How early is early?

[jackets5]

When people say it is best to get your application in early how early are they talking about? thanks

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[UCLAstudent]

Before August is still pretty early. I'd aim for mid-July.

 

[MWillie]

Mid June is ideal.

 

[TBone]

Does this include letters of recommendation? Because my university doesn't even do pre-professional interviews until Aug/Sept.

 

[UCLAstudent]

Does this include letters of recommendation? Because my university doesn't even do pre-professional interviews until Aug/Sept.

Letters of recommendation don't get sent with AMCAS. They get sent to each individual school once you receive a secondary. For example: I was verified by AMCAS in mid-June, and received secondaries throughout July and August. Letters were sent out whenever I got a secondary.

 

[uclabruin2003]

i say first two weeks of june. but it doesnt matter if you dont get out your secondaries fast and have your LOR ready.

 

[TBone]

Letters of recommendation don't get sent with AMCAS. They get sent to each individual school once you receive a secondary. For example: I was verified by AMCAS in mid-June, and received secondaries throughout July and August. Letters were sent out whenever I got a secondary.

I see! Thanks for the clarification

 

[annh31]

what about if you take the august mcat, but everything else (LORs, AMCAS, etc) is turned in? does that put you at a significant disadvantage if everything else is submitted by like early July, and secondaries are all returned by September?

 

[Reimat]

what about if you take the august mcat, but everything else (LORs, AMCAS, etc) is turned in? does that put you at a significant disadvantage if everything else is submitted by like early July, and secondaries are all returned by September?

Yup. Some schools wont even send you a secondary until they get your MCAT scores

 

[stoic]

and applying as early as possible is important.

i'd shoot for getting amcas submitted before july.

 

[preetster]

It really helps if you have your MCAT done in April. A lot of schools will not review your materials until they have everything.

 

[mwhou]

The most important thing about getting in early (by July) is that you will have NO REGRETS and will MAXIMIZE your chances. It may not seem that big of a deal now, but as next year goes by and you are anxiously awaiting interview requests and acceptancesd, (when it is out of your hands) you will regret not getting it in earlier. You will certainly sleep easier for the next 6-12 months knowing you got in early. Also, many schools have said they got overwhelmed with 35+/3.7+ applications after september/october & didn't have much choice but to overlook those with less stellar numbers. If you get in early, even if your numbers aren't stellar, you have a better shot at getting an interview. That is your goal at this poiint - getting the interviews. All certainly isn't lost if you are taking the Aug MCAT, you just have extra pressure to ace the exam to compete with all of the excellent applicants that pop up that time of year.

I think everyone who has been through the process would advise you to get it together as soon as possible. Get your letters together early, have an extra if possible. Many people get delayed by 3+ months due to letters, and have ruined relationships with letter writers due to the delays. Also realize, it can take weeks for the application service (AMCAS) to accept your application after you submit it - if you wait until they are busy, it will take longer.

The point is, it is a gamble to submit late and there are too many risks and uncontrollable factors in this process as it is - do yourself a favor and eliminate this one.
Good Luck!

- one more reason to apply early. Getting your amcas app in is just the first step, then schools send secondaries that can take 10's to 100's of hours to complete. You still have to get them submitted before your are 'complete' - if you get the amcas in early, you can use the summer (which is likely an easier time of year) to work on them.

 

[abraxas20]

Someone may have already said this, but I think that those people who got their AMCAS in in June or July got verification of its processing quicker. I would recommend to get the letters in early, early, that way you don't have to worry about them when you are doing the application.

My letters and transcripts were sent before I even started filling out the app and i had verification in a few hours.

S

 

[annh31]

thanks for the replies, everyone.

here is my current problem. if i don't get in this year, i will reapply. i don't want to re-take the MCAT, but i will if i have to. i honestly have not looked at ANY of the material since the august exam, so i think i would be ill-prepared for the april one. i know there is still time to study and all that, but i don't want to chance it and i'd rather take it in august and study longer. thoughts here?

so...if schools knew i was a re-applicant, and if i submitted my AMCAS and everything else early, do you STILL think it would hurt me if i took the august MCAT over the april one??

 

[virilep]

When people say it is best to get your application in early how early are they talking about? thanks

this is kinda like askin "how much can I procrastine?" I mean, you have to get it done. Might as well make sure it's one of the first applications they see. If I had to do it all over again, I'd start working on my essay right after get done with the the MCAT in april, and in the meanwhile, send out my LOR requests. Then when I think I'm done with the essay, send it out to people. The usually take a week to read it and give it back. In that week, I'd start filling out the actual AMCAS applicaton. It takes about 3-4 days to do it properly and not go crazy. You also have to make sure your descriptions on your activities is properly worded. anyhow, in the meanwhile, they'll send the essay back to you and I know in my situation, it took me about 3 weeks from my "I think I'm finished product" to the actual thing. so that gives you about a month to do the whole application. and send it out! honestly, i think applying early is a MAJOR thing. It's almost as important as the numbers game. I feel like I won't get into Univ of Kentucky because their class is full and now I'm interviewing for a waitlist spot. Even though I sent it out early and everything, I had to take the MCAT again. So... I wouldn't do the app and MCAT at the same time. The AAMC take a while to process the apps if you get into the busy months. so, again, how much are you willing to procrastinate?