help on creating an application timeline

[Jack Swift]

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Hello, can i get some advise. this is my year in which i will apply to medical school and dont want to mess it up by applying late or incorrectly. i am currently on the last semester of my masters degree and I've already takin my MCAT. i plan on shadowing a DO sometime within a few months. Here's what i plan on so far, tell me if I'm on the right track or it needs adjustment.

April-- fill out application with the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service. check the schools i want to apply to and submit. Ask my professors and DO to write me reccomedations

May--recieve secondaries, fill out and submit it with my letters

June, July August---wait wait wait wait

Fall- hopefully start getting interview letters and then interview at schools

Spring-hopefully start getting acceptances.

And my last question is on my personal statement. When should i start writing it?

thanks for the help

 

[scpod]

April-- fill out application with the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service. check the schools i want to apply to and submit. Ask my professors and DO to write me reccomedations

May--recieve secondaries, fill out and submit it with my letters

June, July August---wait wait wait wait

Fall- hopefully start getting interview letters and then interview at schools

Spring-hopefully start getting acceptances.

And my last question is on my personal statement. When should i start writing it?

You can't begin filling out the application until May. The application cannot be processed by AACOMAS until June 1st. The processing will still take a couple of weeks at that point. Don't expect to receive secondary requests before July or, in some cases, August. Some schools, however, have a downloadable version online, so you could actually begin filling that out earlier. As for the personal statement, you should probably have started that yesterday 🙂

 

[HunterGatherer]

provided MCAT is already done or you take April 2006 MCAT:

February - Ask my professors and DO to write me reccomedations. Try to get more science letters than you need. Give them deadlines of May1st. Use interfolio.com if you are not using a committee letter. If you are taking a class now and will need a letter meet this professor at the start of the semester and discuss this.

April/May - Work on your PS(This could take some time so starting in June may not be the best idea). Start follow up calls/meetings for LORs. Find out when you can start sending out transcripts to AACOMAS.

June-- fill out application with the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service. check the schools i want to apply to and submit. Confirm transcripts received by AACOMAS. Another Follow up on LORs. Tell them your app is complete and schools are waiting on the LORs only at the moment.confirm AACOMAS received transcripts.

July/August--recieve secondaries, fill out and submit it with my letters. Use SDN to prepare 2ndry questions before they arrive.

June, July August---wait wait wait wait

Fall- hopefully start getting interview letters and then interview at schools

Winter-hopefully start getting acceptances. Help other pre-osteopathic students on SDN

Spring - choose your top choice. Meet the SDNers that are going there. Decide what you will do for fun during spring break and summer.

As another poster said you could start the PS now.

These usually hold up the process:
-LORs/ committee letters not received. could be probs with writer or school.
-transcripts not being sent
-stuck on your PS
-slacking on 2ndry

 

[Jamers]

You can't begin filling out the application until May. The application cannot be processed by AACOMAS until June 1st. The processing will still take a couple of weeks at that point. Don't expect to receive secondary requests before July or, in some cases, August. Some schools, however, have a downloadable version online, so you could actually begin filling that out earlier. As for the personal statement, you should probably have started that yesterday 🙂

I aggree. One of the dumbest things I did was apply late, not really my fault but a story that takes too long to type 😀. However, one of the smartest things I did was find some of the schools that have online applications that you don't need a password for. I got those done while I was waiting for the offical secondary to come in the mail. That way, my application was sent out within days as apposed to weeks. Also, start the personal statment and start the other portions of the secondary now. Just a heads up, most of the D.O. schools applications will be the same; they want an essay about why you want to be a D.O. or why medicine. If you can nail out a general essay for all of them and just change the name of the school it will help out a lot. Pretty sneaky but it works!

 

[Jack Swift]

thanks a lot for the help guys. So as for the personal statement, as Jamers said, should i make it about why i want to go into medicine? So all personal statements from all schools ask that question?

 

[Jamers]

thanks a lot for the help guys. So as for the personal statement, as Jamers said, should i make it about why i want to go into medicine? So all personal statements from all schools ask that question?

No, sorry if I was a bit confusing. The general AACOMAS application will ask you to write a personal statment that cannot be larger then 3000 characters (actually, its more like 2800 for some odd reason). For this essay, I most people recommend a story about yourself that has some meaning into why you want to go into medicine. I don't mind saying what mine was, mine started out with my brother's suicide and how it caused me to look into medicine. My second paragraph was about some of the volunteer work that I did and research and how that changed me. The last paragraph talked about the D.O. I had shadowed and how that taught me about the osteopathic tradition. Since this statment has to be so small, its really hard to get everything down, save specifics for the secondary.

The secondary is what I was talking about before, they will ask for essays. I didn't have one that didn't ask, in some form or another, for you to write an essay describing why you want to go into medicine and why you want to go into Osteopathic medicine. Some actually put both of these together. Some secondary applications will have only this question, others will have a few more (VCOM asks you to write an essay about troubles with healthcare). That being said, if you can nail out a general essay on why osteopathic medicine and, in the last paragraph say something like I believe that such and such a school would help me to achieve this...you are golden. 👍

 

[JO300]

AACOMAS application done in late august
I took August MCAT
secondaries done in october

so far I got 3 interview which led to 3 acceptances.

