Elchris Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Hi everyone, I have been hearing/reading a lot about rolling admissions and was wondering how early can you apply to these schools and have a real advantage of getting in? As well, I think I am going to take a summer course which goes July-August to fulfill one of the chem requirements, does this mean that I won't be able to apply early-mid summer and have an advantage this way? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madz25 Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Applying early gives you a HUGE advantage. Schools start interviewing in Sept and fill seats as they go along...so when they start out in Sept, they have all seats available. By the time you get to Jan - not so many seats are available hence schools will focus on highly competitive applicants. You give yourself a better shot if you apply early. The earliest you can submit an application is June 1st. You can still apply if you're doing the chem course in the summer. You must complete ALL prepreqs before med school starts - you don't havee to have them done before you apply. If you apply summer 2007, you'll get in fall 2008 so you can do your requirements during the 2007-2008 school year as well. In the application they ask you to list all current and future courses so schools will see that you are in the process of completing the requirements. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elchris Posted January 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Thanks madz a lot for the reply. I was starting to worry actually that even this coming year would go wasted as I graduate in June, and would obviously like to take advantage of the early application. I was also wondering, is end of July still early, as I am calculating to take the june mcat and by that time I will have my scores and decide exactly where to apply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonyvaio2700 Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Thanks madz a lot for the reply. I was starting to worry actually that even this coming year would go wasted as I graduate in June, and would obviously like to take advantage of the early application. I was also wondering, is end of July still early, as I am calculating to take the june mcat and by that time I will have my scores and decide exactly where to apply. "J months" are usually fine, but early the better. I applied June 21st (pressed the submit button), but by the time my transcripts got there (July 7th), I was back in the line again! Finally, it was AUG 8th when AMCAS finnally decided to accept me. I was able to make up for the relative late primary applications, with SUPER fast secondaries time (all secondaries done within 2 weeks)...because I was working on them while waiting for AMCAS to verify (I hate AMCAS with passion !) But still I think personally because I was technically almost a month late it costs me one or two interviews. eg. NYMC. And some interviews I got but a month later eg. SUNY Upstate, SLU. However, since each school has a different schedule I was safe at most schools I applied. I was at first round of interviews eg. UVM, RFU, WAYNE, Hawaii, Albany. So you should be fine too. [WARNING: My cycle didnt have multiple MCATs in a year, so I donno how this might affect you]. --- What I suggest is you send your transcripts in on MAY! lol. And write your essay as SOON as you finish your MCAT. And then within a week "submit" enter. Yes, without even knowing your MCAT scores. This way you can start on the secondaries ASAP. SO when scores come out, you can get interviews the weekend after. Oh ya, yes, what madz telling you is right. You DO have increase odds of interviews and acceptances if you applied early. I say applying early increase your odds by at least 20%, more so if you have a mediocre stats. Also, another important thing about applying early is the PEACE of MIND you get. I was accepted on Oct 20th, and since then I am relaxing. With no school this feels great, or else I would have been worried sick . Oh by the way, Mid Oct is the first you hear from acceptances, only if you interview early is this possible. For more dates check out my mdapps page... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elchris Posted January 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Thanks sonyvaiofor the reply you guys are giving me such great advice and ideas ... really thanks. Now anothere question that arises in my mind with the multiple mcat dates, what my plan is to give myself 6 weeks of really serious studying and take it mid june, mind you this is my first time taking it so ... I might not do that well... in which case, if I do what you said with the timelines you mentioned, I can still book a later mcat date say sometime in July right ?? ... the only thing is that I will be a bit behind as they won't look at my apps before my test scores are released, but I can still use my prepared primary and secondary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonyvaio2700 Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Thanks sonyvaiofor the reply you guys are giving me such great advice and ideas ... really thanks. Now anothere question that arises in my mind with the multiple mcat dates, what my plan is to give myself 6 weeks of really serious studying and take it mid june, mind you this is my first time taking it so ... I might not do that well... in which case, if I do what you said with the timelines you mentioned, I can still book a later mcat date say sometime in July right ?? ... the only thing is that I will be