Sat on secondaries for 7 weeks - still worth submitting?

[OoohShiny]

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So due to various reasons (mostly that my job is crazy and I work up to 100 hrs a week), I'm really delayed in my secondary turn-around time. I submitted most of mine in 4-6 weeks, which is pretty bad 🙁 but my last two is sitting at 7 weeks right now! :O is it still worth submitting? I feel like they're going to assume I'm not really interested given my long turnaround....

 

[kyamh]

I applied to a couple of my schools after waiting for over a month for financial reasons (interviews started to come in and I had to prioritize buying plane tickets asap over secondary fees). Look at the emails you got about the secondaries. Some ask that you complete within x number of weeks. Others ask that you send it in before y date. If the schools asked you to send it in within a few weeks and you are sending them after two months, they are more likely to hold it against you.

SDN wisdom usually says that most schools will hold it against you.

My personal opinion is that your application won't get tossed in the trash so if you can afford it then it's always worth sending the application in. The only way you definitely won't get an acceptance is if you don't complete your application. Otherwise there is always a shot 🙂

 

[BABSstudent]

So due to various reasons (mostly that my job is crazy and I work up to 100 hrs a week), I'm really delayed in my secondary turn-around time. I submitted most of mine in 4-6 weeks, which is pretty bad 🙁 but my last two is sitting at 7 weeks right now! :O is it still worth submitting? I feel like they're going to assume I'm not really interested given my long turnaround....

How else can you get in? I say it is worth it.

 

[OoohShiny]

Neither school specifies a timeframe, just encourages to complete as soon as possible. (Well one recommended 2 weeks, but I already submitted it at 6 weeks :/)

You're both right that I won't have a shot if I don't submit. I guess I was trying to save some $$, but what's another $200 in a several thousand dollar process 🙂

 

[TheLadyVanishes]

I'm beginning to think I should start a thread about this, but I sat on a secondary for 19 days and got an interview.

 

[solitarius]

If rolling admissions, not worth submitting.

If non-rolling admissions, how strong is your app? Are you in their upper quartile stats-wise? Otherwise, I wouldn't.


I submitted a bunch of my secondaries late (over a month ago), and I already feel like I'm paying the price for it.

I'm beginning to think I should start a thread about this, but I sat on a secondary for 19 days and got an interview.

I don't think the issue is how long you sit on them, so much as submitting secondaries in early October is really late.

The non-rolling schools have their deadlines in a couple of days, I think.

 

[DrOneDay7]

Currently applying as well, but I think it's definitely worth it to submit your secondaries.

Some adcoms may perceive the 7 week turnaround as a lack of interest, but some may be more forgiving and consider that life sometimes gets in the way and extenuating circumstances could be at play.

I'd say it will really depend on the hands your app gets into, but it's still is well worth it to submit and see what happens considering you've already put in all of the time and effort into applying and writing the secondaries.

 

[The Milkman]

So you're saying you work over 14 hours a day 7 days a week?

 

[BABSstudent]

So you're saying you work over 14 hours a day 7 days a week?

It happens. I did it for a few weeks before moving for medical school and it definitely sucked. Worked for a month straight with no days off to recuperate. Thankfully that's over... for a few years.

 

[Hemorrage]

So due to various reasons (mostly that my job is crazy and I work up to 100 hrs a week), I'm really delayed in my secondary turn-around time. I submitted most of mine in 4-6 weeks, which is pretty bad 🙁 but my last two is sitting at 7 weeks right now! :O is it still worth submitting? I feel like they're going to assume I'm not really interested given my long turnaround....

Why not? If you have the money go for it. I don't think any school has the time or resources to sit there and check when they sent it to you and when you submitted it. Most schools tend to be using archaic secondary systems to begin with.

 

[CyberMaxx]

Why not? If you have the money go for it. I don't think any school has the time or resources to sit there and check when they sent it to you and when you submitted it. Most schools tend to be using archaic secondary systems to begin with.

This is not universally true. An adcom on this forum recently commented that secondary completion time is an automated statistic that they look at, and that holding on to one over a week may raise eyebrows. That being said, I see no point in not submitting it. Your chances may be less, but unless the school has a hard deadline you still have a chance.

I can see immediately when your secondary is submitted. If there is a significant lag time I can presume that you were filling out secondaries from other schools ahead of mine

I could see why you might be unwilling to answer this, and I'm sure it depends on other variables such as when it is in the admissions cycle, but could you comment on what a "significant lag time" is?

