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new to American apps: is it too late? Is it worth applying?


sidi

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Hi!

 

I am really new to the whole American med. skool application process...is there a thread that explains the whole process, like what is a primary vs secondary application? How much it costs to apply, etc?

 

As a Canadian citizen, is it worth it to apply to US schools?

 

As well, is it too late to begin applying? I haven't done anything yet.

 

Thank you!

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It is way too late to apply. (((edit: you can still apply, but I wouldn't recommend it, you may as well throw your $$ in the toilet)))

 

The american process starts in June, and does rolling admissions so basically first come first serve in terms of getting your application looked at.

 

Primary is the application you send to AAMC, who forwards it to as many schools as you wish (30$ each plus 120$ app fee).

 

Then some of the schools who want to know more about you will send you a secondary application which could be an essay or 2 or 3 or nothing....

 

After that they will choose candidates for interviews which can start in september and go all the way until april.

 

As a canadian, if you apply EARLY and to the right schools and have reasonable stats, you stand a good chance.

 

Do a search in this forum and mostly on forums.studentdoctor.net and you will find a wealth of information

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I am going to submit a secondary to wayne soon and even I am uber late. You have to get verified, thena fter that you have to wait to receive secondaries, then finish that, then you have to wait to get complete, then get reviewed, then get interviewed, and then get reviewed again. After thats all said and done, the class is nearly full and you might be interviewing for a waitlist spot.

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also, to put it in perspective... i submitted my columbia secondary on sept 9 and they will start processing apps from sept 1-12 this week. acceptances will be handed out mid october.

 

 

i learned a lot from here but i would say gear up for next year so that you can take advantage of mistakes made and submit a sick application.

 

the primary includes your transcripts, 15 extra currics (1300 characters each), and a 5300 character personal statement. they release in may so you can know the exact requirements. either way you should think about references too.

 

if you submitted your app in june and had all your references in order. you could be complete at schools by early-mid july which is HUGE.

 

may i ask what your stats are though? if you are very competitive you could apply at the non-rolling whihc are top notch if i am not mistaken.

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I am going to submit a secondary to wayne soon and even I am uber late. You have to get verified, thena fter that you have to wait to receive secondaries, then finish that, then you have to wait to get complete, then get reviewed, then get interviewed, and then get reviewed again. After thats all said and done, the class is nearly full and you might be interviewing for a waitlist spot.

 

For wayne there's no advantage to submitting early.

 

You'll learn that on your interview. They're rolling/monthy meaning each month has a block of seats dedicated to it so your chances of getting accepted in Jan are the same as in Sept.

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Hey guys, I also have some newbie questions:

 

Do you have to fill out a sketch with a bunch of verifiers just like OMSAS? Or just the essay and these "secondaries" with a bunch of activities and verifiers like U of T PS/Mac Questions?

 

Also, the American acceptances and interviews seem to come out very early. What's the earliest possible it is to get accepted? October-ish? I read of some people being accepted already. What kind of GPA do they expect you to maintain? Is that the only condition?

 

If you're accepted before say May... how does it work if you wanted to hold your acceptance until May 15th when the Ontario results come out? Or another American school? That seems like a long time.

 

 

Not applying this year, but curious for next.

Thanks.

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Hey guys, I also have some newbie questions:

Do you have to fill out a sketch with a bunch of verifiers just like OMSAS? Or just the essay and these "secondaries" with a bunch of activities and verifiers like U of T PS/Mac Questions?

 

You have to write a personal statement for AMCAS.... you also need to fill out a list of activities/ECs

 

Also, the American acceptances and interviews seem to come out very early. What's the earliest possible it is to get accepted? October-ish? I read of some people being accepted already. What kind of GPA do they expect you to maintain? Is that the only condition?

 

US acceptances begin on October 15th the earliest. Only people who apply early decision (which means they basically forfeit their right to apply to other schools before mid october) can be accepted as of October 1st. BUT not many people get accepted this early, the schools will generally hand out acceptances until May 15th then start going through their waitlist.

 

Usually they expect you to maintain a reasonable GPA and pass all your classes. An acceptance is not a free ticket to slack off.

 

If you're accepted before say May... how does it work if you wanted to hold your acceptance until May 15th when the Ontario results come out? Or another American school? That seems like a long time.

 

Most schools will ask you to put down a refundable deposit. I think many US schools give the same May 15th deadline but many have their own rules and regulations. Anyway, in the grand scheme of med school costs if you lose a couple hundred dollars to have security and peace of mind its not that big of a deal

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Are you sure? Some folks last year applied late and got in.

 

If you only complete the primary this week, it will take until at least mid to end november to get everything verified.

That means you're filling out secondaries in December. Your file will be at the bottom of the pile and unless you are a stellar applicant, you probably wont have much of a chance.

 

Just my opinion though, the OP can do as he pleases. But like I said, the money will not be well spent.

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If you're looking to apply to American schools at this late of a cycle, you should go for the ones that don't have rolling admissions. But I understand that schools that don't have them generally are from the top tier.

 

Generally in terms of "random" statistics the chance of acceptance from applying early starts as high as 1/8 then drops to about 1/100 if you're talking about very late.

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as a guide for when you are complete at schools

 

june - uber early

july - early

august - early to average

september - average to kind of late

october - kind of late/late

november - hope your mcat is really good

december - don't bother

 

interviewing in october is considered rather early.

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well, i guess my stats are not stellar

 

MCAT: 11-9-Q-11

GPA: 3.9/4.3 scale

 

Volunteering: tons! Co-chair for University club (3 years), hospital vol. (5+ yrs), International vol (Botswana: HIV Research), Employment (HIV research), soup kitchen (3 months), numerous clubs in high school.

 

So, I should not bother applying seeing as how the rolling admissions has begun and the schools may not get to my application?

 

I should have started researching this a looooooooong time ago!

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well, i guess my stats are not stellar

 

MCAT: 11-9-Q-11

GPA: 3.9/4.3 scale

 

Volunteering: tons! Co-chair for University club (3 years), hospital vol. (5+ yrs), International vol (Botswana: HIV Research), Employment (HIV research), soup kitchen (3 months), numerous clubs in high school.

 

So, I should not bother applying seeing as how the rolling admissions has begun and the schools may not get to my application?

 

I should have started researching this a looooooooong time ago!

 

Your stats are good, but not good enough to compensate for being this late.

Apply as early as possible next year and you will have a great chance.

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It seems like if you're an oustanding applicant it doesn't really matter how late you submit. So, if you've got a 3.8+, 37+, in-state, URM, multiple publications, 1000s of hours of clinical....you could submit at the deadline and still get several interviews. And since someone like that would probably be shooting for the non-rolling top 10s anyway, once they have an interview they're on the same playing field as anyone else. However, if anything about you is "average," they've likely seen someone "just like you" already.

 

IMO, the reason why so many Canadians have trouble with the US is that they get already to apply in Canada, and only after October 1st they start worrying and think they can throw in a US app at the last minute "just in case." So it's even worse for you because you'll be competing against all those other October Canadian applicants.

 

I agree you should wait 'til next year. Schools will be far more willing to take a look at a Canadian with good but not knockout stats in July than they will in November.

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