How be an early applicant

[About28]

Ok so I messed up pretty bad this cycle, the only red flag on my app was that I was complete at almost all my schools between October and November. So, should this cycle become a complete failure, I am going to pre write everything and have everything done before AMCAS opens in may.

So here are my questions.
-When does AMCAS open to submit my application, and by when I mean what day and time? Is it June 4th at 12 AM?
-Next, If I apply the first possible second, how long will it take (very roughly) to get verified?
-After that when do secondaries start coming in?
-If I return them in a day or two, what would the timeline for the rest of my cycle look like (This isn't like what are my chances, more like when II's get sent out, when interviews happen, when acceptances get sent out. I have a LizzyM score of ~70.5 if that helps at all)

Thanks for any help, and if anyone has other useful pointers that would be very much appreciated as well!

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[Espadaleader]

• I cannot tell you the exact time but plan for June 1st (Make sure you have all letters uploaded and ready, transcripts in, application complete)
• It will take you 1 to 3 days max. (I applied this year 10 min after it opened). People who applied a week later took nearly a month to get verified so this counts.
• They start coming last week of June-Mid July.
• If you have a 48-72 hour turn around, you will start to receive interviews in August/September.
• Acceptances will be sent out at non rolling schools after Oct 15th. Some schools release after Jan 1st. The Ivies and some other elite schools release in March

 

[ChemEngMD]

Ok so I messed up pretty bad this cycle, the only red flag on my app was that I was complete at almost all my schools between October and November. So, should this cycle become a complete failure, I am going to pre write everything and have everything done before AMCAS opens in may.

So here are my questions.
-When does AMCAS open to submit my application, and by when I mean what day and time? Is it June 4th at 12 AM?
-Next, If I apply the first possible second, how long will it take (very roughly) to get verified?
-After that when do secondaries start coming in?
-If I return them in a day or two, what would the timeline for the rest of my cycle look like (This isn't like what are my chances, more like when II's get sent out, when interviews happen, when acceptances get sent out. I have a LizzyM score of ~70.5 if that helps at all)

Thanks for any help, and if anyone has other useful pointers that would be very much appreciated as well!

1. It was supposed to be June 3rd at 8am this last year but ended up being delayed til June 10th so don't count on it being open the first day they claim - but be ready in advance.

2. If you apply in the literal first second (this means you have to have ALL of your transcripts in along with the entire app) you could be verified that same day, but as long as you're verified before July (which you would be) then you're fine.

3. Primaries aren't released to the schools until the end of June (I believe it was June 28th or 29th this year). At this point you can start getting secondaries from schools that don't screen.

4. Different schools move at different paces. You could get some interviews within 2 weeks and some within 2 months. It's going to vary. I was complete at all schools by late July to mid August and began getting interview invites on August 3rd and got them up until mid-November.

• I cannot tell you the exact time but plan for June 1st (Make sure you have all letters uploaded and ready, transcripts in, application complete)
• It will take you 1 to 3 days max. (I applied this year 10 min after it opened). People who applied a week later took nearly a month to get verified so this counts.
• They start coming last week of June-Mid July.
• If you have a 48-72 hour turn around, you will start to receive interviews in August/September.
• Acceptances will be sent out at non rolling schools after Oct 15th. Some schools release after Jan 1st. The Ivies and some other elite schools release in March

Good answers, but for the record: you do NOT need your LORs uploaded in order to submit the primary (they are needed to be complete with a school though). You can submit to AMCAS as soon as you have transcripts and application complete. Then you can upload your letters at any time after or during verification.

 

[Redpancreas]

EDITED POST as original one was too misleading:

I'm been accepted and am still waiting on some schools so I'm done with the stressful part of this process, but in retrospect, how much do you guys think secondary essays mattered? I haven't heard them being talked about at all lately...I feel like I took them way too seriously and that it kind of mad last year's summer more stressful than it needed to be and that it made some of my applications a little later than they should have been.


Here are some helpful hints I wished I would have known:

-If you still have a lot on your plate, you may be able to put the Personal Statement off until school ends. Just focus on finishing the semester strong, especially if you've got the MCAT to worry about too. You'll have a whole month during the summer to worry about that.

-Don't try and make stories out of your activity descriptions. Write to the point, but, engaging, things about your three most important ones but the other ones should really be in bullet form. I.e. don't pontificate on what you learnt about restocking supply closets as a hospital volunteer.

