Really confused!

[connie95]

I'm extremely confused about the whole timing concerning early app submission, so that applicants can be "ahead of the game…" Could someone please explain to me what the timeline for being considered an early applicant is? For example, do you have to submit your primary app first day of June? or can you submit mid-June….because I thought any app submitted on any day of June will be sent to med schools at the same time (since AAMC send all June apps together to med schools in July) Please correct me if I'm wrong.

When should someone be complete (AMCAS, LOR's, MCAT, all essays) in order to be considered an early applicant and best maximize their chances?

Would love it if someone could please clarify!

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[LizzyM]

You can start filling out the application in May. The first day to submit and enter the queue to have your transcript verified is in early June. That queue can get long very quickly. Sometime in the first 3 weeks of June is just fine.

 

[Hospitalized]

Not sure of your school timeline, but I thought this post outlined it pretty well. This is the guideline I'm using. I will be graduating may 2016, MCAT July 2016, hopeful matriculation 2017.

Applying early is important, but the difference between being complete in August and being complete in June/July is pretty negligible. It's far more important that you're actually competitive when you submit your application. I completed my application in October and received five interview offers. Here's what you can do:

1) Submit your primary AMCAS application in June, for only one school (perhaps one you don't care about). This will cause AMCAS to start evaluating your transcripts, which can take about a month. The application takes a lot more time than you would think, so start working on the essay now, so that you're not too distracted while studying for the MCAT;
2) Schedule your MCAT in July. That will give you almost two full months to study, depending on when your semester ends;
3) Have all of your recommendation letters in before you take the MCAT;
4) Crush the MCAT;
5) Your score should come back in August, add 20+ other schools to your application immediately.
6) Finish your secondary essays as they come in. Don't rush it too much, do a good job on each one. You should finish most of them by September.

 

[connie95]

You can start filling out the application in May. The first day to submit and enter the queue to have your transcript verified is in early June. That queue can get long very quickly. Sometime in the first 3 weeks of June is just fine.

So a person that submitted their app on say June 1st is in a better position (earlier in the queue) than a person that submitted their app on June 15th? But I thought everyone who submits in June (regardless of the day) is received equally by adcoms? Because, if not, why would the AAMC say that it is not a disadvantage for April and May MCAT test-takers as their score will be sent along with the old test-takers scores?

From the AAMC:

You will be able to submit your complete application through AMCAS to medical schools at the same time as applicants who took the current exam.

• Your official scores will be released and transmitted to AMCAS on June 16. It will take longer than the typical 30-35 days to get your scores because we need some extra time to set the score scale for the new exam. Your scores will be added to your AMCAS application before the first round of verified applications are sent by AMCAS to medical schools in early July. Learn more about the AMCAS application process

I'm not sure if I'm understanding this properly...

 

[connie95]

Not sure of your school timeline, but I thought this post outlined it pretty well. This is the guideline I'm using. I will be graduating may 2016, MCAT July 2016, hopeful matriculation 2017.

Thanks for this! But I am planning to apply this June…so that's why I'm confused on how to do everything. When should I begin asking professors for LOR's? When should I write my PS? When is the best time to take my MCAT…April or May? I'm confused about all these aspects

 

[beachside]

So a person that submitted their app on say June 1st is in a better position (earlier in the queue) than a person that submitted their app on June 15th? But I thought everyone who submits in June (regardless of the day) is received equally by adcoms? Because, if not, why would the AAMC say that it is not a disadvantage for April and May MCAT test-takers as their score will be sent along with the old test-takers scores?

From the AAMC:

You will be able to submit your complete application through AMCAS to medical schools at the same time as applicants who took the current exam.

• Your official scores will be released and transmitted to AMCAS on June 16. It will take longer than the typical 30-35 days to get your scores because we need some extra time to set the score scale for the new exam. Your scores will be added to your AMCAS application before the first round of verified applications are sent by AMCAS to medical schools in early July. Learn more about the AMCAS application process

I'm not sure if I'm understanding this properly...

The queue she's talking about is the AMCAS verification queue, which AMCAS says takes 4-6 weeks. So what you quoted above is simply saying that your MCAT scores will be in before your AMCAS application is verified.

Your MCAT scores are part of your final secondary package at your school, by the way, and isn't needed for your primary AMCAS application.

