***Official applying late and/or applying w/o MCAT score thread***

[amine2086]

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Recently, I noticed quite few threads and received few PMs asking questions about applying late and/or sending primary applications w/o MCAT scores. I have went through a similar experience last year and thought I would create a official thread to share my story and offer a venue for others to ask questions about this topic.

My Story: I took the August 21st MCAT last year and got accepted to multiple schools this cycle (8 to be exact). I apologize in advance if this sounds like bragging or arrogant; I wanted to post this to offer some hope to those applying late.

Although applying late is never an ideal situation, form my experience having a complete application (when I say complete I mean primary verified+ LORs, secondary and MCAT scores received by the school and the application is ready to be reviewed by the adcom) by mid/late September is not end of the world.

For those planing to apply late because you are taking/retaking the MCAT in July/August, having been through the process, here is what I would suggest:

1. Make sure you send in your transcript and submit your primary as early as possible. If you are concerned about not receiving a competitive MCAT score, you can just apply to one school. Submitting your primary early gets the ball rolling as far as the verification is concerned.

2. Start working on the secondary applications by looking at the secondary prompts on SDN/ based on the secondary applications you receive (as you are aware some schools will send you secondaries without your MCAT (these schools send secondaries to everyone that apply) and while others will put you on MCAT hold (these screen for certain MCAT/GPA before giving out secondaries)).

Good luck to everyone applying this cycle. If you any questions about applying late, post on this thread or feel free to PM me.

 

[cfx]

I'll be taking the July 8 MCAT. Assuming that I submit my primary by early next week (so mid-June), and have all of my secondaries typed and ready to submit once I get my score back ~August 7, how late will this be?

 

[pre88med]

I am taking the July 16 MCAT and I have started working on my primary application but I feel like I might not be able to actually finish my application along with the MCAT studying. Is it a bad idea to submit my primary application a week after my MCAT? or Is it crucial for me to take some time off from my studying and submit the application asap?

 

[amine2086]

I'll be taking the July 8 MCAT. Assuming that I submit my primary by early next week (so mid-June), and have all of my secondaries typed and ready to submit once I get my score back ~August 7, how late will this be?

In my opinion it is not late at all. Although some schools start sending interview invitations in early September, most schools continue sending invitations until February-April of the following year. By having the applications complete in early August, you may not be invited for September interviews, you should be all set for October/November interviews assuming your application is competitive.

 

[amine2086]

I am taking the July 16 MCAT and I have started working on my primary application but I feel like I might not be able to actually finish my application along with the MCAT studying. Is it a bad idea to submit my primary application a week after my MCAT? or Is it crucial for me to take some time off from my studying and submit the application asap?

I would suggest you take half an hour to an hour off everyday to work on your primary application (you need a break from MCAT studying anyway) and submit your primary in early July. Also make sure to submit your transcript(s) as early as possible. Submitting the primary prior to your MCAT test will ensure that your primary is verified by the time your MCAT score comes out.

 

[pre88med]

I would suggest you take half an hour to an hour off everyday to work on your primary application (you need a break from MCAT studying anyway) and submit your primary in early July. Also make sure to submit your transcript(s) as early as possible. Submitting the primary prior to your MCAT test will ensure that your primary is verified by the time your MCAT score comes out.

Thanks a lot for your advice. I was just curious about how long it takes for AMCAS to verify your application? And once it is verified do they send it to med schools right away or wait for MCAT scores?

 

[twocentnews]

I'm not taking the exam until July 8 either but I sent my primary and transcripts in with one school and will add more once I know my actual score. Do you know if LORs have to be in for verification to start too? My school does a centralized system and my advisor is being really slow...

 

[MCAT guy]

Does it matter if you submit with or without your full list of schools?

I am taking MCAT in July, does it matter if I submit 1 school or 15 schools?

I mean, do I get an advantage by submitting to the other 14 schools in June or do they only look at my complete date (mid-August) regardless of it I submitted the extra 14 schools in June or August?

 

[UAbio9301]

If I am taking Physics right now, should I wait until the course is over before I send in my transcripts or would it be ok to send in the transcript now, as long as I indicate that the course is in progress?? It could be looked at either way. Physics is a core science requirement, and it is the only one I am lacking as of now.

 

[amine2086]

Thanks a lot for your advice. I was just curious about how long it takes for AMCAS to verify your application? And once it is verified do they send it to med schools right away or wait for MCAT scores?

The amount of time it takes for AMCAS to verify your application really depends. It could be just few days to few weeks. It really depends on the amount of applications AMCAS has to verify at the time you submit your application. If I were you, I would plan for the worse (4-6 weeks). But most likely it would be shorter than that.

Once your primary application is verified by AMCAS, it is sent to the schools you designate. From there schools will either offer secondary applications or put your application on hold for MCAT. AMCAS does not wait for the MCAT score, it is the schools that do.

 

[amine2086]

I'm not taking the exam until July 8 either but I sent my primary and transcripts in with one school and will add more once I know my actual score. Do you know if LORs have to be in for verification to start too? My school does a centralized system and my advisor is being really slow...

LORs do not have to be uploaded for the primary application to be verified. AMCAS verification process mainly deal with your transcripts (i.e. the classes you took). Someone at AMCAS compares the classes on your transcript(s) with the classes you entered. If the two match, you are good to go.

You will have to have the LORs uploaded and sent to schools in order for your file to be complete at the schools you have applied to.

 

[amine2086]

Does it matter if you submit with or without your full list of schools?

I am taking MCAT in July, does it matter if I submit 1 school or 15 schools?

I mean, do I get an advantage by submitting to the other 14 schools in June or do they only look at my complete date (mid-August) regardless of it I submitted the extra 14 schools in June or August?

