When to submit my AMCAS?

[sandyman237]

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New member here,
I currently have a 3.6 cGPA and 3.65 scGPA. I previously took the MCAT last year and was scoring 31-34 on my AAMC FL practice tests. I ended up receiving a 28 (10/8/10) on the MCAT after I thought I did much better. Anyways I am retaking the new exam in July (fresh from biochem undergrad course) and plan to land a full time job as a medical assistant (I just graduated in May). I have pretty solid ECs (2 years volunteer research at Diabetes Research Institute, Biodiversity Lab TA and workshop leader, Academic chair of my fraternity 2 years etc.) and strong LORs, but my pre health advisor will not schedule an interview with me for a committee letter until I attend this pre health session... again. He said the earliest he could schedule this session is in July. I asked him when he thought I should apply and he told me the first week of July. To me, it just feels wrong not turning in my primaries on the first day I can. My primaries are almost completed, but I feel like applying early is the key. That being said, are adcoms going to see that I am taking the MCAT again and not evaluate me until they receive my new scores? Should I just send in my LOR's with my primaries and then send in my committee letter once I finally receive it? or Should I just take my pre health advisors advice and wait until July to apply?

Any opinions/ ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mehc012]

New member here,
I currently have a 3.6 cGPA and 3.65 scGPA. I previously took the MCAT last year and was scoring 31-34 on my AAMC FL practice tests. I ended up receiving a 28 (10/8/10) on the MCAT after I thought I did much better. Anyways I am retaking the new exam in July (fresh from biochem undergrad course) and plan to land a full time job as a medical assistant (I just graduated in May). I have pretty solid ECs (2 years volunteer research at Diabetes Research Institute, Biodiversity Lab TA and workshop leader, Academic chair of my fraternity 2 years etc.) and strong LORs, but my pre health advisor will not schedule an interview with me for a committee letter until I attend this pre health session... again. He said the earliest he could schedule this session is in July. I asked him when he thought I should apply and he told me the first week of July. To me, it just feels wrong not turning in my primaries on the first day I can. My primaries are almost completed, but I feel like applying early is the key. That being said, are adcoms going to see that I am taking the MCAT again and not evaluate me until they receive my new scores? Should I just send in my LOR's with my primaries and then send in my committee letter once I finally receive it? or Should I just take my pre health advisors advice and wait until July to apply?

Any opinions/ ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Your biggest issue is your MCAT, not your LORs.

AAMC recommends that schools not look at your application until your new MCAT score is in. This means that, best case scenario, they don't look at your primary application until August. Worst case scenario, they ignore the traffic rules and evaluate you with a 28. So really, you're not helping yourself by submitting your primary months before your new score is in.
In your case, I'd submit whenever you feel that your primary is truly and completely at its absolute best state, and could not be improved. Give yourself several weeks prior to your MCAT release date for verification time. You want your app verified by the score release. However, submit to only one school.
That way, if your new MCAT is not to your liking, you can stop there and only be a reapplicant at that one school. If it is what you hope you can add all the other schools at once when you get your score back, but without the risk of them evaluating you at the 28.

As for your LOR, well...honestly, the timing on that doesn't matter so much as long as you get it in around when you return the secondary applications. Schools vary on when they read the LORs, but for most it is later in the cycle. So, since your app is going to be delayed for the MCAT, your LOR will be timed just fine for your specific timeline.

To reiterate: it does not help you in any way to submit your primary early since your MCAT will be late. Might even hurt.
It does not help you in any way to submit your LORs early, since your MCAT is going to be late.

 

[TraumaBlonde]

Would you consider waiting, and re taking the MCAT?

 

[mehc012]

Would you consider waiting, and re taking the MCAT?

They are retaking the MCAT. I'd agree that they would be best off waiting until next year, but if their retake is decent, Aug is not an overwhelmingly horrible time to apply. If now is when they've got the LORs lined up and all their ducks in a row As I said, next year would be better, but sometimes you go with what you've got.

 

[sandyman237]

They are retaking the MCAT. I'd agree that they would be best off waiting until next year, but if their retake is decent, Aug is not an overwhelmingly horrible time to apply. If now is when they've got the LORs lined up and all their ducks in a row As I said, next year would be better, but sometimes you go with what you've got.

