How late is late in terms of applying?

[PreMedSeed]

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Hey everyone,

I am scheduled to take my MCAT on September 9 and expect my scores on ~ October 9th. I hope to submit my AMCAS application on Oct 9th right after I receive my score to avoid being a reapplicant if I was to apply again next rotation (i.e. If I submit my primary apps now BEFORE I take the MCAT and find out then that I scored low and decide not to apply, then I will be considered a re-applicant next cycle since I processed my primary app). Then after I submit my app. on Oct 9th, I might have to wait 3-4 weeks until it gets processed/verified, so technically med schools won't see it until ~ end of Oct, but at least I would have met every school's primary app deadline.

I'm currently averaging 33-35s on the AAMC practice MCATs with hopes of scoring at least a 33 on the real one. Assuming I score a 32/33 along with my sGPA 3.69, cGPA 3.68 with MANY meaningful extra curricular activities and coming from a California State College and non-URM, would you guys still recommend me to apply even as late as October 9th?

Most of the schools I'm applying to are out of state and are either semi-rolling or rolling. Everyone stresses about applying early, but given my circumstances I'm REALLY REALLY praying for some hope that there is some chance they will take a look at me before filling up their class. I mean most of these schools who are rolling have their primary app deadline in November or even December! Many people apply as late as end of Oct (a claim by an AMCAS rep), so I sure dont expect all of them to lose out out on having the opportunity to be equally reviewed.

Any suggestions/comments/advices are GREATLY appreciated. Thanks all!

-PreMedSeed

 

[xPersephone]

My personal thoughts are that it might be better to get verified before taking the mcat. Also, if you are averaging 33-35 on practice exams, I would not be too worried about getting a bad score, and would consider trying to take the mcat sooner if possible and if scores are well rounded. I have also read that being a reapplicant can be beneficial, it shows commitment. It also gives you a talking point in your secondaries/interviews about what you have done to improve your application.

 

[PreMedSeed]

Thanks for the reply!

Although I may average 33-35s, there is still a chance I might score 30 or below and by submitting my apps now really puts me in the danger zone of being a reapplicant next cycle if I decide to drop my apps this cycle.

I've read many mixed reviews on being a reapplicant which totally confuses me more. 1. Most schools will likely flag you for special revision given that you failed to get in the first time. If they were decisively comparing 2 apps between a reapplicant or 1st timer, 1st timer wins. 2. I've also read about how a reapplicant shows commitment as well.

To apply or not to apply in October 9th =(

 

[ygree001]

That is way too late in the cycle to apply.

 

[PreMedSeed]

That is way too late in the cycle to apply.

Your going to need to elaborate and reasonably specify why you think so otherwise your saying those thousands of applicants in queue during the month of October are ALL bound for rejection.

 

[Grobe57214]

You would still have a chance of being accepted if you apply so late, however you are going to make it much more difficult for yourself. If you are scoring 33-35's on the practice exams, there is no reason you should be limiting yourself by taking the exam Sept. 9. I had OK stats and I had a ton of trouble because I took my test the end of August and got verified early October. I still got in, however my recommendation is that you take it earlier.

 

[capo180]

most med schools do rolling admission, or so ive heard (from my premed advisor). so it is always to your advantage to apply early in the cycle. october is extremely late and puts you at a disadvantage.

 

[unhappytnt]

Your going to need to elaborate and reasonably specify why you think so otherwise your saying those thousands of applicants in queue during the month of October are ALL bound for rejection.

Huh, he never said ALL applicants are bound for rejection. That's a weird assumption to make. Also, it's common knowledge that applying in October is late. No need to elaborate on this.

 

[PreMedSeed]

I cant take the MCAT any earlier than Sept 9 due to personal reasons.

I'm definitely set on applying ~ Oct 9th and I know I will be disadvantaged considering that all the schools I'm applying to are rolling except for Rush and Temple (2 out of 20 geez). I can apply up to 14 schools for free through FAP.

