When Do Schools Start Reviewing Secondaries?

[yallo]

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Just a few nuts-and-bolds questions about the application process:

I'm going to be abroad this semester and probably won't be able to interview with my Univ's Health Professions Committee until July, after which they'll send out my recommendations to schools. If I get in my primary in early June, I should get some secondaries back in a couple weeks, or so it seems from reading the forums. (They don't wait to review recs before sending secondaries, right?)

Will it hurt me if schools have my secondary but wait a couple weeks until July before they can look @ my recommendations, or do they not even look at secondaries until later in July?

Also-- Some MDapplicants profiles mention "transcript requests." Do you have to request for your transcript to be sent out to individual schools through your health professions office or can you just do it normally through the university? Why do some people do this in April or May before schools even get their primary?

Thanks a lot!!!!

 

[moe_4eva]

1. Usually, the primary application is not processed by AMCAS for about a month, so even if you submit in June, it can be until late June/early July before schools start sending out secondaries. I'll have to assume you won't already have your secondaries ready to submit, so you'll probably be fine sending in your recommendations in mid-July. Also, most schools don't start to interview until Sept./Oct., so the schools should have plenty of time to see your application.

2. You have to go through your University's records department/registrar to get transcripts. This can take the school days or even weeks to send out, so many people find it best to send it in early. As a word of caution, my fiancee asked our undergrad school to send them in, and they refused to send them out for more than a month. She was actually rejected by two schools because she didn't get them in in time (considering those were the only two schools that rejected her, I'd say it was only because of the transcripts). I had a similar experience my first round with transcripts and LOR's, so I made sure to call the school every week until they were received.

 

[Picklesali]

Also-- Some MDapplicants profiles mention "transcript requests." Do you have to request for your transcript to be sent out to individual schools through your health professions office or can you just do it normally through the university? Why do some people do this in April or May before schools even get their primary?

Thanks a lot!!!!

These people are referring to the transcripts that they requested to have sent to AMCAS for their primary application. The reason for sending it early is because sometimes schools can take awhile to get things going or transcripts can get lost etc. By sending it (them) early, you are ensuring that you primary app will be complete and put into the "ready to review" pile as soon as you hit submit.

 

[mvenus929]

Primaries aren't sent out by AMCAS until late June. I submitted on June 18th, and the first day they went out was like June 21st or something. However, it is best to submit in early June, so that you can be verified and be in that first batch to be sent out. This is why people send in their transcripts ASAP (you want to wait until after Spring grades come out if you're still in school, but get them there as soon as you can). Notice that your transcripts only get sent to AMCAS, and not the individual schools. Your primary won't be sent until you are verified (meaning AMCAS has gone through and double checked all your classes against your transcripts).

That being said, I wasn't in the very first batch, but I was close, and I didn't get a couple of my secondaries until August. Some schools have them freely available (JHU comes to mind), and some only send them to those they plan to invite for an interview. If you turn them around quick, though, it can make a huge difference (I had an interview invite by the end of July because I was among the first to submit my secondary).

That being said, as long as your school is pretty quick about sending out LORs, you should be fine as long as the schools get them by the middle of August. The huge wave usually hits around September, so if you're complete at your schools before then, you're in a pretty good position to get something out of your efforts.

 

[yallo]

Thanks! One more question: Since I'll be abroad, my Spring grades aren't going to be on my transcript until July or something, most likely (it takes a while for them to be processed). Can I send in my transcript to AMCAS earlier (May or so) without those Spring grades, and then submit another one later or something?

Has anyone else studied abroad the semester before applying?

 

[yallo]

Can anyone answer my question about sending in a transcript without spring grades? Has anyone else studied abroad Junior Spring???