I'm Between Application Cycles

[MedicToMD]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

I completed my undergrad last year and have been working on my post bacc medical school prereqs since. I am finishing up Organic 2 and Calculus 2 this summer and would like to take my MCAT (first attempt) in late August/early September. Because of this, this puts me between application cycles...or at least I will be late in applying this upcoming cycle. My question is should I go ahead and apply late this year to a few schools, or should I hold off and just apply next cycle (June 2012)?

Does anyone have any thoughts or guidance? Would it hurt to apply late (in Aug/Sept) or is it worth a shot since if I don't get in this round, I would be applying next cycle anyway?

My GPA is on par for matriculation and my EC's and personal experiences are well above average.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Sloo0]

I know a lot of people who applied as late as February and got in to plenty of places.

 

[Longshanks]

If you complete everything else, such as your primary application and getting your LORs together, you shouldn't have an issue with taking an MCAT later in the summer, so long as you submit your primary early. Then once your MCAT scores are in, you can receive your secondaries and turn them over as fast as possible so you are complete at schools.

It will be a slight disadvantage compared to other students who applied earlier, but for certain schools it will not be a major difference.

Don't apply in February as the above poster said. I'm just hoping fail troll is fail troll, otherwise that is one of the most ignorant statements I've seen on these forums recently - and that's saying a lot.

 

[MedicToMD]

If you complete everything else, such as your primary application and getting your LORs together, you shouldn't have an issue with taking an MCAT later in the summer, so long as you submit your primary early. Then once your MCAT scores are in, you can receive your secondaries and turn them over as fast as possible so you are complete at schools.

It will be a slight disadvantage compared to other students who applied earlier, but for certain schools it will not be a major difference.

Don't apply in February as the above poster said. I'm just hoping fail troll is fail troll, otherwise that is one of the most ignorant statements I've seen on these forums recently - and that's saying a lot.

Much thanks.

Also,

If I submit my primary BEFORE completing my summer semester (in which I am finishing my O-chem and Calc), will this be a factor? Should I wait until I finish all required courses before submitting my primary or can I go ahead and get it rolling? How would this work?

 

[Sloo0]

If you complete everything else, such as your primary application and getting your LORs together, you shouldn't have an issue with taking an MCAT later in the summer, so long as you submit your primary early. Then once your MCAT scores are in, you can receive your secondaries and turn them over as fast as possible so you are complete at schools.

It will be a slight disadvantage compared to other students who applied earlier, but for certain schools it will not be a major difference.

Don't apply in February as the above poster said. I'm just hoping fail troll is fail troll, otherwise that is one of the most ignorant statements I've seen on these forums recently - and that's saying a lot.

Youre right, the 3 people I personally know who applied to certain programs late (i.e. a friend who decided to apply to PCOM in Feb because he finally decided to get the Dean Letter that had originally caused him to not apply, and was interviewed in March) are all fake.


I am completely making things up and not trying to offer genuine helpful advice to a pre-med hopeful. You caught me, you unveiled me as a malicious troll.


NO ONE who applies any later than June 1st get accepted to Medical School right? Its all myth!

 

[Postal]

Youre right, the 3 people I personally know who applied to certain programs late (i.e. a friend who decided to apply to PCOM in Feb because he finally decided to get the Dean Letter that had originally caused him to not apply, and was interviewed in March) are all fake.


I am completely making things up and not trying to offer genuine helpful advice to a pre-med hopeful. You caught me, you unveiled me as a malicious troll.


NO ONE who applies any later than June 1st get accepted to Medical School right? Its all myth!

Uhm...that's bad advice

SOME people apply late in the cycle and get accepted. But that's not really the wisest thing to do. Since med school is rolling admissions, its best to send in your app as soon as you're ready to apply.

OP, I think you should go ahead an submit your primary app during the summer. I think that you can submit your primaries before finishing your summer courses but have to send an updated transcript to schools. Someone else can correct me on this.

 

[Sloo0]

Jesus, youd think on a Pre-medical forum someone would be able to make implications and assume the general viewing populace could fill in the lines.


Did I say "APPLY AS LATE AS POSSIBLE ITS REALLY GREAT!!! DONT APPLY EARLY" ?


No, I said (to calm him down about not applying super early), that there are plenty of cases of people who have applied "late" and still get in, its not a death sentence.


Lesson learned though. Next time I try to offer advice ill write out an essay explaining in depth my reasoning to avoid the wrath of superstar e-thugs who thrive on being able to jump on someone else's comments.
😍

 

[Postal]

Next time I try to offer advice ill write out an essay explaining in depth my reasoning to avoid the wrath of superstar e-thugs who thrive on being able to jump on someone else's comments.
😍

lol That would be great actually

 

[MedicToMD]

As much as I would love to get involved in the cyber war, I genuinely seek some advice on this subject 😀

 

[dbizzy]

So let's say OP submits all his/her primaries and that their app is only waiting on the MCAT score to be complete. What if the MCAT score is not as good as expected, does that mean that the apps get submitted anyway, or can you retract your applications if that score isn't what you wanted?

