If I have my application finalized by late July or early August will it be too late for either DO or MD schools?
Is late July too late?
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I was finished in the third week of June, and I felt like I was behind. It takes a long time to get verified, and the later the application, the longer it takes. Try to not put yourself in that situation.
I ended up being in the first groups to interview at several schools, and I had two acceptances before thanksgiving, and my third the week after.
I can't immagine the stress of not interviewing or finding out whether you are accepted until January, or even worse, March. That is what may happen to you if you apply later.
Do what you can to be as early as possible. It is a lot less stressful.
dsoz
I ended up being in the first groups to interview at several schools, and I had two acceptances before thanksgiving, and my third the week after.
I can't immagine the stress of not interviewing or finding out whether you are accepted until January, or even worse, March. That is what may happen to you if you apply later.
Do what you can to be as early as possible. It is a lot less stressful.
dsoz
Sorry but I am going to beat a dead horse.
I went to sign up for the MCAT and there are only two dates in July that I can get. One is in the middle of July and one is at the end. The middle of July is about 5 hours away and would require getting a hotel and spending the night but would allow me to have my application completed in early August. The end of July is local and my app would be complete at the middle/end of August.
If I complete at the end of August am I essentially shooting myself in the foot or am I overreacting?
Thanks
I went to sign up for the MCAT and there are only two dates in July that I can get. One is in the middle of July and one is at the end. The middle of July is about 5 hours away and would require getting a hotel and spending the night but would allow me to have my application completed in early August. The end of July is local and my app would be complete at the middle/end of August.
If I complete at the end of August am I essentially shooting myself in the foot or am I overreacting?
Thanks
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correct me if I'm wrong but i believe you can submit your primary and get verified before you get your mcat so you can complete as soon as you get your scores. that would save you the six weeks to be verified.
Asked this question in another thread, but it is similar to this one. I am taking the MCAT on July 13, meaning I won't have my score until somewhere around August 13. Does it make sense for me to submit my application to one school when I have it completed (minus the MCAT score of course) to get it verified and then once I have my score in mid August submit my application to all the additional schools?
If you cannot take an early mcat, then still submit your app in June with one school. Then apply broadly to more schools after you get your score, paying attention to which ones make sense for your score, IS/OOS, fit, different tiers etc. While waiting for your score, you can pre-write secondaries too.
HOWEVER, getting your app complete at any school later than mid-end of August is a risk regardless of the score you get. And no school will mark you as complete without the score. Some schools also take several weeks to mark you complete, even if they have everything they need for your file. Tread wisely.
HOWEVER, getting your app complete at any school later than mid-end of August is a risk regardless of the score you get. And no school will mark you as complete without the score. Some schools also take several weeks to mark you complete, even if they have everything they need for your file. Tread wisely.
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This seems to be something a lot of people are saying, so I wonder... If you're still in school and haven't taken the MCAT yet, is it better to take the test earlier so you can be complete earlier but possibly have a worse score, or to take the test later such that you won't be complete until September (maybe even late September!) but you'll have plenty of time to study for the MCAT before you take it?
As a corollary, not getting an acceptance on this cycle wouldn't be the end of the world. Is it worth it to just accept that the application won't be complete until late in the cycle and hope for the best and apply again (early) next year if it doesn't work out? Or do schools look down on reapplicants such that it would be better to not apply at all until next year?
Finally, quick question, can you get your secondaries and work on them before your MCAT is in? I guess at the very least you could check the school specific threads and write your essays even if you won't get secondaries til the score comes in...
I know this does not really answer your first question but the most ideal scenario would be to take the test early AND still do well. Either one or the other option is a risk. It might work out but it might not. For folks still in school I would suggest spending an entire summer studying, taking the test in August, and then applying the following spring. That's how I would plan it if I was still in school. It leaves room for a re-take, gives plenty of focused study over a summer break, and you can still apply early.
If not getting in this cycle wouldn't be the end of the world for you, may I suggest you wait and apply next cycle instead. This would allow you time to do all of the above.
Yes, schools look down on re-applicants. And you would need to make significant improvements to your app to get accepted as a re-applicant. I would not advise that anyone goes into this "not minding being a re-applicant". You should go into it guns blazing, 1000%, ready to give it your absolute all. The application process is tiring and nuts enough that you should plan to only do this once, putting your very best foot forward.
