Why is waiting bad?

[uriel]

I was wondering, why is applying early so important? I know schools accept on a rolling basis, but last time I applied, I applied early and didn't get a response from most schools until January and February. Admittedly, I'm not a strong candidate, so I'm guessing the committees put my app on hold, without offering interview or outright rejection until they were sure they had interviewed enough candidates to ensure a full class.
In other words, I'm not a rockstar, but I don't suck either, so schools figured "wait and see if we need him or not".

About the "tired eyes" idea:
I realize that committee members have more to compare you with if you apply late, but I doubt that they start filling seats in the first 100 apps they review.
So let's say they start to offer interviews after seeing 300 applications and you're the 3000th applicant. The first 300 are probably the same caliber (maybe even better) than the first 3000, on average. So if you're in the top 20% of the first 3000, then you're probably in the top 20% of the first 300, right?
I don't really buy that committee members get tired after reading so many apps. If you're the first app they read on any day, great. If you happen to be the last on a day they've reviewed 20, it doesn't matter if you submitted 30 minutes after you got your secondary, you may get lost in the masses.

I'm taking the August MCAT and I feel really nervous about even submitting secondaries because the app won't be complete until October (and committees don't review until everything is complete).

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[musiclink213]

Think of it this way: a lot of schools start interviewing in September/October. Those interview spots are filled up with people who applied early. Decisions are made in the order of which they interviewed. So you interview early, you get accepted earlier. That means, if you apply late, your app won't even be considered until after people have already started interviewing. So if you become complete in October, you might not get an interview until Jan/Feb. So there are around 4 months worth of interviewers before you, some of whom take up spots for an already small class. So basically, you will be competing against more applicants for fewer spots.

That said, if you have a solid GPA and a good MCAT, and a good PS, you should still get interviews, and if you do well on those, maybe an acceptance might come your way. I don't think it's so much the "tired eyes" idea, although that plays a role too. I think a lot has to do with spots may already be filled by the time you even submit your application that makes applying late not so good.

 

[uriel]

I think a lot has to do with spots may already be filled by the time you even submit your application that makes applying late not so good.

I hadn't thought of that, good point. I guess I just figured that since they don't send most rejections until April and May (and even later for waitlists) regardless of when you submit, that they are still considering you, so you end up competing with everyone for those limited spots anyway.

So the August MCAT is a serious negative for an applicant (ah, ****). It's ridiculous that the AAMC even gives it then, isn't it? It seems like better dates would be in May and July, or even March and June. The GRE is administered any day you want . . . (&#$@!).

 

[chaeymaey]

I hadn't thought of that, good point. I guess I just figured that since they don't send most rejections until April and May (and even later for waitlists) regardless of when you submit, that they are still considering you, so you end up competing with everyone for those limited spots anyway.

So the August MCAT is a serious negative for an applicant (ah, ****). It's ridiculous that the AAMC even gives it then, isn't it? It seems like better dates would be in May and July, or even March and June. The GRE is administered any day you want . . . (&#$@!).

Well, that problem is fixed now that the mcat will be offered nearly every month.

 

[UCLAMAN]

Well, that problem is fixed now that the mcat will be offered nearly every month.

the mcat will now be offered every month?! oh man.