How late can I submit my AMCAS

[Psycho Doctor]

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if i am applying this year?

I am so overwhelmed right now that i don't think i can do a good job on it until after the MCAT and my summer school is over (both the same week). Should i just give it up for this year and apply next year instead? SDhould I still take the MCAT in August if I wait until next year to apply?

 

[sistahnik]

I think you need to get a hold of yourself, calm down, and relax! relax-release-relate.just try to make a list of things that you need to do and check them off one-by-one as you complete them. I don't think that I would wait another year to apply because of something that you can change today! get it together. 😉

 

[CoverMe]

Do NOT assume that the discussions on this board are representative of the average student applying for medical school.

Early is better than late, but late is better than next year.

 

[SpiritiualDuck]

I applied late last year. Several of my friends did too. Many of us didn't submit until Sept or even Oct. I didn't submit until the end of Sept, didn't get my secondaries in until Nov, interviews were in the new year.

So, there you go.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

But some have mid October deadlines. I'm so afraid i won't get them in on time and Idon't want to rush and do a crappy job. if only I could finish my summer school and the MCAT, then I'd have time for the apps...if only.... 🙁

 

[stinkycheese]

But some have mid October deadlines. I'm so afraid i won't get them in on time and Idon't want to rush and do a crappy job. if only I could finish my summer school and the MCAT, then I'd have time for the apps...if only.... 🙁

The MCAT will be over in August. You need two months after that to finish?

 

[Psycho Doctor]

no, but everyone here says it should be done early in the summer so you can get the secondaries. i was afraid it would be too late to submit initially.

 

[stinkycheese]

Don't worry about mid-October deadlines if you're getting it in around August.

 

[Code Brown]

no, but everyone here says it should be done early in the summer so you can get the secondaries. i was afraid it would be too late to submit initially.

Yes, that's what everyone HERE says. However, most of us here are the paranoid, submit by June 2nd, apply to 30 schools, need a 35 MCAT or the world will end type of people, so you need to take everything with a grain of salt. You probably have two free weeks after the MCAT and summer school ends right? That should be plenty of time to bang out a good PS and submit to AMCAS. You'll get the secondaries in September, return them by the end of October, and start interviewing in December. Just make sure you take a light load (if possible) in the fall so that you have time to deal with the secondaries if you plan on applying to a lot of schools. If you are only going to hit about 15 schools, you won't be that busy. Good luck and get off SDN and go study for the MCAT!

 

[Psycho Doctor]

My concern is if you can't handle pulling it together for your application, how are you going to handle medical school, life, being a doctor, the daily grind, all the responsibilities that most of us deal with?

I am only concerned about deadlines and doing a good enough job on them....don't say i can't handle med school or being a doctor. 🙁 I have had to deal with extreme stress and absurd hours before under adverse conditions. What got me into this mess to begin with is the fact that i was in a serious car accident at the end of March and had to spend more than a week in the hsoptial and more than a month off from school. I had to catch up on 4+ weeks of coursework, reading, labs, papers, exams, etc two weeks before final exams while recovering from a concussion, fractured ribs, a broken clavicle, a punctured lung and a splenectomy (the site of which became infected which necessitated another hospital stay). Yea i pulled all-nighters several times a week and existed on 14 hours of sleep a week. And that was the second time i had to deal with a schedule like that due to situations beyond my control. So don't tell me i can't handle med school or being a doctor. 😕

 

[Psycho Doctor]

So you mean it's still possible? I've got 12 days from the MCAT until fall semester classes start. ::sigh:: What about Oct 15th deadline schools?

 

[gaf]

But some have mid October deadlines. I'm so afraid i won't get them in on time and Idon't want to rush and do a crappy job. if only I could finish my summer school and the MCAT, then I'd have time for the apps...if only.... 🙁

Many (if not most or all) schools have two deadlines. Generally, the October deadline is for AMCAs submission -- not verification, not transmission, just the day you certify and submit AMCAS with the school designated to receive the application. The second deadline is to have your application complete (secondary, LORs, etc). Many - not all - of these are in December and January.

And finally, don't worry about all the "Is this still considered early" threads. The deadlines are what they are for a reason. I was accepted at a school where I was complete in mid-November.

 

[Snowboarder]

Fellow SDNers, advice and experiences shared on this network are great for the most part, but I must say, this particular thread is filled with poor advice and going down hill fast.

