Secondary Timeline Hard and Fast Rule?

[vandyam]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I'm having a problem regarding secondaries. I'm getting a flood of them but I am retaking my MCAT July 28th. I am having trouble justifying filling them out before my MCAT because everytime I do I am directly taking time away from studying for my retake (and my studying is strict since I work full time).

However, I've heard the rule is to fill them out within two weeks (max) from receiving them or it looks bad. How hard and fast is this rule? I want to get these secondaries in, but I will have time to work on them *after* July 28th MCAT (while waiting for it to be scored), but I don't want to wait that long if it will severly deminish my chances of getting in.

So which is more important, studying hard for my retake to ensure a good score or getting these in ASAP? Thanks!

 

[Postal]

I think studying for your MCAT is more important. I believe most schools won't even look at your app without your MCAT score anyway because your file will be incomplete. Study hard until July 28th, then do your secondaries ASAP. Another option is to devote just 1 hour a day to your secondaries. That's not too much time away from studying for the MCAT.

G'luck

 

[misssciencenerd]

i think studying for your mcat is more important. I believe most schools won't even look at your app without your mcat score anyway because your file will be incomplete. Study hard until july 28th, then do your secondaries asap. Another option is to devote just 1 hour a day to your secondaries. That's not too much time away from studying for the mcat.

G'luck

+1

 

[emtthink]

I think studying for your MCAT is more important. I believe most schools won't even look at your app without your MCAT score anyway because your file will be incomplete. Study hard until July 28th, then do your secondaries ASAP. Another option is to devote just 1 hour a day to your secondaries. That's not too much time away from studying for the MCAT.

G'luck

Just a quick note, the OP stated that they are REtaking the MCAT. OP I would contact the schools and ask them if they have a timelimit on the secondary applications.🙂

 

[GraceEuphoria]

I'm having a problem regarding secondaries. I'm getting a flood of them but I am retaking my MCAT July 28th. I am having trouble justifying filling them out before my MCAT because everytime I do I am directly taking time away from studying for my retake (and my studying is strict since I work full time).

However, I've heard the rule is to fill them out within two weeks (max) from receiving them or it looks bad. How hard and fast is this rule? I want to get these secondaries in, but I will have time to work on them *after* July 28th MCAT (while waiting for it to be scored), but I don't want to wait that long if it will severly deminish my chances of getting in.

So which is more important, studying hard for my retake to ensure a good score or getting these in ASAP? Thanks!

DEFINITELY focus on your MCAT first and foremost! I got my secondary for DCOM in Aug or so and didn't even fill it out until mid FEB!! I still got an interview!! That was technically, the first year I applied, and I did end up reapplying. So take that for what it's worth. But I am 99% confident that my waitlisting that year had nothing to do with a delayed secondary. Plus...any secondary in by August sometime will not set off a red flag in my opinion, regardless of when you submitted the primary and received the secondary. Good luck!!

 

[vandyam]

DEFINITELY focus on your MCAT first and foremost! I got my secondary for DCOM in Aug or so and didn't even fill it out until mid FEB!! I still got an interview!! That was technically, the first year I applied, and I did end up reapplying. So take that for what it's worth. But I am 99% confident that my waitlisting that year had nothing to do with a delayed secondary. Plus...any secondary in by August sometime will not set off a red flag in my opinion, regardless of when you submitted the primary and received the secondary. Good luck!!

Thanks a ton, I've been really worried about this. Funny you just replied because LMU is one of the three secondaries I was going to complete before the MCAT just in case (along with LECOM-B and NSU), but I think I will wait until after the MCAT because those two essays will take a while to be the best they can be. Thanks again.