 

[connie95]

The queue she's talking about is the AMCAS verification queue, which AMCAS says takes 4-6 weeks. So what you quoted above is simply saying that your MCAT scores will be in before your AMCAS application is verified.

Oh…so if I submit my primary AMCAS at the earliest possible date, it will be verified earlier than the apps submitted after me? If I waited until the end of June to submit my primary app (in order to include summer term grades to increase my GPA), would I be at a big disadvantage? Would that mean my app would not be verified until end of July, resulting in schools not seeing my app until like August?

 

[Red Lobster Actual]

When should I begin asking professors for LOR's?

When should I write my PS?

Now!!!!!

When is the best time to take my MCAT…April or May?

Depends. Whenever you are ready. Just keep in mind you need to be grabbing your LORs, writing your PS, writing your 15 AMCAS activities (which takes a ton of time), filling out AMCAS in general (another time sink), etc. etc. in addition to studying for the MCAT.

The whole reason the general advice is "earlier is better" is due to rolling admissions. Delaying your verification in order to boost your GPA or other excuses is a gamble. Best to get everything done asap.

 

[beachside]

Oh…so if I submit my primary AMCAS at the earliest possible date, it will be verified earlier than the apps submitted after me? If I waited until the end of June to submit my primary app (in order to include summer term grades to increase my GPA), would I be at a big disadvantage? Would that mean my app would not be verified until end of July, resulting in schools not seeing my app until like August?

I'd say that's accurate. I wouldn't call it a huge disadvantage though, perhaps a very mild disadvantage.

Like squirtle said above, be cognisant of how much time it'll take you to complete the AMCAS primary as well. It's like a solid week worth of week. Although, you know, you're going to lose a lot of MCAT study time if you take those summer classes. Not recommend, in my opinion, if you can avoid it. Your GPA probably won't move much.

 

[connie95]

I'd say that's accurate. I wouldn't call it a huge disadvantage though, perhaps a very mild disadvantage.

Like squirtle said above, be cognisant of how much time it'll take you to complete the AMCAS primary as well. It's like a solid week worth of week. Although, you know, you're going to lose a lot of MCAT study time if you take those summer classes. Not recommend, in my opinion, if you can avoid it. Your GPA probably won't move much.

I want to be done with my MCAT by then. If I'm still not done with that test by May at least, then I'm going to start losing hope and plan for an unwanted gap year I'm going to begin working on my AMCAS primary this week…like compiling info. together in Pivio and writing my own descriptions of relevant activities. I will begin my PS…I figure that if I can set aside ~4 hrs. per week starting now just to work on perfecting my writing, I should have my primary app in by June 1st.

The only reason I was thinking of delaying was to increase my GPAs…I think my cGPA could increase from 3.8 to a 3.83 and sGPA from 3.74 to a 3.77 by taking these summer classes during the first term. Do you think this increase in GPA is worth waiting until the end of June to submit my primary AMCAS app?

 

[tea guzzling traveler]

I feel like that is a relatively marginal gain in GPA, and from advice that I've received from many corners, applying early is definitely the way to go. Verification times often get longer, especially due to increased volumes of applications in recent years. 1st day may not be necessary, but probably by the end of the first week is.

However, I would say the one exception is that if you don't have any clinical experience or very little (ie less than 50-40 hours), it might be worth it to delay by a few weeks to get some more of that on the app.

Also, I really enjoyed my gap year. It's not the worst thing in the world

 

[beachside]

The only reason I was thinking of delaying was to increase my GPAs…I think my cGPA could increase from 3.8 to a 3.83 and sGPA from 3.74 to a 3.77 by taking these summer classes during the first term. Do you think this increase in GPA is worth waiting until the end of June to submit my primary AMCAS app?

I would say that's a fairly trivial move in GPA, and that you should plan your schedule around other concerns. I don't think it would really hurt you much at all to apply in late June versus early June, however. Both of those factors are pretty negligible. Tea guzzler above made a good point above about ensure your EC's are up to par.

 

[Ace Khalifa]

First of all, NEVER complain about having to take a gap year. I don't get why so many premeds want to go right to medical school after graduating college when gap years can be very beneficial to you, personally, and for your application. Med school is not going anywhere, so there's no need to rush into an application cycle when you don't have everything absolutely ready by the end of your junior year in college.