I guess I just wanted some inspiration and possibly see concrete evidence of people that applied Oct 9th or later and got in. LOL... Just so I know I have a chance

My actual AMCAS gpa (calculated myself) is: cGPA: 3.61, sGPA: 3.62 with major significant ECs, averaging 33-35s on practice MCAT, comming from a California State College.

👍? 👎 ? lol

 

[Baron Samedi]

Get verified beforehand. Just apply to 1 school pre-MCAT that you don't really care a whole lot about and take your MCAT that way as soon as you get your score back you can apply and be complete.

End of October for primaries is WAY too late. You understand schools start accepting people on Oct. 15th, right? By then, they've already done a few interviews and they might already be booked until January or February. I applied late and as a consequence I didn't get my first acceptance until March. Do you really want to wait until March to know what your future holds?

I don't understand why you're waiting until September to take the MCAT if you're doing well on your practice tests. Take it in August. Heck, that still gives you two more months to prepare(not that you need it). If I were you, I'd even take it in July. The earlier the better.

Applying late Oct...you're not gonna get secondaries for a week or so and with 20 schools it's gonna take a little time to get them done, so best-case scenario you're complete at these schools in Mid-November and they take your application off the stack in December/January.

Let me simplify it: You will significantly decrease your chances of receiving interview invitations and as a result will significantly decrease your chances of being accepted to medical school.

 

[PreMedSeed]

Get verified beforehand. Just apply to 1 school pre-MCAT that you don't really care a whole lot about and take your MCAT that way as soon as you get your score back you can apply and be complete.

End of October for primaries is WAY too late. You understand schools start accepting people on Oct. 15th, right? By then, they've already done a few interviews and they might already be booked until January or February. I applied late and as a consequence I didn't get my first acceptance until March. Do you really want to wait until March to know what your future holds?

I don't understand why you're waiting until September to take the MCAT if you're doing well on your practice tests. Take it in August. Heck, that still gives you two more months to prepare(not that you need it). If I were you, I'd even take it in July. The earlier the better.

Applying late Oct...you're not gonna get secondaries for a week or so and with 20 schools it's gonna take a little time to get them done, so best-case scenario you're complete at these schools in Mid-November and they take your application off the stack in December/January.

Let me simplify it: You will significantly decrease your chances of receiving interview invitations and as a result will significantly decrease your chances of being accepted to medical school.

Thanks for the reply! I have a few questions based on your response:

1. I dont quite understand what you mean by applying to 1 school I dont care about. If I do that, will I be able to remove that school once I get my MCAT score? Also, say I score below a 30 and decide to retake and apply next year-obviously that school I used as a diversion will see me as a reapplicant next year, but will my desired schools see me as a reapplicant to AMCAS?

One of the reasons why I was hesitant to submit my primary app now is due to the uncertainty of my MCAT score. If I submitted it now and I ended up not liking my mcat score and wanted to retake and apply the following year, I would be considered a reapplicant (which most say is bad).

2. I'm currently out of the country for family reasons and I wont return until Sept 5th--thats why I I can only take the Sept 9th MCAT. But say I take your advice (which I most likely will) send in primary apps and get verified now with a filler school, THEN would I have a greater chance than I originally would? I guess med schools still wont see my application until until I receive my MCAT score which will be early Oct, but at least it wont be late Oct/early Nov if I was to submit it now.

3. How late did you apply anyways?

 

[Baron Samedi]

Thanks for the reply! I have a few questions based on your response:

1. I dont quite understand what you mean by applying to 1 school I dont care about. If I do that, will I be able to remove that school once I get my MCAT score? Also, say I score below a 30 and decide to retake and apply next year-obviously that school I used as a diversion will see me as a reapplicant next year, but will my desired schools see me as a reapplicant to AMCAS?

One of the reasons why I was hesitant to submit my primary app now is due to the uncertainty of my MCAT score. If I submitted it now and I ended up not liking my mcat score and wanted to retake and apply the following year, I would be considered a reapplicant (which most say is bad).

