How long should you expect to wait before you hear back following secondaries?

[monkeyMD]

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Is it totally random and different for everyone?
It should obviously depend on when you were marked "complete..."
but it seems like some schools don't send out "complete" email notifications...

The wait is really getting to me and any insight would be helpful in taming my
psyche. The unknown is what is really bothering me.
That and the possibility of silent rejections...

 

[ppfizenm]

Differs by school, when you were complete by and your stats. Some wchhols take forever bc they do everything by hand when checking to see if your application is complete. Others will do it with computer so it is faster. Then of you submit late as opposed to in june it will take longer for the most part. Also if you have great stats your application may ne removed from the pile and looked at early.

So no really set limit.

 

[NickNaylor]

My two extremes:

I was complete at Pritzker on a morning in early August and got an interview invite in the afternoon that same day. On the other hand, I was complete at Yale in early August as well and didn't receive an interview invite until January, with no communication in between.

The point is there's no way to guess, and you could hear back anytime between now and March (when you'll most likely get rejections from schools that you haven't heard back from).

 

[mauberley]

The point is there's no way to guess, and you could hear back anytime between now and March (when you'll most likely get rejections from schools that you haven't heard back from).

This.

I went complete at a school in late August and didn't get an interview invite until March. Most of my invites came in the September timeframe. The rejections were staggered throughout the process.

 

[monkeyMD]

My two extremes:

I was complete at Pritzker on a morning in early August and got an interview invite in the afternoon that same day. On the other hand, I was complete at Yale in early August as well and didn't receive an interview invite until January, with no communication in between.

The point is there's no way to guess, and you could hear back anytime between now and March (when you'll most likely get rejections from schools that you haven't heard back from).

👍
Thanks.

 

[Signifier]

Ha, sweet and sour. It's good to know that an invite can come at any point in the process. But Sept is almost over, and although I have several good invites, my top choices have not gotten back yet. Oh well, we'll see.

 

[Grouphug]

Should I be concerned if I haven't heard back from any schools by the end of September? I know things vary among schools and such, but I'm just looking for a rule of thumb.

When should I be concerned about not having interview invitations?

 

[ppfizenm]

Should I be concerned if I haven't heard back from any schools by the end of September? I know things vary among schools and such, but I'm just looking for a rule of thumb.

When should I be concerned about not having interview invitations?

When were you complete?

 

[Grouphug]

The earliest secondary I totally finished was Ohio State on 10 Aug.
I think the latest secondary I totally finished was OHSU on about 20 Sept.
All my other secondaries were totally finished between these two dates, and most were towards the earlier date. For example, Colorado was 15 Aug, MCW was 12 Aug, Creighton 19 Aug, etc.

Are these dates considered getting secondaries in fast, slow, or average?

 

[ppfizenm]

The earliest secondary I totally finished was Ohio State on 10 Aug.
The latest secondary I totally finished was OHSU on about 12 Sept.
All my other secondaries were totally finished between these two dates.

Are these dates considered getting secondaries in fast, slow, or average?

When you say totally finished do you mean you got complete emails from the schools? Also stats may help us tell you.

If yes, then it's probably nothing to worry about yet. I completed most of mine at the beginning of August but haven't heard back from most of them.

There will be periods where you won't hear anything b/c they are on thanksgiving, winter, spring break ect. It's a waiting game at this point. Try to relax.

 

[Grouphug]

Yes, when I say "totally complete", that means I have received confirmation emails from the schools.

3.2 cGPA
3.2 sGPA
36Q MCAT

 

[Morzh]

Yes, when I say "totally complete", that means I have received confirmation emails from the schools.

3.2 cGPA
3.2 sGPA
36Q MCAT

You should make an mdapplicants profile. I want to follow you and see where you get interviews/acceptances. You have very interesting numbers. Kind of like me, but more extreme in both directions.

 

[ppfizenm]

Yes, when I say "totally complete", that means I have received confirmation emails from the schools.

3.2 cGPA
3.2 sGPA
36Q MCAT

Well your GPA isn't doing you any favors but you may have a good excuse, especially with the high MCAT. Not getting quick rejections is good but some people will tell you not hearing anything for a long time isn't good as well (i.e. silent rejection). I don't know the truth behind or how valid silent rejections are though. I really wouldn't worry about it yet.

 

[ppfizenm]

You should make an mdapplicants profile. I want to follow you and see where you get interviews/acceptances. You have very interesting numbers. Kind of like me, but more extreme in both directions.

Why don't you have one then?

 

[sector9]

Why don't you have one then?

😕
What's that link right below his avatar?

 

[Schizotypy]

You should make an mdapplicants profile. I want to follow you and see where you get interviews/acceptances. You have very interesting numbers. Kind of like me, but more extreme in both directions.

I've had your profile bookmarked for the same reason 🙂

 

[NickNaylor]

Everyone should keep a detailed MDApps. Even if you don't link to it on SDN, at least contribute to the community. Detailed profiles are hard to come by yet extremely helpful.

 

[kpcrew]

Everyone should keep a detailed MDApps. Even if you don't link to it on SDN, at least contribute to the community. Detailed profiles are hard to come by yet extremely helpful.

This is so true. Thanks Cole, yours helped me a lot.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

I was complete at most schools in mid-August too. My first invite came just a couple of days after I was complete (this is unusual I think, I have no idea how it happened). I heard nothing from any school for a month, then got two invites within 24 hours. There is so little rhyme or reason to this process, so I wouldn't start worrying until January or thereabouts.

 

[eleventwelve]

Ha, sweet and sour. It's good to know that an invite can come at any point in the process. But Sept is almost over, and although I have several good invites, my top choices have not gotten back yet. Oh well, we'll see.

+1 for me exactly.

 

[ppfizenm]

😕
What's that link right below his avatar?

I would swear to God that wasn't there before but I'm pretty atheist and I probably missed it.

 

[mauberley]

This is so true. Thanks Cole, yours helped me a lot.

His helped me to feel very, very inadequate. 😳

 

[Grouphug]

I made a MDapplicants profile due to high demand 🙂 jk
I don't have time right now to add all the schools I'm applying to, but there are a lot of WICHE schools and WWAMI because I am a Montana resident.

Here is what the MDapps basically says:

3.2 cGPA
3.2 sGPA

My GPA is very low, but my senior year I got a 3.7 or 3.8, so I have a strong upward trend.

36Q MCAT
12 BS
13 PS
11 V
Q

Volunteered 24/7 as a proselytizing missionary in rural Brazil for 10.5 months.

I have shadowed physicians for about 170 hours.

I have no medical volunteering as of yet, but I am trying to do that now. It is far more difficult to volunteer at the hospital here than to get a job.

I am a Montana resident.

 

[kpcrew]

His helped me to feel very, very inadequate. 😳

Personally I think that if you're a med student, you're a med student and you will be a doctor. But yeah I know what you mean. I thought my mcat was really good and it is, but there are a lot of people with better scores 🙂

 

[AZFutureDoc]

I got a short burst of 4 interviews pretty quickly after I was complete at those schools. 3 out of the 4 were pretty random and unexpected - I wasn't expecting to hear anything from these schools, let alone such immediate IIs! The past 2 weeks have been almost completely silent, with the only correspondence I've received being a complete email from Tufts... I've also only received 2 rejections and I applied to 30 schools. But I haven't been complete all that long and I'm expecting October to be a good month!

It's totally random OP. But I'd estimate that it'll take at least a month to hear anything. Then again, I know people who interviewed at schools on the very last interview date of the season, and they are now med students! Just hang in there and stay positive through the chaotic process.