I say that starting the earlier, the better! I applied for Fall 2018 and I started my application on Fall 2016/early 2017. I know it may seem kind of an overkill, but trust me that putting more time into your application definitely pays off. If you have anything on the current cycle, you can certainly ask to transfer it to the next cycle at no cost.
I needed plenty of time to prepare for my OAT because I am a mediocre test taker. I started preparing for it in October 2016 and took it twice, once on May 2017 and one last time on October 2017. My biggest issue was motivating myself to study and write my essays, because I knew I had a lot of time. Time flies when you attend school and work, so you need to be aware that time will pass faster than you expect! I made time slots to write my essays and research about all the schools I wanted to apply to. I had several friends and mentors helping me stay accountable. With this, I applied early to all the schools I wanted to and I received interview offers with no rejection letters so far.
It feels good to already have a secured spot somewhere while everyone else is freaking out about sending their applications late. So try to submit as early as you can (if you are ready), future you will thank you 🙂
PS. Just be aware that if you do take the OAT before your cycle opens on June 2018, you will need to pay a $100 fee to have your scores sent to OptomCAS again. I was upset that I had to pay the fee so I would recommend that you prepare early and then take the OAT on/after the cycle starts to avoid paying.
