The SubmittednAMCAS Really, Really Late Thread

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kaudung

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So I've seen a few posts about applicants who, for one reason or another, submitted their primaries late. Really late. Like the-last-week late or even the-last-day late. I thought we could discuss our concerns in this thread.

I just took the MCAT for the first time in August and received my scores on Friday. I did well, I think I have a strong application, etc. I took too much time trying to perfect my primary and ended up submitting on 10/15.

I am ready to go to medical school in 2007; I made that decision when I decided to quit my job and devote myself to this end in May. Now I'm wondering if I just wasted $400 on AMCAS fees. Without question I would have a better shot of getting into my top choices if I had applied earlier (which is impossible) or if I wait until next year. However, I can't allow myself to wait a year without at least trying this year.

If I apply this year and don't get into my top choices, am I allowed to apply again next year? Will it hurt me that I already applied and wasn't accepted?

I see it playing out like this: 1 month for AMCAS verification, 2-3 weeks required for secondaries to be completed, another several weeks for all materials to be reviewed. Interviews will then take place sometime in December. After interviews, people like us are looking at January for decisions to be made. Is it worth it? Will we not get secondaries/interviews/acceptances that we would get if we applied next year? I'm not sure anyone here can tell us that.
 
I dont think AMCAS verification will take that long now, since most people have already submitted and been verified. At its longest, it took around 4-5 weeks. I think its probably going to take no more than 3 weeks. Depending on how many schools you apply to, and how fast you can pump out those essays, 2-3 weeks is a reasonable estimate to return secondaries. However, what you're sorely underestimating, is how long it takes for schools to receive your completed secondary, LORs, checks, other documents, and process them. This usually takes about 3.5 weeks on average (I submitted most secondaries on 9/25 and am complete at less than 1/2). *AFTER* you're compelte, it takes another 3-4 weeks for somebody in the admissions office to review your file and make a decision. Add it all up, and you're looking at 11-12 weeks before you start hearing back from schools. So that would be the middle of January.

You will definitely be bypassed at a lot of schools that may consider you next year, but if your stats are really good, you should still have a shot somewhere, if you apply to enough places.

I thought I was really late, and I submitted AMCAS in late August. Good luck!
 
i think if you feel you're a strong candidate, go for it! most secondaries are given out before verification and if you'r egood about pumping them out ASAP, you'll be fine. there's still quite afew of us who haven't submitted secondaires, putting you late amcas-ers on par with folks who've submitted way earlier than you.
 
hm. sorry to break it to you, but interview spots are going fast. I think most of the ones for dec. are already taken up!!
If you submitted oct. 15, and it takes 1 month for amcas to be verified, that will take you to nov. 15. Some secondaries come as soon as you send out amcas, some after amcas is verified. You'll have to get those secondaries back, and by nov. 15, the schools will be really really backed up. It takes people one to two months to get interview invites even if they submitted back in sept! So you'll probably get your interview invites earliest in Dec, and will have to schedule them for Jan, Feb, March. From what I'm seeing on SDN, people have already scheduled for Dec/Jan.
 
if you believe u have a strong application i would say go for it. Lots of people on this site generally are pretty ahead of the game * which is why they check this site* so, gauging yourself based upon SDN is not super accurate.
 
Hey Kaudung (I hope thats a joke)
I'm in your shoes...like almost exactly. Quit my job too. Turned my life upside down. Didn't know where to apply til I got the scores. I did ok too (although I got a 9 in Physics). At least it's good to know someone out there has my problem.

