I have question on when exactly to apply to medical school (sorry if this has already posted).
I plan on taking the MCAT around the 3rd week of May 2011. Should I wait until I get my scores back … say around the 3rd week of June and apply or should I apply on June 1st (Or whenever they first accept applications)?
I heard that timing is critical and just wanted to know the best way to apply.
Thanks
The difference between submitting your application on June 1st and the 3rd week of June is not really that big of deal. Lots of people will submit on June 1 and not have submitted transcripts, etc, and their apps will not even be undergoing the verification process by the 3rd week of June. (They don’t go in line to be verified until everything is in).
Ultimately, it depends on whether or not you scores are going to determine whether you apply or not. If you are going to apply no matter what, then it doesn’t really matter. If you may change your mind about applying or want to see how competitive you are before deciding where to apply, then it may be better to wait until you get your MCAT score.
What I would probably do is go ahead and have your application all ready to go - transcripts submitted (which can be done long before you actually submit it). You can also be working on making sure your letters of recommendation are ready to go (uploaded to Interfolio or whatever), so that you don’t have any delay getting LORs in to schools once you submit and they send secondaries. Then, once you get your scores, if you are happy, you can click submit, your application will immediately go in line for verification (assuming you got your transcripts in). If you have everything ready, you may even end up ahead of people who didn’t submit their transcripts on June 1 and people who don’t start gathering LORs until they start getting secondaries.
Really, submitting any time in June is still going to be an early application.
Awesome! Thanks for the detail info.
- Emergency! Said:
The difference between submitting your application on June 1st and the 3rd week of June is not really that big of deal. Lots of people will submit on June 1 and not have submitted transcripts, etc, and their apps will not even be undergoing the verification process by the 3rd week of June. (They don't go in line to be verified until everything is in).
Ultimately, it depends on whether or not you scores are going to determine whether you apply or not. If you are going to apply no matter what, then it doesn't really matter. If you may change your mind about applying or want to see how competitive you are before deciding where to apply, then it may be better to wait until you get your MCAT score.
What I would probably do is go ahead and have your application all ready to go - transcripts submitted (which can be done long before you actually submit it). You can also be working on making sure your letters of recommendation are ready to go (uploaded to Interfolio or whatever), so that you don't have any delay getting LORs in to schools once you submit and they send secondaries. Then, once you get your scores, if you are happy, you can click submit, your application will immediately go in line for verification (assuming you got your transcripts in). If you have everything ready, you may even end up ahead of people who didn't submit their transcripts on June 1 and people who don't start gathering LORs until they start getting secondaries.
Really, submitting any time in June is still going to be an early application.
Ultimately, it depends on whether or not you scores are going to determine whether you apply or not. If you are going to apply no matter what, then it doesn't really matter. If you may change your mind about applying or want to see how competitive you are before deciding where to apply, then it may be better to wait until you get your MCAT score.
What I would probably do is go ahead and have your application all ready to go - transcripts submitted (which can be done long before you actually submit it). You can also be working on making sure your letters of recommendation are ready to go (uploaded to Interfolio or whatever), so that you don't have any delay getting LORs in to schools once you submit and they send secondaries. Then, once you get your scores, if you are happy, you can click submit, your application will immediately go in line for verification (assuming you got your transcripts in). If you have everything ready, you may even end up ahead of people who didn't submit their transcripts on June 1 and people who don't start gathering LORs until they start getting secondaries.
Really, submitting any time in June is still going to be an early application.
Great, Great Post! This should be in the text book of the right way to do it.
I am not a fan of applying without knowing your MCAT scores, even if you consistently get great practice scores. I have had deal with couple of folks who were great on practice but had a bad exam day.
But having thing ready to go the moment you get your scores, is the way to do it.
I often see people complain about how long it takes AMCAS to verify their applications after submission when the reality is that AMCAS was waiting on their transcripts.
Obviously, the length of time to verification is longer early on due to heavy volume. I had all of my transcripts in prior to submitting, though, and it took less than two weeks for my application to be verified (I’m thinking it was actually only about a week).