2. I'm currently out of the country for family reasons and I wont return until Sept 5th--thats why I I can only take the Sept 9th MCAT. But say I take your advice (which I most likely will) send in primary apps and get verified now with a filler school, THEN would I have a greater chance than I originally would? I guess med schools still wont see my application until until I receive my MCAT score which will be early Oct, but at least it wont be late Oct/early Nov if I was to submit it now.

3. How late did you apply anyways?

1. I'm not sure about re-applicant status. Schools were I did secondaries said, "Have you previously applied to THIS school"? I'm not sure if this is the same throughout though.

2. You will have a greater chance because you won't have to wait to be verified. The problem with your current plan is you get your score back THEN submit so you're waiting 4 weeks or so AFTER your score is received to apply. By verifying early, you can add more schools as soon as you get your scores back.

3. I was finished with secondaries in late October due to financial constraints. And it sucked.

 

[LetsGo352]

Hey everyone,

I am scheduled to take my MCAT on September 9 and expect my scores on ~ October 9th. I hope to submit my AMCAS application on Oct 9th right after I receive my score to avoid being a reapplicant if I was to apply again next rotation (i.e. If I submit my primary apps now BEFORE I take the MCAT and find out then that I scored low and decide not to apply, then I will be considered a re-applicant next cycle since I processed my primary app). Then after I submit my app. on Oct 9th, I might have to wait 3-4 weeks until it gets processed/verified, so technically med schools won't see it until ~ end of Oct, but at least I would have met every school's primary app deadline.

I'm currently averaging 33-35s on the AAMC practice MCATs with hopes of scoring at least a 33 on the real one. Assuming I score a 32/33 along with my sGPA 3.69, cGPA 3.68 with MANY meaningful extra curricular activities and coming from a California State College and non-URM, would you guys still recommend me to apply even as late as October 9th?

Most of the schools I'm applying to are out of state and are either semi-rolling or rolling. Everyone stresses about applying early, but given my circumstances I'm REALLY REALLY praying for some hope that there is some chance they will take a look at me before filling up their class. I mean most of these schools who are rolling have their primary app deadline in November or even December! Many people apply as late as end of Oct (a claim by an AMCAS rep), so I sure dont expect all of them to lose out out on having the opportunity to be equally reviewed.

Any suggestions/comments/advices are GREATLY appreciated. Thanks all!

-PreMedSeed

Pretty much everyone on here will tell you October is pretty late to be complete and I would agree with them. I was considering a retake of my MCAT in late July, but even that is really pushing it. However, applying late with good-great stats is not really a problem. Applying late with average stats is a huge problem. Your GPA is probably slightly below average and your predicted MCAT is above. With around a 3.65 and a 33 MCAT, applying late may be taking a risk. I would sacrifice 3 points on my MCAT and apply early.

 

[PreMedSeed]

1. I'm not sure about re-applicant status. Schools were I did secondaries said, "Have you previously applied to THIS school"? I'm not sure if this is the same throughout though.

2. You will have a greater chance because you won't have to wait to be verified. The problem with your current plan is you get your score back THEN submit so you're waiting 4 weeks or so AFTER your score is received to apply. By verifying early, you can add more schools as soon as you get your scores back.

3. I was finished with secondaries in late October due to financial constraints. And it sucked.

Holy smokes your fast.

Well it seems if I submit now and take mcat sept 9, I'll most likely follow your path and submit my secondaries in late October as well (considering they'll send me it). If you dont mind me asking, what schools did you apply to, had interviews at and got into? I know this is a lot to ask, but as lost as I am, I'm really really happy to finally see someone in my shoe. I'm sure your stats are higher than mine.

Almost all the schools I'm applying to are rolling and from the way they word it, it seems they'll be full even before they see me lol

FYI: Schools I'm applying to: uc davis, uc irvine, george washington, loyola, rosalind franklin, rush, univ illionois, univ iowa, univ louisville, tulane, creighton, albany, nymc, univ buffalo, wake forest, toledo, drexel, jefferson, temple, univ vermont, east virginia, virginia commonwealth, univ wisconsin

Thanks again.

