How late is too late to apply?

[kbRD2MD84]

Looking at probably taking the MCAT sometime between mid-July and early August. I know earlier is better for apps, but I don't want to take the MCAT before I'm ready (got a late start on it) and shoot myself in the foot. Saw a thread somewhere (don't remember if it was in nontrads or what) that suggested to get everything in before Labor Day. Is that a good rule of thumb? Probably looking at applying about half MD and half DO - most of my prereqs were online so that cut down my list a bit. Not sure how I'll fare on the MCAT but I tend to be a decent test-taker (hoping for at least 510... we shall see), grades are good but nothing special (3.5-3.6 range). I guess what I'm trying to say is - I think I'm a pretty competitive applicant for the places on my short list right now, but of course the whole nontrad thing is always a question. If I apply around the beginning of Sept, am I screwed?

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[T-Lymphocyte]

following

 

[curbsideconsult]

The Labor Day deadline is a good rule of thumb, but it all depends on your application. I have a friend who didn't get everything in until end of September/early October and she got into some amazing schools (all MD). But her application was also pretty amazing.

 

[kbRD2MD84]

The Labor Day deadline is a good rule of thumb, but it all depends on your application. I have a friend who didn't get everything in until end of September/early October and she got into some amazing schools (all MD). But her application was also pretty amazing.

I feel like mine could go either way. I'm 34, an RD with current registration/licensure (planning to maintain that), lots of recent clinical experience (clinical-focused dietetic internship in particular) and more than enough volunteering, and I think I'll have a pretty strong PS. Still need to sort out LOR and shadowing, but it'll happen. Really depends if the adcoms are into nontrads - and I've tried to hand-pick programs that look pretty nontrad-friendly. The closest thing I have to a state school is ECU (UNC is super strict about hating on online prereqs) so that should be a good safety school at the very least. Hopefully, extra time to prep for the MCAT will probably help my app out more than getting it in a few weeks earlier.

 

[rdyotz]

Focus on your MCAT, and be prepared to sit this cycle out. The people that get in late often have killer stats 3.9, 518+, and great ECs. Taking the MCAT early August = early September score & submitting of primary (after tailoring school list for MCAT). Expect 2-3 weeks to get certified, then secondaries can start coming in. Expect many weeks to submit those secondaries and you are looking at the end of October before your complete. Some schools might not have any interview slots until January at that point, at which point half the class may already be filled.

TLDR: focus on your MCAT and reassess after you get your score.

 

[kbRD2MD84]

Focus on your MCAT, and be prepared to sit this cycle out. The people that get in late often have killer stats 3.9, 518+, and great ECs. Taking the MCAT early August = early September score & submitting of primary (after tailoring school list for MCAT). Expect 2-3 weeks to get certified, then secondaries can start coming in. Expect many weeks to submit those secondaries and you are looking at the end of October before your complete. Some schools might not have any interview slots until January at that point, at which point half the class may already be filled.

TLDR: focus on your MCAT and reassess after you get your score.

Yeah, that's pretty much the plan right now. I'm looking at 7/20 or 8/3 for the MCAT - could change, but I've barely started on prep, so I have plenty of work to do. What about DO schools? I've heard that the timeline is a bit more forgiving for those. I prefer MD, but planning on applying to a handful of DO's.

 

[JSReed]

Yea.....tbh for you to have a chance with submitting MD primaries in Sept, you basically need a 4.0 and a 520, maybe a few pubs too. If you're super set on going this cycle, then I'd say limit your MD apps and go DO. But if it were me, I'd wait another cycle and give it a more solid run.

Also: is all of your clinical experience from your RD work? You might want to check with someone reputable as to whether that "counts" by admissions definitions. I ended up in a similar spot where some (but not all) of my clinical stuff wasn't counted because it was "too public health focused" (even tho I was with patients and docs). Just something to make sure of.

 

[kbRD2MD84]

Yea.....tbh for you to have a chance with submitting MD primaries in Sept, you basically need a 4.0 and a 520, maybe a few pubs too. If you're super set on going this cycle, then I'd say limit your MD apps and go DO. But if it were me, I'd wait another cycle and give it a more solid run.

