The difference in sending my secondaries Sept 1st vs. Sept 21st?

[hellocubed]

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I just got verified and am trying to prioritize which secondaries to work on first. I was just curious what the "difference" in possibility of interview was between now and three weeks from now.

I hear from a lot of people that it would make little to no difference. I hear from many others that it is a world of difference.



About when can I expect to receive interviews by?

 

[CodeBlu]

20 days... approx 3 weeks.

No one can predict this for you.

People that submitted early June are still waiting for interviews.

 

[ppfizenm]

I just got verified and am trying to prioritize which secondaries to work on first. I was just curious what the "difference" in possibility of interview was between now and three weeks from now.

I hear from a lot of people that it would make little to no difference. I hear from many others that it is a world of difference.



About when can I expect to receive interviews by?

The difference is a few thousand applications before yours. This is a like a marathon that you need to sprint.

 

[Chir0nex]

First of all it depends on your stats and strength as an applicant. If you are above average then it will matter less, if you are below average then it hurts a lot more because there are fewer overall slots available when your stuff is read.

I would ask your pre-med advisor. He or she has much more experience and knows you better than any of us do, and can evaluate the impact on your chances.

 

[centrigeugle]

If you're in the 97% for your group, and the school gets 3000 applications in the time it takes you to turn yours around, there's 90 people just as good or better that they can look at first.

Aww. I just scared myself.

 

[UnclePhil]

I submitted secondaries around the 10th and went to my first interview on the 23rd. I was also surprised at how many other people (in real life, not on SDN) had not finished with secondaries at that point (I think I wrote secondaries up until October).

 

[hellocubed]

Thanks everyone~,

So i assume the difference of a month could be a deal breaker?
especially considering I am a 31/3.55 applicant~

 

[centrigeugle]

Thanks everyone~,

So i assume the difference of a month could be a deal breaker?
especially considering I am a 31/3.55 applicant~

I think you should try to turn around your secondaries as quickly as possible. If you haven't, start writing generic "diversity" and "best experience in XYZ" essays to get a content bank from which you can draw to hasten redundant essays.

Keep in mind that: SDN considers end of August "late," my university's pre-med adviser considers end of September "not-early", and random pre-meds I've met seem totally clueless about the timeline of the application cycle in general (see: everybody posting in pre-allo about JUST submitting their primary) and probably consider a week before the official deadline "late."

So I would say that, technically, rather than putting you at a disadvantage, you're simply at a not-advantage relative to a large chunk of the applicant pool.

 

[HumbleMD]

I don't understand why a secondary essay would ever take you over a week. Put on a pot of coffee and get these done. Could it make no difference? Sure, but why would you let that be a possibility?

 

[hellocubed]

I'll do my best~

Thanks!

 

[KindofBlue]

I have a full-time job,
and having applied to 25 schools, it's not exactly feasible for me to finish more than 2 quality secondaries during a single night

Also, Lease ending and having to move/visiting gf/taking care of brother/etc
Life doesn't exactly stop for the med apps

Well, it's your life so whatever you think is important...
I don't mean to exaggerate the impact of a late app, but remember that people who send in apps early pretty much finish everything by early to mid July..That's a good two months ahead of you. And also the effect tends to be magnified when your stats are right around average. Just saying..

 

[BenzylAcetate]

If you're in the 97% for your group, and the school gets 3000 applications in the time it takes you to turn yours around, there's 90 people just as good or better that they can look at first.

Aww. I just scared myself.

I hate you so much right now, not cool sir or madam... not...cool.

 

[centrigeugle]

I hate you so much right now, not cool sir or madam... not...cool.

I'M SORRY! I didn't know what would happen! 🙁 I made myself sad too!