Have fun on your vacation. As @Runican pointed out schools don't have access to your apps until the last week of June and thus thats when you will receive your first secondaries. I know schools like Yale, Columbia and Pritzker sometimes send out secondaries pre-verification but thats usually when you submit in late June and July onwards. Verification will take a couple of days to about 2 weeks for the people that submit during the first days. So again, relax and try not to think about it! You will need this vacation before this arduous process consumes your life haha! Good luck.

 

[IncognitoGuy]

If you have it ready, send it. Secondaries can wait. Verification is the bottleneck, so you want to be ahead of that as much as you can.

I sent my stuff in, then promptly went to study abroad. I came back in time to be verified and did fine.

 

[timeturner]

Aw ok thanks everyone! Can't believe I almost considered canceling vacation after already paid for it...

 

[Doctor Strange]

IIRC, doesn't AMCAS not even begin sending primaries to schools until like... The end of June?

EDIT: I didn't get my first secondary until June 29th when I applied. I was verified 6/7.