Second of all, there is a noticeable difference between submitting on the first available day in June and waiting a few weeks after to submit. I submitted mine on the first day (6/3/2014), 45 seconds after the button became available to click. It got verified in less than 48 hours, and that was with 15 schools on my list (I later added 6 more). My friend submitted hers like 3 weeks after I did, and she had to wait at least 3-5 weeks for verification to finish.

Lastly, you're taking a big risk taking the MCAT in July of your application year. Your score won't be back until August at the earliest. Most schools start sending out their secondaries in early July, assuming your AMCAS is already verified. For schools with rolling admissions, do you really want to be stuck writing secondaries in August/September when interview invites start being sent out in late July/early August and interviews start being conducted in late August/early September?

I'm sorry if my tone was harsh. But I strongly believe that A) one should not freak out about taking a gap year (or years), B) one should not delay at all in submitting their application, and C) one should have everything ready by the time they hit SUBMIT, including their MCAT score.

 

[f4reignbeauty]

Thanks for this! But I am planning to apply this June…so that's why I'm confused on how to do everything. When should I begin asking professors for LOR's? When should I write my PS? When is the best time to take my MCAT…April or May? I'm confused about all these aspects

Hey I took a more extended route. I personally began working on my PS in December of the year prior to this application cycle. I developed an extremely rough draft, and identified my readers.

In terms of letter writers, my mentor told me to generate a list, and think of writers I could add every so many months. Once January came around, I narrowed my list and formally asked my writers if they would mind writing a LOR. I detailed the dates I would like to be complete by etc. All of my letters were submitted by mid-June.

I took my MCAT in late June (which I don't recommend) and submitted my application in early July (try to send it in MUCH earlier)

Wish you thee best of luck!

 

[LizzyM]

The major point is, don't submit your primary at the end of July and expect to have it verified and sent to med schools,hear from the med schools that will request secondaries (almost all of them) receive and reply to secondary applications and expect to interview in late September. It would not be unreasonable to be on that timeline and get interview invites in December. You can still get admitted but you will wait longer for those interview invites and offers. (The earliest offers go out on October 15th).

Under no circumstance should you apply in the 3 weeks before the deadline for applications. I see people who have done this... usually I see them in the following cycle, which is sad because they could have gotten in on the first try if they had just been earlier.

 

[connie95]

First of all, NEVER complain about having to take a gap year. I don't get why so many premeds want to go right to medical school after graduating college when gap years can be very beneficial to you, personally, and for your application. Med school is not going anywhere, so there's no need to rush into an application cycle when you don't have everything absolutely ready by the end of your junior year in college.

Second of all, there is a noticeable difference between submitting on the first available day in June and waiting a few weeks after to submit. I submitted mine on the first day (6/3/2014), 45 seconds after the button became available to click. It got verified in less than 48 hours, and that was with 15 schools on my list (I later added 6 more). My friend submitted hers like 3 weeks after I did, and she had to wait at least 3-5 weeks for verification to finish.

Lastly, you're taking a big risk taking the MCAT in July of your application year. Your score won't be back until August at the earliest. Most schools start sending out their secondaries in early July, assuming your AMCAS is already verified. For schools with rolling admissions, do you really want to be stuck writing secondaries in August/September when interview invites start being sent out in late July/early August and interviews start being conducted in late August/early September?

I'm sorry if my tone was harsh. But I strongly believe that A) one should not freak out about taking a gap year (or years), B) one should not delay at all in submitting their application, and C) one should have everything ready by the time they hit SUBMIT, including their MCAT score.

I see, thanks for the info! To clarify, I will submit the first day of June (I will have my AMCAS app all filled out and ready to go). I will not take my MCAT in July. However, I will not have an MCAT score by then as I am planning to take either the April/May new MCAT and the AAMC will not release scores until mid-June/end of June. There is nothing I can do about this, but according to AAMC, this will not put applicants at a disadvantage at all when compare to those that took the old MCAT and already had an MCAT score available at the time of primary app submission. Idk how they can say this though….thoughts? Is this okay, as long as my primary app is in first day of June?

Regarding LORs, I think the earliest I can get them in as part of my app will be mid-June, as I plan to ask my recommenders on May 1st…I'm behind in this area and really need this semester to get to know my professors of the classes I am taking currently. Hence, I want to give them some time to get to know me as well, which is why I plan on asking them in May and then giving them a month to write LORs….how does this plan sound?

