Hi all,
I’m taking MCAT on 22nd August and still plan to apply for this cycle! I do plan to send the primary in July itself though. I know this is late but I have no other choice given my personal circumstances. Is there anyone else taking in August as well? If yes, how do you feel about it? Are we really going to compete for very few (<25% or so) remaining interview slots in most schools? Someone mentioned this number to me and was wondering how true that is.
Thank you,
-aeroaero
You can submit the primary, and I believe they will go ahead and process/validate everything except the mcat score (obviously). Once your acore is released, then AMCAS will blast your app out to the schools. In your situation, submitting early enough to ensure your stuff is reviewed before your mcat is posted will be your best bet. No clue what the timeline would be, maybe 4-8 weeks prior to release? AMCAS at least used to post what day’s submissions are being reviewed.
No one can really tell you for sure how many spots will be available at that point. Every school reviews apps in their own way and offers interviews based on their own unpublished criteria. Sure, it may be “easier” at some places to get interviews earlier, but it may not always be the case. The most you can do at this point is submit, take the MCAT, and wait (im)patiently for status updates.
I was verified in September, first interview offer came in I want to say November for a December date. I was still getting interview offers into January or February. I think my last interview was at the end of March or so.
AACOMAS generally has later deadlines, so you may consider applying DO at the same time. I submitted my DO secondary in December and got an interview.
Take my examples with a grain of salt, as I was just one of like 40k people applying in my cycle and my app was different than yours will be.
We answered this question in the latest OldPreMeds Podcast - http://opmpodcast.com/5!