I believe some schools will send you their secondaries, before your MCAT is in, and then will mark you complete after the score comes in. Either way, as soon as the first SDN member gets a secondary (early July for many schools), the prompts will be posted. And you should pre-write like your life depends on it! You can even start pre-writing now with this year's prompts as historically 90% will remain unchanged for the next cycle.
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Some schools don't look down on re-applicants. at OHSU, just about 30% of the class each year is made of re-applicants. They like to see those that did not get in take the exit interview advice and improve for the next year.
I agree with the secondary essay prompts. Get them off of this year's school specific threads and start writing them. Plan your primary essay to help augment your secondary essays. I used all the spaces in the primary and the secondary to tell a more complete story. Each space by itself was insufficient for the whole picture, but taken together they gave plenty of room for a pretty good story.
dsoz
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No. (Warning! n=1 experimental data follows) I took last possible MCAT date in 2010, submitted my completed AMCAS on the last day. Got lots of interviews, got lots of acceptances. My stats are very good, my EC's unique. YMMV, but no, it's not the word of god that late, or very late, completion is an impossible hurdle. It is, as correctly stated in basically every thread ever, true that it would be best to be complete the first day AMCAS is open. But it's not the only way.
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Thanks for all the responses! (And if anyone out there has any other thoughts, I'd love to hear them)
It's good to hear all the different perspectives - Pons, you're definitely making me feel a little bit better about the whole thing, though I know your experience is not universal.
kuntash, or anyone else that thinks reapplying should be avoided if possible, what makes you believe that schools look down on re-applicants? I'm definitely not arguing with you, I'm just curious what evidence you have seen that schools don't like re-applicants. I think it seems obvious that people who don't get in on the first round will be unlikely to get in the second time around if they do nothing differently, but if applying early is really so important, and a decent applicant doesn't get in just because they applied late, then why would they not have a better shot if they applied early the next cycle?*
Anyone have any thoughts about schools that definitely DO look down on re-applicants, or maybe others (like OHSU) that don't have a problem with people reapplying in the next cycle?
*ugh...really not trying to hijack, I just can't help but speculate...
ETA: d'oh...also just realized some of these questions might be worth asking in the re-applicant forum
It's good to hear all the different perspectives - Pons, you're definitely making me feel a little bit better about the whole thing, though I know your experience is not universal.
kuntash, or anyone else that thinks reapplying should be avoided if possible, what makes you believe that schools look down on re-applicants? I'm definitely not arguing with you, I'm just curious what evidence you have seen that schools don't like re-applicants. I think it seems obvious that people who don't get in on the first round will be unlikely to get in the second time around if they do nothing differently, but if applying early is really so important, and a decent applicant doesn't get in just because they applied late, then why would they not have a better shot if they applied early the next cycle?*
Anyone have any thoughts about schools that definitely DO look down on re-applicants, or maybe others (like OHSU) that don't have a problem with people reapplying in the next cycle?
*ugh...really not trying to hijack, I just can't help but speculate...
ETA: d'oh...also just realized some of these questions might be worth asking in the re-applicant forum
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QofQuimica
Seriously, dude, I think you're overreacting....
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Think of the app process as a time continuum, not as a dichotomy. Other than the school app deadlines, there are no hard and fast dates by which things must be done. However, the later down the time continuum you go, the smaller your window of opportunity for getting interviews and acceptances becomes. You are competing with many other people for a limited resource (both interview invites and medical school acceptances). Once those interview invites and acceptances are given away to someone else, they're not available to be given to you. For that reason, it is best to apply as early as possible, with as strong an application as possible.
I am not a re-applicant so I don't have first hand evidence. But anecdotes on SDN seem to point to it being more difficult to get in the second time around. And many folks get the steam taken out of them after their first try and then never try again. If you end up in a situation where you must reapply, that's fine. But I think your case may be different because you are going into your first time applying, thinking you are ok with re-applying, and knowing there may be a problem with your app already. You should try to fix the problem before you apply the first time.
In addition to any issues they may already have, a reapplicant may now also have to explain to every school that asks, why they did not get in the first time, and what they have done to improve their app. If all you do differently is apply earlier, I don't know if that will always be enough of an explanation. They will probably want to see you do something additional such as an EC or another LOR.
Your judgment may also come into question in that, if you knew your app was not ready in some form, why did you apply last year. Kind of like someone taking the real MCAT for practice.
Anyway, all this is subjective. No one can give you definitive answers on what you should or should not do, or how your cycle will pan out. So it's really up to you and how you feel about everything we are saying here. Just weigh the pros and cons either way and use your best judgment.
GL!
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