I got a secondary already so you could probably get your secondaries in BEFORE the AMCAS is verified.
 
hey same here, sent out my primary on oct 14th. already got my secondary from BU so I plan on sending them all out quickly. i'm from Canada so this rolling admission thing was new for me. since i took the august mcat i thought we could only send out our primary once we got our score. but the way i see it is that if the school really likes you then they will give you a shot even if it is really late. some schools have deadlines of november/december for primaries which means they understand that some people will be submitting around then. i know friends (from Canada) who have applied mid october and gotten in somewhere so it is possible. if you dont get in then at least you know you tried whearas if you do not apply then you will for sure not get in.

good luck to all us late people :luck:
 
i took april mcat and didnt submit amcas until 9/20.. still not verified. i completed a few secondaries and just waiting on amcas. i think i boned myself by submitting so late. F-amcas, i am expecting the 5 week deal on this one.
 
After having this what-do-I-want-to-do-with-my-life crisis last year, I decided that I wanted to become a PA instead of an MD. I spent all year debating whether I had made the right decision, and it never felt quite right. So on 9/26, my fiance and I were watching old episodes of the West Wing and the first lady, who is a doctor, started talking medicine, and that was it. I looked at him and said, "I really want to go to med school," and he said, "Do it." I had already started on a PS with the expectation of needing it later, so my AMCAS was submitted by 9/27 and my transcripts were there on 10/4. Since I would only want to go to the school where my fiance will be a 3L next year, I only applied there, and if I don't get in, I'll apply broadly (and early) next year.

The school I'm applying to screens for secondaries, so I have to wait for my AMCAS to be verified. Luckily, I have a copy of the secondary from last year, so I'll have the essays all set to go as soon as I get it. I had to ask for two more LOR's, but one has already been submitted to Interfolio, and I'm assuming the other one will be in by next week.

By the way, there was a thread somewhere around here that had a list of all the secondary questions from a ton of schools, so that would be really useful to you if some of your schools screen for secondaries.

Sometimes I kick myself for going ahead this year, but my stats are well above average for the school, and they really prefer students who grew up in the area, so I think I stand a good chance of getting in. I just wish I would have made this decision in July instead of September!

Good luck, everybody! Thejonqproject is right. There are probably tons of people out there in our situation, with lower stats, and less motivation. They just aren't the SDN type! 🙂
 
littlephiLLy said:
i took april mcat and didnt submit amcas until 9/20.. still not verified. i completed a few secondaries and just waiting on amcas. i think i boned myself by submitting so late. F-amcas, i am expecting the 5 week deal on this one.
Click to expand...

just fyi: submitted 9/19 and was verified this morning. 4 weeks exactly. good luck!!!!
 
Also submitted on 9/19 still waiting, but now I'm hoping today or tomorrow.
 
so what do you guys think...

i don't have a very strong app, so i applied to just osteopathic schools. but i would really like to stay in NY, so now i'm thinking of applying to some state schools as well. i know it's crazy late in the game, so do you guys think it's even worth it? i have everything done, from having submitted my AACOMAS, so i could have the AMCAS completed very quickly. should i bother applying to allopathic school now? opinions, comments welcome.

thanks!
 
Don't worry too much, worst case you're out a few G's on secondaries (yes I know this is a big deal-trust me it's a big deal for me too-but it's better than wondering if I could have saved myself another year of not being in med school yet) and you take a year off. It's not the end of the world.

Heck, I actually kinda regret applying to 15 schools since now I have 15 more things to fill out-assuming I don't get rejected by too many after primaries.
 
i submitted 9/15 and nothing. hopefully soon! i have my secondaries all written and hopefully all the money for it and my school's finger ont he trigger to send off recs. fingers crossed that it will be verified tomorrow
 
barcelona-bound said:
just fyi: submitted 9/19 and was verified this morning. 4 weeks exactly. good luck!!!!
Click to expand...
i submitted 9/15 and nothing. hopefully soon! i have my secondaries all written and hopefully all the money for it and my school's finger ont he trigger to send off recs. fingers crossed that it will be verified tomorrow
 
I submitted mines October 14th. Wanted to get my MCAT scores first. I think I screwed myself over, but I have a backup plan if I don't get in anywhere this year (and I probably won't).

Good luck to everyone!
 
