Taking too long to return your secondaries?

[SCUBA GIRL]

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How long do you guys think is too long? from the date you're invited (other than the ones that have deadlines) what is a good turnaround time to show you're serious, and what's an Ok time, and what's just bad? any range suggestions?

 

[radioh3ad]

usually good turnaround time is 2-3 weeks. if you're starting to hit a month on any of the requests... then either you're waiting for MCAT scores or you're just plain slacking.

 

[willthatsall]

good is <3-4 days

decent is 7-10 days

you are starting to be too long after 2 weeks.

This is based on the fact that most of my secondaries have been due 2 weeks after I receive them. I really don't know other than that.

 

[radioh3ad]

ok then... i was way outside the park on this one.

 

[silas2642]

How long do you guys think is too long? from the date you're invited (other than the ones that have deadlines) what is a good turnaround time to show you're serious, and what's an Ok time, and what's just bad? any range suggestions?

Agree with others. Within one week is good, getting it in within 2 a must.

 

[IgweEmeka]

I would get them out in no less than 2-3 days if I had the cash to pay for those damn secondaries....for me it is not the essays that is holding me up, but the ridiculous amount of money I have to pay.

 

[Crete]

I would get them out in no less than 2-3 days if I had the cash to pay for those damn secondaries....for me it is not the essays that is holding me up, but the ridiculous amount of money I have to pay.

Within 3 days without exception! Don't be lazy!

 

[JayQuah]

But what about the fact that I was on the ball about all other aspects of the app EXCEPT letters? Verified on 7/13, but none of my letters are in yet...but the secondaries are pouring in! Do you think i should submit the secondary without the letters, or wait on it until the letters come in?

 

[63768]

submit without the letters.

for the schools i really want to go to, i'm turning secondaries in within two or three days. for the schools that are my backups (like nymc and slu), i'm waiting a week or two.

 

[VPDcurt]

anyone know if its OK to send LORs before the secondaries?

 

[psipsina]

I'm not lazy just poor
all of them are done, I just have to wait for the money to send them, can only afford 2-3 per week

 

[Minion677]

when you get 8 in one day its hard to turn them all around in a week. i have been getting them since 7/7 and my LORs wont be going out from the committee until next week. my goal was to get them all done by this week and i have about 3 more left (completed 10 already).

though i have been trying to turn around my top choices as soon as possible (within 4 days).

 

[trishaaa]

SCUBA GIRL, does your post happen to have something to do with Case Western? That's the only one I haven't submitted in <2 weeks. I honestly don't know if I'll ever submit it. I hate it. 😡

 

[Thundrstorm]

I'm sorry, but in the real world where I'm working 40hrs/wk and making crappy money, there's no freakin way I could return secondaries w/i 2-3 days. I was also waiting on all of mine to see where I'd be working the rest of the year, so I could answer the education interruption essay... but seriously, I will have to slowly submit them through the end of August b/c I don't just have $1500 sitting around in my bank, and I certainly don't have time to to do a secondary or two every day (+ the MSTP app for each), which is the rate I receive them. I expect that my letters should be sent to schools by the end of August as well.

 

[QofQuimica]

I'm sorry, but in the real world where I'm working 40hrs/wk and making crappy money, there's no freakin way I could return secondaries w/i 2-3 days.

Me too. I only got one done that fast, because I had already written the essay before it came.

OP, don't stress yourself out over some artificial deadline. Just complete your secondaries as quickly as you realistically can, and if you don't get one done for three or even (gasp!) four weeks, then so be it. The schools don't choose their entire classes for next year in July. 😉 Even if it takes you until September or October to finish those secondaries, remember that some people are not even getting their AMCAS in until October if they took the August MCAT!

 

[Arrowhead]

I've filled a lot of secondaries out, but have yet to send them.

I have an important question (causing my delay):

Some Secondaries ask from whom you will be getting your LORs from, and I know who I will get them from. However, I'm hesistant to write down the Professor/Boss/Physician's name on the Application and send it, until I get the LOR in my hands (Interfolio). I feel that, I could write down the person's name, and then send the application, but somehow they never get in their LOR.

What is everyone doing in this type of scenario? Are they just listing the professor's name, and sending it in?

THANKS SO MUCH! I'm going to try to send out all that I have by next Tuesday. I've been waiting around 2-2.5 weeks for of them, does this look really bad?

Would I still be considered "early" if I get them in by Mid Aug?