Also: is all of your clinical experience from your RD work? You might want to check with someone reputable as to whether that "counts" by admissions definitions. I ended up in a similar spot where some (but not all) of my clinical stuff wasn't counted because it was "too public health focused" (even tho I was with patients and docs). Just something to make sure of.

Certainly don't have a 4.0, but maybe I'll surprise myself with a 520 haha 😉 Kinda tend to agree with you BUT I also hate the idea of pushing this out another year. I'll wait until next cycle if I need to, of course. If I do put it off, I'm toying with the idea of possibly doing some kind of postbacc (legit or DIY) to vastly increase the number of schools I can actually apply to (since nearly all of my prereqs were online and that really limits me bc schools tend to think it's clown college). Dealing with some health stuff at the moment, so I may need to adjust my timeline anyway... we'll see.

What would be a better cutoff date to get primaries submitted? Planning to pre-write secondaries as much as possible so those don't slow down the timeline. If I'm ready for the MCAT mid-July and get scores back mid-August, would that help me out?

As far as the clinical exp - yeah, it's mostly unpaid clinical nutrition stuff. Also some old hospital volunteering from high school, not sure how much weight that holds since it's from nearly 20 years ago. I still need to reach out to certain schools to make sure they're cool with it, but I've had some reputable folks here advise that I should be more than fine with what I have.

 

[JSReed]

Certainly don't have a 4.0, but maybe I'll surprise myself with a 520 haha 😉 Kinda tend to agree with you BUT I also hate the idea of pushing this out another year. I'll wait until next cycle if I need to, of course. If I do put it off, I'm toying with the idea of possibly doing some kind of postbacc (legit or DIY) to vastly increase the number of schools I can actually apply to (since nearly all of my prereqs were online and that really limits me bc schools tend to think it's clown college). Dealing with some health stuff at the moment, so I may need to adjust my timeline anyway... we'll see.

What would be a better cutoff date to get primaries submitted? Planning to pre-write secondaries as much as possible so those don't slow down the timeline. If I'm ready for the MCAT mid-July and get scores back mid-August, would that help me out?

As far as the clinical exp - yeah, it's mostly unpaid clinical nutrition stuff. Also some old hospital volunteering from high school, not sure how much weight that holds since it's from nearly 20 years ago. I still need to reach out to certain schools to make sure they're cool with it, but I've had some reputable folks here advise that I should be more than fine with what I have.

So again, personal opinion. But from the MD side, given that everyone harps on the necessity to apply EARLY (primary by june 15, secondaries within 72 hrs), you're going to be taking a big hit on that by not having an mcat until mid August. Then theres the whole process of getting scores, deciding which schools, actually finishing the primary, getting the secondaries back, inputting and double-checking your responses, sending, getting confirmation-- each of those steps is 1-3 days each, so you're looking at another week. Point is that even once you get your mcat back, you're looking at trying to get your app in towards the end of the "on time" phase. Which...given how competitive apps are getting, you want to put yourself on the best foot moving forward. Getting your mcat back mid July is definitely workable, but I'd say mid August is disadvantaging yourself.

Post-bacc: Honestly don't see the need. You're already at 3.7, GPA is an issue for you at very few schools (WashU, Harvard, etc).

Clinical: Have been advised by adcoms to leave off anything, specifically hospital volunteering, from high school (especially as a non-trad). I'd still check in with 2-3 schools to make sure--people on SDN have been wrong before.

 

[kbRD2MD84]

So again, personal opinion. But from the MD side, given that everyone harps on the necessity to apply EARLY (primary by june 15, secondaries within 72 hrs), you're going to be taking a big hit on that by not having an mcat until mid August. Then theres the whole process of getting scores, deciding which schools, actually finishing the primary, getting the secondaries back, inputting and double-checking your responses, sending, getting confirmation-- each of those steps is 1-3 days each, so you're looking at another week. Point is that even once you get your mcat back, you're looking at trying to get your app in towards the end of the "on time" phase. Which...given how competitive apps are getting, you want to put yourself on the best foot moving forward. Getting your mcat back mid July is definitely workable, but I'd say mid August is disadvantaging yourself.

Post-bacc: Honestly don't see the need. You're already at 3.7, GPA is an issue for you at very few schools (WashU, Harvard, etc).

