how late is too late?

[tbsounde2]

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i completed my primary application in mid august and noticed that amcas can take up to six weeks reviewing the material. so how late would you consider being too late for md/phd apps and how long does it take for secondaries to arrive?

 

[MrMunkily]

most secondaries come by an automated email within hours or days of your application being reviewed by amcas. Many schools will let you work on your applications without being explicitly invited. I'd advise you to do so.

 

[ClarinetGeek]

i completed my primary application in mid august and noticed that amcas can take up to six weeks reviewing the material. so how late would you consider being too late for md/phd apps and how long does it take for secondaries to arrive?

You should be just fine. I completed my primary in mid-august as well and I start receiving secondaries in the beginning of September. Obviously it is taking a little longer this year, but dont' worry. Where I got myself into trouble was not completing the secondaries until last minute in a lot of cases. Not smart. Despite this, I still ended up with 9 interview invites. Obviously every application is different. So don't freak out yet. Keep your head in the game, and get those secondaries done efficient once your primary goes through. Best of luck.

 

[dr.z]

i completed my primary application in mid august and noticed that amcas can take up to six weeks reviewing the material. so how late would you consider being too late for md/phd apps and how long does it take for secondaries to arrive?

I think you are fine with the time line.

 

[Hohenheim]

Did anyone here send out Letters of Reference before submitting the AMCAS primary? Is this advisable?

 

[PBandJ]

Did anyone here send out Letters of Reference before submitting the AMCAS primary? Is this advisable?

I wouldn't advise sending letters until a few days after your AMCAS application has been processed, reviewed, and sent out to schools. If you send your LORs before the school gets your information, they might get lost or mis-filed. Some schools explicitly state not to send anything until you receive a request for a secondary application from them.

 

[Mr. Tee]

Did anyone here send out Letters of Reference before submitting the AMCAS primary? Is this advisable?

I did, because my premed committee automatically (by default) sends out the letters to the schools. For many schools, though, I had to get the letters resent, because these schools only want the letters after you are invited for a secondary. You should check with each school.

 

[endenich]

most secondaries come by an automated email within hours or days of your application being reviewed by amcas. Many schools will let you work on your applications without being explicitly invited. I'd advise you to do so.

Hi, are you suggesting contacting the schools and telling them the amcas app is being verified, and asking to begin work on the secondary? I'm a bit worried about my md/phd app being verified quickly because my primary was not submitted until mid-September.

 

[Hohenheim]

I did, because my premed committee automatically (by default) sends out the letters to the schools. For many schools, though, I had to get the letters resent, because these schools only want the letters after you are invited for a secondary. You should check with each school.

Do you feel sending the Letters before the secondaries speeded up processing for you - i.e. even taking into account that fact that many of the Letters had to be resent?
Also, if you dont mind, can you give me an idea of what kind of schools wanted the LORs to be resent?
Seriously, if someone has a list I would love to see it - cause I'm in kind of a pickle here. I'm waiting on some data and results, and my PI is waiting on this stuff also (before he agrees to produce a superstrong letter!) - so I havent turned in my primary yet (significant research experience holding stuff up) and I need to know if I can get all the others sent out pronto.

Thanks a bunch.

 

[Mr. Tee]

Do you feel sending the Letters before the secondaries speeded up processing for you - i.e. even taking into account that fact that many of the Letters had to be resent?
Also, if you dont mind, can you give me an idea of what kind of schools wanted the LORs to be resent?
Seriously, if someone has a list I would love to see it - cause I'm in kind of a pickle here. I'm waiting on some data and results, and my PI is waiting on this stuff also (before he agrees to produce a superstrong letter!) - so I havent turned in my primary yet (significant research experience holding stuff up) and I need to know if I can get all the others sent out pronto.

Thanks a bunch.

I don't know if it specifically sped up the process, but it sure did help to have everything sent in earlier so I wouldn't have to worry about it. For the schools I applied to, these had to be resent to:

UCSF
UCLA
Stanford
Duke
University of Washington

Note that Stanford and Duke "strongly discourage" letters to be sent before receiving a secondary....so I went ahead and resent them anyway.

 

[Hohenheim]

I don't know if it specifically sped up the process, but it sure did help to have everything sent in earlier so I wouldn't have to worry about it. For the schools I applied to, these had to be resent to:

UCSF
UCLA
Stanford
Duke
University of Washington

Note that Stanford and Duke "strongly discourage" letters to be sent before receiving a secondary....so I went ahead and resent them anyway.

Thanks. I'm kinda concerned about not completing the apps on time - This really sucks - So I'm held up on one essay and the PI that wants the Virgin Birth before he writes a letter. My chances are going waaaaaaaaaaaay down with every passing day.🙁