T-3 days until able to submit. As of right now, all but one of my transcripts ( out of nine…yes nine) are in. I wanted to get the transcripts into ACOMAS and AMCAS asap due to having nine of them. and yes…nine for each application,plus the nine for me to enter the scores, i think i burned out my fax machine. I would have liked to been able to wait for the MCAT results prior to submitting but I am not taking it until July 29th. There just isn’t enough time to submit and verify without being way behind the power curve. As is, i am hoping that having all of my stuff done and sitting on some adcoms desk (even without the MCAT score)by the first of july. hopefully there are enough good things in the application to have somebody interested so that they are willing to remember me when the score comes out.
BTW, all i hear is that everybody does equal or less to their practice scores on the MCAT…doesn’t somebody, anybody have a example of doing better than their practice scores? Don’t make me be the first to post that it happened. 
Is there a post / website that show the steps (in detail) that need to done in addition to what is on the medical school application?
In other words, if I follow the instructions on AMACS and ACOMAS what other steps need to be done that are not covered in those instructions.
How much different is the AMACS (MD) and ACOMAS (DO) application process?
I found this link for AMACS on ehow, but it seems high-level
http://www.ehow.com/how_4451363_fill-out- medical-s…
Thanks!
The two applications are very similar. AACOMAS is less detail oriented than the AMCAS. Directions are very easy to follow for both. Letters of recommendation are nicer to do for the AMCAS as they allow the writer to submit one letter and then they will distribute a copy to each school you desigante. THe AACOMAS does not do this, so the letter writers will be sending individual letter to each school you pick. TO alleviate some of the burden on the writers, i included envelopes that were pre-stamped and addressed to each school, along with a label with my AACOMAS I.D. (given to you when you start your App) to put on the letter head. MAke sure you look at each school you are interested in to determine what type of LOR they require.
Seems more or less accurate to me. I didn’t apply DO, so I don’t know how different the applications are. As has been mentioned before, obtain copies of your transcripts for yourself to use when filling out your application. You can definitely start working on you personal statement before starting the application. In fact, if possible, I think it’s good to give your letter writers a copy of your personal statement (even if you end up changing it some before you send your application). It helps them to personalize your letters.
The one thing they don’t mention on that website is getting your letters of recommendation around. People drastically underestimate how long it can take to get your letters around. In fact, I would guess that for most people, LORs are the biggest hold-up in the application factor. Most (if not all) schools will not consider your application complete until you have the following: a MCAT score, submitted your secondary essay and secondary application fee, and have the required number of LORs in.
My tips for LORs:
- Ask your professors when you are taking their class (or shortly after class completion) if they would be willing to write you a STRONG letter of recommendation. This way, you have laid the ground work.
- Set up an account with a letter service such as Interfolio. This way, your letter writers only have to write their letter once and submit it to the service. Then you can request that the letters be sent wherever they need to go when you need them. MAKE SURE YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO SEE YOUR LETTERS. (*this doesn’t apply if you are using a committee)
- Sometime in spring the year you are applying, get back in contact with your letter writers (preferably in person). Give them at least a rough draft of your personal statement. As non-trads, I think it can also be helpful to give them a summary of your background or a resume/CV. Give them the information on how/where to submit their letter (including the fact that you have waived your right to read the letter).
- Follow up. Keep checking on whether or not they have submitted their letter. If you are using an online service, you will be able to see online if they have submitted them or not. Once the letter has shown up, contact your letter writers to let them know their letter has been received and thank them. If the letters haven’t shown up after a reasonable period of time (say a month), make contact with your letter writers and find out what’s going on (politely, of course). WRITE A THANK YOU NOTE TO YOUR LETTER WRITERS.
Which leads to the next point:
- Ask for one or two more letters than you will really need. That way, if one of your letter writers doesn’t follow through, you aren’t scrambling at the last minute to get another letter writer. If possible, you should have 3 academic letters, typically two of which should be from science/math professors (they can all be science). You can also get a letter from a supervisor at work or a volunteer experience. You should not plan on submitting more than one of these types of letters. Adcoms prefer academic letters.
- When you get secondary requests, have your online service submit your letters to the school Absolutely do NOT send any more letters than the required/requested amount. If they don’t give a maximum number, I would limit it to no more than five. Remember that these people are reading hundreds of applications.
- Follow up with your writers after the application season. Let them know how it went for you. Letter writers love to know that you have been accepted, where you are going, etc. If you were unsuccessful and are going to apply again, you can ask at that time if they would be willing to write a new letter for you.