I really appreciate your info as it is extremely helpful! So please feel free to criticize and re-evaluate my plan all you want I do want to try my hardest to apply this cycle (will consider a gap year based on my MCAT score), so if you could give me suggestions on how I can best make the odds play in my favor in my situation, that would be great!

 

[connie95]

The major point is, don't submit your primary at the end of July and expect to have it verified and sent to med schools,hear from the med schools that will request secondaries (almost all of them) receive and reply to secondary applications and expect to interview in late September. It would not be unreasonable to be on that timeline and get interview invites in December. You can still get admitted but you will wait longer for those interview invites and offers. (The earliest offers go out on October 15th).

Under no circumstance should you apply in the 3 weeks before the deadline for applications. I see people who have done this... usually I see them in the following cycle, which is sad because they could have gotten in on the first try if they had just been earlier.

Is it okay to submit primary app first day AMCAS opens, but then submit MCAT scores and LORs mid-June/end of June (since we don't need these for primary app verification)? Or is that considered too late?

 

[connie95]

Hey I took a more extended route. I personally began working on my PS in December of the year prior to this application cycle. I developed an extremely rough draft, and identified my readers.

In terms of letter writers, my mentor told me to generate a list, and think of writers I could add every so many months. Once January came around, I narrowed my list and formally asked my writers if they would mind writing a LOR. I detailed the dates I would like to be complete by etc. All of my letters were submitted by mid-June.

I took my MCAT in late June (which I don't recommend) and submitted my application in early July (try to send it in MUCH earlier)

Wish you thee best of luck!

How did this turn out for you?! Did you feel that you got enough med school interviews/acceptances based on this timeline (especially since your MCAT score came out much later)? Or did you lose out on anything?

 

[connie95]

I feel like that is a relatively marginal gain in GPA, and from advice that I've received from many corners, applying early is definitely the way to go. Verification times often get longer, especially due to increased volumes of applications in recent years. 1st day may not be necessary, but probably by the end of the first week is.

However, I would say the one exception is that if you don't have any clinical experience or very little (ie less than 50-40 hours), it might be worth it to delay by a few weeks to get some more of that on the app.

Also, I really enjoyed my gap year. It's not the worst thing in the world

I would say that's a fairly trivial move in GPA, and that you should plan your schedule around other concerns. I don't think it would really hurt you much at all to apply in late June versus early June, however. Both of those factors are pretty negligible. Tea guzzler above made a good point above about ensure your EC's are up to par.

I want to submit my primary app the first day AMCAS opens…but I will continue my usual EC's throughout the summer. Do you think when I can state my hours on my primary app, I can include the hours I will complete in the summer (even though they have not been completed yet)? Or is this forbidden? For example, I will have around ~100 hrs. of shadowing by the time I submit my AMCAS and possibly ~50 more right after I submit (June/July). So can I just go ahead and state ~150 hrs. at the time I submit my app, since those 50 hrs. will come in shortly anyway?

 

[f4reignbeauty]

How did this turn out for you?! Did you feel that you got enough med school interviews/acceptances based on this timeline (especially since your MCAT score came out much later)? Or did you lose out on anything?

Well my score came out while my application was being verified. I received secondaries and was complete by mid-late August. I received pretty early interviews, and I don't think that is the same outcome for others. Like I said, I don't recommend submitting that late.

 

[beachside]

Second of all, there is a noticeable difference between submitting on the first available day in June and waiting a few weeks after to submit. I submitted mine on the first day (6/3/2014), 45 seconds after the button became available to click. It got verified in less than 48 hours, and that was with 15 schools on my list (I later added 6 more). My friend submitted hers like 3 weeks after I did, and she had to wait at least 3-5 weeks for verification to finish.

Just to be clear, there's no difference in verification time based on how many schools you apply to. The verification time is simply to analyze your transcripts, etc.

 

[beachside]

I want to submit my primary app the first day AMCAS opens…but I will continue my usual EC's throughout the summer. Do you think when I can state my hours on my primary app, I can include the hours I will complete in the summer (even though they have not been completed yet)? Or is this forbidden? For example, I will have around ~100 hrs. of shadowing by the time I submit my AMCAS and possibly ~50 more right after I submit (June/July). So can I just go ahead and state ~150 hrs. at the time I submit my app, since those 50 hrs. will come in shortly anyway?