a bit behind as they won't look at my apps before my test scores are released, but I can still use my prepared primary and secondary? Ok good question. My startegy only really works if you do well on MCATs. Again, it's a risk, and if you are confident about your MCAT score do what I told you (practice tests are good indicators). However, I know that it can be a hassel for ppl who applied with APRIL MCAT, and did poorly so took AUG MCAT again. Some schools refused to even look at the Aug MCAT score (Since they rejected you already), but some did I believe...but after the fact. Again there was like a 5 month lag between the scores and this might have to do with schools refusing to consider the Aug MCAT score. So I dont know how policies will change here...you might want to most this question on SDN or better call individual schools. I presume they will be more flexible in evaluating new MCAT scores...do you understand what I am saying? lol i making this complicated i think I think if you want to play it SAFE, you should press "SUBMIT" the minute after you get your June scores (in July). Make sure you have your essay written and transcripts all sent and ready to go. During the 4-6 weeks you wait for it to verify you should work on the secondaries...even BEFORE they mail it out to you (get questions from SDN, thats what I did). Sometimes I even sent them my secondary essays before they even notified me to do so lol. I presume if you get the score July 22nd, you will be verified around mid-aug, a week behind me...it's still ok and early EDIT: ON AMCAS you have to declare when you will take the MCAT...APRIL/AUG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elchris Posted January 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Yes I complete understand what you are saying because before the mcat was only offered 3 times a year and therefore the scores then would be a few months after, but as you say now that might change because it would only be about a month's difference or so ... I will check the sdn and if I find something out will post it here as other people might have the same question. And I do kinda want to play it safe because obviously don't want to loose all that money into applying when I don't stand a chance lol sad but could be When more questions arise (pretty sure they will) I will feel free to ask lol Thanks again and best of luck to you, although relaxing you don't need it that much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excalibre Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 Hi Elchris, I have a few ideas as well that might help you out. First off – completely agree that the earlier the better. I would suggest however, taking longer than one week to do your AMCAS application. To clarify, I would make sure to work a lot on the Personal Statement section. I took one entire week of work to write my statement, and it was revised by several people. I recommend that you go to the library and get the MSAR – the AMCAS Medical School Admissions Requirements and several books on college essays (try and pick the books are geared toward professional school, and forget the ones geared towards high school students applying for undergrad). Read as many essays as you can, and you will find some commonalities that are found in all of the ‘best’ essays (i.e. they tell a story which demonstrates their strengths and growths, they often start off with a catchy beginning, they explain extenuating circumstances without making any excuses). The MSAR book will let you know what schools you have the prerequisites and GPA for. Make sure to study hard for the MCAT. I spent the entire summer and did well 10/13/13Q. Many other students kinda did it haphazardly and didn’t do as well. The first time I did a mock MCAT I got a 6 in verbal and two 10s. I practiced a lot to bring my score up. I suggest buying a used set of course books from a Kaplan or Princeton course (though I took the Princeton course, that will likely postpone you applying early). Read the guide through quickly (two weeks for the Princeton’s six books). Buy a pack of MCATs from AMCAS. Do the test and make sure to time yourself and do it exactly as if it were the real thing. Take a weekend, go into the basement and have your Dad time you or whatever. The first test will likely be a bad score and give you the stress required to study hard. The best way to study (I found) was to do problems – many of them. And to time myself. Nobody else timed themselves when I did Princeton, but I think it made a world of difference. You’ll find that the breakdown is something like 2 minutes to read a passage and 1 minute for each question. Practice, practice, practice. Submit your AMCAS without waiting for your MCAT. You can apply to the more safe schools first. Then when your MCAT scores arrive, you can add more schools simply by going back to the application website and selecting more schools. I hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madz25 Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 A book you might want to take a look at for your personal statement is "essays that will get you into medical school." It has ideas of how to go about writing your essays, the different styles you can use, and examples of each style. It also has some interview tips. I borrowed this book from the library so it isnt necessary to go out and buy the book. I submitted my application on August 2nd when I applied and I found that to be quite late. It took 3 weeks for my application to be verified and some schools send secondaries AFTER your application has been verified (some send as soon as you submit the AMCAS application). Anyway, that set me back a week or two. What I found that took up the most time was reference letters!! Your file isnt complete until the letters arrive so you really have to stay on top of things and make sure your referees send in the letters ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Law Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 I was wondering, what does the primary application involve... and what does the secondary involve? Can you prepare for the secondary before they send it to you? Are these online or on paper? Madz and sonyvaio2700 - you guys are awesome! ... Exaclibre too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonyvaio2700 Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 I was wondering, what does the primary application involve... and what does the secondary involve? Can you prepare for the secondary before they send it to you? Are these online or on paper? Madz and sonyvaio2700 - you guys are awesome! ... Exaclibre too! About PS... Ya, when I said a "week", i didnt really mean a week. Personal statements takes longer, much longer. Mine took atleast 3 months to write, and have revised it perhaps 5-6 times. But after you finish your MCAT you should have one ready to go. I actually used Essay Edge, because I wanted my essay to reflect an "American way of thinking". This service has been talked about several times on SDN. And the general consensus is that it really depends on who edits and comments about your essay. My editor was pretty awesome, and my essay became 10 times better than before. When I gave this version to read to my reviewers (med students I knew, family, etc) I was told that it sounded really good...and AMERICAN . This service is also pricey though, costs around 130 USD for one essay. I totally recommend this service, make sure you search google for coupons that can bring this price down by 10-20 bucks. As madz said, you can also model your essay after the book she referenced. I did this too....but make sure it tells your story and is not a "cookie-cutter" type you see. About the timing... Hey Elchris, I like excalibre suggestion of submitting your primary with the addtion of "safe" schools only, and adding more schools after you find out your score. That's an awesome idea....this way you play it safe, yet you are verified...adding more schools after verfication is simple. Madz is right, AMCAS primary is not the only place you can get yourself delayed at. This is the place I got delayed however (Thanks to UofT and sending the transcripts so damm slowly, another reason to stay away from this school ). There is also the secondary application phase of the process where you can get delayed. A little thing as a LOR can delay you by a whole month or sometimes more. So make sure you have those LOR secured by end of MAY and on interfolio ready to be sent. This delay unlike AMCAS primary is totally in your hands! About primaries and secondaries... If you have time create a AMCAS profile. You will see what is required. But for the primary you require your MARKS, 15 autobiographic activities and an essay which is around 5300 characters (including spaces). This is the place you can add schools. You can add more schools after you are verified (on a later date). After you are verfied, your primary is sent to all the schools you have chosen. Some schools screen (usually based on GPA/MCAT) and then send you a secondary. Most schools dont screen and you get a secondary right after you submit or after it is verfied (depends on the school). Either way, the secondary part can vary depending on the school. Some schools are nice enough that all they want is your CHEQUE (usually 100 bucks), some schools not only want you cheque but more essays! All of them require LORs to be sent and your secondary will not be verified till they have your essays, money and LORs. hope this helps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonyvaio2700 Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 I was wondering, what does the primary application involve... and what does the secondary involve? Can you prepare for the secondary before they send it to you? Are these online or on paper? Madz and sonyvaio2700 - you guys are awesome! ... Exaclibre too! Opps forgot to answer the second part of the question... Some secondaries are online, some are on paper. I would guess a 50:50 ratio. The paper ones you can download from the webpage usually. For the online ones you have no choice but to wait for an invitation. But that should not stop you from just sitting around doing nothing. SDNers compile a list, which you can use this to get started on the questions. IF you are really good, haha, you can time your application. For example for RFU, I submited their paper secondary even before I was told to do so. When my secondary reach their office, the same day they they asked me to fill one . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excalibre Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Thanks for the shout out Law. I have to agree with everyone. Sonyvaio made a good point about getting the transcript to AMCAS ASAP. I had my transcript mailed over a month before I submitted my application. What happens at AMCAS (as I understand it) is that they will not verify your grades until after you submit it. So here is the plan as I understand it by consensus: Prepare for MCAT starting as soon as exams are over in April Get a copy of MSAR and a pack of old MCATs from AMCAS if you aren't taking a course Send a copy of your transcript to AMCAS (I think on the website it says they are prepared to receive materials after June 1st) Start reading books on essays/Get an essay service (I have never used one, but Sonyvaio seems enthusiastic) Contact some references and look at this Interfolio company. I have never used a letter forwarding service, but I wish I knew of these before. I will say one thing though - if you aren't shy about bugging your referee over and over, it would be best to have the letters personalized for each school. I think it makes a difference. June 1st - have your essay prepared for this day along with a list of schools ranked as 'Would love to go to, but competative' 'Would go, medium competative' and 'Better any school than none, easier to get into' Within a few days of June 1st, submit your application to the easier schools and half the mediums. Its hard to judge competativeness without MCATs, but you will have an idea if you did some mock ones. Go for some schools that seem a bit of a stretch, because you never know. Even if you are strapped for cash - imagine the time and money wasted from not getting in. It's worth it! Secondaries - many secondaries are available even before you submit your AMCAS. Just go to the website, and register. Make sure the letters of reference are out by this time. Interviews - I recommend the book "Sweaty Palms." GOODLUCK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeline07 Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 thanks to all those that have beenthrough this process helping us out! .. so primary's do not include the letter's of reference? We send them with the secondaries? I may have missed it , but secondaries come usually how long after you submit your application. Also, the delays you guys are talking about are kinda scaring me lol So the main delays you guys mentioned are transcript request delays, LOR delays, and AMCAs delays? Why woudl there be a delay with AMCAS if you submit it? how can you go abotu preventing that? Also, how much time woudl you reccomned giving yourself for the primaries (essay).. since I think most ppl woudl start workign on it after the MCAT... thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madz25 Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 WOW tons of activity on this thread! The Law - THANKS! I try OK...a few housekeeping stuff. AMCAS - its basically ur personal info, a list of courses you have take AND plan on taking before you enter medical school, your ECs/jobs/awards (limited to only 15 entries so make them good ones!!), and an essay thats essentially "why do you want to study medicine." I cant remember the word/character limit. AMCAS delays happen in processing and verifying your application. Someone at AMCAS goes through your application to make sure your information is accurate and that can take a few weeks. The later you submit - the longer this takes. There is no way to prevent this delay. You can only shorten it by submitting your application as early as possible. SECONDARIES - as I mentioned earlier, some schools send secondaries as soon as you submit your AMCAS application (pre-verifying) and some wait until your application has been verified. Either way, even if you submit your secondary before your AMCAS has been verified, your application will not be considered complete until AMCAS sends the school your verified application. LORs are sent with secondaries. As sonyvaio mentioned, some schools have paper applications that can be downloaded, others have online applications that require a username and password that the school provides you with. Also, some schools put a 'personalized' deadline for secondaries based on when you were given the secondary application for completion. What to expect on secondaries - generally schools ask for what courses on your transcript fulfill their requirements, additional essay questions (one often being why do you want to study at X school), has any parent attended and/or worked at the institution in question. You can't really prepare for the secondaries in advance because you don't know what the additional essay questions will be. I suppose you can find out what they were last year for a particular school but there's no guarantee that the questions will remain the same. You can, however, prepare your AMCAS personal statement in advance since it will be an essay outlining why you want to study medicine. I hope this helped clear up some questions/concerns regarding applications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excalibre Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Don't worry! You shouldn't feel pressured about this. In fact, you'll feel good since you will be applying before the 'wave' of applicants. It feels good to get things in early (versus the night before the deadline - which feels horrible, and I would know). Sonyvaio applied in one of the J months, and he got in on the first wave of interviews at several schools, so you don't need to submit five minutes after the application cycle begins or anything. The way AMCAS works is that you fill in your info, grades, activities, a generic essay and the schools you want to apply to (you can add more schools anytime). As soon as you hit submit, they put you in line to have your application verified (i.e. they check the grades you typed in using your transcript). AMCAS generally takes 3 weeks to verify. So make sure you send your transcript well before you submit your application. AMCAS notifies the schools that you have applied at this time, but does not send your application until it is verified. Some schools will send you a secondary application