Clinical: Have been advised by adcoms to leave off anything, specifically hospital volunteering, from high school (especially as a non-trad). I'd still check in with 2-3 schools to make sure--people on SDN have been wrong before.

Yeah, wasn't even considering putting the hospital volunteering on there, haha! It was a great experience, but it was also half my life ago and I don't remember the names of my supervisors or really what I even did! I've got plenty of relatively recent non-clinical volunteering so that should help - lots of soup kitchen, food pantry, random do-gooder stuff like that 😉

As far as postbacc - I guess I'm using the wrong word there. I already have most of the prereqs I need (minus a 2nd physics and O-chem) but most of them are online (which is an automatic nope at a lot of schools) or too old for some schools. To further complicate things, I'd love to apply to UNC (I'll have IS residency by October) but I would literally have to take every single one of the 13 prereqs they require thanks to the 5-year recency requirement + no online prereqs deal... and idk, that seems a bit much just for 1 school to me.

Kind of leaning toward delaying applying until next year (although I am a horribly impatient person and want everything NOW) at the moment, because I'm pretty sure I could kill the MCAT given that much prep time. In the end, I think I'll have to do some digging as far as the schools I'm really interested in and see if retaking a chunk of the prereqs I took online in a real physical classroom would make any difference... OR if taking some upper-levels would be the better choice (they're certainly more interesting). Just feeling a bit stuck at the moment. I'm pretty much limited to community colleges where I live, and I don't know if those would be looked at any better than online. There doesn't seem to be a simple answer here!

Not sure if any of that makes sense... but neither does my life! The TLDR version: 1st BS (non-science major but started as an exercise phys major for 1 semester + had psych, stats, etc.) in 2006, worked and adulted for a bit, 2nd BS (nutrition) in 2016 - online through U of Alabama (including science prereqs - while working FT), dietetic internship 2017-2018, and here I am... so everything from the 1st BS is too old for some places, everything from the 2nd degree is too online for most places, and I just feel kind of ridiculous

 

[JSReed]

Yeah, wasn't even considering putting the hospital volunteering on there, haha! It was a great experience, but it was also half my life ago and I don't remember the names of my supervisors or really what I even did! I've got plenty of relatively recent non-clinical volunteering so that should help - lots of soup kitchen, food pantry, random do-gooder stuff like that 😉

As far as postbacc - I guess I'm using the wrong word there. I already have most of the prereqs I need (minus a 2nd physics and O-chem) but most of them are online (which is an automatic nope at a lot of schools) or too old for some schools. To further complicate things, I'd love to apply to UNC (I'll have IS residency by October) but I would literally have to take every single one of the 13 prereqs they require thanks to the 5-year recency requirement + no online prereqs deal... and idk, that seems a bit much just for 1 school to me.

Kind of leaning toward delaying applying until next year (although I am a horribly impatient person and want everything NOW) at the moment, because I'm pretty sure I could kill the MCAT given that much prep time. In the end, I think I'll have to do some digging as far as the schools I'm really interested in and see if retaking a chunk of the prereqs I took online in a real physical classroom would make any difference... OR if taking some upper-levels would be the better choice (they're certainly more interesting). Just feeling a bit stuck at the moment. I'm pretty much limited to community colleges where I live, and I don't know if those would be looked at any better than online. There doesn't seem to be a simple answer here!

Not sure if any of that makes sense... but neither does my life! The TLDR version: 1st BS (non-science major but started as an exercise phys major for 1 semester + had psych, stats, etc.) in 2006, worked and adulted for a bit, 2nd BS (nutrition) in 2016 - online through U of Alabama (including science prereqs - while working FT), dietetic internship 2017-2018, and here I am... so everything from the 1st BS is too old for some places, everything from the 2nd degree is too online for most places, and I just feel kind of ridiculous

Oh....yea online prerecs is not a great situation unfortunately. From what I understand, most schools look down pretty hard on online stuff, and most have a written policy against online prerecs. Whether they enforce it is a different thing. But also, its much easier to get away with a handful of online classes than a whole degree...

So in that sense, yea you might need a postbacc. And with the course recency issues, you might be looking at starting from square one. Honestly not something I'm familiar with.

