"Should I apply or wait" and "When can I submit my primary" - Answers

[bcgans]

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As we have entered the 2009-2010 application season I have seen numerous people asking questions such as "Should I submit without my MCAT?" or "I heard you cannot submit the AACOMAS primary till June 1st." These have all been answered in various threads, but I thought making a concise list of answers would be helpful to applicants.

1) "Should I submit my primary without an MCAT score?"

AACOMAS will begin the verification process when they have received the following 3 (three) items from you:
a) Primary application submitted
b) All transcripts received
c) Payment received by AACOMAS

You do not need an MCAT score to begin the verification process. In fact, you will even receive some secondaries from schools without an MCAT score on file.

It is beneficial to you (the applicant) to submit your application ASAP, as long as you have triple-checked it and are sure it is your best work. Once you take and receive your MCAT score (which takes roughly 30 days to get back to you from the test date) you can release them to AACOMAS and to the schools you applied to, with roughly zero wait time.

However, if you wait to begin the verification process till you get your MCAT score, you will have to wait the 30 days to get the score + the 4-6 weeks it will take for verification.

Long story short: If you are taking the MCAT this summer or fall, have already completed your primary application, it would be in your best interest to submit it now, and get in line for verification.



2) "I heard you cannot submit your primary till June 1st. True?"

FALSE.

AACOMAS works differently than AMCAS - AACOMAS is run by 3 people in Maryland out of a garage with one working phone where the running joke among them is to sit around while it rings and have you leave a message - JOKES! I kid, I kid.

Seriously though, you can submit your application yesterday. You could submit it the day it opened. It should be noted though, just because you submited does not mean you will go to verification. They need to receive your transcripts and have that $$$ in hand.



Hopefully this will be useful information to new applicants (myself included). If any of this information is wrong please correct me! I am simply trying to avoid these common questions poppin' up, irritating the older folks ;-)

Good luck everyone!

 

[Semicolon]

Thanks for the effort; this is a good idea. It should help a lot of the newbies. 😀

Also, to contribute:

A lot of people ask, "Will my grade be replaced if <insert situation>?!"

-Plain and simple, if your retake is considered an equivalent of the original class (same or similar course level and description) and is worth the same or more credits than the original class (cannot be less), then regardless of where you took the retake, it will be counted as such!

Also, "OMG I won't be able to apply until <insert month>! Am I too late?!"

-If you are going to apply during the summer months (May-August), you are STILL EARLY in the process. Even if you apply after that point, you are still NOT late. I would only consider an application to be "late" if it's towards the middle of the school year.

 

[beckhunter116]

Great idea, too bad they would need to read this before posting there own questions. Maybe it will save a few though! 😎

 

[Exalya]

Thank you so much. ^.^ Now I don't have to ask silly questions.

 

[Krisss17]

First, thank you...this is very helpful information. I'm not applying until next year, but having an idea of what is necessary, helps alot.

As for when you can actually submit your application, you said "yesterday." Is that meant as a figure of speech or Is there a specific date that you can actually submit it?

 

[bcgans]

It was a figure of speech. You could submit the day it opened, which was a couple weeks ago. AACOMAS did not list an official "open" date for this cycle, I simply started checking back here and on the AACOMAS website around May 1st. Eventually, they spring it on you with something like "The AACOMAS application will open tomorrow, May ___, at ____a.m." which was posted on their site.

Good job getting started early. Keep reading these forums, but be leery. There is a ton of info on here. However, it will give a good idea about your timeline for next year. You can see roughly when people submitted, received secondaries, got interviews, etc. Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions. I will be happy to answer them to the best of my ability.

 

[The Poet Sings]

So if I'm waiting for my MCAT scores to help me decide which schools to apply to, as well as whether or not I need to retake it, can I submit my application for AACOMAS to verify my transcripts and whatever else? Or do I already have to have schools selected when I submit my application? Thanks.

 

[bcgans]

Pick one or two schools you know for sure you want to apply to and do that. That will get the verification ball rolling. Then, when you get your MCAT score you update AACOMAS with your new schools and don't have to get back in line and wait for verification. Hope this helps

 

[The Poet Sings]

Pick one or two schools you know for sure you want to apply to and do that. That will get the verification ball rolling. Then, when you get your MCAT score you update AACOMAS with your new schools and don't have to get back in line and wait for verification. Hope this helps

pure genius. why didn't i think of that? now comes the task of picking schools...

 

[The Poet Sings]

aww poo it costs more to add schools later than to just have them all in mind in the first place. they always find a way to get money... oh well.

 

[bcgans]

Dems the breaks. It sucks doesn't it? But just think about it: You're learning about how broke you're gonna be for at least the next four years! Might as well start living like a med student to learn the ropes. Maybe you can talk about it in an interview, and how prepared you are for all this!😉

 

[Thomas Hearns]

Can/should I submit my application without having my LORs in?

Also, how do I get my MCAT score submitted? I put my AAMC number in on my AACOMAS application, but it hasn't said it was veriried or anything yet.

 

[bcgans]

LORs:

Letters should be sent to the schools once you receive their secondary application. They will specifically ask for (x) number of letters from (x) number and type of professors - this depends on the school. You do not need them for the primary. Wait until you receive their secondaries, which will state on them (or somewhere close) how and when to submit your letters.

MCAT releasing:

You need to release your scores from the MCAT THx system. The link can be found here:

https://services.aamc.org/mcatthx/

You should be able to release your scores here, then notify AACOMAS. I am a little sketchy on this part so semi or CB should chime in and help me out. Thanks guys.

 

[Thomas Hearns]

LORs:

Letters should be sent to the schools once you receive their secondary application. They will specifically ask for (x) number of letters from (x) number and type of professors - this depends on the school. You do not need them for the primary. Wait until you receive their secondaries, which will state on them (or somewhere close) how and when to submit your letters.

I know they aren't actually sent to the schools until after secondaries are sent in, but they can be sent in to the AACOMAS and with the AMCAS letter request forms ahead of time. But I guess it wouldn't matter that much since they aren't needed until secondaries.

 

[Semicolon]

Can/should I submit my application without having my LORs in?

Also, how do I get my MCAT score submitted? I put my AAMC number in on my AACOMAS application, but it hasn't said it was veriried or anything yet.

As was said, submit without the LORs; you're sending them in later on.

You submit your MCAT score, as bcgans stated, by logging into the MCAT THx system and selecting AACOMAS in the drop-down menu to release your score to them. In the meantime you can enter in your unofficial score manually in the application.

 

[Thomas Hearns]

thanks a bunch!