More than a week.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1034860

 

[Body Habitus]

An attending weighed in on a similar thread and said that anything >2 weeks didn't show interest and was essentially a big red mark. That said, one of the frequent posting med students in this forum at U chicago I think didn't submit for a month or more and got in there. So it depends on the school, and how much they want you to begin with. I'd say go for it if you have the $.

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - John Wilkes Booth

 

[Hemorrage]

This is not universally true. An adcom on this forum recently commented that secondary completion time is an automated statistic that they look at, and that holding on to one over a week may raise eyebrows. That being said, I see no point in not submitting it. Your chances may be less, but unless the school has a hard deadline you still have a chance.







http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1034860

Yeah but if one was waiting for a new MCAT score or saving up funds I would argue its logical to wait

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

This is not universally true. An adcom on this forum recently commented that secondary completion time is an automated statistic that they look at, and that holding on to one over a week may raise eyebrows. That being said, I see no point in not submitting it. Your chances may be less, but unless the school has a hard deadline you still have a chance.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=1034860

An attending weighed in on a similar thread and said that anything >2 weeks didn't show interest and was essentially a big red mark. That said, one of the frequent posting med students in this forum at U chicago I think didn't submit for a month or more and got in there. So it depends on the school, and how much they want you to begin with. I'd say go for it if you have the $.

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - John Wilkes Booth

What I've seen most repeated around these forums though is that the often recommended two week turnaround is just to keep you from getting overwhelmed, not something that adcoms actually care about. IIRC there was a recent thread (sometime in the last few months) where LizzyM said that the only time an adcom would care about when you turned in your secondary is if they had a deadline that you missed.

Granted, however, these are all individual adcoms, and each reviewer/school is liable to have different standards.

 

[Lexipi]

Hi guys, I had a similar question:

I applied to way too many schools. so far I've submitted 27 secondaries, got 8 interviews lined up, no rejections out of those 27. I still have 16 secondaries to submit but I'm beginning to think it would be a waste of time since it's late in the cycle. I have FAP so submitting these won't cost me anything.

Edit: I've had these secondaries for like 2 months now and I also fear that the schools would know I'm not that interested in them (as soon as I got my state secondaries, I spent my time on those)

My question is:
Should I not submit these remaining secondaries and focus on prepping for interviews (have 2 next week)? These remaining schools are out of state too and very far from my home state (CA) so even if I do get interviews there, it would be financially straining (already going broke with these II).

Also, is it safe to say that I'll matriculate somewhere since I have 8 chances as of today?

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

Hi guys, I had a similar question:

I applied to way too many schools. so far I've submitted 27 secondaries, got 8 interviews lined up, no rejections out of those 27. I still have 16 secondaries to submit but I'm beginning to think it would be a waste of time since it's late in the cycle. I have FAP so submitting these won't cost me anything.

Edit: I've had these secondaries for like 2 months now and I also fear that the schools would know I'm not that interested in them (as soon as I got my state secondaries, I spent my time on those)

My question is:
Should I not submit these remaining secondaries and focus on prepping for interviews (have 2 next week)? These remaining schools are out of state too and very far from my home state (CA) so even if I do get interviews there, it would be financially straining (already going broke with these II).

Also, is it safe to say that I'll matriculate somewhere since I have 8 chances as of today?

Dude, 27 schools is already more than enough. 43 schools would be ridiculous. If you don't get at least one acceptance out of 27 schools, chances are very good that adding another 16 wouldn't have helped you.

 

[Lexipi]

Dude, 27 schools is already more than enough. 43 schools would be ridiculous. If you don't get at least one acceptance out of 27 schools, chances are very good that adding another 16 wouldn't have helped you.

Makes sense. Thanks

 

[nabilesmail]

Last year I submitted a secondary to hofatra late October and got ii in December I also submitted a secondary to Einstein mid November and got an ii in janurary

 

[Lexipi]

Last year I submitted a secondary to hofatra late October and got ii in December I also submitted a secondary to Einstein mid November and got an ii in janurary

Cool, good to know. I'm gonna go find the energy to do a few more

 

[Cinclus]

I sat on the Duke secondary forever (because it's ridiculous and book-length), eventually submitted, and got an invite not long after that. There was unfortunately little time to sit on the MII interview questions, however...

 

[solitarius]

I sat on the Duke secondary forever (because it's ridiculous and book-length), eventually submitted, and got an invite not long after that. There was unfortunately little time to sit on the MII interview questions, however...

Did you submit this late (early October)?
If you got an interview shortly thereafter, are you perhaps much stronger than the typical applicant?

 

[Cinclus]

Did you submit this late (early October)?
If you got an interview shortly thereafter, are you perhaps much stronger than the typical applicant?

This was the 2011-2012 cycle. I think I submitted in September. I was a strong applicant.