How long did secondary apps take?

[ser1218]

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I am going to be applying for medical schools next year to be in the class of 2006. I just wanted to get an idea of how long it took many of you to complete your secondary applications. Would it be best to complete them before the start of the fall semester of senior year in July or early August? I would appreciate it if you could tell me how many secondary applications you filled out and how long it took. Thanks.

 

[iamgoaloriented]

I am going to be applying for medical schools next year to be in the class of 2006. I just wanted to get an idea of how long it took many of you to complete your secondary applications. Would it be best to complete them before the start of the fall semester of senior year in July or early August? I would appreciate it if you could tell me how many secondary applications you filled out and how long it took. Thanks.

It depends on when you send you AMCAS, how many schools you apply to, and which schools you apply to.

My AMCAS was processed in mid June, I applied to 13 schools, and finished most of my secondaries by mid August, but Harvard didn't send me theirs until October.

If you sumbit AMCAS on June 1 you will be able to finish most secondaries before fall semester, if not all of them, which I strongly encourage (especially because some of them take a long time, like Columbia's, although other only take a minute or two, like U Penn).

 

[mikedc813]

Some are really short and stupid, where you only have to fill out basic info about yourself. Those are fast. There are others that have multiple questions that might ask something about how you see the medical profession in 50 years or what you think the most important issue in medicine is now, etc. Those obviously take much more thought and time. Depending on how many schools you apply to secondaries can take quite a lot of time because they eventually all pile up.

 

[DrYo12]

I took the MCAT in April, and started the personal statment and got the info for the AMCAS together in May and June. After Spring semester was over, i spent copious amounts of time working on the personal statment and finally turned in the app on July 1.

The first secondary came in around July 18th and the rest started coming in within about two weeks of that. I applied to 20 schools, withdrew from one school, and got 18 secondaries back, which I completed. The other school, in case you're curious, was UCLA and I haven't heard a peep out of them, so I'm not rejected or granted a secondary (go figure). In total, I completed the last secondary by about the middle of September, my apps were complete by the end of September and I started hearing about interviews a few days later.

Just a timeline for you to consider when making your decisions...

 

[aparecida]

Try to do your AMCAS in June so you can have your secondaries done before school resumes -- it's way easier that way.