When to submit primary?

[RxMeds]

Hey everyone,

So I took my MCAT on June 29th and I need to figure out when to submit my primary. Before you post "right now" or "asap" please hear me out. So first of all I need to get my personal statement finished which I am assuming will take me ~10 days since I work 40 hours a week. This would put me on track to submit July 17th. However, there are some opportunities that have come up that would be great for my application, and if I were to wait and submit afterwards (so that I can include these experiences in my primary) then I would likely have to submit late July. My question is: what is the difference between submitting mid July and late July? I know it's better to submit early, but how will a couple more days affect my application process. (verification time, time to get secondaries, etc.). If it is absolutely better to submit mid July than late, then I will do that, as these additional experiences aren't ESSENTIAL to my application, but would definitely be a nice addition. I basically don't fully understand the advantages of submitting a primary earlier at this point and would like some clarification. Any and all info would be great! You guys are da bomb

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[theonlytycrane]

It takes awhile to get everything processed and verified so finish your PS and submit asap. You can always include updates about things in secondaries or mention them during interviews.


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[AttemptingScholar]

For your perusal:
AMCAS Verification Times 2014-2015
Planeblue's Interview Invite Tracker

Only you can make the decision that works for you. These are where much of SDN's ideas on appropriate times to submit come from. Tell me if you are having trouble reading it and would like a TL;DR

 

[RxMeds]

It takes awhile to get everything processed and verified so finish your PS and submit asap. You can always include updates about things in secondaries or mention them during interviews.


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Thanks for the suggestion! My only concern with this plan is that I'd like to add the experiences to my Work/Activities section. It would benefit me because I only have about 10 of the 15 slots filled up and cannot think of anything else to put. (although my current 10 are great!) Additionally, I would be adding many more shadowing hours which will be great for my app because my hours are quite low. It's surprising how a couple f days can make such an impact on my app in term of experiences but I guess this is just how it all is playing out. Still not entirely sure of what to do

 

[Toutie]

Thanks for the suggestion! My only concern with this plan is that I'd like to add the experiences to my Work/Activities section. It would benefit me because I only have about 10 of the 15 slots filled up and cannot think of anything else to put. (although my current 10 are great!) Additionally, I would be adding many more shadowing hours which will be great for my app because my hours are quite low. It's surprising how a couple f days can make such an impact on my app in term of experiences but I guess this is just how it all is playing out. Still not entirely sure of what to do

You do not have to fill up all 15 slots, especially if your 10 are great. As long as you have around 40-50 hours shadowing that is more than enough.

 

[RxMeds]

You do not have to fill up all 15 slots, especially if your 10 are great. As long as you have around 40-50 hours shadowing that is more than enough.

That is very reassuring, thank you so much! I think I'm gonna plan on submitting as soon as possible. Still thinking but feeling better about it.

 

[theonlytycrane]

You can put expected hours if you plan to do more in the future.

Also, are you adding a new upcoming experience that you will have just started? If so, it might be better to add those in during secondaries.

I only filled out 8 spots btw. I condensed a lot though and really wanted to avoid fluff.


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[candbgirl]

What could something you only do for two weeks at the end of building your application possibly add to your application. I've always heard ADCOMS like activities of duration that that show commitment and passion. Not something you throw together just before applying to fill spaces/lines on your application.


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[RxMeds]

You can put expected hours if you plan to do more in the future.

Also, are you adding a new upcoming experience that you will have just started? If so, it might be better to add those in during secondaries.

I only filled out 8 spots btw. I condensed a lot though and really wanted to avoid fluff.


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This is a great suggestion! I can just mention the new stuff in a related experience. Thank you!

 

[hellobigcat]

Submit your best possible application.

If you submit mid-late July, you'll be verified sometime August 19-20. You'll have two weeks to finish all your secondaries before Labor Day. If you can do that, that would be great. I would work on your PS until you're happy with it, submit late July and pre-write some of your secondaries, especially the schools that automatically send them without waiting for verification.