On May 1, 2024, AMCAS will open for prospective medical students. Here's what you should be doing now:
- Develop your school list. You want a hearty list of "I could go here" schools and you’ll ultimately want to apply to between 25 and 35 allopathic schools.
- Finalize your Personal Statement and Work and Activities sections. This is going to take a while. If you blast it all out in one week, you haven't done it right. Give yourself time for revisions.
- Request your transcripts—and this includes those from schools abroad.
- Start entering your responses. Next week, when you can access the AMCAS application, enter your app info and follow up with your recommenders and/or your pre-health advisor/committee to ensure your Letters of Recommendation are on their way. AMCAS begins sending these materials out to schools in June. So, why are you checking on this stuff in May? "Because AMCAS must verify your application prior to its transmission, the wait typically is shortest in May, when it is just a few days," according to U.S. News & World Report. "By the end of July, the delay may be several weeks long." A delay in verification can hold up your getting Secondary applications (some schools send them as soon as they have your app; others read the app first and send them later). It can also mess with your getting optimal interview dates.
- Submit your primary application through AMCAS by mid-June.
- Start working on your Secondary Essays. "But I don't have the questions for the Secondaries yet!" you might say. That's true. Still, certain themes always come up, and if you have some stuff thought-out or, better yet, drafted, you can quickly tailor your answers to various schools' questions once they send them to you.
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