submit secondary now or later when committer letter is done?

[DanceArtist]

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Hey Everybody!

So I've been getting secondaries from multiple medical schools and have been having a hard time getting them finished within 2 weeks after receiving them. My school is writing a committee letter but it has not been turned in yet. Thus... i was wondering... Will it make a difference if I submit my secondary now, or by the end of this month when AMCAS receives my commitee letter... which would constitute my application as complete by the various medical schools?

of course the sooner the better...but will that make a difference on when I get my application reviewed by the admission comittees b/c they won't look at it till everyone is in anyways?

Thanks and goodluck applying!

 

[NickNaylor]

In terms of when you're complete, submitting your secondary now will not have an impact. Some people think that the date you submit the secondary (independent of the LOR) is noticed and, as a result, should be done ASAP.

I'm in the same situation and have been submitting secondaries as soon as I finish them. I probably won't get my LOR until the end of the month.

 

[DanceArtist]

In terms of when you're complete, submitting your secondary now will not have an impact. Some people think that the date you submit the secondary (independent of the LOR) is noticed and, as a result, should be done ASAP.

I'm in the same situation and have been submitting secondaries as soon as I finish them. I probably won't get my LOR until the end of the month.

=Hey thanks for the response! I'm confused tho... you said some people "THINK" that the date of secondary submitted is noticed.. What from I understood from your response... it does NOT matter than?

Just to clarify.... the order in which a student's application is considered/reviewed is when they notify us that our file is "COMPLETE" according to the school?? They they stick it in the "pile" of applications to look at and offer interviews?

 

[NickNaylor]

=Hey thanks for the response! I'm confused tho... you said some people "THINK" that the date of secondary submitted is noticed.. What from I understood from your response... it does NOT matter than?

Just to clarify.... the order in which a student's application is considered/reviewed is when they notify us that our file is "COMPLETE" according to the school?? They they stick it in the "pile" of applications to look at and offer interviews?

I understand how you interpreted what I said that way, but I meant "think" in the sense that they're guessing. Some people think that adcoms notice if you don't turn in a secondary quickly and take that as a lack of interest in the school. It makes sense, but I'm just not sure if adcoms actually pay attention to something that minute.

With respect to your second point, yes. Your application won't be reviewed until it's complete, which (usually) requires your primary, secondary, application fee, LORs, and MCAT scores. Once you turn in the last piece of the puzzle your application will be reviewed.

 

[DanceArtist]

coleontherole - thanks for the advice, I appreciate your help. goodluck on apps!

 

[Senlin]

I hope adcoms don't pay much attention to that. Some of us 1) have jobs and other responsibilities, 2) want to do a good job on each essay, 3) got many secondaries at once, and/or 4) may be traveling or have a family emergency, but will still get them far before the deadline and be complete at the end of August. It takes me several hours to compose a coherent essay, even if it's only X characters!

 

[Avoidthetiger]

Some people have been getting interview invites (I'm thinking OSU) before their committee letter has even been turned in. If you have strong stats you might want to consider turning some in sooner to be considered for an interview sooner (even without an LOR)... especially if you are applying to places like OSU.

 

[NickNaylor]

I hope adcoms don't pay much attention to that. Some of us 1) have jobs and other responsibilities, 2) want to do a good job on each essay, 3) got many secondaries at once, and/or 4) may be traveling or have a family emergency, but will still get them far before the deadline and be complete at the end of August. It takes me several hours to compose a coherent essay, even if it's only X characters!

And this is exactly why I think it's largely irrelevant. There are a million other reasons besides "not interested" that someone won't turn in an application within one day of receiving an invite. By simply applying to a school someone clearly expresses interest.

 

[Evergrey]

And this is exactly why I think it's largely irrelevant. There are a million other reasons besides "not interested" that someone won't turn in an application within one day of receiving an invite. By simply applying to a school someone clearly expresses interest.

Yeah. The more I think about it, the more I feel that they just want it back in a reasonable amount of time. Besides, so many people aren't on SDN and haven't even heard of the two-week rule. I mean, where do the draw the line? Sure, if you submit it on the very last day and you've had the secondary sitting around for 3 months, that probably won't look too great. But what if you submit it in 17 days instead of 14 days? I'm sure there's a continuum.

Anyway I am in the same situation as both of you. My letters were all finally submitted to the committee yesterday actually (one person was a month late.. ugh), so that will be taken care of soon.

Honestly I think being complete at schools by the end of July is still great, and I'm trying hard not to make this process any more stressful than it has to be.