 

[PreMedSeed]

Pretty much everyone on here will tell you October is pretty late to be complete and I would agree with them. I was considering a retake of my MCAT in late July, but even that is really pushing it. However, applying late with good-great stats is not really a problem. Applying late with average stats is a huge problem. Your GPA is probably slightly below average and your predicted MCAT is above. With around a 3.65 and a 33 MCAT, applying late may be taking a risk. I would sacrifice 3 points on my MCAT and apply early.

Yeah I know what you mean. I think I might consider submitting my primary app in now, get verified in a few days or weeks, but I'll still have to take my MCAT sept 9th regardless. At least then I wont have too much delay considering my apps already verified and med schools will only be waiting for the mcat.

So the bus shall be rolling as early as Oct once I get my mcat score! 🙄

 

[LetsGo352]

Yeah I know what you mean. I think I might consider submitting my primary app in now, get verified in a few days or weeks, but I'll still have to take my MCAT sept 9th regardless. At least then I wont have too much delay considering my apps already verified and med schools will only be waiting for the mcat.

So the bus shall be rolling as early as Oct once I get my mcat score! 🙄

Yeah, at least make sure you get EVERYTHING in before then so that you're just waiting for your score.

 

[allie1361]

Uhm...from my understanding, the cutoff for MCAT scores that most schools will accept is AUGUST. You may want to check into that...

 

[foofish]

Where I did my premed, that would be considered essentially suicidal. We were told (and this isn't just rumor, but explicitly told by our advisors) that LATE AUGUST was the *latest* you wanted to be verified, complete with secondaries, and having your application ready to be read...which meant submitting (with MCAT) in June, early July.

Don't forget, even at non-rolling schools the interview slots are offered on a rolling basis. Many med schools will have already given out most (if not all) of their interview slots by the time you get your MCAT score back, nevermind by the time your application is complete. The news is worse with rolling schools, who can start sending out acceptances on October 15th and so you'll be applying too late to even be a consideration at most adcom decision meetings.

I'd wait and apply next year. By taking the MCAT in September and applying that late, you're all but guaranteeing that you'll be a reapplicant next year anyway. So I'd wait, save yourself the wasted $$, continue to strengthen your application, and apply fresh next year. Applying to med school is a process you only want to do once if possible, and it's best to do with an application (and timing) that maximizes your chances.

 

[CougarMD]

Uhm...from my understanding, the cutoff for MCAT scores that most schools will accept is AUGUST. You may want to check into that...

Depends on the school, but maybe.

Examples of schools that accept September: UCLA, UPenn, UChicago:
http://pritzker.uchicago.edu/admissions/faq.shtml
http://www.med.upenn.edu/admiss/admissions1.html
http://www.medstudent.ucla.edu/prospective/admissions/?pgid=3

It is just more problematic if you are taking the test at the VERY last possible moment accepted as opposed to earlier. It means they will not be able to look at your app until very late in a rolling admissions cycle.

 

[allie1361]

Where I did my premed, that would be considered essentially suicidal. We were told (and this isn't just rumor, but explicitly told by our advisors) that LATE AUGUST was the *latest* you wanted to be verified, complete with secondaries, and having your application ready to be read...which meant submitting (with MCAT) in June, early July.

Don't forget, even at non-rolling schools the interview slots are offered on a rolling basis. Many med schools will have already given out most (if not all) of their interview slots by the time you get your MCAT score back, nevermind by the time your application is complete. The news is worse with rolling schools, who can start sending out acceptances on October 15th and so you'll be applying too late to even be a consideration at most adcom decision meetings.

I'd wait and apply next year. By taking the MCAT in September and applying that late, you're all but guaranteeing that you'll be a reapplicant next year anyway. So I'd wait, save yourself the wasted $$, continue to strengthen your application, and apply fresh next year. Applying to med school is a process you only want to do once if possible, and it's best to do with an application (and timing) that maximizes your chances.

Most nor all of the interview slots will be full by the end of Oct. There are always exceptions, but from my experience, none of the schools were booking more than a couple months ahead of when I'd received the invitation. Most schools interview through the end of March, some interview through April. I laugh when people over-exaggerate how far ahead adcoms plan interviews. I highly doubt many, if any, schools have interviews scheduled for March in October...