 

[HunterGatherer]

Good advice. I read a number of threads on what is good for the PS and most people said don't make the PS "why DO" or "Why I want to be doctor" since this is what your 2ndry will ask and now you are repeating yourself.

My PS was about what got me interested in medicine: Working as a personal trainer and talking to the doctors of my clients about their contraindictions, medicine they used, etc.

I think making the PS "what got me into medicine" is the best way to go.

If you make a "why DO" essay for your 2ndry this along with a CV are items you can give to the DO writing your LOR to help them out. It's possible you need more experience seeing DO's in action or talking to their patients to make the "why DO" essay less generic and more personal.

No, sorry if I was a bit confusing. The general AACOMAS application will ask you to write a personal statment that cannot be larger then 3000 characters (actually, its more like 2800 for some odd reason). For this essay, I most people recommend a story about yourself that has some meaning into why you want to go into medicine. I don't mind saying what mine was, mine started out with my brother's suicide and how it caused me to look into medicine. My second paragraph was about some of the volunteer work that I did and research and how that changed me. The last paragraph talked about the D.O. I had shadowed and how that taught me about the osteopathic tradition. Since this statment has to be so small, its really hard to get everything down, save specifics for the secondary.

The secondary is what I was talking about before, they will ask for essays. I didn't have one that didn't ask, in some form or another, for you to write an essay describing why you want to go into medicine and why you want to go into Osteopathic medicine. Some actually put both of these together. Some secondary applications will have only this question, others will have a few more (VCOM asks you to write an essay about troubles with healthcare). That being said, if you can nail out a general essay on why osteopathic medicine and, in the last paragraph say something like I believe that such and such a school would help me to achieve this...you are golden. 👍

 

[HunterGatherer]

all this stuff applies to August MCAT takers as well. The time line will be pushed forward since you will not get 2ndry until you have your first MCAT scre posted on THx.

I'm an August MCAT taker and had 5 interviews (from 5 applications) scheduled by mid december because everything was prepared on time.

AACOMAS application done in late august
I took August MCAT
secondaries done in october

so far I got 3 interview which lead to 3 acceptances.

 

[JO300]

all this stuff applies to August MCAT takers as well. The time line will be pushed forward since you will not get 2ndry until you have your first MCAT scre posted on THx.

I'm an August MCAT taker and had 5 interviews (from 5 applications) scheduled by mid december because everything was prepared on time.

If you have high GPA many schools will not wait for your MCAT.
they will send you secondaries.

 

[Jack Swift]

As for the reccomendations, do you have to send the reccomendations directly to all the schools you are applying to or does the person that wrote the rec send them in?

 

[HunterGatherer]

Depends if you are using your premed office committee letter.

If using the premed office then all letters from the professors go there and the office will send out to all of your designated schools.

Otherwise it is best to use a service such as interfolio.com
you ask all of your LOR writers to send their letter to this service. Then you put in a request for a a package to be sent to each school. You can add schools as much as you want, the letters are on file for at least 5 years, and you just need the writer to send one letter to one place.

As for the reccomendations, do you have to send the reccomendations directly to all the schools you are applying to or does the person that wrote the rec send them in?

 

[OSUdoc08]

As for the reccomendations, do you have to send the reccomendations directly to all the schools you are applying to or does the person that wrote the rec send them in?

It is not a good idea to send the letters in. They have much more credibility if you have never read them. Have the recommenders send the letters directly to the school. Do not allow yourself to have access to them.

 

[Pharmwannab]

About the letters.

HG - Just to clarify, you're supposed to send the letters after you've recieved your 2ndaries and not before?

Also, if using a committee letter (which I will) does that mean that I shouldn't have letters from individual professors sent? So just the committee letter and a letter from a DO?

Thanks for bearing with my newbiness 🙂

 

[OSUdoc08]

About the letters.

HG - Just to clarify, you're supposed to send the letters after you've recieved your 2ndaries and not before?

Also, if using a committee letter (which I will) does that mean that I shouldn't have letters from individual professors sent? So just the committee letter and a letter from a DO?

Thanks for bearing with my newbiness 🙂

1. You can send the letters prior to the secondary, if you would like.

2. Correct, in addition to a committee letter, all you need is a physician letter.

 

[HunterGatherer]

yes, Most schools start taking LORs right after AACOMAS opens around June/July. be sure to follow up with professors to be sure they submitted to the premed office. Be sure the premed office actually sends out your LORs. You can start this process now.

1. You can send the letters prior to the secondary, if you would like.

2. Correct, in addition to a committee letter, all you need is a physician letter.

 

[Jack Swift]

thanks huntergather you have been very helpful. One question though do most medical schools recognize interfolio.com?