Yea I just do not want to take 2 years off from school, its too much for me. I just hope that August is early enough. Hopefully, I can kick this new MCAT's ass.

Your biggest issue is your MCAT, not your LORs.

AAMC recommends that schools not look at your application until your new MCAT score is in. This means that, best case scenario, they don't look at your primary application until August. Worst case scenario, they ignore the traffic rules and evaluate you with a 28. So really, you're not helping yourself by submitting your primary months before your new score is in.
In your case, I'd submit whenever you feel that your primary is truly and completely at its absolute best state, and could not be improved. Give yourself several weeks prior to your MCAT release date for verification time. You want your app verified by the score release. However, submit to only one school.
That way, if your new MCAT is not to your liking, you can stop there and only be a reapplicant at that one school. If it is what you hope you can add all the other schools at once when you get your score back, but without the risk of them evaluating you at the 28.

As for your LOR, well...honestly, the timing on that doesn't matter so much as long as you get it in around when you return the secondary applications. Schools vary on when they read the LORs, but for most it is later in the cycle. So, since your app is going to be delayed for the MCAT, your LOR will be timed just fine for your specific timeline.

To reiterate: it does not help you in any way to submit your primary early since your MCAT will be late. Might even hurt.
It does not help you in any way to submit your LORs early, since your MCAT is going to be late.

Do you think it is more important to turn in your secondaries early over your primaries? What is an early date to start turning in secondaries?

 

[mehc012]

Yea I just do not want to take 2 years off from school, its too much for me. I just hope that August is early enough. Hopefully, I can kick this new MCAT's ass.



Do you think it is more important to turn in your secondaries early over your primaries? What is an early date to start turning in secondaries?

I just want to reemphasize that ideally, you would wait another year. 2yrs may seem like a lot, but it's really not, especially if applying haphazardly means a reapplication. I myself have waited 3yrs to ensure that my application was in the best shape feasible when I submit this June...and that June submission date was part of the 'best shape possible' consideration.

As to your question, one begets the other...if you are late getting your primary in, you will receive your secondaries later. What really matters is complete date - the time that your primary (inc. MCAT), secondary and LORs are all received by the school.

If you are waiting this long, I'd pre-write your secondaries so that you are ready to return them all within days of receiving them.

 

[SUP360]

@sandyman237 --- I am in the same situation, got the equivalent of a 28 and was going to submit tomorrow but I think I can do better on a retake June 29 (score release Aug. 1) and I don't know what to do.........

I'm all ready to submit tomorrow if only my score were a few points higher.

What did you do and what did you learn? What do you recommend?

 

[PeculiarPanda]

Not to hijack this post but I would like some advice. I'm a Canadian applicant and I'm rewriting my MCAT June 15th. I currently have a 512. Should I wait till I get my score back to apply? The deal is, I'm pretty floored for studying right now so realistically I see myself submitting the app around June 20th. Is that too late for me?

 

[Shirafune]

Not to hijack this post but I would like some advice. I'm a Canadian applicant and I'm rewriting my MCAT June 15th. I currently have a 512. Should I wait till I get my score back to apply? The deal is, I'm pretty floored for studying right now so realistically I see myself submitting the app around June 20th. Is that too late for me?

No, 6/20 is not too late.

 

[PeculiarPanda]

No, 6/20 is not too late.

Thank you. So to submit all I really need is my statement, activities and transcript correct? My LoR might take up till the end of June.

 

[Shirafune]

Thank you. So to submit all I really need is my statement, activities and transcript correct? My LoR might take up till the end of June.

Yep, PS, activities filled in, and transcripts entered are all you need to submit. LoRs are not required to submit the primary, though you will not have completed secondaries until your LoRs are sent to each school via AMCAS. Your app will likely be verified after June, so LoRs will not be your limiting step.

 

[sandyman237]

@sandyman237 --- I am in the same situation, got the equivalent of a 28 and was going to submit tomorrow but I think I can do better on a retake June 29 (score release Aug. 1) and I don't know what to do.........

