Perfecting application vs. late submission

[rolltide7749]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I am a re-applicant and am wondering about the opportunity cost of perfecting my primary app and submitting later and later in the cycle. When is the primary "late"?

When I spoke to one of last year's adcoms, their main concern was the tardiness of my application. (I was accepted to one school but felt strongly that I should not attend). I have completed everything except my personal statement and a few specifics about experiences. How much more should I work on the primary? I received secondaries from the schools I applied to last year and eventually got two interviews and was accepted to one school.

Re-applicant, non-traditional (gap years abroad), 33Q, GPA 3.74 (BCPM 3.595)

I'm anxious to hear the SDN community's thoughts. Comment away. 🙂

 

[NCKSD]

Most reapplicants get the hint the first time and get ready to apply as early as possible the next year. Is it worth it to take an extra week to make your application a tiny better? maybe. Is it worth it to take an extra month and a half to make it better? Probably not. If schools told you the problem with your app was that you were too late... then try not to make the same mistake again

 

[Roxas]

I'm wondering the same thing. I keep tweaking my PS and activities, and don't know when I'm officially "late" and need to just click submit

 

[cookiemonsters]

You guys are not going to be complete anywhere until early September at best... that is definitely the grey area between 'on time' and 'late'. I would say 'late' officially begins in mid-September.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

You're past the point where you could be considered early. If you submitted right now you would be "average". I think the consensus is that you want to be submitted by mid or late August at the latest. After that you're late.

You really need to pick up the pace though. You still haven't finished your PS or W&S section yet and those are the two most work intensive portions of the application by far. Also don't forget that what really matters is your complete date at schools. So once your primary is finally finished, you'll have to turn around immediately and begin pre-writing secondaries if you want to get in on time. If you procrastinate and wait until September (when you'll most likely be verified assuming you submit before August) to begin writing secondaries, you could very well be complete in October which would definitely make you late.

 

[premed2000]

Sorry if my comment is a little harsh, but how come you didn't "correct" your mistake from last year of submitting your application late by submitting early this year?

I am in perhaps identical situation to you. 3.79/34. Reapplicant this year after a brutal cycle last year (completed my application in late Sept due to Late MCAT retake).

And what did I do to put myself in the best possible situation this year? By applying during the first hour of first day on 6/10. I was able to get verified before 6/28, and have already submitted 23 secondaries so far. I don't know how my cycle will turn out this year, but I tried my best to put myself in the best situation possible.

So I am really curious as to why you didn't sense the urgency to submit early this year after learning your weakness from last year? Because submitting right now (7/20), you probably will not be verified until late August or even September because AMCAS has only verified up to like 6/17 as of now. It's been more than a month, they've only verified the people who submitted in the first 7 days. We are both reapplicants that fell to "lateness of application" last year. I've already submitted 23 secondaries and you are still working on PS. There are also a couple of SDN reapplicants from last year (not going to name them) who also applied late last year. They have all submitted their primary during that first week of submission. So, you really gotta speed of the pace my friend!!!!!

Sorry if my comment is a little harsh. But I can't stress enough how important it is to submit early.

 

[TheShaker]

You're already late. Last year, I was complete 3 days ago and was verified in September and was complete in mid Sept/early Oct. All of the admissions offices that I called said that I was late enough to cripple my application. You're probably already in for a rough cycle now but hurry up or you might as well not apply at all.

 

[snowflakes]

You're already late. Last year, I was complete 3 days ago and was verified in September and was complete in mid Sept/early Oct. All of the admissions offices that I called said that I was late enough to cripple my application. You're probably already in for a rough cycle now but hurry up or you might as well not apply at all.

Why were you verified in September? were your transcripts in right away? Looking at the verification times thread from last year, people who submitted on the 16th were verified Aug 22.

 

[Lya]

Interview invites are already happening. Submit now or save money for the next cycle.

I was in the same situation like yours last year, and I would have saved money if I would do it again. Sure, people do get in late if they have great stats, but I think they are rather exceptions.

 

[plumhill]

I am a re-applicant and am wondering about the opportunity cost of perfecting my primary app and submitting later and later in the cycle. When is the primary "late"?

