Would Early Submission of AMCAS Make a Difference For Me?

[JKetlerP]

Hello all,

I've been hearing from all over the place that I should submit AMCAS as early as possible to beat the long wait. However, I will only be taking my MCAT July 27th (late, I know ). This is because I am taking 3 pre-requsite courses that only finish mid-June.

As you can imagine, I am quite busy trying to juggle those courses along with extracurriculars. I realized yesterday that since my MCAT score won't be available anyway until August 29th, maybe there's no point in squeezing the AMCAS into my schedule right now? Meaning, if I submitted June 20th or something, it would (or should, at least) be verified long before the MCAT score is reported to the schools anyway.

Does it matter if you submit/get verified early if your MCAT won't come in until much later anyway? Is it worth squeezing it into my schedule?

(On the other hand, I guess you can start getting secondaries back even before the MCAT score is reported? Although, I was actually thinking of taking some advice I'd seen here and only initially applying to 1 school until I see my score :/ )

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[rufflev]

A lot of schools won't review or finish their review of your application until the MCAT score comes in so there's no need to submit it as early as you can. Plus there is the possible detriment where you score poorly on the MCAT and decide not to send that score to the schools that you applied to, thus resulting in a waste of money and a failed application cycle.

It seems that you are pretty busy as of now and that trying to apply early would only worsen this. I'd just recommend focusing your time and effort towards your three pre-requisite courses and the MCAT so that you do the best that you can, and either decide to apply late this cycle (if your credentials permit) or take a gap year, increase your extracurriculars/MCAT (if need be) to make yourself a stronger applicant for the next cycle.

 

[sullen-burger]

I was actually thinking of taking some advice I'd seen here and only initially applying to 1 school until I see my score :/ )

This is solid advice.

 

[DrHart]

Hello all,

I've been hearing from all over the place that I should submit AMCAS as early as possible to beat the long wait. However, I will only be taking my MCAT July 27th (late, I know ). This is because I am taking 3 pre-requsite courses that only finish mid-June.

As you can imagine, I am quite busy trying to juggle those courses along with extracurriculars. I realized yesterday that since my MCAT score won't be available anyway until August 29th, maybe there's no point in squeezing the AMCAS into my schedule right now? Meaning, if I submitted June 20th or something, it would (or should, at least) be verified long before the MCAT score is reported to the schools anyway.

Does it matter if you submit/get verified early if your MCAT won't come in until much later anyway? Is it worth squeezing it into my schedule?

(On the other hand, I guess you can start getting secondaries back even before the MCAT score is reported? Although, I was actually thinking of taking some advice I'd seen here and only initially applying to 1 school until I see my score :/ )

This. Get verified with one throwaway school and then add others when your MCAT score comes in. If you pre-write some secondaries (so you have a quick turnaround time) you should be marked as complete sometime in September. Not too bad at all.

 

[efle]

You are correct that if your MCAT won't be sent until late August, there is no need to submit your primary in June. You do need to pre-write secondaries though, and still need to submit your AMCAS in late July at the latest, so that it is verified and sent to schools by the time your MCAT score is released.

 

[Ehwic]

Although, I was actually thinking of taking some advice I'd seen here and only initially applying to 1 school until I see my score :/ )

I second this advice with the suggestion of "applying" to a school that is a high reach or a school you know you wont like to go. It wastes $35 but I see it as paying for your application to get in earlier and saves you some time in the long run.

 

[JKetlerP]

Thanks for all the quick replies--this very helpful!

Thanks so much!

 

[camtheram1815]

Here's what I'll tell you from my own experience.

I applied two cycles. The first cycle I did something similar to what you're doing, which is submitting in June, taking the MCAT in August, and being complete early September. I received 2 II's and no acceptances.

This cycle I applied day 1 and was complete everywhere mid July. I received 6 II, and was finally accepted after going through this long process, which I regrettably made even longer.

Your success is largely dependent on the other factors of your application, and the schools you apply to. There is a reasonable chance you might be an exception and be just fine regardless, but my advice is to minimize the amount risks you take. I was in your boat two years ago and refused to believe that submitting late made that big of a difference. Well, it did. At least for me.

I'd write your MCAT in July, take your time in finding an awesome opportunity for a gap year, and apply day 1 the following cycle. It's what I wish I did.

Best of luck!