I'm all ready to submit tomorrow if only my score were a few points higher.

What did you do and what did you learn? What do you recommend?

So this is all anecdotal, but I did end up submitting my app to one school as gonnif stated. I ended up getting a 513 in July and then I sent my other apps in to the rest of the 20 something schools. I ended up being complete around late August and early September and received 3 interviews (all in state). I was waitlisted at all 3. I did not get in my first try. Found out I had a bad committee letter along with some lackluster volunteering. Had to apply again... ugh. Got more clinical and non-clinical volunteering, shadowing, and started reaping the publication benefits of my research position. Had my committee letter rewritten and was complete at most schools by mid-late July. Applied to 17 schools and received 3 interviews. Got my first acceptance in December and my top choice acceptance in march. The moral of the story is that the Mcat got me the interviews my first cycle, but my vastly improved EC's got me the acceptances this past cycle.

TL😀R
Had to apply twice. Mcat was good enough to get me interviews, but correcting my EC's was the major change that got me in. Interview performance was consistent throughout.

 

[SUP360]

So this is all anecdotal, but I did end up submitting my app to one school as gonnif stated. I ended up getting a 513 in July and then I sent my other apps in to the rest of the 20 something schools. I ended up being complete around late August and early September and received 3 interviews (all in state). I was waitlisted at all 3. I did not get in my first try. Found out I had a bad committee letter along with some lackluster volunteering. Had to apply again... ugh. Got more clinical and non-clinical volunteering, shadowing, and started reaping the publication benefits of my research position. Had my committee letter rewritten and was complete at most schools by mid-late July. Applied to 17 schools and received 3 interviews. Got my first acceptance in December and my top choice acceptance in march. The moral of the story is that the Mcat got me the interviews my first cycle, but my vastly improved EC's got me the acceptances this past cycle.

TL😀R
Had to apply twice. Mcat was good enough to get me interviews, but correcting my EC's was the major change that got me in. Interview performance was consistent throughout.

Congrats on your success and thanks for sharing. I'm opposite with good EC's but low MCAT and can't retake this summer... How long between your tests and how did you improve so much?

 

[sandyman237]

Congrats on your success and thanks for sharing. I'm opposite with good EC's but low MCAT and can't retake this summer... How long between your tests and how did you improve so much?

My tests were a little less than a year apart. When I got my 28, I knew I was going to have to take a gap year. I can attribute my success on the new test to having just taken biochem, using Kaplan instead of Princeton review (better format for me), taking many more practice exams, and making studying a full time job (8 hours a day with one day off a week. I got a 130 in C/P, 131 in bio, 125 in CARS, and 127 in psych. My previous score breakdown was 10 in physical science, 10 in bio, 8 in VR. Don't ask me how to improve a CARS score. Idk what to do for that section haha.

 

[PeculiarPanda]

Hey everyone. Just an update (my comment is a a few comments above the last one). So I fell quite behind in my application and ended up procrastinating till I got my MCAT score back. I got a 517 this time around (95%) which is a relief. I am hoping to finish my primary before the end of July. Is it too late for me to apply? I am a Canadian student.

 

[PeculiarPanda]

So this is all anecdotal, but I did end up submitting my app to one school as gonnif stated. I ended up getting a 513 in July and then I sent my other apps in to the rest of the 20 something schools. I ended up being complete around late August and early September and received 3 interviews (all in state). I was waitlisted at all 3. I did not get in my first try. Found out I had a bad committee letter along with some lackluster volunteering. Had to apply again... ugh. Got more clinical and non-clinical volunteering, shadowing, and started reaping the publication benefits of my research position. Had my committee letter rewritten and was complete at most schools by mid-late July. Applied to 17 schools and received 3 interviews. Got my first acceptance in December and my top choice acceptance in march. The moral of the story is that the Mcat got me the interviews my first cycle, but my vastly improved EC's got me the acceptances this past cycle.

TL😀R
Had to apply twice. Mcat was good enough to get me interviews, but correcting my EC's was the major change that got me in. Interview performance was consistent throughout.

Do you think being a reapplication hindered you at all the second time?

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