Truth or Myth: Applying early increases your chances of acceptance?

[HelpingHand]

In theory, the diligent will have an advantage, and most advisors and pre-med students acknowledge this as fact. But I've spoken to a professor of mine whose served as a member of the Committee on Admission at Johns Hopkins, and according to him, there is no significant advantage to applying early.

Any thoughts?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Depakote]

In theory, the diligent will have an advantage, and most advisors and pre-med students acknowledge this as fact. But I've spoken to a professor of mine whose served as a member of the Committee on Admission at Johns Hopkins, and according to him, there is no significant advantage to applying early.

Any thoughts?

The majority of schools have rolling admissions. Files are reviewed as they are completed at these schools, if your file is at the bottom of the pile when the last interview invite goes out, is this a disadvantage?

 

[ADeadLois]

Absolutely true.

Interview spots are limited. Don't where the Hopkins dude was coming from.

EDIT: On second thought, the Hopkins guy may be referring to the fact that applying early doesn't necessarily increase your chance of acceptance, it increases your chance of getting an interview. Interviews are really the limiting factor in the admissions process. When you interview doesn't matter as much as when you complete your application.

 

[collegefootball]

Ttttttttttttttrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[PreMD86]

The majority of schools have rolling admissions. Files are reviewed as they are completed at these schools, if your file is at the bottom of the pile when the last interview invite goes out, is this a disadvantage?

I think it's true to an extent, but i doubt things are that black and white.
First of all, a file with stats that the school is looking for submitted in sept could easily find its way above a mediocre profile from jul/aug (that's what holds are for). Also, schools do not release figures on how many interviews are granted each month. For all we know, the number of interviews are always granted proportionally to the number of applicants per month. So, if 500 interviews are granted for the 10,000 people that submit in jul/aug, and another 100 interviews are granted for the 2000 people that sumbit in sept, the odds are still equivalent. If anything though, I wish I had finished the app process during the summer instead of during the school year. It's pretty hard balancing the two.

 

[Team Zissou]

true👍

 

[Old Grunt]

In theory, the diligent will have an advantage, and most advisors and pre-med students acknowledge this as fact. But I've spoken to a professor of mine whose served as a member of the Committee on Admission at Johns Hopkins, and according to him, there is no significant advantage to applying early.

Any thoughts?

Well, that settles it.

 

[ufgrad00]

I think the Hopkins guy was just saying that applying early to a medical school will not compensate for a low MCAT or GPA. If you applied early, but have low stats then they will then put you on hold and keep your file till the first post-secondary rejections roll out.

 

[postbacker]

It is totally true, but what it means to an individual applicant is that you will get your greatest chance of an interview and acceptance if you apply early versus applying late...if you have lousy stats, your ONLY chance will be applying early...but no one is suggesting that a sub par applicant will get an acceptance merely by applying early...only that whatever chances you have are better early than late...

 

[ADeadLois]

I think it's true to an extent, but i doubt things are that black and white.
First of all, a file with stats that the school is looking for submitted in sept could easily find its way above a mediocre profile from jul/aug (that's what holds are for). Also, schools do not release figures on how many interviews are granted each month. For all we know, the number of interviews are always granted proportionally to the number of applicants per month. So, if 500 interviews are granted for the 10,000 people that submit in jul/aug, and another 100 interviews are granted for the 2000 people that sumbit in sept, the odds are still equivalent. If anything though, I wish I had finished the app process during the summer instead of during the school year. It's pretty hard balancing the two.

Not quite. Schools offers interviews on a rolling basis. Most schools begin offering interview invites in the summer, but at this point the number of completed applications are relatively low. Therefore, someone who has a completed application in July and August has a better odds of attaining an interview invite. The bulk of the completed applications arrive in the Sept-Oct.-Nov. corridor. At this point, you have more applicants for a finite number of interview spots.

 

[PreMD86]

Not quite. Schools offers interviews on a rolling basis. Most schools begin offering interview invites in the summer, but at this point the number of completed applications are relatively low. Therefore, someone who has a completed application in July and August has a better odds of attaining an interview invite. The bulk of the completed applications arrive in the Sept-Oct.-Nov. corridor. At this point, you have more applicants for a finite number of interview spots.

