Is early September too late to turn in secondaries?

[Okitaitsi]

Hello Everyone,
I need some advice.
Currently taking one course at school (PCHEM, last course before graduating)
Kaplan MCAT Prep still at content review 50%.
GPA: 3.85
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Booked Test Date: 6/30 Exam for 7/31 score back, which is 2 months from now.
Considering: 7/21 Exam for 8/21 score back
I still need some shadowing experience. Currently studying MCAT part time until school is over on 6/7
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I'm wondering how late is too late. If I take the 6/30 exam, I can get the primary submitted early without MCAT score and put the score in and apply to schools once I have the MCAT score back. That would mean doing secondaries in mid-August. But I'm very nervous and not confident on getting a good score if I take the exam in 2 months so I'm also looking at the test date on 7/21, which gives score back on 8/21. Would that be too late? I can write up the secondaries while waiting for score to be back so once I get them I'll submit quickly but that still means probably late Aug early Sep for 2ndary submission. I really really don't want to miss this cycle. I missed the last one and made some terrible life decisions. I want to be able to apply this year. I'm not shooting for top-tier med schools but want to be admitted to at least one OK MD school.

Thanks for your help!

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[Hirro]

7/31 is a bit late but you can swing it if you need to.

My advice: take the MCAT when you feel ready for it. Whether that's 7/31 or afterwards. Waiting one more cycle doesn't hurt. I took 6/30 last year and waited simply because I'd rather know my score, know what schools I could apply to, save money, and not be a potential re-applicant.

 

[FriedLemon]

I’m in the same situation. I hope it’ll be okay.

 

[Okitaitsi]

7/31 is a bit late but you can swing it if you need to.

My advice: take the MCAT when you feel ready for it. Whether that's 7/31 or afterwards. Waiting one more cycle doesn't hurt. I took 6/30 last year and waited simply because I'd rather know my score, know what schools I could apply to, save money, and not be a potential re-applicant.

Thanks for the advice! It's definitely going to be a hard decision for me. I like to procrastinate so when I knew I had time like last summer I wasted it and didn't study.

 

[calivianya]

IMO, yes.

It depends on the schools you're interested in, though. If the schools you're interested in are known to have really early cycles, it might be worth sitting out a year so you can have those July complete dates. If everywhere you're interested in is non-rolling, it doesn't matter as much.

 

[wannabedoc2000]

I think it might be, depending on what schools you are applying to.

 

[BelleIndifference]

I agree that it does depend on the schools to which you are applying. While submitting earlier is always better, it won’t necessarily be better if it means you’ll end up with a lower MCAT score.

Schools operate on different timelines. For example, for all Texas schools, it’s important to have everything in early since they start interviewing in August and many are finished by December. Other schools interview until April. Do your research and if you must apply later, pick schools that generally interview longer where you might have more chances. Feel free to PM me for suggestions (based on personal observation, not necessarily fact).

I took my MCAT end of August and didn’t submit my primary until Sept. It was the only time I could make it work and didn’t want to wait another cycle (nontrad not getting younger) Not recommended but if you focus and get those secondaries done ASAP, you could still have a shot at some schools.

 

[BelleIndifference]

Also, see how you feel a little closer to the date, especially after full time
studying. You may find that you won’t need to postpone the exam.

 

[Okitaitsi]

I agree that it does depend on the schools to which you are applying. While submitting earlier is always better, it won’t necessarily be better if it means you’ll end up with a lower MCAT score.

Schools operate on different timelines. For example, for all Texas schools, it’s important to have everything in early since they start interviewing in August and many are finished by December. Other schools interview until April. Do your research and if you must apply later, pick schools that generally interview longer where you might have more chances. Feel free to PM me for suggestions (based on personal observation, not necessarily fact).

I took my MCAT end of August and didn’t submit my primary until Sept. It was the only time I could make it work and didn’t want to wait another cycle (nontrad not getting younger) Not recommended but if you focus and get those secondaries done ASAP, you could still have a shot at some schools.

Thank you for your advice! I'm nontrad too and feeling quite some pressure from people around me. Really appreciate it!

 

[BelleIndifference]

Thank you for your advice! I'm nontrad too and feeling quite some pressure from people around me. Really appreciate it!

Sure! Let me know if I can help in any way. n=1 but I ended up with interviews from secondaries I submitted in Oct and Nov. So if you get them done in August, I feel like you’ll still have some opportunities.

Of course, it all depends on how much you’re willing to risk in case you need to reapply. The application process is so uncertain. There’s no way of knowing. I really hesitated but was encouraged to try by my friends and mentors and am glad I did.

 

[Adem Jashari]

You will be fine, as long as you rock that MCAT and really put in effort into your applications. I sent my first secondary September 30th and it all worked out for me pretty well.

