When do med schools begin reviewing apps?

[artist27]

I've heard that being complete by Labor Day is considered "early" so is it safe to assume that adcoms don't meet to review apps until after then or slightly before?

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[doctorleospaceman]

Well seeing as interviews at multiple schools start in August I'm going to say no. Id say most start review sometime in late July/August. Being done by labor day (secondary included) will still be relatively early though.

 

[AttemptingScholar]

See this: Planeblue's Interview Invite Tracker

 

[PreMedMissteps]

I've heard that being complete by Labor Day is considered "early" so is it safe to assume that adcoms don't meet to review apps until after then or slightly before?

No. I've seen people post that they've received IIs as early as late July.

 

[Goro]

Just a friendly reminder: apps are NOT reviewed in order received.

 

[On_The_Way_Up]

Just a friendly reminder: apps are NOT reviewed in order received.

So being complete in June instead of August doesn't make that big of a deal?

 

[CyrilFiggis]

You should get your primary submitted as soon as possible because of the variability in how long it takes. After that, I would say it's not unwise to get all your secondaries done by mid-August just so you aren't dealing with conflict of classes and apps (if you're a traditional applicant).

Also, the vast majority of your secondaries are already posted on here. You can pre-write them even before you officially receive them. The average turn around time when I applied was 2-3 days from when I received a secondary and that was with 33 schools. Do the leg work now and enjoy the fall.

 

[Goro]

So being complete in June instead of August doesn't make that big of a deal?

Not as far as I can see. The mania to get everything in by early June seems to be another SDN mass delusion.

 

[On_The_Way_Up]

Not as far as I can see. The mania to get everything in by early June seems to be another SDN mass delusion.

Interesting

 

[begoood95]

I just got this email from Georgetown: "This email confirms that your Secondary Application to the Georgetown University School of Medicine is complete and has been forwarded to the Committee on Admissions for review."

So, technically, it's been forwarded to the committee, i.e., in the process of review. Being that it's the 4th of July (in D.C. no less!) I highly doubt anyone is going to get their eyes on it for some time. @artist27 the answer to this question is that it varies, and that many schools begin review before that for interviews in August, while others may wait.

 

[PreMedMissteps]

Not as far as I can see. The mania to get everything in by early June seems to be another SDN mass delusion.

Maybe, but I think submitting early means getting secondaries earlier, which for students who'll be going back to school in August, is a good thing. Students who submitted early June have been getting secondaries for about a week or two now. For those who are applying to 10+ schools, having all of July to work on them is a plus. Working on secondaries while juggling 4th year classes can be a problem. I've known a few applicants that never got around to completing some secondaries because class demands got in the way.

 

[begoood95]

Not as far as I can see. The mania to get everything in by early June seems to be another SDN mass delusion.

I don't know if I'd go so far as to say it's mania, but maybe a bit neurotic. Like @PreMedMissteps said, from our perspective it's nice because we get more time to work on secondaries; classes, EC's, and so-on are all potentially demanding. Moreover, a little morale boost from seeing those secondaries submitted and maybe some II's is always nice during the process.

Whether or not it's mania, I'm of the opinion that to be on time, you've gotta be early. Being ahead of the game, regardless of its benefits or not, is a plus in my book! And, certainly, it can't hurt.

 

[begoood95]

Technically is the correct word. Now the all parts are in (Primary, Secondary, MCAT, LOR):
--first must fully evaluated/read by adcom member(s) for scoring/classification/priority
--possibly then reviewed by evaluation team or subcommittee,
--then on to full committee for review and voting

preset criteria or school's own process/procedures may allow for some applicant II at any point above. Indeed, some schools only have full adcom voting post interview for admission.

While perhaps cumbersome at some points, I find the process fascinating. I wonder whose procedure yields the "best" applicants, or is most successful at bringing in students the program wants. I'm sure sometimes the committee chooses "wrongly." When that happens, do they look at the "bad apple's" application again to see what went wrong? Probably harder said than done.

I wish we could peer behind the curtains... I guess we'll have to wait until we get in (to a school that uses medical students' opinions in the first place, because not all do, right?).