When people say apply early...

[bozz]

Are they talking about June 1st - June 10th for example? Is there a certain point before which it won't make a difference when you apply?

Or is it always June 1st applicant > June 15th applicant all else being equal?

I mean don't medical schools need "some" time before sending out secondaries?

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[MilkmanAl]

I think many schools won't send or accept secondaries before June 15, but earlier is always better. At the very least, you'll be beating the rush and giving the adcoms more time to keep your app in mind.

 

[Jolie South]

there is a point before which being early won't make that much of a difference. last year, i believe the first day that you could submit amcas was the 5th of june. even so, amcas didn't send apps out to schools until the 21st. there were then people who had their app verified before then and were waiting for the 21st.

i think that i submitted my app mid june and it was sent to schools a week after the first "shipment" was out. if you get your primary submitted in june, i think you will be good. verification times will be less and barring an unusual circumstance your app will be out at schools by july.

yes, secondaries will take a bit longer to be sent out from schools. i received mine all throughout july. however, even if you don't officially receive a secondary, you can work on it ahead of time and have it ready to submit when you do receive the official invite (if the school doesn't screen).

 

[TheRealMD]

Going by how my application turned out this year, I'd say that before July 1st is still pretty early. The important thing to realize is that your AMCAS isn't going to hold up your application as much as your letters of recommendation will. Unless they are already done before summer begins, it will be a pain to get them done "early".

 

[Jolie South]

Going by how my application turned out this year, I'd say that before July 1st is still pretty early. The important thing to realize is that your AMCAS isn't going to hold up your application as much as your letters of recommendation will. Unless they are already done before summer begins, it will be a pain to get them done "early".

i agree. i'd say to have your letters in hand when you want to submit amcas. that way the pace of the process depends on you as far as turning stuff in.

 

[bozz]

Didn't know they took that long..

told all my LOR writers to have them done before June 5th

 

[AlaskaGrown]

AMCAS didn't begin processing applications until June 21st this past year, so the point at which one sent their primary in before then didn't make much of a difference. And I doubt it matters much up into July. I think the most important thing is to get your secondaries in as early as possible. I had all my secondaries done by the end of August and had no problem scheduling twelve interviews before the middle of November.

I agree to have everything in hand for the application, including recommendations; because secondaries can come as early as a week after you submit the primary.

 

[Jolie South]

Didn't know they took that long..

told all my LOR writers to have them done before June 5th

that's good.

 

[Bond8204]

They're right in that you need to have all your other stuff in by the time secondaries start pouring in around mid-July. If it's mid-June and your primary has been submitted and your letters of rec are in and you're wondering what else you can do, you might want to consider going to the website of the schools you applied to and seeing if you can access the secondary/supplementary app there. Fill it out and answer the essay questions and copy and paste your answers when they send it to you in July.

The reason being is that when combined with the ubiquitous advice of "applying broadly," secondaries, IMO, are really the most challenging part of this app process. You want to hang onto each one and take care that it's perfect but at the same time you receive 10-20 of them.

I really believe there's a difference between completing your application (read: everything is in and your app is under review) in July as opposed to late-August.

Edit: I should also stress that though expendiency is very important, don't rush your apps (time management is huge in finding this balance). I have a friend whose parents pushed him like hell to submit his AMCAS on the first day it was available for his 2nd round of applications. He ended up with 2 typos in his personal statement.

 

[Lawliet2008]

When they say apply early, they mean when the doctor first hands you the AMCAS application at birth.

 

[TheElement]

Umm I'm presuming the secondaries are also online right? The reason I'm asking this is because I'll be out of the country. It would be pretty bad if I got paper secondaries..

 

[TheRealMD]

Umm I'm presuming the secondaries are also online right? The reason I'm asking this is because I'll be out of the country. It would be pretty bad if I got paper secondaries..

Just about all secondaries are online. For those that aren't, I know if you do some searching around the site, you'll find a thread that had a link to past secondary questions for all the schools. They don't change that often (if at all).

 

[vball20]

Are they talking about June 1st - June 10th for example? Is there a certain point before which it won't make a difference when you apply?

Or is it always June 1st applicant > June 15th applicant all else being equal?

I mean don't medical schools need "some" time before sending out secondaries?

