What is the summer of application cycles like?

[deleted937918]

I am planning on applying next year for admission to enter medical school in Fall 2021. I hope to take the MCAT in April/May. I plan on applying to 16-20 schools. How busy will I be with applications during that summer? Could I reasonably do any summer classes? I was considering doing Organic Chemistry II Lab and Biochemistry Lab during that summer (to save time to study for the MCAT during my Spring 2020 semester).

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[ChemEMeddie]

I believe you would be applying to matriculate Fall 2022 if you apply next year as the admissions process is a full year long so definitely take that into account when figuring out the next couple of semesters/years.

 

[deleted937918]

I believe you would be applying to matriculate Fall 2022 if you apply next year as the admissions process is a full year long so definitely take that into account when figuring out the next couple of semesters/years.

If I'm applying next year (2020) then one year later would be 2021. Right?

 

[ChemEMeddie]

Ah yes, my mistake, I'm simultaneously thinking forward a year about my own preparation and typing in 2019 but from what I've learned from too much perusing these forums, its ideal to have your application in asap, both primary and secondaries. You will probably want to have a bunch of your secondary responses pre-written, but that might be difficult since you won't know your MCAT until about a month before you send in your primary. So, it depends on how much time you want to dedicate to writing your secondaries while taking classes during the summer (which I would spend almost all your time on the secondaries as grades won't matter if you don't have good secondaries). Just my two cents, but other more knowledgeable people might be able to elaborate further.

 

[JessicaJones123]

I am planning on applying next year for admission to enter medical school in Fall 2021. I hope to take the MCAT in April/May. I plan on applying to 16-20 schools. How busy will I be with applications during that summer? Could I reasonably do any summer classes? I was considering doing Organic Chemistry II Lab and Biochemistry Lab during that summer (to save time to study for the MCAT during my Spring 2020 semester).

Yes no problem. Expect to be ‘working’ on apps (primary and secondaries) at least 25-40hrs a week until are all submitted. Shoot to complete as early as possible.

 

[Icebird]

Primary and secondaries are going to take a big chunk of your time.

I highly suggest pre-writing your primary and common themed secondary essays (Why us/Diversity/Challenge/Leadership/Volunteering, etc) so you can copy-paste and individualize as the secondaries start coming in.

 

[ChymeofPassion]

Prewrote all my secondaries/PS in May/June, maybe 10 hours per week. From there its 0 time commitment. Submitted day 1, verified in 3 days, completed all secondaries within 5 days of receiving them. Very easy going cycle so far, but that's because I prepared beforehand.

 

[Cornfed101]

Prewrote all my secondaries/PS in May/June, maybe 10 hours per week. From there its 0 time commitment. Submitted day 1, verified in 3 days, completed all secondaries within 5 days of receiving them. Very easy going cycle so far, but that's because I prepared beforehand.

I second this with a caveat. If you can write quality essays quickly then it is a pretty laid back process. I applied to 35 schools and never spent more than 10 hours a week on secondaries. I worked full time while doing apps and I was definitely more stressed studying for the MCAT.

 

[pBar]

Agreed with the above posts. If you wont be getting back MCAT scores till May/June, you wont be able to narrow down a school list till the start of that summer. It's possible to work, take classes, etc, while working on apps however it is difficult if you aren't able to pre-write. I would suggest reevaluating your timeline for your own sake, to ensure the bast application you can have.

 

[Cornfed101]

The issue with that in this case, the OP does not know what their MCAT score will be, therefore cant target schools, therefore cannot prewrite specific secondaries

let me clarify. I took the MCAT in May and didn’t prewrite any secondaries until my primary application was submitted in the middle of June. As soon as I had my MCAT score I started pre-writing after my primary application was submitted. This worked out great for me, but I can write quality essays in just a few drafts without spending a lot of time.

 

[ChymeofPassion]

I second this with a caveat. If you can write quality essays quickly then it is a pretty laid back process. I applied to 35 schools and never spent more than 10 hours a week on secondaries. I worked full time while doing apps and I was definitely more stressed studying for the MCAT.

Same, working full-time during apps. But I also worked full-time during my MCAT studying, so I think I was used to managing my time very effectively. App cycle is 100x less stressful than MCAT imo.

 

[907914]

Submit June one-June 15

Wait

July 1 - July 15 OMG WTF WHERE ARE ALL THESE SECONDARIES COMING FROM I DONT EVEN REMEMBER APPLYING TO CINCI

Mid July - October get an interview every now and then maybe/maybe not.