 

[kbRD2MD84]

Oh....yea online prerecs is not a great situation unfortunately. From what I understand, most schools look down pretty hard on online stuff, and most have a written policy against online prerecs. Whether they enforce it is a different thing. But also, its much easier to get away with a handful of online classes than a whole degree...

So in that sense, yea you might need a postbacc. And with the course recency issues, you might be looking at starting from square one. Honestly not something I'm familiar with.

Yeah, it's crazy frustrating from my POV too. Sure, I took online classes - and got a 2nd BS online (which was ~80 credits, I think) but that was pretty much out of necessity because 1) I was working both a FT and PT job (bc tuition costs money and rent is a thing) and 2) there were only a few second-degree programs for nutrition at that time and they were all online. Since my school didn't offer the science prereqs for THAT program online, we had to find them wherever we could - so I pretty much did mine at online community colleges + 1 at UNE. I get that a lot of schools think online courses are a joke (and they can be) but in my experience, they were far more difficult and I got a lot more out of them than actual in-person courses. Anyway, enough ranting.

I made a list of schools I'd like to look at - ones I know had something less than "online is perfectly fine!!!!" on the MSAR. I'll see if they have a little wiggle room - maybe I can get away with retaking a few in person, some upper-level non-prereqs online, idk. It just seems silly at this point to keep retaking the same intro-level courses over and over again when I can ace them in my sleep. Trying to take a look at postbaccs, but it's so discouraging. I need something informal and fast-paced and that probably doesn't exist 😱 Guilford or UNCG are probably my best options around here, but an 85-mile commute each way would be less than ideal.

 

[paisan81]

Before last cycle I spent hours stalking this forum trying to answer the same question as you. As an old non-trad, the thought of sitting out a cycle seemed worse than sliding in to the cycle right in front of me a little on the late side. I also had a strong app in all other domains but didn't take the MCAT until May 24; I applied without my score to a "throwaway" school and then once I got my score I submitted 10 secondaries in between end of July and end of August. And then, on a whim, I applied to one more school in October. These were all MD. That October school ended up being my 1 interview and 1 acceptance. I was also finishing up prereqs during the application cycle.

Here are some things I learned from my cycle:

• This is not what you want to hear, but do not apply until you have everything ready: MCAT score, letters of recommendation (IN HAND, not just promised), plenty of time to research your schools of interest and to write thoughtful, tailored secondaries, and money in the bank to fund it all.
• Study for the MCAT like it's your job. I realized during the 6 weeks I crammed, teaching myself biochem and cell/molecular biology (I had taken neither at that point), that if I had just waited until I had done those prerequisites and then studied less intensely over a longer period of time, I could have really done well on the exam. As it is, I was relieved to take my above average score and run.
• Do not underestimate the competitiveness, soul-sucking-ness (is that a thing? I just made it one), and cost (monetary, emotional) of this process. Doing this on my on with my cute little DIY postbacc and no guidance beyond SDN and Reddit users, I had no idea and kind of got my a** handed to me. You may say, "But you got in!" True. By the skin of my teeth.
• Apply broadly. Although people on here will tell you that non-trads are viewed favorably, in the end I think my unorthodox path to medicine could have put me at a disadvantage relative to the predictable, typical premed student who had ticked all the boxes. Maybe I'm wrong, that's just my story.
• Be very clear on what you are going to bring to medicine, not just why you are interested in it. That's an important distinction that I didn't totally nail in my personal statement. Someone gave me a pass.
• Taking courses online will automatically DQ you from a number of programs where you would otherwise be competitive. Avoid it at all costs. This is a numbers game, and you need as many options as possible.
• If you are a spouse/partner/parent, make sure your people are on board. Just applying is all-consuming. I haven't even started the real work yet. But they have to pick up our lives and move across country for this, so they gotta be into it.

This is cathartic for me and may not be helpful for you, but I hope there might be a few nuggets that you find valuable. Best wishes on your path; it's not for the faint of heart!