When I spoke to one of last year's adcoms, their main concern was the tardiness of my application. (I was accepted to one school but felt strongly that I should not attend). I have completed everything except my personal statement and a few specifics about experiences. How much more should I work on the primary? I received secondaries from the schools I applied to last year and eventually got two interviews and was accepted to one school.

Re-applicant, non-traditional (gap years abroad), 33Q, GPA 3.74 (BCPM 3.595)

I'm anxious to hear the SDN community's thoughts. Comment away. 🙂

I feel like that'll kill you more than your lateness, unless you have a darn good reason for not going.

At this point you need to get your stuff in. Just turn things in. Was anything wrong with your PS from last year? Dig it back up, make a few changes, and just submit it. Normally I would say be a total perfectionist about your application but if you're really serious about applying THIS year, you don't have time for that. Make sure you have no typos and that your information is accurate, and send it along. If you have new activities/pubs/etc, save it for update letters.

 

[rolltide7749]

Thanks for all your motivation -- Got that primary submitted on 7/26.

Best of luck to all of you.

 

[TheBossDoctor]

1. If I may ask, why did you turn down the school that accepted you? It's going to hurt you badly during this cycle.

2. Sorry to hijack the thread, but I was wondering if a July 4th submission date (day I submitted mine) is OK? Is it early or average or late? I'm expecting to be verified by August 15 since that's the 6 week mark.

 

[jk1006]

Sorry if my comment is a little harsh, but how come you didn't "correct" your mistake from last year of submitting your application late by submitting early this year?

I am in perhaps identical situation to you. 3.79/34. Reapplicant this year after a brutal cycle last year (completed my application in late Sept due to Late MCAT retake).

And what did I do to put myself in the best possible situation this year? By applying during the first hour of first day on 6/10. I was able to get verified before 6/28, and have already submitted 23 secondaries so far. I don't know how my cycle will turn out this year, but I tried my best to put myself in the best situation possible.

So I am really curious as to why you didn't sense the urgency to submit early this year after learning your weakness from last year? Because submitting right now (7/20), you probably will not be verified until late August or even September because AMCAS has only verified up to like 6/17 as of now. It's been more than a month, they've only verified the people who submitted in the first 7 days. We are both reapplicants that fell to "lateness of application" last year. I've already submitted 23 secondaries and you are still working on PS. There are also a couple of SDN reapplicants from last year (not going to name them) who also applied late last year. They have all submitted their primary during that first week of submission. So, you really gotta speed of the pace my friend!!!!!

Sorry if my comment is a little harsh. But I can't stress enough how important it is to submit early.

i agree, im in a similar boat 3.61/34. i applied mid/late septemeber last year, this year i submitted on 6/22 and got verified a couple days ago, but already have all my secondaries prewritten.

you made a mistake last year... and youre still making one, submit that app ASAP

 

[ES2]

1. If I may ask, why did you turn down the school that accepted you? It's going to hurt you badly during this cycle.

.

My question as well

 

[jk1006]

1. If I may ask, why did you turn down the school that accepted you? It's going to hurt you badly during this cycle.

2. Sorry to hijack the thread, but I was wondering if a July 4th submission date (day I submitted mine) is OK? Is it early or average or late? I'm expecting to be verified by August 15 since that's the 6 week mark.

prewrite all your secondaries so you can submit right when you get them and youll be right in the middle of the crowd, not late, not early

and if your stats are good enough you should be okay

 

[GoPelicans]

Unless you have a professional editor helping you with everything, there is no such thing as a 'perfect' application. We will all look back on our applications in several months and cringe at some of the things we wrote. Just do your best and get them out ASAP.

 

[SN12357]

Unless you have a professional editor helping you with everything, there is no such thing as a 'perfect' application. We will all look back on our applications in several months and cringe at some of the things we wrote. Just do your best and get them out ASAP.

Even with a professional editor helping you there's no such thing as a perfect application. I have two friends who have worked as professional writers/editors and if I showed both of them the same essay they'd suggest different changes.

 

[rolltide7749]

The school I turned down uses the non-integrated curriculum, has few specialties at their teaching hospital, uses outdated facilities, and is in a city that I would prefer not to reside in. It is a great school for some, but not for me. I already had a guaranteed job abroad for the upcoming a academic year. Trust me, I thought long and hard about it before making the decision.