How late is too late?

[GonnaBeADocOneDay]

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So after not doing as well as I wanted on my May MCAT, I am forced to retake in hopes of getting a better score. It looks like the earliest I could retake would be the August 5/6 dates, getting my score back September 8th. So if I get everything else in before September 8th (primary verified, etc. so that my app is ready to be looked out except for MCAT score), would this be consdiered too late to apply this cycle?

 

[Pastamahn]

I think you would reallyyy be stretching your luck applying that late. Even if you kill the MCAT you could have a tough time because by then most schools will have started interviewing. It's not to say it isn't possible, but you would be fighting an uphill battle.

 

[Poit]

You'd be at a disadvantage but can still get in with a solid app.

 

[GonnaBeADocOneDay]

So I am a bit of a different case as I am a non-traditional student that has finished the coursework for my masters degree and am off of classes for the summer. I was only really unhappy with one section of my MCAT (physics/chem) and know I did not prepare adequately for this section, so I know what to fix to improve my score. Waiting to take it would be dumb as I have already spent so much time in the recent past few months preparing for it and it would be such a waste to wait too long and lose that prep that is fresh in my mind.

The reason I am asking is because most of the schools I am applying to open applications up in June and close by November 1. If no one's app was verified and sent until July 1, then having everything complete and sent (including MCAT score for August date) by the first week of September seems reasonable to me and not late. Not early, unfortunately, but it does seem right in the middle of the time period.

So if my primary is complete with MCAT score submitted and verified by first week of September, is that considered late? Will it put me at any discernable disadvantage?

 

[Doug Underhill]

gonnif, are there any stats on submission date vs. acceptance rate, sort of like Table 5 or Table 25? An unofficial statistic on SDN may be valuable if no official ones exist.

 

[nwts]

The reason I am asking is because most of the schools I am applying to open applications up in June and close by November 1. If no one's app was verified and sent until July 1, then having everything complete and sent (including MCAT score for August date) by the first week of September seems reasonable to me and not late. Not early, unfortunately, but it does seem right in the middle of the time period.

So if my primary is complete with MCAT score submitted and verified by first week of September, is that considered late? Will it put me at any discernable disadvantage?

I'm guessing your logic is something like this: Medical schools started getting primaries on July 1st, and most of them send out secondaries starting sometime in mid to late July. Then they start evaluating applications to consider them for interviews in early to mid August, and continue evaluating applications until January or February. This means that your application (primary plus secondary) will arrive in their office a month to a month and a half after they start reading. That's not very far in to the application-reading time period.

The problem is this: Medical schools handle application review like the AMCAS handles application verification. As applications come in, the get put into a "line," and your application doesn't get read until you get to the front of the line. So let's say you have all your secondaries in by September 20th. That will mean that you will get in line on September 20th. At that point, the line is very long. The line is already has a decent amount of people in it in early August when they start reading because the line includes everyone who submitted in July. As the month of August wears on, they're getting applications faster than they can read the ones that they already have, so the line is getting longer. If you're complete on September 20th, you won't get evaluated until November or December. At that point, a lot of interview slots are gone, and admissions are becoming much more competitive.