How fast do I honestly need to finish secondaries?

[TaupePremed]

It is often said that you should finish each secondary application in 2 weeks or less. Sometimes they say 3 weeks.

How bad is it to take 3 weeks, or even 4 weeks? Will it seem like I don't care?

My letter packet definitely won't be ready yet, so I am wondering whether it makes sense to power through the secondaries really fast even though the schools won't have any of my letters yet. Can I spend 4 weeks, do the secondaries more carefully, and keep in mind that they still won't have any of my letters yet?

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[anonymoose1640]

It is better to take your time and make sure your essays are honest, well-written, and error free. For your own sanity, I recommend not taking longer than 4 weeks. You don't want an application like that looming over your head for that long. When you think it's ready to go, click submit and move on.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Finish them as soon as you are able. Submitting later than the first week of September will start to become "late". It doesn't matter how long you hold onto a secondary, just when you submit it and the schools start to read it. The faster you get them out, the earlier you might get an interview, and there are a limited number of interview spots.

 

[DumboOctopus]

I think past 4 weeks is pushing it. 3 weeks is okay. Take longer if what you are turning in is absolute garbage, but don't focus on getting it perfect either.