Well, you can really put whatever you want on there. I had future shadowing that I had scheduled but not yet done, and put an experience on my primary with the notation that it would be done on X day due to Y reason. I did this because it was a significant component of my clinical experience, and felt that I might not have been considered otherwise. There's a comment section below each entry where you write a few sentences about the event, so you can note that you're including hours currently scheduled for June/July/whenever.

Just one last thing that I want to say on this topic. All other things being equal, it's best to apply early. However, I see a lot of kids on SDN rushing to apply early and ending up with a sh*tty MCAT or some other problem. Don't be in such a rush that you screw yourself. A low MCAT score, for example, is stuck on your application permanently, and many faculty will average your old scores with your new.

Ultimately only you know your specific circumstances, so you'll just have to take the available info here and make your own decisions. If I had to pick only three things here that I want you to take away from this conversation:

1) Do well on your MCAT.

2) Give adequate time for your recommendation letters to come in, and request at least 5. Some of my letters took over two months. Your letter writers will often want to see a transcript, resume, personal statement, etc.

3) Ensure that your primary AMCAS is submitted in early June, and that your personal statement is excellent. Have people review your personal statement, perhaps faculty.

 

[Tman90]

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[Ace Khalifa]

I see, thanks for the info! To clarify, I will submit the first day of June (I will have my AMCAS app all filled out and ready to go). I will not take my MCAT in July. However, I will not have an MCAT score by then as I am planning to take either the April/May new MCAT and the AAMC will not release scores until mid-June/end of June. There is nothing I can do about this, but according to AAMC, this will not put applicants at a disadvantage at all when compare to those that took the old MCAT and already had an MCAT score available at the time of primary app submission. Idk how they can say this though….thoughts? Is this okay, as long as my primary app is in first day of June?

Regarding LORs, I think the earliest I can get them in as part of my app will be mid-June, as I plan to ask my recommenders on May 1st…I'm behind in this area and really need this semester to get to know my professors of the classes I am taking currently. Hence, I want to give them some time to get to know me as well, which is why I plan on asking them in May and then giving them a month to write LORs….how does this plan sound?

I really appreciate your info as it is extremely helpful! So please feel free to criticize and re-evaluate my plan all you want I do want to try my hardest to apply this cycle (will consider a gap year based on my MCAT score), so if you could give me suggestions on how I can best make the odds play in my favor in my situation, that would be great!

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL MAY TO ASK FOR LETTERS OF REC. You need to ask for them NOW. Go to every office hours you can. Be active in class. But you absolutely CANNOT wait until May to ask for the LOR. Professors have finals to grade and then they have to put in final grades for the class. You need to give them enough time (3-4 months at the minimum) to write you a STRONG LETTER (if they don't say "I can definitely write you a STRONG LETTER," then don't waste your time with them). Plus, you're not the only premed who will ask them for LOR's. Did you ever take that into account?

 

[connie95]

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL MAY TO ASK FOR LETTERS OF REC. You need to ask for them NOW. Go to every office hours you can. Be active in class. But you absolutely CANNOT wait until May to ask for the LOR. Professors have finals to grade and then they have to put in final grades for the class. You need to give them enough time (3-4 months at the minimum) to write you a STRONG LETTER (if they don't say "I can definitely write you a STRONG LETTER, then don't waste your time with them). Plus, you're not the only premed who will ask them for LOR's. Did you ever take that into account?

But how can I??? Most of my LOR's are coming from the professors of classes I am taking this semester. They need to get to know me…I don't even know what I would say now to ask for an LOR….I can't just go up and say "Hi, my name is X and I am taking your class this semester. Would you be willing to write me a strong LOR for med school?" They need to at least have the time to evaluate my work and class participation before they can think of stuff to write about. Why would they agree when they don't know me?….then I won't have any LOR's to submit Yes, I do understand that other pre-meds will ask them too... I guess I could ask them first week of April, but before that sounds silly. I mean, what would I say?!

 

[connie95]

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL MAY TO ASK FOR LETTERS OF REC. You need to ask for them NOW. Go to every office hours you can. Be active in class. But you absolutely CANNOT wait until May to ask for the LOR. Professors have finals to grade and then they have to put in final grades for the class. You need to give them enough time (3-4 months at the minimum) to write you a STRONG LETTER (if they don't say "I can definitely write you a STRONG LETTER, then don't waste your time with them). Plus, you're not the only premed who will ask them for LOR's. Did you ever take that into account?