 

[HunterGatherer]

You can call to double check. Be sure that you waive your right to see the letter or they will not be valid. When you print the form you have the option of checking off that box. Give your letter writer a stamped envelope addressed to interfolio(return addy of writer) to make things easier. don't forget to give them a deadline.

you can check online to see when interfolio actually receives LORs from your writers as well. 👍

*PCOM
UNECOM
NYCOM
UMDNJ
LECOM-Erie

all took mine and gave me an interview.


*- if you do not use a premed committee letter from your school you need to get a letter from your Dean or academic advisor. You can find a thread on that here. simple letter stating you are in good academic standing and that the letter writer is your academic advisor or Dean.

thanks huntergather you have been very helpful. One question though do most medical schools recognize interfolio.com?

 

[Killgrove]

all this stuff applies to August MCAT takers as well. The time line will be pushed forward since you will not get 2ndry until you have your first MCAT scre posted on THx.

I'm an August MCAT taker and had 5 interviews (from 5 applications) scheduled by mid december because everything was prepared on time.

Congrats on all the interviews. I was wondering if you could help me with my timeline. I plan on taking my MCAT in August 2006 and graduate from MSU in May 2007. I've already started on my PS and studying for the MCAT. Any help would greatly be appreciated. 🙂

 

[HunterGatherer]

August MCAT basically the same. For those taking the MCAT when it comes out more than 2x/year the timeline will be similar. Someone said high GPA means you may get 2ndry without an MCAT score. I don't know but check around. I only know of WVSOM doing this but it is worth a look and maybe you can use the April timeline. This is just an "ideal" timeline. You can apply in March and get into DO school but that is not the SDN way. 😎


February - Ask my professors and DO to write me reccomedations. Try to get more science letters than you need. Give them deadlines of May1st. don't tell them your timeline. Professors and DOs procrastinate just like us but instead they say "I'm very busy". Use interfolio.com if you are not using a committee letter. If you are taking a class now and will need a letter meet this professor at the start of the semester and discuss this.

April/May - Work on your PS(This could take some time so starting in June may not be the best idea). Start follow up calls/meetings for LORs. Find out when you can start sending out transcripts to AACOMAS.

June-- Study for MCAT starts.fill out application with the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service. you are studying for MCAT now so if you did not finish PS before this, it may be slow going. Confirm transcripts received by AACOMAS. transcripts can go to AACOMAS as soon as it opens for applications EVEN before you submit it.Another Follow up on LORs. Tell them your app is complete and schools are waiting on the LORs only at the moment.confirm AACOMAS received transcripts.

July- confirm LORs with premed committee or letter service.Send LORs. tweak PS.

August--confirm transcripts are all received at AACOMAS by Aug 1st.If not resubmit($5 is worth the peace of mind). submit AACOMAS no later than the weekend after the MCAT.

September-AACOMAS needs 4-6 weeks to process. If you did not submit by now you dropped the ball and are probably not part of the early August group. Need more help? Ask someone on SDN. April MCATers are posting 2ndry questions on SDN so work on those now.

Oct-Dec- MCAT scores are out. Nice Job!! be sure to submit MCAT scores to AACOMAS via THx. This takes around 10 days. Why is this not completely electronic? Hopefully getting secondaries about 1-2 weeks later. 2ndry should go out same day or 1 week tops since you had perhaps 2 months to work on them. tackle "why DO" and "why doctor first". "why our school" essays can be used as a template for others. be sure not to put the wrong school in the essay.

Winter-hopefully start getting acceptances. Help other pre-osteopathic students on SDN. Don't slack on final exams and make the "Will I lose my acceptance if I get a D or F?" post. This is so not cool!

Spring - choose your top choice. Meet the SDNers that are going there. Decide what you will do for fun during spring break and summer.

As another poster said you could start the PS now.

As an August MCATer it is important to have your AACOMAS submitted by the 1st week after the MCAT so you have time to be complete before scores come out. LORs should all be in you interfolio portfolio or premed office BEFORE the MCAT. This is so when you get your MCAT around mid-October you are only waiting on the MCAT score.

These usually hold up the process:
-LORs/ committee letters not received. could be probs with writer or school.
-transcripts not being sent
-stuck on your PS
-slacking on 2ndry

August MCAT allows for more time for LORs and finishing PS/AACOMAS but there is no reason to finish these before June when you start studying for the MCAT.

 

[HunterGatherer]

bump

 

[Jack Swift]

I was looking at the AACOMAS website and it said you can send in your 2006 application now. Is this the application to start school fall 2006 or 2007 Because I plan to attend fall 2007 and i was told that you cant fill in the application at AACOMAS until May. just a little confused. thanks

 

[OSUdoc08]

I was looking at the AACOMAS website and it said you can send in your 2006 application now. Is this the application to start school fall 2006 or 2007 Because I plan to attend fall 2007 and i was told that you cant fill in the application at AACOMAS until May. just a little confused. thanks

The year denotes the date that you would enter school. You are likely past most school deadlines to fill out the 2006 application. The 2007 application cannot be submitted until June 1st.

 

[Jack Swift]

cool good to hear. I want to enter fall 2007.

 

[HunterGatherer]

last deadline for 2006 applicants is April 15th so start checking for info on the 2007 application after that.