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Please Help -- Do I Have Time?


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Hello premed101 community,

 

I am in full panic mode right now. I'm writing the MCAT on September 11th and can only BEGIN my OMSAS application after that. Do you think I have enough time to write out all of the essays and apply to UofT this year?? How long does it usually take to write all of those essays? I am taking full course load classes this Fall.... do you think I can make it? Or do students put in months of preparation??

 

Thank you in advance..

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The UofT essays can be written fairly quickly, but the quality will depend on how much time you can dedicate to writing thoughtful responses. The more edits you can make for your essays the better, so start them as soon as you can and spend time to edit them as well. It won't hurt to try anyways if the application fee is not a considerable factor for you.

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I honestly wrote those essays a week in advance, so there isn't a big rush. Don't worry!

 

Thank you soo much !! Makes me feel better. By the way, if my referees mail the letters in by Sep 20th, are they all going to reach OMSAS by their deadline? I live in Ontario.

 

The UofT essays can be written fairly quickly, but the quality will depend on how much time you can dedicate to writing thoughtful responses. The more edits you can make for your essays the better, so start them as soon as you can and spend time to edit them as well. It won't hurt to try anyways if the application fee is not a considerable factor for you.

 

Thanks man, the last part of your message scares me.. I know I can write poor essays in 2 weeks but was wondering if 2 weeks is enough time for some high quality essay (assuming I spend almost all of my time on them)

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Wrote my essays in a week and here I am! Ask 1 or 2 people that recently entered the medical field or have knowledge of the admissions process/requirements to review them.

 

Thank you ! This makes me feel much better. 

 

One question though - do you think starting my OMSAS application mid-September and sending my reference letters (asking my referees to mail them ) by September 20th  would give them enough time to receive them?

 

Thanks again

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Thank you ! This makes me feel much better. 

 

One question though - do you think starting my OMSAS application mid-September and sending my reference letters (asking my referees to mail them ) by September 20th  would give them enough time to receive them?

 

Thanks again

 

The letters won't be the problem, then can arrive post submission date.

 

at this point try to relax :) First off you cannot do anything about the timelines and it will distract you from the MCAT. That distraction will simply void the entire result potentially, and that isn't something that would be good.

 

Can you write them in the aftermath in the roughly 3 weeks and do that application - yes, but you will have to really, really focus on that. Anyone can write something quickly but any essay takes time to polish, get others to help edit, reedit, edit some more........ha. The only thing I learned the most from the arts side of my education is just now much time essays can take to polish. It can be never ending.

 

I usually say in my talks you spend 1000s of hours on the GPA, 100s of hours on the volunteers and yet some people wing the essays which are worth a lot as well (often as much as the MCAT and TO in particular a lot more really). It deserves time, solid, solid time. Ace the MCAT and then make it your life's ambition  to do well on the that part too.

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The letters won't be the problem, then can arrive post submission date.

 

at this point try to relax :) First off you cannot do anything about the timelines and it will distract you from the MCAT. That distraction will simply void the entire result potentially, and that isn't something that would be good.

 

Can you write them in the aftermath in the roughly 3 weeks and do that application - yes, but you will have to really, really focus on that. Anyone can write something quickly but any essay takes time to polish, get others to help edit, reedit, edit some more........ha. The only thing I learned the most from the arts side of my education is just now much time essays can take to polish. It can be never ending.

 

I usually say in my talks you spend 1000s of hours on the GPA, 100s of hours on the volunteers and yet some people wing the essays which are worth a lot as well (often as much as the MCAT and TO in particular a lot more really). It deserves time, solid, solid time. Ace the MCAT and then make it your life's ambition  to do well on the that part too.

 

Thank you man, you're awesome! 

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The letters won't be the problem, then can arrive post submission date.

 

at this point try to relax :) First off you cannot do anything about the timelines and it will distract you from the MCAT. That distraction will simply void the entire result potentially, and that isn't something that would be good.

 

Can you write them in the aftermath in the roughly 3 weeks and do that application - yes, but you will have to really, really focus on that. Anyone can write something quickly but any essay takes time to polish, get others to help edit, reedit, edit some more........ha. The only thing I learned the most from the arts side of my education is just now much time essays can take to polish. It can be never ending.

 

I usually say in my talks you spend 1000s of hours on the GPA, 100s of hours on the volunteers and yet some people wing the essays which are worth a lot as well (often as much as the MCAT and TO in particular a lot more really). It deserves time, solid, solid time. Ace the MCAT and then make it your life's ambition  to do well on the that part too.

 

I didn't know this? How far after the submission date can they arrive? I'm presently stressing over my MD/PhD letters not being ready in time (referees are being surprisingly non-communicative, perhaps beginning of school year) - so this would be a big relief. 

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The letters won't be the problem, then can arrive post submission date.

 

at this point try to relax :) First off you cannot do anything about the timelines and it will distract you from the MCAT. That distraction will simply void the entire result potentially, and that isn't something that would be good.

 

Can you write them in the aftermath in the roughly 3 weeks and do that application - yes, but you will have to really, really focus on that. Anyone can write something quickly but any essay takes time to polish, get others to help edit, reedit, edit some more........ha. The only thing I learned the most from the arts side of my education is just now much time essays can take to polish. It can be never ending.

 

I usually say in my talks you spend 1000s of hours on the GPA, 100s of hours on the volunteers and yet some people wing the essays which are worth a lot as well (often as much as the MCAT and TO in particular a lot more really). It deserves time, solid, solid time. Ace the MCAT and then make it your life's ambition  to do well on the that part too.

 

Hi there,

 

Can you confirm what you said about the LORs? I believe all letters must be received by OMSAS by the end of the month.

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This is from the UofT med FAQ:

 

If a letter arrives at OMSAS on Octover 2nd is it okay? It is only one day after the deadline.

Any materials submitted after the October 1st, 2015 deadline will be considered late, and the application will be marked as incomplete and will not proceed to file review.

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Did U of T add a hard deadline this year??? I remember they didn't last cycle. If that's true, that makes me a bit nervous...

 

that is a bit new - now I have to see.

 

Traditionally the LORs etc arrived late all the time. I mean not radically late of course but there wasn't some strict hard deadline. If there is now that is a new addition.

 

Of course the goal was to always have them there by the first etc - as you can imagine disqualifying someone because of a delay in letter submission time a small bit is a rather harsh and also will drive there office up the walls - as there would be a flood of Fedex time letters being sent in right at the end all of which will need to be processed immediately, signed, confirmed........

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Just U of T it seems(?) cannot find any other school that has added anything.

 

I really, really hate hidden rule changes.

 

Seriously, this should have been emphasized on their admissions website - since its such a significant change. I just caught it today in the FAQ and rushed all my referees politely..

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