Is it okay to submit AMCAS mid-June?

[notfanning]

Hey all! So due to a delay in the processing my FAP application, I was unable to register for the May 5th MCAT test date as I'd originally intended. I have, however, registered for the May 18th exam. My alma mater requires all applicants to receive their MCAT scores before sending out their applications - which I see as being a smart rule to have. Their official deadline is May 5th, but I am reasonably certain they will grant me the two week extension and allow me to apply this cycle.

My question is whether June 19th - which I'm sure you all know is the date May 18th scores will be coming out - is too late to submit the AMCAS. My school is strongly recommending submitting by June 6th this year, which is why they instituted the May 5th MCAT deadline. Is holding off two weeks going to affect my chances down the road?

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[sss1219]

Hey all! So due to a delay in the processing my FAP application, I was unable to register for the May 5th MCAT test date as I'd originally intended. I have, however, registered for the May 18th exam. My alma mater requires all applicants to receive their MCAT scores before sending out their applications - which I see as being a smart rule to have. Their official deadline is May 5th, but I am reasonably certain they will grant me the two week extension and allow me to apply this cycle.

My question is whether June 19th - which I'm sure you all know is the date May 18th scores will be coming out - is too late to submit the AMCAS. My school is strongly recommending submitting by June 6th this year, which is why they instituted the May 5th MCAT deadline. Is holding off two weeks going to affect my chances down the road?

AMCAS opens up in May and can be submitted June 1 for verification. From there, AMCAS starts transmitting verified applications to schools after June 30, but verification takes longer and longer the more displaced you are from June 1. So, regardless of whether you are verified June 1 or June 29, you are on equal footing (mostly, when you are verified may also affect how soon you receive a secondary but that will be a couple days' difference max) in terms of being 'early' if your application is one of the many that gets transmitted on June 30. There is a verification thread somewhere around here, go and see when people who submitted on June 19th were verified by. I doubt it will be much later than June 30 either way, so assuming you knock out your secondaries promptly, then it will not be a setback whatsoever.

Fwiw, being complete 'early' is having secondaries in by end of August/early September. But IIs at some schools start going out as early as July, so if prewriting secondaries will help speed up the process this is how many people cope with all the writing.

 

[notfanning]

AMCAS opens up in May and can be submitted June 1 for verification. From there, AMCAS starts transmitting verified applications to schools after June 30, but verification takes longer and longer the more displaced you are from June 1. So, regardless of whether you are verified June 1 or June 29, you are on equal footing (mostly, when you are verified may also affect how soon you receive a secondary but that will be a couple days' difference max) in terms of being 'early' if your application is one of the many that gets transmitted on June 30. There is a verification thread somewhere around here, go and see when people who submitted on June 19th were verified by. I doubt it will be much later than June 30 either way, so assuming you knock out your secondaries promptly, then it will not be a setback whatsoever.

Great, thank you for your advice! I'll go look for the thread!

 

[21Rush12]

You’re totally fine with that timeline. Still very early. Don’t let it worry you.

 

[Dr. Scribe]

Agreed. I took my MCAT at the end of last June and had a successful application this AMCAS cycle. It's not too late at all.

 

[medacrossculture]

Agreed. I took my MCAT at the end of last June and had a successful application this AMCAS cycle. It's not too late at all.

Hey, if you do not mind, can I ask: Did you send to a primary to any throwaway schools to speed up the process? Or did you just wait until you got your results, and then send your primaries?

 

[Catalystik]

Not explicitly stated by gonnif's timeline, second item, is that you can submit and have transcripts verified without a known MCAT score and keep to your school's recommended application date. You would have to list one school, as alluded to in the post by @medacrossculture . Others can be added easily after your score is known and you pick appropriate schools for which you are competitive. The risk, of course, is that you get a dismally low MCAT score so that you aren't competitive anywhere.

Your application's transmission to schools won't occur until the MCAT score is known, should you decide to delay the MCAT due to not-yet-adequate practice scores.

 

[Dr. Scribe]

Hey, if you do not mind, can I ask: Did you send to a primary to any throwaway schools to speed up the process? Or did you just wait until you got your results, and then send your primaries?

My primary was being verified as my score was released. I did apply to a throwaway school to speed up the process, however I didn't submit my secondaries until the end of Aug anyway lol

 

[2019App]

Do schools typically require turnaround of secondaries within a specified timeframe (e.g. 4 weeks)?

 

[notfanning]

My school recommends a 2 weeks turnaround for secondaries, but I’m not sure whether that’s excessive.

 

[DokM3m3]

This applying to a throwaway school thing - If my MCAT turns out to be too low, can I withdraw my application and not be considered a reapplicant? After what point am I considered an official applicant?

 

[Catalystik]

This applying to a throwaway school thing - If my MCAT turns out to be too low, can I withdraw my application and not be considered a reapplicant? After what point am I considered an official applicant?

If your transcripts are not yet verified, you can withdraw your application and not be a reapplicant, but you are barred from reapplying that same year. You have officially applied to any school you listed once verification is completed ( even if you never return the Secondary).