As soon as your primary is submitted to schools, the schools without a pre-secondary screening send you their secondary application. But the schools that have pre-secondary screening will put you on hold if your MCAT score is missing. Usually this is a computerized process.

Once you submit the secondary application, someone at the school's admission office, checks to make sure your file is complete (i.e. they have the LORs, secondary, etc). If the file is complete they make it available for a member of the admission committee to review.

To answer your question, by submitting your primary w/o MCAT score to all schools, gives you the advantage in the sense that the schools will open a file for you earlier in the cycle and may offer you their secondary. But I do not think this is a significant advantage as you can look up the secondary prompts on SDN and start working on them as soon as you are done with your MCAT. So if you want to wait for your MCAT score to see what schools you may be competitive at, I would just submit with 1 school. But if you are confident on a great MCAT score, submit with all the schools.

 

[amine2086]

If I am taking Physics right now, should I wait until the course is over before I send in my transcripts or would it be ok to send in the transcript now, as long as I indicate that the course is in progress?? It could be looked at either way. Physics is a core science requirement, and it is the only one I am lacking as of now.

Submit your transcripts now and indicate that the course is in progress. Almost all schools ask you about the prereqs on their secondary. Hopefully by the time you fill out the secondary apps, your physics course will be complete and you can state on the secondaries that you have completed all the prereqs.

 

[Medhatter]

I posted my questions in other threads but this one seems to be most appropriate. I really need someone to walk me through since it's my first time applying and I'm the type of person that really like to stress over the intricate minutias😎

I'm doing the MCAT on the 17th, which means I will be receiving my score on July 20th. As of now, I'm still working on the primary, although I have my essays pretty much done while my transcript was just sent from my school last Friday. By the looks of it it seems that I could aim for a June 21st submission of my primaries.

So I won't make the first batch to be sent to the schools(June 25th) but I'm wondering just how "late" am I? What happens after June 25th? Do they send everything out in another wave or do so as soon as the apps are verified? Assume that everything proceeds in a swift manner without any problems from now on(knock on wood), when is the earliest date that I can complete everything?

Thanks in advance

 

[Brittanyboop115]

Thank you so much for this thread! I just want to throw in here that I am taking the MCAT August 4th, so I wont be recieving my scores until September 7th. I've been stressing about this for a while since everyone has been screaming in my ear "APPLY EARLY, APPLY EARLY!!" I'm actually a re-applicant--my first application was crap. I didn't do all of my research before I went ahead and submitted it (June 2nd last year, rushing to get it in, listening to everyone's advice). I'm coming back bigger and better this year. I plan to do exceptionally well on my MCAT this August.

I figured having a complete application in September wouldn't be a big deal since most schools don't start interviewing until September anyway.👍

 

[amine2086]

I posted my questions in other threads but this one seems to be most appropriate. I really need someone to walk me through since it's my first time applying and I'm the type of person that really like to stress over the intricate minutias😎

I'm doing the MCAT on the 17th, which means I will be receiving my score on July 20th. As of now, I'm still working on the primary, although I have my essays pretty much done while my transcript was just sent from my school last Friday. By the looks of it it seems that I could aim for a June 21st submission of my primaries.

So I won't make the first batch to be sent to the schools(June 25th) but I'm wondering just how "late" am I? What happens after June 25th? Do they send everything out in another wave or do so as soon as the apps are verified? Assume that everything proceeds in a swift manner without any problems from now on(knock on wood), when is the earliest date that I can complete everything?

Thanks in advance

After the initial wave, AMCAS sends applications to schools as they become verified. It seems like the earliest date you can complete everything is when your MCAT scores come out. Make sure you start working on those secondary apps as you wait for your MCAT score. Also make sure that your LOR writers (or your schools premed committee) get the LORs uploaded before your MCAT score is out. That way as soon as MCAT scores come out, you will have the all the pieces together to have your applications completed.

 

[deep122]

Congrats on the acceptances. Very impressive and it's nice to hear about someone completing their app late and still being as successful as you. I am not applying until next summer, but am already stressing over when to take the MCAT. Could you post your stats (GPA, MCAT) so we can gauge where we would stand against you?

 

[Medhatter]

After the initial wave, AMCAS sends applications to schools as they become verified. It seems like the earliest date you can complete everything is when your MCAT scores come out. Make sure you start working on those secondary apps as you wait for your MCAT score. Also make sure that your LOR writers (or your schools premed committee) get the LORs uploaded before your MCAT score is out. That way as soon as MCAT scores come out, you will have the all the pieces together to have your applications completed.

Thanks for the reponse. Would that be possible if my primary gets verified in mid July? How fast can I "officially" receive secondaries from the schools after the primary(my MCAT and GPA are fairly competitive)?

 

[SamuelTesla]

Hi amine - do you mind telling us how much you got on the MCAT? I'm going to be taking mine on Aug 5th.

 

[amine2086]

Congrats on the acceptances. Very impressive and it's nice to hear about someone completing their app late and still being as successful as you. I am not applying until next summer, but am already stressing over when to take the MCAT. Could you post your stats (GPA, MCAT) so we can gauge where we would stand against you?

Hi amine - do you mind telling us how much you got on the MCAT? I'm going to be taking mine on Aug 5th.

I have a 3.98 cGPA/4.00 sGPA from a state university and scored a 34Q on the MCAT.

 

[socrknite4]

I'm taking my MCAT July 29th and already submitted my AAMCAS with all of my schools. I have my old MCAT scores from last year which weren't that good. Do you think the schools will screen me out before getting my new MCAT scores or will they put me on a hold and still send out secondaries? Thanks!

 

[socrknite4]

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