Secondary Timeline

[Nurse2Doctor]

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Hey everyone!!! I hope the application cycle is going well for you. I have a question since I see that everyone of SDN turns in secondaries pretty early, I am a little confused as to what approach I should take. My AMCAS has been submitted and verified but I am scheduled to take my MCAT on July 28 but I really want to devote the next couple of weeks to studying and preparing hardcore but should I be working on secondaries also? Ideally if I only study for the next three weeks, then I would be turning in my secondaries a month or so from the time that they have been sent to me.

Advice please 🙂

 

[aSagacious]

Contrary to what the common SDN member might claim, secondaries don't really take that much time to complete. For the simple ones it might take 30 minutes to check off a few boxes and pay the fee, while for the secondaries littered with essays (Loyola, Louisville, etc) you might spend an afternoon writing.

If you have been consistently spending entire days studying for the MCAT I don't think spending an hour during the evenings knocking an essay or two off will kill you.

 

[kexy]

I'm taking the July 29th MCAT, so I'm in a similar situation. My opinion is that regardless of whether or not you finish the secondary, schools are not going to look at your file until you have an MCAT score.

Since MCAT scores don't come out until late August, you might as well hold off on secondaries until after the MCAT; you will have a 3-4 week period before your scores come out and if you can finish them in that period, it won't be much different than if you'd started them before you take the MCAT. Either way, your MCAT score release is going to be what's holding things up. By working on them after the MCAT, you will be complete at the same time as if you'd worked on them before, but you'll also have more time to study.

 

[jm192]

I'm taking the July 29th MCAT, so I'm in a similar situation. My opinion is that regardless of whether or not you finish the secondary, schools are not going to look at your file until you have an MCAT score.

Since MCAT scores don't come out until late August, you might as well hold off on secondaries until after the MCAT; you will have a 3-4 week period before your scores come out and if you can finish them in that period, it won't be much different than if you'd started them before you take the MCAT. Either way, your MCAT score release is going to be what's holding things up. By working on them after the MCAT, you will be complete at the same time as if you'd worked on them before, but you'll also have more time to study.

This. You get to wait for 30 days AFTER you take the MCAT to receive scores back. And schools can't know if they want you or not. I'm sure some schools if not all won't even formally send you a secondary until you have this---I retook and one school e-mailed me and told me to expect to hear back after they had the new scores. Kill the MCAT. Use that 30 day window to write all the secondaries you can handle.

 

[luckyducky87]

I think sending in secondaries a month from now is totally fine. Being complete by early/mid-August is still early, all things considered, and I really don't think the schools will care SO much about you taking a month+ to finish the secondary. They know their school isn't the only one you're applying to, and they'll know you're taking the MCAT in the middle of the summer, which should be getting your deserved attention now!

Also, as others have said, I don't think schools review your secondary till your newest MCAT score is in anyway.

 

[Nurse2Doctor]

Thanks so much Everyone!!!!!!