-Don't take TOO long with secondaries especially if you think you've said all that needs to be said. Try to get them knocked out at a rate of one per 1-2 days. As it's the summer, you won't be that busy. If you do everything early with the primary/etc. there will come a point where you'll get a bunch of secondaries dumped on you at once. Don't panic/give up/just put them off! Spend a minute or two prioritizing which ones need to be out first and then get started with knocking them out at one a day and reward yourself after you've done your secondary for the day. Don't try to get too deep/philosophical with them. Just keep them engaging but to the point.

-If you apply early, most your interviews invites (assuming your a decent application who deserves them) should start coming around late June to mid-September. At one point, I was getting them at 1 a week so I really got excited. With this excitement came anxiety as I'd get up in the morning, check my inbox, and see nothing so I'd just waste a lot of time stressing about things. One thing you should avoid is checking SDN school specific too much during this phase. Also, after mid-September, you will stop receiving that many interview invites. For me, I received my 7th in mid-September and my next one in late January on vacation.

-Overall, take the application process very seriously but DO NOT stress out about it. Have plenty of fun and try to do 1-2 new, quality things because you can talk about them on secondaries that come late, at interviews, send schools updates.

-First semester of senior year (if you're still in school) counts! Schools ask for your grades (although they're often not mandatory) after interviews in the form of updates so don't just coast with it...that goes with your ECs too.

 

[Espadaleader]

I'm been accepted and am still waiting on some schools so I'm done with the stressful part of this process, but in retrospect, how much do you guys think secondary essays mattered? I haven't heard them being talked about at all lately...I feel like I took them way too seriously and that it kind of mad last year's summer more stressful than it needed to be and that it made some of my applications a little later than they should have been.


Here are some helpful hints I wished I would have known:

-Don't even start thinking about the Personal Statement (the only part of the AMCAS) that needs more than a day to be filled out. Just focus on finishing the semester strong, especially if you've got the MCAT to worry about too. You'll have a whole month during the summer to worry about that.

-Don't try and make stories out of your activity descriptions. Write short, engaging, things about your three most important ones but the other ones should really be in bullet form. I.e. don't pontificate on what you learnt about restocking supply closets as a hospital volunteer.

-Don't make a HUGE deal out of your secondaries. Try to get them knocked out at a rate of one per day. As it's the summer, you won't be that busy. If you do everything early with the primary/etc. there will come a point where you'll get a bunch of secondaries dumped on you at once. Don't panic/give up/just put them off! Spend a minute or two prioritizing which ones need to be out first and then get started with knocking them out at one a day and reward yourself after you've done your secondary for the day. Don't try to get too deep/philosophical with them. Just keep them engaging but to the point.

-If you apply early, most your interviews invites (assuming your a decent application who deserves them) should start coming around late June to mid-September. At one point, I was getting them at 1 a week so I really got excited. With this excitement came anxiety as I'd get up in the morning, check my inbox, and see nothing so I'd just waste a lot of time stressing about things. One thing you should avoid is checking SDN school specific too much during this phase. Also, after mid-September, you will stop receiving that many interview invites. For me, I received my 7th in mid-September and my next one in late January on vacation.

-Overall, don't make the application process a huge deal. Have plenty of fun and try to do 1-2 new, quality things because you can talk about them on secondaries that come late, at interviews, send schools updates.

-First semester of senior year (if you're still in school) counts! Schools ask for your grades (although they're often not mandatory) after interviews in the form of updates so don't just coast with it...that goes with your ECs too.

I disagree with some of what you are saying.

• The secondaries were HUGE for my application. I was able to elaborate upon things that helped my out in admissions per the acceptances and interviews at elite "top ten" institutions. What I wrote in my secondaries was specifically mentioned at almost every interview. Listen, this is arguably the most important application of our lives, lets not downplay it.
• The summer may very well be busy for the OP and others who have part-time jobs etc.
• I wrote engaging stories about each of my experiences because they mattered. I am not going to "bullet-point" my work in the the private sector for 4 years when I have something to say and something to offer.
• You should be thinking about the personal statement at least 6 months out. Most schools make you write a personal statement for the pre-med committee letter thats due in the Spring before AMCAS so you should be fine.
• Come on, lets get serious here. The AMCAS takes more than a "day" to fill out. Its ridiculous to think otherwise.