Just because a school has 100% of it's interview spots open does not imply it is willing to "waste" them just because there are few complete applications. Schools know, within +/- 500-1000, how many applications to expect, and to a great extent what MCAT and GPA scores to expect as well. A school is not going to be fooled and freaked out by a wave of underqualified applicants (believing they offer a perfect cross-section of that year's applicant pool), and throw interviews at anyone that rushes to apply.
The people who apply early tend to be those on SDN- diligent, neurotic, and with very high stats. Those people would get interviews any time of the year anyway, which is a possible explanation for why a higher percentage of interviews are offered very early in the season. like I said, there is absolutely no information available on how many interviews are granted per applicants (or rather, per qualified applicants) at different times of the season, so for now its all speculation.

 

[F12]

TRUTH.

I wish I hadn't applied so late.

Applying early is like adding 2 points to your MCAT or a tenth of a point to your GPA, in my opinion.

Edit: Specifically for the OP:
Many top med schools (Harvard, Columbia, Hopkins, Cornell, Duke, and others) don't roll. All other medical schools roll (e.g. they supposedly wait until all applicants are interviewed and then send out acceptances). If you're applying to those rolling med schools, you'd better apply early.

 

[Abilene85]

But I've spoken to a professor of mine whose served as a member of the Committee on Admission at Johns Hopkins, and according to him, there is no significant advantage to applying early.

Um...I don't know stats, but I can speak from experience. Great app, applied late. I had a great interview at my state school, but as it turns out, the class was already full. I was placed on the waiting list, but they had zero movement off the in-state (and out-of-state) list this year, so I got a rejection. In this case, applying when I did made all the difference.

 

[postbacker]

Just because a school has 100% of it's interview spots open does not imply it is willing to "waste" them just because there are few complete applications. Schools know, within +/- 500-1000, how many applications to expect, and to a great extent what MCAT and GPA scores to expect as well. A school is not going to be fooled and freaked out by a wave of underqualified applicants (believing they offer a perfect cross-section of that year's applicant pool), and throw interviews at anyone that rushes to apply.
The people who apply early tend to be those on SDN- diligent, neurotic, and with very high stats. Those people would get interviews any time of the year anyway, which is a possible explanation for why a higher percentage of interviews are offered very early in the season. like I said, there is absolutely no information available on how many interviews are granted per applicants (or rather, per qualified applicants) at different times of the season, so for now its all speculation.

Listen to the Pritzker podcasts and then come back and tell us what you think about the difference between applying early and late...it is a HUGE difference in terms of an applicant's chances at getting an interview...

 

[dcgirl2007]

friend of mine last year applied late. 3.9 GPA and 37 MCAT. got 5 interviews and 5 waitlists.

finally got accepted in july to one school which he now attends.

 

[ADeadLois]

Just because a school has 100% of it's interview spots open does not imply it is willing to "waste" them just because there are few complete applications. Schools know, within +/- 500-1000, how many applications to expect, and to a great extent what MCAT and GPA scores to expect as well. A school is not going to be fooled and freaked out by a wave of underqualified applicants (believing they offer a perfect cross-section of that year's applicant pool), and throw interviews at anyone that rushes to apply.
The people who apply early tend to be those on SDN- diligent, neurotic, and with very high stats. Those people would get interviews any time of the year anyway, which is a possible explanation for why a higher percentage of interviews are offered very early in the season. like I said, there is absolutely no information available on how many interviews are granted per applicants (or rather, per qualified applicants) at different times of the season, so for now its all speculation.

You are argument is correct in theory but doesn't hold up to the realities of the application process. Most schools begin holding interviews in September. They have to fill these spots, and they do so with the applicant pool they have at the time. Since the school has not receive a lot of completed applications (relatively speaking), the odds of any one applicant getting an interview slot are much better. Like I said, the majority of completed applications arrive in the months of October and November. At this point, there is an increase in number of applications for a finite number of interview slots.

You're right that we don't know exactly how many interviews per applicants are offered over time, but it's a safe assumption that as applications increase in the Fall, and there are of course a limited number of days to interview them all, the odds are a bit tougher.

 

[TheRealMD]

Just because a school has 100% of it's interview spots open does not imply it is willing to "waste" them just because there are few complete applications. Schools know, within +/- 500-1000, how many applications to expect, and to a great extent what MCAT and GPA scores to expect as well. A school is not going to be fooled and freaked out by a wave of underqualified applicants (believing they offer a perfect cross-section of that year's applicant pool), and throw interviews at anyone that rushes to apply.
The people who apply early tend to be those on SDN- diligent, neurotic, and with very high stats. Those people would get interviews any time of the year anyway, which is a possible explanation for why a higher percentage of interviews are offered very early in the season. like I said, there is absolutely no information available on how many interviews are granted per applicants (or rather, per qualified applicants) at different times of the season, so for now its all speculation.