 

[LizzyM]

Most nor all of the interview slots will be full by the end of Oct. There are always exceptions, but from my experience, none of the schools were booking more than a couple months ahead of when I'd received the invitation. Most schools interview through the end of March, some interview through April. I laugh when people over-exaggerate how far ahead adcoms plan interviews. I highly doubt many, if any, schools have interviews scheduled for March in October...

The admissions offices have learned that booking interviews more than 6 weeks ahead means more cancellations and re-scheduling headaches later. It is easiest to go 6-8 weeks out, at the most, but to have a queue of "invite later" applicants. So, for example, if 100 people are ready to be interviewed and the school can handle 10 per week there are going to be 60 invited to schedule during the next 6 weeks and 40 who will get later invitations. More people keep pouring into that queue so that by November there may more people in the queue than there are remaining interview slots. That seems to explain why it is harder to get an interview if you apply late.

 

[foofish]

Most nor all of the interview slots will be full by the end of Oct. There are always exceptions, but from my experience, none of the schools were booking more than a couple months ahead of when I'd received the invitation. Most schools interview through the end of March, some interview through April. I laugh when people over-exaggerate how far ahead adcoms plan interviews. I highly doubt many, if any, schools have interviews scheduled for March in October...

Well, it's true at my school, and I'm involved in admissions. And when I was an applicant, I received my interview spot for December in the fist week of September...frankly, I had all of my interview invites by then. Also, while we do offer some interview slots in February/March it's understood that those people are mostly competing for waitlist spots since we've already sent out most of our acceptances by then...the people who do get admitted are the rare exceptions with stellar stats and backgrounds.

It's a simple fact that when schools only have a couple of spots left and thousands of applicants, they can and will be more selective about who they will accept. It's basic supply and demand. Your chances of getting in when you were 1 out of 1000 competing for 100 spots (i.e. early) is very different from your chances of getting in when you are 1 out of 10,000 competing for one spot (i.e. late). In that latter situation, the person who will get accepted is more likely to have a 4.0 and a 40 than a 3.2 and a 32.

Then again, we're a rolling admissions school that is known to be difficult to get into. But my advice was how to *maximize* one's chances of getting in, not how to blithely apply and hope for the best. I think it's irresponsible to tell someone with average stats (good, but average) that by applying late they won't suffer any consequences from doing so....particularly when for some schools a September MCAT doesn't even qualify for this cycle because it's so late in the process (and for most other schools it's the very last session that will be considered...and since schools get to keep your $$ regardless of whether you're even eligible when you apply, that should tell you something significant about the timing).

 

[Baron Samedi]

Holy smokes your fast.

Well it seems if I submit now and take mcat sept 9, I'll most likely follow your path and submit my secondaries in late October as well (considering they'll send me it). If you dont mind me asking, what schools did you apply to, had interviews at and got into? I know this is a lot to ask, but as lost as I am, I'm really really happy to finally see someone in my shoe. I'm sure your stats are higher than mine.

Almost all the schools I'm applying to are rolling and from the way they word it, it seems they'll be full even before they see me lol

FYI: Schools I'm applying to: uc davis, uc irvine, george washington, loyola, rosalind franklin, rush, univ illionois, univ iowa, univ louisville, tulane, creighton, albany, nymc, univ buffalo, wake forest, toledo, drexel, jefferson, temple, univ vermont, east virginia, virginia commonwealth, univ wisconsin

Thanks again.

I won't go into specifics, but I applied late to 12 schools, got 3 interviews, 2 WL, 1 acceptance, and withdrew from the WLs when I got the acceptance. And I didn't get that acceptance until March. It really sucks having to worry about getting a job for the following year, not knowing when to sign an apartment lease, and worrying about your obligation to pay back undergraduate loans. Not to mention prepping for a whole 'nother application cycle(financially, mentally, etc.). I can tell you that December-March was the most stressful time period of my entire life.