to do right away. Others will wait for the verified application to arrive. Many schools have a secondary website that you can register at, and start the secondary regardless of what is going on with your AMCAS (and if they do have this, do the secondary ASAP, even if they haven't sent you a letter/email inviting you to). For some schools you will have to wait for a paper secondary to arrive. The secondary generally asks for your personal info (even though its on your AMCAS....???), an essay or two (or three :-S) and MONEY. Have a VISA handy and be prepared to spend a lot (when you get invited to interviews, they feed you a lunch with this cash). Some places won't accept a credit card and you'll have to mail a money order. Get these at any Canada Post location (Canada Post's fee for money orders is less than at the banks). Personally, I would give at least a week to write. Add to that time to read books on writing admission essays. If you have done OMSAS and written the UofT essay, you'll know how long it takes, because AMCAS is similar to that (though better in my opinion). P.S. I just learned the hard way that if you take too long to write these responses, when you hit post, it asks you to long in and erases all that's been writen.... damn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Law Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 P.S. I just learned the hard way that if you take too long to write these responses, when you hit post, it asks you to long in and erases all that's been writen.... damn Argh, that sucks! So if you apply very early (say first week of June)... it's possible to be entirely done your application before the summer ends? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonyvaio2700 Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Argh, that sucks! So if you apply very early (say first week of June)... it's possible to be entirely done your application before the summer ends? Yes, I finished all my applications by mid-to-late Aug, I got verified on Aug 8th, 2006. I was super fast with the secondaries though. Check my mdaps for dates. Its totaly possible. IMO, I scared you guys too much lol. submitting in the "J MONTHS" is fine!!!! In fact, I got verified on Aug 8th, and I still made the first wave of interviews at most schools. Just be proactive and never waste any time. If you are waiting for the primary to get verified, work on the secondary essays . Also please get in those transcripts to AMCAS, LORs to individual schools, AND have lots of money in your bank account. these 3 things can slow you down tremedously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeline07 Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 THANK YOU to all you guys for the great info..it will definitely make applying much less confusing!=) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elchris Posted January 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Yes indeed thank you all for your replies and time, reading this info definitely gave me a better idea of what to expect as I was completely unfamiliar with the process. Sonyvaio I think you mentioned that it took you 3 months to write the 20 pp essay? Can you go further into this? Why does it take such a long time and does it mean you started writing sometime in may? And one more thing, how many references do we have to provide usually? I thought it was 3, but on another thread people said they had provided 5 references?? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madz25 Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 References: Some schools want as low as 2, the norm is 3, some schools ask for 4. Some schools will say a minimum of 3 but will accept up to 6. I had 5 referees to cover all my bases - ie. science prof, non-science prof etc. I didn't use interfolio so my referees were sending letters directly to the school and spreading out the schools among 5 profs lessened the load. Majority of US schools want ALL letters from professors. Edited to add: I did a search to find old threads and the topic has been brought up before but no solution was provided! Someone suggested taking analytical chem...don't know if that would satisfy the requirement. Best thing to do would be to talk to the chem dept and the US schools you're interested in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonyvaio2700 Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Sonyvaio I think you mentioned that it took you 3 months to write the 20 pp essay? Can you go further into this? Why does it take such a long time and does it mean you started writing sometime in may? Thanks lol. It took me 3 months to write 5300 character essay, which is like 2-3 pages I think. THis is because i wrote, ask someone to edit, they destroyed it, and then i went back to write it again. over and over again. this cycle continued for around 3 months. it wasnt everyday either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elchris Posted January 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 lol. It took me 3 months to write 5300 CHARACTER essay, which is like 2-3 pages I think. THis is because i wrote, ask someone to edit, they destroyed it, and then i went back to write it again. over and over again. this cycle continued for around 3 months. it wasnt everyday either lol I hadn't noticed the word so I calculated it in words, and already started thinking of how to fill a 20 pp essay ... am I going crazy ... maybe lol Thanks again guys, you are a tressure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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