This is a very serious process. You won't be successful in it if you're not. Being serious doesn't mean not having fun. When I was applying, I still went out to happy hour on Thurs and Fri, played B-ball, watched anime, worked out etc. But I was (and still am) VERY serious about this process. What's the point of spending thousands of dollars to apply to medical school if you're not serious?

 

[Redpancreas]

I disagree with some of what you are saying.

• The secondaries were HUGE for my application. I was able to elaborate upon things that helped my out in admissions per the acceptances and interviews at elite "top ten" institutions. What I wrote in my secondaries was specifically mentioned at almost every interview. Listen, this is arguably the most important application of our lives, lets not downplay it.
• The summer may very well be busy for the OP and others who have part-time jobs etc.
• I wrote engaging stories about each of my experiences because they mattered. I am not going to "bullet-point" my work in the the private sector for 4 years when I have something to say and something to offer.
• You should be thinking about the personal statement at least 6 months out. Most schools make you write a personal statement for the pre-med committee letter thats due in the Spring before AMCAS so you should be fine.
• Come on, lets get serious here. The AMCAS takes more than a "day" to fill out. Its ridiculous to think otherwise.

This is a very serious process. You won't be successful in it if you're not. Being serious doesn't mean not having fun. When I was applying, I still went out to happy hour on Thurs and Fri, played B-ball, watched anime, worked out etc. But I was (and still am) VERY serious about this process. What's the point of spending thousands of dollars to apply to medical school if you're not serious?

Of course I took it seriously and perhaps that's why, in retrospect, I may be wishing I had been a little more lax. Congratulations on getting accepted to those great schools.

As for the bolded, we're going to have to agree to disagree. I have been told by ad-coms I have met, notable members here on SDN, etc. that being brief in your non-most-influential experiences is a good thing to do. If you've done substantial things in your 3 non-influential experiences, all I'm saying is that they can be stated as opposed to narrated.

Also, it's clear that starting out, you had a much stronger application than I did in terms of your experiences, therefore, you had much more to lose by not doing your absolute best on your application to display that. For me though, I went overboard with some explanations of non-significant experiences in attempt to take the process seriously and ended up being inefficient. I guess the moral of the story is to absolutely give it your best, but to work smart in addition to hard.

 

[snowflakes]

I have been told by ad-coms I have met, notable members here on SDN, etc. that being brief in your non-most-influential experiences is a good thing to do. If you've done substantial things in your 3 non-influential experiences, all I'm saying is that they can be stated as opposed to narrated.

If there was an important lesson learned or an important motivation for your involvement in a non-most meaningful activity that you want to convey, include it in the description. But don't push yourself to try to come up with reflections to include if nothing stands out to you.

 

[About28]

2. If you apply in the literal first second (this means you have to have ALL of your transcripts in along with the entire app) you could be verified that same day, but as long as you're verified before July (which you would be) then you're fine.

3. Primaries aren't released to the schools until the end of June (I believe it was June 28th or 29th this year). At this point you can start getting secondaries from schools that don't screen.

Ok so there is some room for error when it comes to applying early. Thats really good to know, thanks for that.

-Don't even start thinking about the Personal Statement (the only part of the AMCAS) that needs more than a day to be filled out. Just focus on finishing the semester strong, especially if you've got the MCAT to worry about too. You'll have a whole month during the summer to worry about that.

-First semester of senior year (if you're still in school) counts! Schools ask for your grades (although they're often not mandatory) after interviews in the form of updates so don't just coast with it...that goes with your ECs too.

I already took the MCAT and did pretty well so luckily all I have to worry about is doing well in my classes and writing everything I need to write. Also, I plan on prewriting my secondaries using the SDN school specific resources, so that should help.

 

[Redpancreas]

Ok so there is some room for error when it comes to applying early. Thats really good to know, thanks for that.



I already took the MCAT and did pretty well so luckily all I have to worry about is doing well in my classes and writing everything I need to write. Also, I plan on prewriting my secondaries using the SDN school specific resources, so that should help.

Definitely! Go for it. Next time, I'll need to be careful to not assume people I'm giving advice to are in my exact situation. Good luck

 

[snowflakes]

Also, I kind of disagree with the advice about the personal statement. No need to start drafting it quite yet, but you can start spending time thinking about how you want to convey yourself, what your motivation for medicine is, how you want to present your experiences and tie everything together, etc. You an also start thinking about memorable vignettes, important lessons learned, etc from your more significant experiences--this will help for the personal statement, secondaries, and interviews later on. Free writing may also help.