The only schools that know they are going to get a bunch of applicants usually choose non-rolling admissions anyway OR start inviting people much later in the year and go on for longer. Plus, they aren't giving out most of their acceptance for a really long time.

 

[ufgrad00]

You are argument is correct in theory but doesn't hold up to the realities of the application process. Most schools begin holding interviews in September. They have to fill these spots, and they do so with the applicant pool they have at the time. Since the school has not receive a lot of completed applications (relatively speaking), the odds of any one applicant getting an interview slot are much better. Like I said, the majority of completed applications arrive in the months of October and November. At this point, there is an increase in number of applications for a finite number of interview slots.

You're right that we don't know exactly how many interviews per applicants are offered over time, but it's a safe assumption that as applications increase in the Fall, and there are of course a limited number of days to interview them all, the odds are a bit tougher.

I would like to add that the majority of interviews nationwide early in the season go to some highly qualified applicants most of which have 5 or more interviews. So for example there are 150 interviews given between september and December at school X, it is quite possilble that only 20 or 30 of them will actually attend school X. Also some time after Oct. 15th it is possible that almost all those people who interviewed early, because they applied early, will withdraw their application at school X because they are now admitted at school Y. One reason I think that schools interview many more than they accept is not soley because the reject or waitlist, but also because of a lot of post-interview application withdrawals from people who applied early. So I would say not to lose hope if you are still sending out applications or if you do not have an interview before Christmas.

 

[Pegasus1731]

Definatly Matters!!

I applied early, had my interview on the day they began, and was accepted a week later.

I have a 3.18 GPA and a 28 MCAT, so I would say it matters when you apply 😎

 

[se2131]

From a dean of admissions (at a highly-ranked school): Applying early is important for obtaining an interview (in fact, her school is starting to run out of interview spots already). However, once you get past this step, it doesn't matter too much as to when you actually do interview. She said that this was the case at most schools, but of course there are exceptions

 

[calowesmemoney]

This may just be me or my school, but last season we tended not to outright reject candidates that interviewed early. Instead, the committee was far more likely to waitlist that person when s/he probably would have been rejected later in the cycle. The way I approached it was that there was more wiggle room earlier in the cycle and we could just never vote to accept that individual. Closer to the end, you run out of waitlist spots and have to prioritize. Also, with earlier applicants you tend to be less strict when criticizing their records, whereas the later applicants just look like any other. You just don't feel remorse like you would earlier in the season. This all is an advantage because, though you're on the waitlist, you're still in the running.

 

[PilSeungKorea]

It is totally true, but what it means to an individual applicant is that you will get your greatest chance of an interview and acceptance if you apply early versus applying late...if you have lousy stats, your ONLY chance will be applying early...but no one is suggesting that a sub par applicant will get an acceptance merely by applying early...only that whatever chances you have are better early than late...

usually true for those with less than 28 MCAT and 3.5 GPA

 

[PilSeungKorea]

Definatly Matters!!

I applied early, had my interview on the day they began, and was accepted a week later.

I have a 3.18 GPA and a 28 MCAT, so I would say it matters when you apply 😎

dude, DO schools don't count

 

[PilSeungKorea]

From a dean of admissions (at a highly-ranked school): Applying early is important for obtaining an interview (in fact, her school is starting to run out of interview spots already). However, once you get past this step, it doesn't matter too much as to when you actually do interview. She said that this was the case at most schools, but of course there are exceptions

when you interview in March or April, you are more likely to end up on the waitslist.

 

[SoFlaKnight]

This thread screams of needing a poll...

 

[thRob]

when you interview early, the adcom has not had a chance to see many candidates that year. Out of the first 30 applications, you could be extremely impressive and get an acceptance. 5 months and 1000 applications later, you're not so special anymore and may get an acceptance.

 

[werd]

early apps, in general, have a greater chance for both interviews and acceptance. some of the very top schools (including hopkins and penn back when i applied) do not offer any acceptances until march 1; it's possible that these particular schools don't give you an advantage if you applied early, as they have the luxury (cockiness?) to sit on all applications until the very end. of course, if you get your application in too late, you might not even be able to interview by february and this would probably hurt you even at these schools.