Hope that helps.
Great info! Thanks for the posts Emergency and Drdriddle. I keep hearing the term secondaries. Is that just more information that the medical school is requesting?
Your AMCAS (or AACOMAS) app is your “primary” application. It gets sent to all schools that you indicate.
If a school is interested in learning more about you, they’ll request a secondary application. Each school has their own format for secondaries. Some require an additional 4 essays and 5 LORs; some just want LORs. Most will cost you a chunk of change; I think the average is about $70.
I should amend this, really. Apparently, it used to be the case that schools would only send you a secondary if your primary were sufficiently interesting. Now, the majority of schools request secondaries from every applicant they get, some before they even see your MCAT score.
Most secondaries require an essay or two, or at least some short responses. These vary between schools, and from year-to-year within a school. I think SDN has some info on what schools are asking on their 2aries this year, though I never really looked for spoilers like that.
You’ll find by the end of the process that a lot of essays can be tweaked, combined, and/or repurposed, so secondaries aren’t quite as daunting as they might sound. Still, it’s a fair bit of thinking and writing.
Finally, I’d like to note my support for just about everything Emergency wrote; that’s a damn fine post there.
The AMCAS or AACOMAS online application is the “primary” application that is submitted to all medical schools you list. These medical schools then receive the info and, if they consider you viable candidate, send another in-depth, school specific application packet known as the secondaries. Many schools appear to send secondaries to all, or nearly all applicants. Others are perceived to have some formula weighing GPA, MCAT, etc.
As for the content of the secondaries, The may ask for some additional personal statement, narrative, or others questions that are best answered specifically for that school. These should be filled out and turned around promptly, not fsst and frantically but quickly and carefully.
Some of the med students and doctors can list some of the questions/essays that they have been asked
That was great info. regarding the letters of recommendation. I did Interfolio.
Because my advisor at the post-bacc program said my list of osteopathic schools that I was applying to was too short, she urged me to pick some more, and also consider applying to some allopathic schools. I ended up doing the AMCAS and AACOMAS applications.
The AACOMAS one has a link to the Interfolio website, and you can (for a fee) set up an Interfolio account. I found that well worth the money. I had each recommender send one letter to Interfolio, which I used for the AACOMAS application, and a separate letter to the AMCAS letter service. This was because the letter for the AACOMAS application might mention specifically what I was a good candidate for osteopathic medical school.
I agree with giving them addressed stamped envelopes along with the LOR request. Helps move things along a bit. I sent them a copy of my CV as well and a few other details I thought would be helpful (made up a somewhat annotated CV to send out). Then sent an “update” letter if the recommender had not gotten their LOR out…sort of “Thank you so much for agreeing to do this. I really appreciate it. I’ve completed the on-line application and expect it to be processed by ____date. These are some of the schools I’m applying to”. See, not pushy but reminds them.
Then DEFINATELY send thank you notes out. Have a box of notecards ready to use. It’s just good manners (and expected etiquette). It’s also nice to let them know how you fare with acceptances, etc.
You can track online with both INterfolio and the AMCAS letter service whether they’ve received the letters.
I made a spreadsheet with the schools I was applying to and what types of LOR they required with their secondary applications. Then I could pick from the ones I had already loaded up. So, my turnaround time for secondaries was pretty quick.
One of the doctors (the past president of his state’s osteopathic medical association) insisted on writing separate letters to each D.O. school I was applying to. He just asked me to find out the name of the person in the admissions office to whom it could be directed. Part of this was that he knew some of these folks personally. Partly he felt it would be a stronger letter than “to whom it may concern” or “dear admissions committee”. Not sure if that’s the case, but I certianly did the legwork and gave him the names, thanking him profusely. His letter probably had a lot to do with my acceptances.
Kate
Great Idea on getting the personal info on whom to send the letters in the admissions office. If i have time i will definately try to do that.
Unfortunately, i misunderstood the setting up of the interfolio account. I thought the person writing the letter had to set the acount up…
That is why i went with the addressed envelopes.
Totally feel stupid, oh well, live and learn.
That’s actually what I thought too. Delayed setting up an Interfolio account for that reason, but in talking with one of the counselors at my post-bacc, she set me straight on how it works. I think it is NOT immediately obvious from their frontpage.
Kate