Late Application

[PharmacyMedical]

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Hey everyone,

My pre-med advisor want's me to write my MCATs in august and apply after getting the results. What do you guys think about this? Would that late of an application affect my chances?

Thank you

 

[Cytotoxic]

You wouldn't get your score back until Sept, and that's pretty late to be submitting AMCAS. It will hurt you unless you're a super-competitive applicant (i.e. astronomical GPA/MCAT) or have something significant that in some huge way distinguishes you from the rest of the applicant masses.

 

[BBender716]

What do I think? I think your advisor is overpaid, even if he/she makes minimum wage.


Terrible advice.

 

[Catalystik]

You wouldn't get your score back until Sept, and that's pretty late to be submitting AMCAS.

If you submit in September, it takes about five weeks to get your transcripts verified, so then it's october. And you probably wouldn't get your Secondaries completed for at least another month, so now we're into November. Your chances are definitely decreased with this scenario.

An alternate plan with the August MCAT date, if you are confident of the score you'll receive: Submit in July, with just one school listed, to get your transcripts verified. Get the score in September, and add more schools depending on the competitiveness of the score. New schools get the whole application within a day, and Secondaries go out. Prewrite all essays during the month you're waiting for the MCAT score; then turn-around time for getting the Secondaries completed is just a few days for each. You're done by the end of September, two months earlier than in scenario #1. Still not ideal for you chances, but way better.

 

[lstone13]

Hey everyone,

My pre-med advisor want's me to write my MCATs in august and apply after getting the results. What do you guys think about this? Would that late of an application affect my chances?

Thank you

That is horrible advice. Simply horrible.

Apply as early as you can. I learned this lesson the hard way. You still have time to register for and study for an earlier MCAT. If you take an earlier MCAT, you have the opportunity to retake it if necessary. Otherwise, you lose that opportunity.

At the very latest, try to have your entire application submitted by the end of July.

Also, Catalystik provided some solid advice for an alternate scenario. Still, try to get in your application as early as possible, meaning that you will also need to take the MCAT as early as you can.

 

[flip26]

Echoing others, this is a really bad idea.

 

[tennisball80]

Hey everyone,

My pre-med advisor want's me to write my MCATs in august and apply after getting the results. What do you guys think about this? Would that late of an application affect my chances?

Thank you

Usually, if you apply med schools early, you will have a great advantage. Re-consider your admission process carefully.

 

[Morsetlis]

What do I think? I think your advisor is overpaid, even if he/she makes minimum wage.


Terrible advice.

Yep.

 

[Sammich117]

I agree. I think the latest MCAT you should take would be in June.

 

[ScronCron]

What do I think? I think your advisor is overpaid, even if he/she makes minimum wage.


Terrible advice.

I agree. This is absolutely terrible advice. Pre-med advisors in general are terrible. I found out at one of my interviews that the my school's cover letter for my LOR's addressed me as "she" rather than "he". I'm a dude. Those people seriously need to get their act together. (Also, the cover letter was from a top 3 undergrad)

 

[lstone13]

I agree. This is absolutely terrible advice. Pre-med advisors in general are terrible. I found out at one of my interviews that the my school's cover letter for my LOR's addressed me as "she" rather than "he". I'm a dude. Those people seriously need to get their act together. (Also, the cover letter was from a top 3 undergrad)

Oh no!! That's awful!!

 

[DoctwoB]

Agreed. Tell your "pre-med advisor" to stuff it. If at all possible, take the may MCAT to have your results by June, and submit your AMCAS shortly thereafter. Taking the June MCAT and submitting by july is fine also, but remember it takes a month or so to verify the app. You can also do what someone else said in that you submit on June 2nd with one school, then add more post MCAT. Send in your apps early, interview early, and hear back early. As I was lucky enough to find out this year, there is nothing better than an October 15th acceptance. Makes the rest of your senior year about 1000x better.

As an aside, I can't believe there are people who are so misinformed about the med school app process when its their job to be an "advisor." To be fair though, mine was awesome, so good ones do exist.

 

[Sammich117]

Agreed. Tell your "pre-med advisor" to stuff it. If at all possible, take the may MCAT to have your results by June, and submit your AMCAS shortly thereafter. Taking the June MCAT and submitting by july is fine also, but remember it takes a month or so to verify the app. You can also do what someone else said in that you submit on June 2nd with one school, then add more post MCAT. Send in your apps early, interview early, and hear back early. As I was lucky enough to find out this year, there is nothing better than an October 15th acceptance. Makes the rest of your senior year about 1000x better.

As an aside, I can't believe there are people who are so misinformed about the med school app process when its their job to be an "advisor." To be fair though, mine was awesome, so good ones do exist.

I agree, I can't believe all the horror stories I've heard. Mine wasn't the best in the world, but she was new to the position and at least didn't tell us flat out terrible information.