When to turn in secondaries?

[heli0x]

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Hi everyone, I'm new around here... hope this question hasn't already been asked.
So on secondaries, they say that admissions will only review completed packets, which includes completed secondaries and letters.
Now my school has promised to send in the committee letters sometime in august. So my question is, is there any advantage to turning in secondaries earlier, even though the committee letter may not arrive until week(s) later? Like does it get you in some queue for getting secondaries read?
Thanks

 

[UnfeatyOblation]

Until you have everything in, they won't touch your app.

 

[Steeler7588]

Until you have everything in, they won't touch your app.

I'm not so sure that's true. From reading the Pitt thread and comparing when people get interview invites to when they were complete, I get the feeling that they read your application when it's submitted (or have a general sense of who they want to do that for) and hold off on officially making an invite until letters come in. Applicants to Pitt who submitted their essays long before they were complete seem to be seeing a faster turnaround than those who submitted their secondary to become complete.

Letters are important, but most often in the sense of "let's see if they're bad" than "let's see if they're good". Most applicants will generally have the same quality letters - I think some schools go ahead and evaluate the bulk of the application to get a move on things. Just a guess, though.

I wouldn't rush your secondaries for this. One of my letters was delaying my packet to AMCAS well into late July, so I took my time with secondary essays. If there are schools that do evaluate your application beforehand (like I think Pitt does, again, this is just me guessing) then you only really benefit by hearing from them earlier after you become complete. If you wait until your letters are in to submit, then they're still likely to see your application in the same light, unless you're submitting late in the cycle.

 

[Thyroid Gland]

Until you have everything in, they won't touch your app.

Not true. USUHS contacted me about a problem with my application concerning AP credits, and this was with only my application and MCAT without letters. So they obviously took the time to look at it before it was complete.