Hello all you incredibly brilliant persons! Question for you:
I am taking the August MCAT and in discussing the timeline of the application process, my premed advisor suggested that I complete my AMCAS application in June rather than waiting for the results prior to completing the application.
However, as I was reading the AMCAS 2006 instructions which Judy Colwell was so kind as to put a link to in a post here, I read: "Medical schools prefer that applicants receive and review their MCAT scores prior to certifying and submitting the AMCAS application."
Does anyone in OldPreMed land have experience either way regarding the timeline for those of us taking in August? Of course, I tend to lean to what AMCAS says, but at the same time would hate to miss opportunities because I should have made the application even without the MCAT scores.
As always, any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
Larry
If you take the April exam, you can wait to get scores (mid June) before submitting AMCAS. However, I would go ahead and get the transcript requests rolling.
If you take the August exam, you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO have your AMCAS application in before scores come back. Scores don’t come back till mid October, and that is pushing up hard against deadlines. If you are waiting to turn in AMCAS till then, you are way behind. Most people I talked to had the AMCAS all done (and many secondaries as well, as they were not ‘screened’ secondaries), and as soon as MCAT scores came in, they had complete files, and schools started reviewing the files.
I was an April MCATer - maybe an August taker can confirm/refute what I have said here?
Because remember when you “submit” it is NOT an instantanous sending of AMCAS to your medical schools! AMCAS has then to “verify” your application which CAN take six weeks or more so beware…although usually it does not take this long…but you do not know if your application is behind thousand of applications to be reviewed. This is why you should submit AMCAS w/o having seen your August score.
Thanks for the feedback. I guess it’s time to get the final polish on the personal statement. Good luck to all filling out the application.
Larry
Keep in mind that you can submit your transcripts to AMCAS before you actually submit the finalized application. Since all of my transcripts were received by AMCAS prior to my submitting it, once I actually submitted it, the verification process only took about a week.
I spent way too long on finishing up my personal statement and application. I was not complete at most of my schools until late October. This MAY have cost me at one school (I got ‘deferred’).
Four of the five schools I applied to did not screen and sent me secondaries before receiving my MCAT score. Had I gotten my rear in gear and submitted sooner, I could have had my file complete (including LOR’s and secondaries completed) as soon as the MCAT scores were released.
Good luck, Larry!
Submit your AMCAS application in June or early July. Please do not wait until after the August MCAT to submit.
Cheers,
Judy
Back in the early days of OPM, we had a member who did all his applications during the early summer, then took the August MCAT. Within a week of the MCAT scores coming out, he had numerous interview invites - leading me to conclude that his file had been at least preliminarily reviewed at these schools and marked with a note saying, “If this guy’s scores are good, be sure to get him in!”
People think that the MCAT score is THE entree into consideration, but there is no way to know which part of your application is going to catch a school’s eye. Submit a strong application with a captivating personal statement and good letters of recommendation prior to your August MCAT and you’re likely to have the experience of my colleague from 6 years ago.
Mary
Hi there,
Back in the Dark Ages when I applied, I was only able to take the August MCAT. Since I knew that my scores would not be available until about the second week of October, I decided to submit my entire AMCAS application as soon as I could get everything together. This meant that I had all of my transcript requests done by June 1st and all of my information loaded by June 1st. Since I had checked the August MCAT box, I knew that I was going to likely end up in the “later” pile of applications.
My MCAT scores were released on October 15th and I had three interview invites by October 23rd. My last interview invite was late in November. I really think that my application was probably in the “Hold for MCAT scores” pile. When those scores arrived, they were able to send out invitations for interview. I had my first acceptance by the second week in November which was still fairly early.
Get your letters, transcripts and stuff together as soon as possible. It really takes some time to get everything loaded and certified so the earlier you get done, the better. It is better to have the time to go back and re-do something,if necessary, than wait until the last minute and miss a deadline.
I guess you may risk not doing well on the MCAT but you will probably know that on test day and you can elect not to have your scores released. In that case, you will have to wait until the next cycle (after the April MCAT). That is the downside of the August MCAT. I guess I was fortunate that things worked out for me and I suspect that they will for most folks who meet the deadlines and get everything together as soon as possible.
Good luck!
Natalie
Oh…to be able to say, “Back in the Dark Ages when I applied.” 
It will be an incredible day when I receive (fingers crossed) a med-school acceptance!
Again, many thanks to all who have shared their thoughts on this topic. It has been extremely helpful for myself. Hopefully, others are finding it useful as well.
Larry