Is August 10th too late for primary submission?

[sanktank7]

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I am only going to have my primary completed by August 10th and my MCAT scores are only going to be available August 19th (July 18th administration). Do you think this is terribly late for submission of the primary? Also, Im applying MSTP's mostly so not sure if late submission affects that more or less adversely?

 

[SarsMO]

I don't know as far as MSTP is concerned, but for regular MD some people might argue is "late," but last year mid-august is when I submitted my primary...and I'm starting medical school in a month.

 

[Mobius1985]

If you submit your primary August 10, it will take 3-4 weeks to be certified before it will be sent out to schools. Many would consider that late, but I was not certified until early November of my cycle (MCAT came back October 13), and I still got into med school. I don't know anything about MSTP submissions.

 

[polyoma40]

Often, those that submit AMCAS in august, then take a long time writing the secondaries.

Have a quick turnaround with the secondaries.

 

[Mobius1985]

Often, those that submit AMCAS in august, then take a long time writing the secondaries.

Have a quick turnaround with the secondaries.

I absolutely agree with this. Have your secondary essays prewritten and submit within a few days of receiving them.

 

[talbo]

i definitely concur with what others say, last year my application was submitted around late july n was verified late august and then i took my sweet time doing the secondaries (don't know why) and i did not know about SDN that time. i finished most of my secondaries btwn mid october to mid november = bad idea. i think as long as u have a quick turnaround time n get them done mid sept you should be okay.

 

[sanktank7]

Thanks for the feedback everyone that is more reassuring. Ill be sure to seek out the secondaries and fill them out ahead of time.

 

[URHere]

If you are applying to mostly MSTP programs, make sure that you check the deadlines of the schools you are applying to. The earliest deadlines I know of are Sept. 15th, but even schools with deadlines in early to mid October may be problematic for you if your primary isn't even verified until sometime in September.

From my own experience, I can tell you that unless you are the best applicant ever, being complete too close to the deadline (less than one month), is like shooting yourself in the foot - you'll probably have a nice "we ran out of interview spots" letter a week or two after finishing the secondary. You should be fine submitting in August, but you may want to cut out any schools with early deadlines.

 

[DonkeyD]

It's not impossible but it certainly doesn't help. I submitted late last August, like the 29th and still got in but it wasn't easy and it was much closer to failure than I would have liked. (I spent a week on a waitlist before I got my single acceptance.)

Perhaps if they see your mcat scores are what held you up you'll catch a break.

 

[Mobius1985]

OP: Can you submit now and get the transcripts verified so there is less of a wait (ten days less as of today) to get the Primary submitted to schools once your MCAT is available? If you are not completely confident of a reasonable MCAT score, you could just apply to one school at first so the process is begun, wait til the MCAT is out, then add additional schools (if indicated) and pay for them at that time. The newly added schools would get your entire application within one business day, since you are already verified.