 

[jazzmetal]

My question is whether June 19th - which I'm sure you all know is the date May 18th scores will be coming out - is too late to submit the AMCAS. My school is strongly recommending submitting by June 6th this year, which is why they instituted the May 5th MCAT deadline. Is holding off two weeks going to affect my chances down the road?

Hi, I applied this past cycle after taking the May 18 MCAT and submitting my primary with a single school on June 19 (the day before I got my score, but I figured I'd submit before the wave of applicants the next day). My primary was verified on July 13. This timeline was ok for just about every school I applied to.

That said, I wouldn't hold off two weeks just for the sake of it, unless you're worried that your score will come in so low that you won't end up applying anywhere at all. For my "verification school" I chose one that was low yield for OOS applicants, but that I would have been happy to attend if accepted. There were other schools in that category for me, so I could choose a different but similar school if I had to reapply.

More important than submitting your primary on Day 1 is turning your secondaries quickly. Pre-write as many secondary essays as you can (Medical School Secondary Essay Prompts Database - Prospective Doctor). Also check the school-specific threads to see which schools value an early application, e.g., Tulane, and submit those secondaries first.

Remember that even though most schools don't review applications strictly in the order that they come in, the sooner your secondaries are in as a whole, the sooner you are likely to get some feedback from one school or another. Getting an early II can really help with the stress of applying.

 

[shapley]

Do schools typically require turnaround of secondaries within a specified timeframe (e.g. 4 weeks)?

The tradition most applicants use is to submit within 2 weeks.

Some schools will outright say if they want it done within a certain time frame.

I personally did mine within 1-3 weeks of receiving it, unless it was recommended or specified that they wanted it done by a certain time.

 

[medacrossculture]

My primary was being verified as my score was released. I did apply to a throwaway school to speed up the process, however I didn't submit my secondaries until the end of Aug anyway lol

Thanks a lot for the reply my friend - I appreciate it. I was a bit hesitant to do the throwaway thing (and still am), but it definitely seems like it's worth doing.

 

[MareNostrummm]

AMCAS opens up in May and can be submitted June 1 for verification. From there, AMCAS starts transmitting verified applications to schools after June 30, but verification takes longer and longer the more displaced you are from June 1. So, regardless of whether you are verified June 1 or June 29, you are on equal footing (mostly, when you are verified may also affect how soon you receive a secondary but that will be a couple days' difference max) in terms of being 'early' if your application is one of the many that gets transmitted on June 30. There is a verification thread somewhere around here, go and see when people who submitted on June 19th were verified by. I doubt it will be much later than June 30 either way, so assuming you knock out your secondaries promptly, then it will not be a setback whatsoever.

Fwiw, being complete 'early' is having secondaries in by end of August/early September. But IIs at some schools start going out as early as July, so if prewriting secondaries will help speed up the process this is how many people cope with all the writing.

You get a massive advantage if you submit all your secondaries (marked complete) by the end of July. You'll be among the first applications read as opposed to people submitting in August.

 

[skk_]

You get a massive advantage if you submit all your secondaries (marked complete) by the end of July. You'll be among the first applications read as opposed to people submitting in August.

I'm not really sure if being secondary complete that early gives you that much of an advantage, and kinda wonder how much of the "any time after July is late and will hurt your chances" thing is due to general pre-med neuroticism, rather than based on fact.

I was secondary complete at most schools only from late August onwards (although complete at most by early-ish Sept) and had zero issues last year, even at rolling schools. @gonnif's advice regarding secondary timleimes above (early = anytime before Labor Day, normal speed = until end of Sept, late = Oct+) honestly matches my own experiences much more closely, as well as that of a bunch of people i've talked to who were complete around the same time I was.

 

[MareNostrummm]

I'm not really sure if being secondary complete that early gives you that much of an advantage, and kinda wonder how much of the "any time after July is late and will hurt your chances" thing is due to general pre-med neuroticism, rather than based on fact.

I was secondary complete at most schools only from late August onwards (although complete at most by early-ish Sept) and had zero issues last year, even at rolling schools. @gonnif's advice regarding secondary timleimes above (early = anytime before Labor Day, normal speed = until end of Sept, late = Oct+) honestly matches my own experiences much more closely, as well as that of a bunch of people i've talked to who were complete around the same time I was.

You have a LizzyM of 76 though so your app can bypass lower stat people despite applying later. (That's around a 97th percentile or higher MCAT?) Applying early mostly helps people with a LizzyM in the mid 60s (3.5 GPA, 508 MCAT) that are borderline MD candidates.

 

[medacrossculture]

review of apps is not simply done in a linear chronological order. High achievers, URM, family of alumni, feeder schools, associated UG programs, linked postbaccs, and other factor may push an app forward in the process.

Thanks for the info gonnif.

Can I also just say, I've read many of your posts on SDN in the past few years and they have been extremely helpful in so many ways. It really makes a world of a difference for someone like myself. I'm sure that this is not unique to me - there are likely to be many people like myself in this position. It is deeply appreciated.