I figure it's worth it to go through with the secondaries at top choices if you've already payed for the primaries. I think the suggestion to have secondaries filled out and ready to submit (if you can find the questions) is great. Here is the link to the secondaries thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=293395

I think it's also imperative to get letters ready to be sent out as soon as AMCAS is verified.

BleepTastic, it's good to have company. I didn't know schools would send out secondaries before AMCAS is verified. From whom did you receive secondaries back from already? Just probability-wise I would think that 1 of the 9 schools I applied to would have a similar policy, but I haven't received any e-mails. I wonder which schools beside BU have this policy?

Also, I don't think anyone's answered this on this thread yet:
If I apply this year and don't get into my top choices, am I allowed to apply again next year? Will it hurt me that I already applied and wasn't accepted?
 
Kaudang, so far I've gotten secondaries back from Boston U and NYMC. My list is here: Most of the schools I applied to seemed to NOT screen for secondaries...which sucks for me because I'll have more to fill out. At least the screeners let you know whether you have a chance or not.
Also, yes you're allowed to apply next year. There's even a forum for reapplicants here.

Just wondering how all of you late submitters are getting your LOR's? I fall in the time period where they still expect a committee letter. My committee advisor has been pretty mean to me because of a communications snafu (I'm not in the vicinity) and everytime I talk to her she'll take anything I say and find a way to turn it against me. For Instance she was surprised that all my recommenders got their letters in so quickly but the same wasn't true for her other appliers. I expressed surprise and then she accused me of making everyone bend over backwards for me. Then she told me I applied late because I didn't listen to her advice...advice she had never actually given me. I would really love it if I didn't have to deal with this because it's really killing my spirit. I have the individual recs anyway! But will it hurt if I don't get the letter? Anyone else dealing with an advisor at all?

Azzuri- are you planning on answering the BU optional essay. I only have one medical experience and all the other interesting things I could write about are only marginally related.
 
BleepTastic, that really sucks! I was a psych major, so I never actually met the pre-med advisor at my school. We spoke by e-mail once. I heard he was a real jerk too, so I just decided to use Interfolio for my LOR's. Turns out great for me since it will cut down on the time it takes for me to get my letters in order.
 
I'm a Psych major too and I had little contact with my pre-med advisor while attending college. What I did, just in case, was have my recommenders also send the letters to a cred file I have open. How did you get around the Medical Schools' demand for committee letters? I don't know if my "My pre-med advisor likes berating me so I thought it wasn't a good idea" would work.
 
I'm in this boat too.

Most of the schools I applied to with Oct. 15 deadlines have a deadline of Nov 15 for the secondary. But their websites say they don't send you info on how to fill out the secondary until after they receive your verified AMCAS. So, if amcas takes, say, 4 weeks, how will we ever get a secondary from these scools? Would they still send one after their deadline and extend the deadline for us?
 
GoodDoctor said:
I'm in this boat too.

Most of the schools I applied to with Oct. 15 deadlines have a deadline of Nov 15 for the secondary. But their websites say they don't send you info on how to fill out the secondary until after they receive your verified AMCAS. So, if amcas takes, say, 4 weeks, how will we ever get a secondary from these scools? Would they still send one after their deadline and extend the deadline for us?
Click to expand...

this is what i'm wondering. i only have 2 schools with oct 15th.... but still, i'm wondering if i should bother doing their secondaries now...
 
Most of the schools I applied to with Oct. 15 deadlines have a deadline of Nov 15 for the secondary. But their websites say they don't send you info on how to fill out the secondary until after they receive your verified AMCAS. So, if amcas takes, say, 4 weeks, how will we ever get a secondary from these scools? Would they still send one after their deadline and extend the deadline for us?
Click to expand...

That sucks! I would call and ask.
 
i just submitted my AMCAS today for a chance in hell. oh well, worth a try i guess.
 
lainy105 said:
i just submitted my AMCAS today for a chance in hell. oh well, worth a try i guess.
Click to expand...