Or would it be wiser to wait on submitting primaries until the day you actually receive your MCAT score, just so you know whether or not you want to still apply this cycle with that score?

 

[SLC]

I took the MCAT in September, primaries in October, secondaries in November and December, and was accepted. I don't necessarily recommend it, but like sloo said, it's not necessarily a death sentence.

By the time your MCAT scores come in, you're only going to save a week or so on the processing of your AACOM app. I don't think it'll matter much either way.

 

[Postal]

By the time your MCAT scores come in, you're only going to save a week or so on the processing of your AACOM app. I don't think it'll matter much either way.

This is sort of true. It use to be that AACOMAS took FOREVER to process your primaries. But this past year, they were getting it done in 1-2 weeks.

I think once you submit your primaries, you can't retract them. It goes out to the schools within a week of its processing.

 

[SLC]

This is sort of true. It use to be that AACOMAS took FOREVER to process your primaries. But this past year, they were getting it done in 1-2 weeks.

I think once you submit your primaries, you can't retract them. It goes out to the schools within a week of its processing.

My main reason for giving that advice is the knowledge that for the first few months, when AACOMAS gets inundated with applications, things take a while to verify. This is to be expected. But by August or September, when things begin to slow down, you can get verified quicker. This was my experience this past cycle at least. I think it took about two weeks from the time I submitted my primary, to the time it was verified and sent out to schools.

This principle also works for the schools you are applying to somewhat. I think within a week of my primary app being sent out, I had better than 50% of my secondary requests. Within two I think I had them all.

The advantage with waiting, in my opinion, is that if you don't perform on the MCAT, you don't have to pay anything to AACOMAS, and you don't have apps sitting at all your schools. The next year you would be a re-applicant, which nobody wants to be.

SLC

 

[dbizzy]

The advantage with waiting, in my opinion, is that if you don't perform on the MCAT, you don't have to pay anything to AACOMAS, and you don't have apps sitting at all your schools. The next year you would be a re-applicant, which nobody wants to be.

SLC

Great to know, guys. Waiting definitely does sound like the smarter thing to do these days, given the situation.

 

[MedicToMD]

My main reason for giving that advice is the knowledge that for the first few months, when AACOMAS gets inundated with applications, things take a while to verify. This is to be expected. But by August or September, when things begin to slow down, you can get verified quicker. This was my experience this past cycle at least. I think it took about two weeks from the time I submitted my primary, to the time it was verified and sent out to schools.

This principle also works for the schools you are applying to somewhat. I think within a week of my primary app being sent out, I had better than 50% of my secondary requests. Within two I think I had them all.

The advantage with waiting, in my opinion, is that if you don't perform on the MCAT, you don't have to pay anything to AACOMAS, and you don't have apps sitting at all your schools. The next year you would be a re-applicant, which nobody wants to be.

SLC

So, herein lies my concern ^^^^

Which is what I was alluding to in my first post regarding applying in September when I have my MCAT score, later in the process (i.e. better chance at not getting in, I would imagine, thus being a reapplicant next cycle) or just waiting all together and apply early next cycle.

I may be more confused now than I was before.

 

[SLC]

So, herein lies my concern ^^^^

Which is what I was alluding to in my first post regarding applying in September when I have my MCAT score, later in the process (i.e. better chance at not getting in, I would imagine, thus being a reapplicant next cycle) or just waiting all together and apply early next cycle.

I may be more confused now than I was before.

If you nail the MCAT (30+ I'd say) you will be at a slight chronological disadvantage, but a huge stats advantage. I don't know your GPA or what your extracurricular activities look like, but if they're competitive and you get a 30+, you'll have a great chance at getting in somewhere even if you submit your app in September. It's not really as late as you might think.

 

[racerwad]

So, herein lies my concern ^^^^

Which is what I was alluding to in my first post regarding applying in September when I have my MCAT score, later in the process (i.e. better chance at not getting in, I would imagine, thus being a reapplicant next cycle) or just waiting all together and apply early next cycle.

I may be more confused now than I was before.

Apply this year. You will be fine. If you are a reapplicant next year it isn't the end of the world. The positive spin on that is that this is your goal and you aren't one to give up, right?

Last year had secondaries submitted around August/October and complete by Halloween. Interviews at two schools in November. Failed at interviews 🙄

This year applications were complete around the end of December. Interviewed at two schools in early Feb; accepted to both. In both cases, being a reapplicant (a rereapplicant at one) never came up.

The point is, positive things can happen even if you don't adhere to the most "effective" method. That is by no means an endorsement of applying late. Just don't let get all disappointed before you even gave it a 110% shot at success. If your circumstances force you to apply a little later-fine. If you're legit, you will make the most of it.