Getting a job done well is not the same as just getting it done. Psycho doctor - if you wait until September or October to apply you are putting yourself in a bad situation. Even though schools will accept applications until October 15th, on October 16th many of them send out enough acceptance letters to fill up half of their class. This puts you at a major disadvantage. No matter how excusing you think your reasons may be for applying in September or October, it will still look bad to med schools and the disadvantage will still be there. It's possible that you could cram, get your AMCAS application done by August, take the MCAT and finish school, but if you sacrifice the quality if your essay, your MCAT scores and your grades because of it, is it really worth it? For me, it wouldn't be.

If you're willing to wait a year I strongly suggest you do so. Put off the MCAT until April. Then you can focus on finishing up your summer semester and preparing for the MCAT individually. Then, once you finish the MCAT in April, immediately start preparing your AMCAS application for June or July submission. Take your time with your essay. All scores and GPAs will look alike, your essay is one of the few things that will make you stand out on that primary application. Put yourself in a position where med schools will have no reason to reject you.

It's possible you could get in this year if you apply late depending on your grades, scores, writing ability, interview skills etc. I have no clue what kind of applicant you are. But it's a very exhausting and expensive process to go through and not get an acceptance in the end.

I wish you the best of luck with whatever you decide.

 

[gaf]

It's possible you could get in this year if you apply late depending on your grades, scores, writing ability, interview skills etc. I have no clue what kind of applicant you are. But it's a very exhausting and expensive process to go through and not get an acceptance in the end.

👍
an excellent point that I neglected. Don't push the deadlines without good credentials.

 

[pathdr2b]

👍
an excellent point that I neglected. Don't push the deadlines without good credentials.

Right! 👍

I think it should be mentioned that not everyone can AFFORD to apply early though they may have solid credentials. (It appears that so many people on SDN just call their parents, ect to write a check. Great for them, not so great for others who don't have these advantages or maybe "poor" folks don't post on SDN 😕 ). For these folks that have good overall packages and that apply to a broad range of schools there are many, many cases of success. Sometimes, you just do the best you can with what you have. 👍

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Yikes!!! 😱 Everyone is telling me different things and I really don't know what to do. I don't know whether to wait or not. 😕 I suppose I'd rather not take a year off unless I can do something really phenomenal i that year and be able to greatly improve my chances of getting in somewhere. My dream schools are Cornell or Johns Hopkins right now. ugh

 

[Dr. N]

Yes, that's what everyone HERE says. However, most of us here are the paranoid, submit by June 2nd, apply to 30 schools, need a 35 MCAT or the world will end type of people, so you need to take everything with a grain of salt. You probably have two free weeks after the MCAT and summer school ends right? That should be plenty of time to bang out a good PS and submit to AMCAS. You'll get the secondaries in September, return them by the end of October, and start interviewing in December. Just make sure you take a light load (if possible) in the fall so that you have time to deal with the secondaries if you plan on applying to a lot of schools. If you are only going to hit about 15 schools, you won't be that busy. Good luck and get off SDN and go study for the MCAT!

WOW, 15 schools is not too busy? when I tell my premed friends that I am applying to 15 scholls they think that it is too much.

 

[MoosePilot]

Yikes!!! 😱 Everyone is telling me different things and I really don't know what to do. I don't know whether to wait or not. 😕 I suppose I'd rather not take a year off unless I can do something really phenomenal i that year and be able to greatly improve my chances of getting in somewhere. My dream schools are Cornell or Johns Hopkins right now. ugh

You can't make up your mind in the face of conflicting multiple advice? It's your choice, what do you want to do? Who cares what we want you to do.

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

WOW, 15 schools is not too busy? when I tell my premed friends that I am applying to 15 scholls they think that it is too much.

Once again, SDN is not a characteristic sample. If you look at data from AAMC, the average number of applications for each person is 11. On SDN, however, I would bet the average is more around 15. And then you have the people who will apply to 20+ (and even those that have 30+). So yeah, I would bet 15 does seem like a lot to most people, but around here its normal.

Psycho, the thing that may help you with JHU and COrnell is that I don't believe there admissions are rolling (please correct me if I am wrong). So in this case, the difficulty of having a late application is competing for a smaller number of interview slots because their decisions woul probably be made after all of the interviews. But thats not nearly as bad as competing for say only half of the acceptances. Also, what do your stats look like? As people mentioned, that will play a large part in whether you are safe in applying late.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Yea I know but i was hoping there was a right thing to do and you'd all confirm it and thus make it a simple choice.