 

[DubbiDoctor]

Going to disagree with the consensus here and recommend that you wait until next cycle to apply. If you're strongly considering pushing back your test, then do so (unless you're averaging 520 or better on the AAMC practice exams, and are just anxious). The MCAT is extremely important, and you want to do well (how well depends on your goals) on your first attempt. But if you'll be devoting a large portion of your summer to MCAT studying, then you will have little time to prepare your application, crafting your PS, pre-writing secondaries, projecting hours for longitudinal activities, etc. You even said that you need to get shadowing, so you don't seem ready to apply anyway. I think it would benefit you to take the summer to focus on the MCAT - not feeling compelled to take the exam on a particular date, on which you may not be fully prepared - beef up your application, and make concrete plans for your gap year(s). In the grand scheme of things, one year doesn't make much of a difference - and it's crucial to apply with the best application possible.

 

[BelleIndifference]

Going to disagree with the consensus here and recommend that you wait until next cycle to apply. If you're strongly considering pushing back your test, then do so (unless you're averaging 520 or better on the AAMC practice exams, and are just anxious). The MCAT is extremely important, and you want to do well (how well depends on your goals) on your first attempt. But if you'll be devoting a large portion of your summer to MCAT studying, then you will have little time to prepare your application, crafting your PS, pre-writing secondaries, projecting hours for longitudinal activities, etc. You even said that you need to get shadowing, so you don't seem ready to apply anyway. I think it would benefit you to take the summer to focus on the MCAT - not feeling compelled to take the exam on a particular date, on which you may not be fully prepared - beef up your application, and make concrete plans for your gap year(s). In the grand scheme of things, one year doesn't make much of a difference - and it's crucial to apply with the best application possible.

Missed the part about lacking shadowing experience. Yeah, then it might be worth it to wait a cycle to make sure you have a strong application.

I think you have a chance, even when applying late, but make sure your overall application is great and “ready to go” and that it’s just the MCAT score you’re waiting on. Then if you work hard and really devote your time to getting the PS, secondaries done, it’s doable.

OP, only you know how you feel about that and whether or not you are confident about the components of the application. Good luck with your planning!

 

[Okitaitsi]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I definitely have a clearer mindset on this now. As a non-trad I really can't wait any further. Another year for me and my spouse really means quite a lot. Even just one admission letter to an MD school would suffice. Telling myself there's still time dont worry would only fuel my perpetuating procrastination problem.

I'll be shadowing primary care physicians as all my previous shadowing experiences were focused on specialists in one field. It won't take much time. For MCAT I'm planning to take the exam in July. But if the score comes out too low I'll have to push the application to the next cycle and just try to get a solid score this summer. Thank you everyone for your responses. I definitely feel I can now just focus on getting a good MCAT score and try my best this year to get the apps done and hopefully get into one medical school.

 

[WedgeDawg]

@gonnif's post has been added to the Essential SDN Wisdom thread sticky by popular request. Thank you for making high quality posts and contributing to the advancement of a new generation of physicians!

 

[Goro]

Hey, that material is already under copyright in my future book:

"Gonnif's Galling Guide to the Mayhem of Medical School Admission thru Poor Puns, Quirky Quotes and Exasperated Slaps"

(PS if I ever did a YouTube Series on this I would do it as a Marine Drill Instructor: "All right you premed pukes, you think you know anything about this process......"

Then add "GET ON THE GROUND AND GIVE ME 20!!!"

 

[man221]

So I'm also kind of in the same situation!So I sent in my primary application on June 1st to bunch of schools that are more or less within my score range (GPA 3.65 and MCAT 506). The thing is I'm currently studying for the MCAT to take it a second time and hope to get at l least a 515. I'm probably going to re-take it first week of August, meaning the results would come in first week of September.

If I want to add more schools, would end August be too late? Should I not send in my secondaries until I get my score as to make sure that they see my improved score? I don't want to apply to them early on without them seeing my improved score. I also want to have a bunch of schools with a completed application early on in July/August before adding new schools to stay on the safe side.

I basically don't really know when to update my application because I want to re-take the exam without it putting all my applications on hold.

Thanks!

 

[mariposas905]

So I'm also kind of in the same situation!So I sent in my primary application on June 1st to bunch of schools that are more or less within my score range (GPA 3.65 and MCAT 506). The thing is I'm currently studying for the MCAT to take it a second time and hope to get at l least a 515. I'm probably going to re-take it first week of August, meaning the results would come in first week of September.

If I want to add more schools, would end August be too late? Should I not send in my secondaries until I get my score as to make sure that they see my improved score? I don't want to apply to them early on without them seeing my improved score. I also want to have a bunch of schools with a completed application early on in July/August before adding new schools to stay on the safe side.

I basically don't really know when to update my application because I want to re-take the exam without it putting all my applications on hold.

Thanks!

What did you end up doing?