Hey, if schools really absolutely required you to submit earlier, their deadlines would be sooner. Might as well give it a shot!
 
Hey since we're mostly in similar boats and I'm having a hard time figuring out what a "good" secondary essay looks like for me...I thought it would be cool to have a secondary swap program.
Erase the school's name from the essay or paragraph if you included it, paraphrase the questions you're answering (exact wording might make the school too obvious) and send it around. I'm thinking it's best to keep the school ambiguous so that one person doesn't maliciously try to undermine the other if they're both going for the same school. It's a little bit like the blind leading the blind but it's better than no guidance at all right? Rules of review usually say that it's nice to have a stranger read anyway for an unbiased opinion. What do ya'll think?
I, of course, volunteer to read and be read.
 
i hope mine gets verified by the end of the week. i had alot of transcripts from high school stuff and transfer credits, so i hope it is not baffling to the poor soul who must check it all.
 
I submitted mine 9/14 but AMCAS received all of my transcripts only on 10/2 b/c one of my school's transcript never got to AMCAS and they had to resend it. so, i am waiting for my AMCAS to get verified. Hopefully, i will get verified pretty soon. keeping my fingers crossed.
 
AMCAS recieved my transcripts on 9/27 but I did not submit my aplication until 10/8. I haven't recieved any secondaries so at the moment I'm just waiting for my AMCAS to be verified. Hopefully it won't be too much longer. It's been nearly two weeks so I guess I'm nearly halfway there.
 
BleepTastic said:
Hey since we're mostly in similar boats and I'm having a hard time figuring out what a "good" secondary essay looks like for me...I thought it would be cool to have a secondary swap program.
Erase the school's name from the essay or paragraph if you included it, paraphrase the questions you're answering (exact wording might make the school too obvious) and send it around. I'm thinking it's best to keep the school ambiguous so that one person doesn't maliciously try to undermine the other if they're both going for the same school. It's a little bit like the blind leading the blind but it's better than no guidance at all right? Rules of review usually say that it's nice to have a stranger read anyway for an unbiased opinion. What do ya'll think?
I, of course, volunteer to read and be read.
Click to expand...

....because cutting corners is awesome. Good thinking guys. You're feeling squished by deadlines, so you force out whatever on the secondaries. I'm thinking this is a bad call.
 
littlephiLLy said:
i took april mcat and didnt submit amcas until 9/20.. still not verified. i completed a few secondaries and just waiting on amcas. i think i boned myself by submitting so late. F-amcas, i am expecting the 5 week deal on this one.
Click to expand...

same here, still waiting too
 
jackieMD2007 said:
....because cutting corners is awesome. Good thinking guys. You're feeling squished by deadlines, so you force out whatever on the secondaries. I'm thinking this is a bad call.
Click to expand...
First of all jackie, by quoting ME you don't have to put the "blame" on the "guys". Second of all, whats the nonsense you're spouting about cutting corners and forcing out secondaries? If that were the case, I would have hit send about 3 days ago instead of hoping for a second opinion. Did you actually read what I said or just decide that facts are meaningless (yay assumptions!)? The whole point is that we at least get our writing reviewed. If you have a rebuttal against what I actually said, than please share but otherwise what exactly is the "bad call"?
 
BleepTastic said:
Hey since we're mostly in similar boats and I'm having a hard time figuring out what a "good" secondary essay looks like for me...I thought it would be cool to have a secondary swap program.
Erase the school's name from the essay or paragraph if you included it, paraphrase the questions you're answering (exact wording might make the school too obvious) and send it around. I'm thinking it's best to keep the school ambiguous so that one person doesn't maliciously try to undermine the other if they're both going for the same school. It's a little bit like the blind leading the blind but it's better than no guidance at all right? Rules of review usually say that it's nice to have a stranger read anyway for an unbiased opinion. What do ya'll think?
I, of course, volunteer to read and be read.
Click to expand...