 

[Espadaleader]

Of course I took it seriously and perhaps that's why, in retrospect, I may be wishing I had been a little more lax. Congratulations on getting accepted to those great schools.

As for the bolded, we're going to have to agree to disagree. I have been told by ad-coms I have met, notable members here on SDN, etc. that being brief in your non-most-influential experiences is a good thing to do. If you've done substantial things in your 3 non-influential experiences, all I'm saying is that they can be stated as opposed to narrated. Also, it's clear that starting out, you had a much stronger application than I did in terms of your experiences, therefore, you had much more to lose by not doing your absolute best on your application to display that. For me though, I went overboard with some explanations of non-significant experiences in attempt to take the process seriously and ended up being inefficient. I guess the moral of the story is to absolutely give it your best, but to work smart in addition to hard.

I feel you.

 

[Redpancreas]

Also, I kind of disagree with the advice about the personal statement. No need to start drafting it quite yet, but you can start spending time thinking about how you want to convey yourself, what your motivation for medicine is, how you want to present your experiences and tie everything together, etc. You an also start thinking about memorable vignettes, important lessons learned, etc from your more significant experiences--this will help for the personal statement, secondaries, and interviews later on. Free writing may also help.

Absolutely,
I had a diary and wrote in it after every memorable volunteer/teaching experience I had. It did give me an idea or two for my PS but it didn't help that much. I just gave the advice that I gave because I feel like I was stressing over it too much and that stressing didn't really come out to very meaningful results.

 

[About28]

Do you guys think that applying early really made a difference in your application?

 

[3931]

It made all the difference in the world to me this cycle - applied the second it opened, verified two days later. I am a re-applicant and submitted the AMCAS in late June in my previous cycle and wasn't verified until August. I had everything ready and just hit submit when it opened this year.

 

[ChemEngMD]

Do you guys think that applying early really made a difference in your application?

Yes. At least at rolling schools.

The fact of the matter is that if a school sees your application, likes you, wants to interview you, and falls in love with you then someone who is a similar applicant to you comes along, they are going to pick you because they already love and want you.

If you are that second or third applicant who is just as qualified, it's too bad because the school's heart has already been taken by another.

Too much Valentine's Day for me obviously lol.

 

[About28]

It made all the difference in the world to me this cycle - applied the second it opened, verified two days later. I am a re-applicant and submitted the AMCAS in late June in my previous cycle and wasn't verified until August. I had everything ready and just hit submit when it opened this year.

Looks like I'm gonna be a reapplicant next cycle, I'm in the small pool at a bunch of schools, so it looks like I'm going to be in a similar position as you. You have any other advice for a potential reapplicant with a decent application that applied too late?

 

[3931]

I originally applied to medical school right out of undergrad and was denied. There were many things wrong with my application that I later found out through honest, objective reflection and analysis. It took me time to sift through all of the feedback and craft a plan for this cycle. With that being said, I integrated all of it and did things so differently during this application cycle. For example, I met with my school’s Pre-Health Office, developed a plan, wrote 37 drafts of my personal statement, and crafted my work/activities in a way that communicated MY Story. I did more preparation on my school list and spent more time crafting my secondary applications to the schools specific mission, vision, and values.

My application is totally different in terms of experiences, the way I frame each experience, and my Personal Statement. While I used many of the same experiences, I framed them in a very different way. The 2011 cycle - My experiences were about what I contributed, what I did, etc. This cycle, I wrote about what I learned, and how this experience has led me to the belief that I am meant to be a physician. Also, my interviewers really liked how candid I was in my personal statement and application in general when it came to being a reapplicant. I spoke of my rejection in a positive light, about what I learned, how I refined myself. I spoke of how I wasn't ready to attend medical school but now I am. I also found this resource to be valuable.

http://medicine.osu.edu/students/admissions/reapplicantadvice/pages/index.aspx

I wish you the best of luck and feel free to PM anytime.

 

[kairos18]

It made all the difference in the world to me this cycle - applied the second it opened, verified two days later. I am a re-applicant and submitted the AMCAS in late June in my previous cycle and wasn't verified until August. I had everything ready and just hit submit when it opened this year.

AGREED. There aren't too many things that are in your control as far as the cycle goes, but your essays and timeline are, so you should definitely do as much as you can to optimize your chances. Applying early is definitely an advantage. I applied with lower stats, but I think that submitting right when the app opened really helped my cycle. Good luck OP!