Why do some schools send secondaries before you're verified

[PanRoasted]

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Related to this, I've been too swamped at work to really get any of my secondaries done, so I've been sitting on a few secondaries that were sent to me before I was even verified...do these need to go out ASAP or what? I submitted july 15th, still not verified as of today.

Thanks!

 

[BABSstudent]

Related to this, I've been too swamped at work to really get any of my secondaries done, so I've been sitting on a few secondaries that were sent to me before I was even verified...do these need to go out ASAP or what? I submitted july 15th, still not verified as of today.

Thanks!

Because those schools don't screen for their secondaries. They like to get $$$$.

Get the secondaries finished ASAP. There is no other way to get interview invites. Now's the time to focus on them so you can be ready for the ones you haven't gotten yet.

 

[milkphlegm]

Although the school won't assess your file until its verified, I believe it shows interest in the school and motivation when the secondaries are completed earlier than later. They know that the verification timeframe is out of your hands, but you control secondary submission, so show your initiative there!

 

[tantacles]

Secondaries are a source of revenue for medical schools. While many schools screen, it's far more cost-effective not to. Screening takes personnel away from applications, and even if the process is done in an automated fashion, it still costs the school money. Assuming that each secondary application costs $100 and a school gets 10,000 applicants:

$100 * 10,000 = $1,000,000 assuming all applicants fill out a secondary.

Now, if half of those students are screened out:

$100 *5,000 = $500,000

Thus, by screening, the school has lost $500,000 of income which could be used to hire more admissions staff.

So, as you might imagine, it's much better for the schools, though not you, to send out as many secondaries as possible. Even if you don't end up finishing AMCAS and getting verified, you might end up turning in a non-refundable secondary, meaning that you will have essentially given the school a donation since it has no obligation to review unverified applications.