Just to add to this I would try and take your mcat earlier and before the summer of your application year in case you do need to retake you are not delayed further but definitely making sure you are prepres takes priority. Also I would add that the LOR are the last component you need for this stage of the application. You can get secondary invites without LOR conplete but schools won't give you an interview invite until they are in. Just a quick personal anecdote, I submitted my primary a couple of weeks into June because I was waiting for grades and while it took a couple of weeks to be verified it did not delay me significantly. My friend who submitted her primary the first day got her secondaries before me by a week or two, sure, but we were both interviewing at the same time and I was able to get an acceptance by he end of October. I have friends who submitted early and are still interviewing and won't know until March and I have friends who didn't submit their primary until late July and are starting to get acceptances now. My point is similar to the above; the earlier the better but don't sacrifice the quality of anything you submit for the sake of being early

I feel like this is exactly what's going to happen if I rush the LOR's and start asking for them now, instead of waiting a few months for teachers to get to know me. For all I know, they might just write some words now and forget to add on more later….just because they have 3 months may not mean they will use all that time. Most people like to get things done fast right? Then, they won't have to think about it anymore…I feel like my LOR quality will be compromised if I do this

 

[Tman90]

.

 

[connie95]

Hmmm, that's a tough predicament. I agree with ace that the more time you can give them the better and you shouldn't wait until last minute. Does your school send a committee letter? Or so you have to ask individual professors. I know it kind of sucks to hear but if you can't ask them now and this is the first time you are taking a course with them they probably don't know you well enough to write a good recommendation even by the time you finish the course (search "how do you know a lor is good" on this forum). But either way you have to do what you have to do to get the letters. Do you have an employer, PI, or anyone else that you've known for a while that could write you a LOR? Don't stress if not though and take all of our advice with a grain of salt. Another personal anecdote (I'm just full of them), I asked my letter writers in March (an employer, a PI, and a professor who was my mentor). Had to bug them into June to get them to finally write it. I had a committee letter and they also compiled all my other letters and they didn't upload all of them until mid August.

No, my school does not have a pre-medical committee. I am planning to get five letters: Neurobiology professor, 2 research PI letters, Psychology Graduate TA (with Director's sign-off on it as well), and a Communication letter from adjunct faculty. These people know my face and name, but I just feel like they need to know me a bit more to write a substantial letter. That's why I don't want to ask until April 1st

 

[connie95]

Another personal anecdote (I'm just full of them), I asked my letter writers in March (an employer, a PI, and a professor who was my mentor). Had to bug them into June to get them to finally write it. I had a committee letter and they also compiled all my other letters and they didn't upload all of them until mid August.

Did schools still read your app before then? Or was it not complete until mid-August?

 

[Tman90]

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[Tman90]

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[connie95]

I was able to receive secondaries and submit them but my applications were not considered complete and I did not start receiving IIs until my file was complete in August. But like I said, it didn't appear to set me back too much because I found out all or most of my acceptance in October and early November

Oh that's great! Would you be willing to share your LizzyM score? And did you have excellent EC's?

 

[connie95]

I see... I feel like a bcpm professor letter usually say much anyway other than you're a good student , although what do I know? It sounds like maybe the ta and pi's might know you a little better? And you could probably ask them sooner. I don't think they have to necessarily write it asap but you could just be like, " hey my name is x, I really enjoy your class etc... I am applying to med schools and I was wondering if at the end of the term if you could write me a great LOR and hopefully get to know me in these next couple of months..." I don't know how comfortable you are with that but that's how I would handle it

Yes, I was thinking of saying something like this too…but I wasn't sure if it would come off as awkward. I guess I could probably say this to them in early March though and then, gently remind them in April or May. Just so that they are aware that I would like an LOR from them. I just don't want them to write everything in March with little info and then decide not to add on to it later, even though they know I have been improving in certain skills/participation etc. Also, I'm a transfer student, so I think that's a major reason why I am having so much trouble with LOR's

 

[Tman90]

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[LizzyM]

You can list items and hours on the application that have not yet happened. This is a change from a few years ago when nothing could be listed that was anticipated to happen in the future.

