When will I get secondaries?

[Mistress S]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Quick question: if I have already taken the MCAT (got a 29) but am planning to retake it in August and mark this on AMCAS, will I get start getting secondaries before the Aug scores come out or will schools wait to send them to me until October? I think I would make it through the numbers screening at most schools to qualify for a secondary with my current GPA and MCAT, but since I'm retaking will they wait to see my new scores anyway before sending me a secondary?

 

[BaylorLion]

It varies from school to school. Many schools have their secondary available for you to fill out on their website, before you've even submitted AMCAS (I remember Yale and Hopkins do this).

 

[Bendrix]

It depends on the school. Those that screen pre-secondary will by-and-large wait for a complete application, which means that they'll wait for your August MCAT scores. But most schools (especially private schools) don't screen pre-secondary, and will let you submit their secondaries as soon as they receive your AMCAS, if not before.

Word of advice: don't stress out too much about secondaries. With a few notable exceptions, they don't require a huge amount of effort.

 

[UCdannyLA]

^
Bendrix, sorry to bother, but which schools are the "notable exceptions" ?

 

[efex101]

Vanderbilt, U of Chicago are notable exceptions maybe Duke..

 

[Alexander99]

I'll concur with what's been stated here: most private schools automatically give you a secondary so they'll let you fill it out before the August scores come out. Use this to your advantage and get it all done way before October.

The UCs all screen so if you're from CA, you'll have to wait until mid October or so to get their secondaries. You can do a search on SDN and find the topics they make you write on so you can have them ready to go (they normally don't change from year to year.)

 

[Bendrix]

Regarding notable exceptions, there really aren't many. By reputation, efex hit the big three, though I can't really say since I didn't apply to any of them. I completed 15 applications, almost exclusively to northeastern schools, and I think only three (Yale, Hopkins, Stony Brook) asked for anything beyond statements concerning what I'd been up to since I graduated from college, what I'd be up to during the application year, and what I like about their program.