Is it wrong to submit towards the deadline?

[redrosesfi]

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I have heard that it is best to submit your application early, but I'm curious why that is. I'm guessing it is because the next step process starts sooner, such as secondary apps, interviews, decisions, etc.
But is it necessarily bad to submit your application close to the school's deadline, or submit your application without an MCAT score? What are the exact disadvantages of doing this?​

 

[theseeker4]

I have heard that it is best to submit your application early, but I'm curious why that is. I'm guessing it is because the next step process starts sooner, such as secondary apps, interviews, decisions, etc.
But is it necessarily bad to submit your application close to the school's deadline, or submit your application without an MCAT score? What are the exact disadvantages of doing this?​

The problem is, the later you are the more people you are competing against for fewer spots, decreasing your chances of standing out and being accepted. Even for schools that don't have rolling admissions, like Wayne State that offers one seventh of the class each decision date, later applicants are competing against every student who applied before them, not just competing against the early applicants.

Applying early means you are competing with all the early applicants for every seat at that school. Applying late means you are competing with every single other applicant to that school for at best a small portion of the total number of seats at the school, and at worst, for a small handful of wait list spots. Clearly, it is best to apply early.

 

[NickNaylor]

Everything seeker mentioned is spot on, and is especially true if your app is mediocre or weak. If you have a strong app, you likely won't be hurt too much by submitting late since you're a strong applicant to begin with.

As an example of the kind of advantage you get, Michigan (which is one of the most aggressive rolling admissions schools) said a couple of years ago that an overwhelming number of their interview invites go to applicants that are complete in July-September. I forgot the exact number, but it was something like 70-80%. Most schools don't follow such an aggressive policy, but it does a good job of illustrating the importance of applying early.