You can submit the AMCAS for verification before the MCAT scores come out. You can list one school on the application and add more schools after you have your MCAT scores and know where you stand.

A 0.03 GPA is not enough of a jump to make it worth waiting for. Apply ASAP.

Frankly, If your LORs are submitted by mid-July you should be fine. We don't read them before then. however, you do need to give faculty time to gather their thoughts.

 

[connie95]

You can list items and hours on the application that have not yet happened. This is a change from a few years ago when nothing could be listed that was anticipated to happen in the future.

You can submit the AMCAS for verification before the MCAT scores come out. You can list one school on the application and add more schools after you have your MCAT scores and know where you stand.

A 0.03 GPA is not enough of a jump to make it worth waiting for. Apply ASAP.

Frankly, If your LORs are submitted by mid-July you should be fine. We don't read them before then. however, you do need to give faculty time to gather their thoughts.

Thank you LizzyM! You have no idea how much better this makes me feel For listing the hours that have not yet happened, do I have to indicate that they are future hours? For example, if I submit 100 hrs shadowing in early June and know that I will complete 50 hrs shadowing by late June anyway, can I just indicate 150 at once w/o specifying that they were completed after? While I do know some students that have done this, I'm not sure if this is wrong or can get me disqualified…

So are you saying that as long as my primary app is verified the first time around, I can add schools and AMCAS will be sent to them automatically, without another wait period?

Regarding the LORs, when would you say would be best to ask for them? If I ask for LORs in mid-April/early May, would that be considered enough time for professors to write the letters?

 

[connie95]

Frankly, If your LORs are submitted by mid-July you should be fine. We don't read them before then. however, you do need to give faculty time to gather their thoughts.

Another thing that I was wondering on was the fact that most school committee letters don't get submitted until July or even August! Is this why schools don't read letters until mid-July?

 

[LizzyM]

Thank you LizzyM! You have no idea how much better this makes me feel For listing the hours that have not yet happened, do I have to indicate that they are future hours? For example, if I submit 100 hrs shadowing in early June and know that I will complete 50 hrs shadowing by late June anyway, can I just indicate 150 at once w/o specifying that they were completed after? While I do know some students that have done this, I'm not sure if this is wrong or can get me disqualified…

So are you saying that as long as my primary app is verified the first time around, I can add schools and AMCAS will be sent to them automatically, without another wait period?

Regarding the LORs, when would you say would be best to ask for them? If I ask for LORs in mid-April/early May, would that be considered enough time for professors to write the letters?

On your AMCAS application you list a start & end date for an activity and number of hours. You can submit in June and list Sept 2015-May 2016 300 hours research and that would be fine. Or a start date in the past and and end date in the future.

Once you are verified, you can add schools and AMCAS will send them electronically in its next batch (I don't know how often they batch; it might be once a day.)

Most professors who have written a letter before have a template more or less for their letters and they can write it in 30 minutes. The trick is finding the time. It isn't easy to do so at the end of the term when final papers and exams are being graded and grades are being submitted so often it gets shoved to the period after grades come out.

Adcoms don't read the letters until the applications are complete including secondary material, plus adcoms enjoy some summer vacation in July/August which means not so many applications are reviewed in that time period. If the letters are in by August 1, you'll be fine and some really great schools don't push their letters out until late August and those students are no worse off for it.

 

[GameTheory29]

First of all, NEVER complain about having to take a gap year. I don't get why so many premeds want to go right to medical school after graduating college when gap years can be very beneficial to you, personally, and for your application. Med school is not going anywhere, so there's no need to rush into an application cycle when you don't have everything absolutely ready by the end of your junior year in college.

Second of all, there is a noticeable difference between submitting on the first available day in June and waiting a few weeks after to submit. I submitted mine on the first day (6/3/2014), 45 seconds after the button became available to click. It got verified in less than 48 hours, and that was with 15 schools on my list (I later added 6 more). My friend submitted hers like 3 weeks after I did, and she had to wait at least 3-5 weeks for verification to finish.

Lastly, you're taking a big risk taking the MCAT in July of your application year. Your score won't be back until August at the earliest. Most schools start sending out their secondaries in early July, assuming your AMCAS is already verified. For schools with rolling admissions, do you really want to be stuck writing secondaries in August/September when interview invites start being sent out in late July/early August and interviews start being conducted in late August/early September?