Thanks for answering my questions people! 🙂 😎

I feel your pain. I have most of my core letters done, but I am still waiting on one from work, and one from my undergrad school (since I am post-bac student). I am afraid that I put down their names, and the letters will never come. I am kinda thinking about just to send the bare minimum first, then call them to request submitting additional letters.....what do you think?

Anyone else have suggestions?

 

[SCUBA GIRL]

SCUBA GIRL, does your post happen to have something to do with Case Western? That's the only one I haven't submitted in <2 weeks. I honestly don't know if I'll ever submit it. I hate it. 😡

trishaaa,
case western is one.... a have several others that i had since 7/10... it's too much work with working full time.... nuts!

 

[45408]

I'm sorry, but in the real world where I'm working 40hrs/wk and making crappy money, there's no freakin way I could return secondaries w/i 2-3 days. I was also waiting on all of mine to see where I'd be working the rest of the year, so I could answer the education interruption essay... but seriously, I will have to slowly submit them through the end of August b/c I don't just have $1500 sitting around in my bank, and I certainly don't have time to to do a secondary or two every day (+ the MSTP app for each), which is the rate I receive them. I expect that my letters should be sent to schools by the end of August as well.

So, if you don't have enough money with 40 hours a week, do what I do. I'll be at 165 hours for the past two weeks. Of course, that also means I don't have time to fill out the secondaries, but I have a few thousand in the bank. 😛

Right now, some of my secondaries are a bit held up by my uncertainty over LORs.

Besides, who knows if the people reviewing your file even look at/have access to the dates of when you got the invite versus when you returned the secondary.

 

[SCUBA GIRL]

So, if you don't have enough money with 40 hours a week, do what I do. I'll be at 165 hours for the past two weeks. Of course, that also means I don't have time to fill out the secondaries, but I have a few thousand in the bank. 😛

Right now, some of my secondaries are a bit held up by my uncertainty over LORs.

Besides, who knows if the people reviewing your file even look at/have access to the dates of when you got the invite versus when you returned the secondary.

which makes me curious, do they time stamp when they send it to you vs when you returned it????

 

[waterlily]

which makes me curious, do they time stamp when they send it to you vs when you returned it????

I'm pretty sure they don't, as long as you don't go over their deadline. I think the general thing is that the earlier you get it turned in and your file complete, the earlier you get interview invites. thus, earlier acceptances.

also, with UCD's hellish secondary, I'm probably taking the full month on that one!

 

[LJDHC05]

Kids, listen...you're being neurotic if you turn everything around in a matter of 4 days. Two weeks is somethign to aspire to. 4 weeks is not unacceptable, especially when you have to pay out of pocket and cant pay for it. If you wait much more beyond a month to get everything in, it'll start counting against you. So please all chill out and finsh everything as soon as you can finish...especially for those of us who have full time jobs and are paying out of pocket

 

[radioh3ad]

i just realized you guys are talking about snail mail invites and secondaries. i was thinking since i got email invites between when i submitted on 7/20 and getting verified today, i could probably have a bit of time to work on em. anyways, when i have this thesis out of the way, i could definitely just spend about a week or less on each.

i hope to do them in lil packets. online ones (have like 6 now) can go out in a week. then do another 6 in two weeks. and then the last 6 the week after.... that is depending on when i get my snail mail secondaries.

are there a lot of them? i'm gathering that this year most schools are doing online secondaries. i know harvard sends it out pretty late.

 

[willthatsall]

Yeah, I just realized that I'm not exactly living in the real world. I have no job and I don't have to worry about the money for secondaries. So 3-4 days isn't that tough for me, but yeah, I didn't think about people who actually work for a living.

 

[radioh3ad]

we can't all be ballers. fast money. fast bitches. you know da lifestyle.

😉

 

[willthatsall]

we can't all be ballers. fast money. fast bitches. you know da lifestyle.

😉

Yeah, and don't forget living with parents...

 

[45408]

no job? I dunno what I'd do with myself all summer.....

 

[LJDHC05]

no job? I dunno what I'd do with myself all summer.....

I would sit on the beach every day and finish my secondaries in 3-4 days

 

[tennisnr]

I think we have to realize that we are REALLY early in this app cycle. A couple schools have laughed at me when I called to make sure I was complete because they said they are not even paying attention to 2006 yet and are working on the 2005 waitlisters. I think as long as you get them in by September you are more than fine, infact very very early.