Seriously, I don't think a week or even a month is going to affect your chances. I know everyone says apply early, but coming from someone who applied late (AMCAS sub. on Sept. 9th), it doesn't make that big of a difference. Looking back, I'm glad I didn't get uptight about it and stressed. I took my time and made my essays good. Even more so, I am glad I never got on SDN until I had some interviews because I would have freaked myself out and thought I was doomed. I don't have stellar stats, I'm not URM, and I've managed to get 13 interviews and 5 acceptances to date, all from US MD schools. So take it as you wish, but I recommend that you relax and don't get too caught up in the process. Enjoy it, cause it will be over before you know it!

 

[Isoprop]

applying early really helps those with average or below average stats. a stellar applicant will do equally well applying in june, july, and august. in september/october, it may hurt a little because the competition is a little fiercer.

 

[TheElement]

Just about all secondaries are online. For those that aren't, I know if you do some searching around the site, you'll find a thread that had a link to past secondary questions for all the schools. They don't change that often (if at all).

Ahhh neato!

 

[vball20]

applying early really helps those with average or below average stats. a stellar applicant will do equally well applying in june, july, and august. in september/october, it may hurt a little because the competition is a little fiercer.

I agree with you. It is best to apply early if you have below average or average stats, like I do. I simply don't thing that 10 days or even a month will make or break you. Applying anytime in June, July, or early August will assure you the same advantage as any other "early applicant." I just think people worry to much about applying early! If you've done all of the EC's to prove you want a career in medicine, and write stellar essays, it simply won't make a difference if you submit June 1st or July 15th. More or less, I think we agree with each other.

 

[bozz]

.

 

[Decicco]

When would you need to have your secondaries in to be early?

 

[Jolie South]

When would you need to have your secondaries in to be early?

I'd say before August.

 

[appleplshr]

The biggest time suck in the application process is the "waiting to be verified steps" in between when you turn things in.

Even though AMCAS waited until June 21st this year to send out primaries, it is still worthwhile to finish the primary and send it in as close to June 5th (or whenever the primary is released this year) as you can (making sure you spellcheck and have others read, etc well before the deadline). This way you have as much time as possible to begin writing the secondaries (which are posted on this forum, so you don't need to wait until the school sends you the essay topics to begin writing).

Therefore, with all due respect to the posters who argue that urging people to turn things in super early is the height of SDN neuroticism (it is neurotic, but it's also one of the best ways to help yourself succeed in this process) I would urge you to have everything turned in as early in August as possible, if you're even going to wait until August. July is much, much better.

I'm sure there will be plenty of people who will reply to this and say they were average for matriculants (3.65, 32 MCAT) sent in their secondaries in aug/sept/october, were complete in sept/oct/november, and had no problems, (I am one of them...i wish I could go back and listen to my own advice!) but I would still caution you to apply as early as you can.

Turning secondaries in at the beginning of August means that the school may take a month or longer to consider your application "complete" and then send it out to be reviewed for an interview invite. Complete in September is unfortunately no longer early given 22+ MCAT exam dates and increased applicant numbers. Wait a little longer or have some kind of AMCAS verification error/LOR fiasco and you can look forward to getting caught in the slow down that happens from just before Thanksgiving until after Jan 1. At this point you are looking at waiting until Jan to get invites, Feb/March to interview.

Finally, in addition to knowing that you are done with the first step of the process and complete at your schools, applying early usually translates into earlier interviews, greater chances of gaining an acceptance from these interviews, and knowing that you have acceptances as early as possible so you can start planning your first year in medical school, whether that means saving enough $$ to move to the city in which your dream school is located or whatever. Also, you will ensure that you meet the priority deadlines for financial aid (generally March 1st for FAFSA, March 31st to have the schools' individual aps and your taxes completed).

I know this sounds like fear-mongering, but you the added peace of mind that comes from getting stuff done early is so, so worth it in this crazy process.

Good luck!

 

[sunnyskies]

I submitted AMCAS in mid July, and wish I would have done it a little bit earlier. I only say this because I was getting floods of secondaries right before and during the beginning of school. I was more concerned with getting my app. right than school, and school definitely suffered. (And I'm definitely FAR from someone who does any work in the first few weeks).