I'm sorry if my tone was harsh. But I strongly believe that A) one should not freak out about taking a gap year (or years), B) one should not delay at all in submitting their application, and C) one should have everything ready by the time they hit SUBMIT, including their MCAT score.

preach, I've grown so much. I'd be terrified with a do-over to go to school right after graduating

 

[connie95]

On your AMCAS application you list a start & end date for an activity and number of hours. You can submit in June and list Sept 2015-May 2016 300 hours research and that would be fine. Or a start date in the past and and end date in the future.

Once you are verified, you can add schools and AMCAS will send them electronically in its next batch (I don't know how often they batch; it might be once a day.)

Most professors who have written a letter before have a template more or less for their letters and they can write it in 30 minutes. The trick is finding the time. It isn't easy to do so at the end of the term when final papers and exams are being graded and grades are being submitted so often it gets shoved to the period after grades come out.

Adcoms don't read the letters until the applications are complete including secondary material, plus adcoms enjoy some summer vacation in July/August which means not so many applications are reviewed in that time period. If the letters are in by August 1, you'll be fine and some really great schools don't push their letters out until late August and those students are no worse off for it.

Do adcoms give any importance at all to these future activities/gap year? For example, could they be a cause for extending an interview with the hope to talk about the activity then? (considering grades and MCAT is good of course)

 

[LizzyM]

Adcoms will take some of it with a grain of salt. If it is a gap year job or serving as an RA during one's senior year then it can be fine. If you have no clinical exposure but list the plan to have some in the year ahead, it might be considered "too late". You should expect to be asked about the activities that you have done "to date" on the day of your interview.

 

[candbgirl]

If you wait until late April/early May to ask for LORs you may be very disappointed. Faculty and staff frequently leave campus by the end of May for travel, study and vacations and might just refuse you if you wait that long to ask. Go to office hours now and talk to them. See how they feel
about writing letters in general and how they'd feel about writing you a letter in particular. By doing this you can open up a continuing discussion with these people that can only benefit you and your LOR. Don't wait. It's already the end of January.

 

[connie95]

If you wait until late April/early May to ask for LORs you may be very disappointed. Faculty and staff frequently leave campus by the end of May for travel, study and vacations and might just refuse you if you wait that long to ask. Go to office hours now and talk to them. See how they feel
about writing letters in general and how they'd feel about writing you a letter in particular. By doing this you can open up a continuing discussion with these people that can only benefit you and your LOR. Don't wait. It's already the end of January.

Okay, but once again, they don't really know me except for my name…So should I visit them in office hours next week and let them know that I would like an LOR from them after the semester and that I am asking in advance to make sure they will have time/are okay with it. I was also going to mention that I hope they get to know me even more in the upcoming months and make my letter stronger based on the qualities they witness in class. I can also say that while I understand they don't know me well enough now, I really enjoy their classes and would really appreciate a letter from them and that I am willing to come to office hours/work hard in class so that they can make the LOR more substantial. Is this what you suggest?

 

[Tman90]

.

 

[connie95]

I think that would be your best option

So this wouldn't come off as offensive to my professors? Like I'm telling them what to do and how to do it beforehand because I don't trust them? Or would they think that I am only doing super well in class because I want the LOR I mentioned?

 

[Ace Khalifa]

So this wouldn't come off as offensive to my professors? Like I'm telling them what to do and how to do it beforehand because I don't trust them? Or would they think that I am only doing super well in class because I want the LOR I mentioned?

What you were supposed to do was ask for LOR's from professors you've already had from previous semesters. But if you don't have that option, then yes, you have to be upfront and ask your current professors NOW. You should also give your professors a packet of materials for them to use to help them get to understand you better. I mean your personal statement, a list of extracurricular activities, leadership positions, etc. along with detailed summaries of how you've learned and grown from each experience. That is what my prehealth advisors told me to do, and it worked.

 

[candbgirl]

Yes that's what I had in mind. I don't know how they would react or what they will think. But you really don't have any other options. You want 5 letters(I think that's what you said) and you are asking for all of them from complete strangers. I can understand being short one or even two letters and having to ask for letters from people who don't know you well or at all. But it seems all of your letters fall into that category. Better to ask now and find out if they will do this for you. If you wait until May and they say no what is your backup plan for letters?

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