 

[kbRD2MD84]

Before last cycle I spent hours stalking this forum trying to answer the same question as you. As an old non-trad, the thought of sitting out a cycle seemed worse than sliding in to the cycle right in front of me a little on the late side. I also had a strong app in all other domains but didn't take the MCAT until May 24; I applied without my score to a "throwaway" school and then once I got my score I submitted 10 secondaries in between end of July and end of August. And then, on a whim, I applied to one more school in October. These were all MD. That October school ended up being my 1 interview and 1 acceptance. I was also finishing up prereqs during the application cycle.

Here are some things I learned from my cycle:

• This is not what you want to hear, but do not apply until you have everything ready: MCAT score, letters of recommendation (IN HAND, not just promised), plenty of time to research your schools of interest and to write thoughtful, tailored secondaries, and money in the bank to fund it all.
• Study for the MCAT like it's your job. I realized during the 6 weeks I crammed, teaching myself biochem and cell/molecular biology (I had taken neither at that point), that if I had just waited until I had done those prerequisites and then studied less intensely over a longer period of time, I could have really done well on the exam. As it is, I was relieved to take my above average score and run.
• Do not underestimate the competitiveness, soul-sucking-ness (is that a thing? I just made it one), and cost (monetary, emotional) of this process. Doing this on my on with my cute little DIY postbacc and no guidance beyond SDN and Reddit users, I had no idea and kind of got my ass handed to me. You may say, "But you got in!" True. By the skin of my teeth.
• Apply broadly. Although people on here will tell you that non-trads are viewed favorably, in the end I think my unorthodox path to medicine could have put me at a disadvantage relative to the predictable, typical premed student who had ticked all the boxes. Maybe I'm wrong, that's just my story.
• Be very clear on what you are going to bring to medicine, not just why you are interested in it. That's an important distinction that I didn't totally nail in my personal statement. Someone gave me a pass.
• Taking courses online will automatically DQ you from a number of programs where you would otherwise be competitive. Avoid it at all costs. This is a numbers game, and you need as many options as possible.
• If you are a spouse/partner/parent, make sure your people are on board. Just applying is all-consuming. I haven't even started the real work yet. But they have to pick up our lives and move across country for this, so they gotta be into it.

This is cathartic for me and may not be helpful for you, but I hope there might be a few nuggets that you find valuable. Best wishes on your path; it's not for the faint of heart!

No, it's definitely 100% helpful! Posted this thread half for some kind of realistic advice about whether my timeline was reasonable and half for some tough love telling me to wait until next year. I'm in the same boat you were - only have the internets for advice, I've told a few close friends/family that I'm planning to apply and they're all like "wow idk that sounds hard lolz" so they're no help

I'm mostly set on applying next cycle now, but I still have my work cut out for me. Waiting to hear back from UNCG about their postbacc, but I'm honestly not sure what I need to even take at this point - everything has been taken at some point in some form except o-chems and physics 2, but since I did an entire degree online, that hurts me when it comes to making my schools list. UNCG's program is unstructured so hopefully they'll help me figure out what to do. I'm pretty confident that I'm capable of an impressive MCAT score if I give myself plenty of time to prepare... and between (hopefully) a great MCAT, decent grades, shadowing, more volunteer exp, and early apps next year I won't be winging it. This year? Completely winging it. It's hard not to be impatient when you're not 22... somehow the difference between starting med school at 36 instead of 35 seems like the biggest deal in the world right now 😱

 

[paisan81]

Sounds like a good decision to wait, IMO. This is not something you want to wing. If you do a post-bacc program try to find one with linkages to med schools. It's no guarantee, but it sure helps, at least according to the anecdotal evidence I've come across. As far as whether you actually need one, I would suggest making a separate post in the pre-med section with your particulars and let the AdComs weigh in.

 

[kbRD2MD84]

Sounds like a good decision to wait, IMO. This is not something you want to wing. If you do a post-bacc program try to find one with linkages to med schools. It's no guarantee, but it sure helps, at least according to the anecdotal evidence I've come across. As far as whether you actually need one, I would suggest making a separate post in the pre-med section with your particulars and let the AdComs weigh in.

It's a tough call, I don't need the grade boost (I've got around 3.5-3.7 with a solid upward trend thanks to doing my first BS at a school with grade deflation), I don't need the knowledge (that sounded smug haha), I just need to prove that, idk, I can sit in a regular class for 3 hours? Something like that. I definitely don't need a formal post-bacc, that's for sure.