I think that's a good idea, and I don't think it is "cutting corners" at all. You learn in the 3rd grade that having someone else proofread your writing is a good idea. We might as well take the time to get some opinions while we wait for verification.
 
I just submitted Amcas 2 seconds ago. Question-they don't need your high school transcripts, just your undergrad correct? Because my Undergrad trancripts have been recieved since June but after i submitted it said that it's waiting for my transcripts... *scratches head*
 
Queenshawtii said:
I just submitted Amcas 2 seconds ago. Question-they don't need your high school transcripts, just your undergrad correct? Because my Undergrad trancripts have been recieved since June but after i submitted it said that it's waiting for my transcripts... *scratches head*
Click to expand...

It takes a few hours or so before it registers that your transcripts are in. Don't worry, I freaked out at first too. So just sit back with a cold one, and wait. It'll change to "Ready for Review," the three most hated words in the English Dictionary, soon enough.
 
still waiting...

"ready for review"
 
I submitted 9/24 and was verified today.
 
yup gettin closer. good luck everyone!
 
Dr.Jen do you have any prepared secondaries you need reviewed?

I'm done with mine til the next batch comes in and want someone to read it.
 
BleepTastic said:
Dr.Jen do you have any prepared secondaries you need reviewed?

I'm done with mine til the next batch comes in and want someone to read it.
Click to expand...

To tell you the truth, I keep writing up my answers and deleting them. They just aren't coming out right. "Why should we admit you?" Argh! I don't think I've ever come across a question this hard before in my life! I have today off, so I'll be working on it.

If you wanna send me yours to read over, I'd be glad to do it! Just PM me.
 
Hey just wanted to make sure that all us late submitters are still keeping the faith, defying the odds and stuff.
Anymore verifications lately?
 
UT San Antonio (which probably isn't representative of all medical schools) came to speak at my undergrad last night. The Assistant Dean for Admissions said that they have 500 applications they won't open this year, and that those are the ones that were submitted on 10/15.
 
AggieJohn said:
UT San Antonio (which probably isn't representative of all medical schools) came to speak at my undergrad last night. The Assistant Dean for Admissions said that they have 500 applications they won't open this year, and that those are the ones that were submitted on 10/15.
Click to expand...

Wow. That's awful. If that is really the case, there should be some way of telling people so they don't waste their money and get their hopes up.
 
AggieJohn said:
UT San Antonio (which probably isn't representative of all medical schools) came to speak at my undergrad last night. The Assistant Dean for Admissions said that they have 500 applications they won't open this year, and that those are the ones that were submitted on 10/15.
Click to expand...

That's pretty mean of them. People spend a significant amount of money and time (not to mention their sanity) applying to medical school, and publishing a due date of 10/15 and then simply ignoring those applications that were turned-in on-time is just plain wrong. If they want to have an earlier due date that's fine, but this whole nonsense about not opening applications like it was some kind of "badge of honor" irks me. 😡
 
I submitted 7 Oct but there was some hold-up at my first college that I finally unscrambled but they only sent my transcript at the beginning of this week! It takes at least 4 weeks to be verified at AMCAS and I have some 15 Nov deadline schools on my list. The late transcript is only from my freshman year, everything else, including LORs, are ready. Since these schools send secondaries automatically, will it be any help writing to them?
 
I submitted 7 Oct but there was some hold-up at my first college that I finally unscrambled but they only sent my transcript at the beginning of this week! It takes at least 4 weeks to be verified at AMCAS and I have some 15 Nov deadline schools on my list. The late transcript is only from my freshman year, everything else, including LORs, are ready. Since these schools send secondaries automatically, will it be any help writing to them?
Click to expand...
That's awful. From what I've seen in terms of verification, there doesn't seem to be a direct correlation to time of submission. Like a person submitting on 9/25 might get verified before a person who submitted on 9/18. As long as you've submitted, nonscreening schools should have sent you secondaries anyway. For now the only ones we should be worried about are the screeners.
Worrying is useless anyway. Do what you can and hope for the best.
 
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