strange advice from KCOM admissions counselor

[wishnhope]

A KCOM representative came to our school the other day, and one the things she said as we were discussing applications was that if I think that I'm a less than competitive applicant then I would be better off applying later-in Sept/Oct. She said that this is because generally the first wave of applicants they get are stellar and that compared to them I might not look as good.

What to make of this? Is this true for other schools? This definitely goes against a lot of what I've been told.

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[EastCoaster78]

I have heard this from someone at PCOM as well. Early in the cycle they are wading through thousands of apps. and barely get a chance to read them. I was told to wait till Oct. to apply.

 

[(nicedream)]

I had never heard of this, but I did think on my own that it was logical, and waited myself with success.

 

[cardiolog]

I feel that u should apply as early as possible bc i think the advantages for doing so outweight the supposed advantage of applying in Oct. or sometime later. I didn't have stellar stats and I applied early and got in to several schools. If a school is unsure about you, they might put u on hold and review your file at a later date after they have accepted all the stronger applicants. Also, those with strong stats might not apply early bc they know that they can get in regardless of the date.

 

[s42brown]

what you were told is true. I promise.

 

[taylor92107]

If a school is unsure about you, they might put u on hold and review your file at a later date after they have accepted all the stronger applicants.

This is true...I'm still on hold.

 

[Soleil9]

This may be true at some schools, but not at all.

I think it depends on how they run their admission process. Sounds like KCOM goes through apps in lumps. i.e., this is the first group of applicants, we need to pick the best 50 or so out of this group, and perhaps put the others on hold for review during the next batch, or reject. This might be why you'd have a better chance during the second batch... I'm guessing.

But at MSUCOM, for example, this wouldn't work. As they get apps, they put them into two piles, interview or reject. They interview and admit as fast as they can, then, when they fill the class, waitlist city! No matter if they have a truly stellor candidate or not. So the earlier, the better.... I learned that lesson the hard way... I'm in the waitlist no-man's land!

 

[raptor5]

I have heard this from someone at PCOM as well. Early in the cycle they are wading through thousands of apps. and barely get a chance to read them. I was told to wait till Oct. to apply.

I sent my secondary to PCOM in August. My grades and MCATs were not stellar but the rest of my application was (IMHO). I was accepted around mid September. The key for me was to have 3 D.O. LORs sent to PCOM after they received my 2? app. This caused them to file the LORs and take a look at my application. When I interviewed the only question I received about my undergraduate studies was what I thought my least favorite and most favorite class was. Least Favorite: Comparitive anatomy of verts. Most Favorite: Physiology.

 

[JohnDO]

hrm, very interesting thread. KCOM is my absolute dream school. However, my GPA is only borderline 3.4 due to some freshman mishaps. I feel I'm a bit disadvantaged in that area. I was gun-ho on applying early. Almost everyone has told me to, and now this. What to do!

 

[Ratch]

lol john, i applied on the very second day of interviewing in October at KCOM with a 3.38 GPA and 25 MCAT, and got accepted in about 4 days. i didn't attend the school, but you shouldn't second guess yourself and think you won't be able to. apply as early as humanly possible, but thats just my opinion based off experience... if you are a qualified applicant, you will or should get an interview. withholding your application, to me, seems incredible counterproductive. good luck

 

[(nicedream)]

I think the bottom line is: apply early, but if you don't, it might actually help, so no worries.

 

[DireWolf]

I think the bottom line is: apply early, but if you don't, it might actually help, so no worries.

ND hit the nail on the head. At OSU-COM we interview the "stronger" candidates first, but that does not prevent "weaker" candidates from getting accepted.

 

[wishnhope]

wow thanks for all the feedback everyone
I think at this point its just easier to apply early and let things take care of themselves. There's only so much planning and stressing you can do.

 

[YoungFaithful]

I also heard the same thing for Wayne State (allopathic).

They said the best appicant (most competitive) apply in june, so if you have average or below stats might be a good idea to apply later. I don't think you can go wrong if you apply in August.


YF