DECIDING TIMELINES

The conventional wisdom says that you should APPLY EARLY, and in general, that's true. Early applicants look as though they've really planned ahead, as though they are highly motivated toward medicine, and as though they have their own personal plans well in hand. In addition, admissions committees may be fresher, less weary of looking at piles of applications, and you may be applying for a greater number of available slots. If it's possible in your specific situation, try to have your entire application finished by June 1st, fully 15 months before you will actually enter medical school.

If it's your goal to have your ENTIRE application finished by this date, you must be completely finished with the MCAT by then. (No application is ever complete until MCAT scores are received by the school.) If you are to finish your application by June 1st, it means that you would have to have taken (and scored well on) at the LATEST, the SPRING administration of the MCAT, fully 17 months before you actually hope to enter medical school. If you want to be very sure that you achieve this goal, and if you still have time, here's one plan you could use.

You could plan to completely finish (and get excellent grades in) first year Biology, Chemistry, and Physics by June, fully 27 months before you hope to enter medical school! (If you hope to go straight to medical school right after college, this would mean that you try to finish first year Biology, Chemistry, and Physics by about June of your SOPHOMORE YEAR in college.) If you're able to do this (not everyone is), you could begin in your MCAT preparation right then, fully 27 months before you hope to enter medical school. Whether you take a commercial prep course over that summer or study with a book, (for MCAT study helps click here) stretch your MCAT preparation out over months, and then take the MCAT for the first time in the LATE SUMMER, fully TWO YEARS before you actually plan to enter medical school.

If your scores are fine, GREAT! But if they are NOT ACCEPTABLE for some reason, you can continue studying for the upcoming SPRING MCAT, do well on that one, and still have the earliest possible fully completed application, submitted in record time, on June 1st, fully 15 months before you hope to enter. This is the SAFEST way to structure your personal timeline, and it does poise you to be able to meet even stringent early decision deadlines (usually August 1, thirteen months before you hope to enter med school). It is not, however, the ONLY way.

Time constraints prevent many applicants from following a course such as the one I've described above. Everyone understands that. If it's too late for you to plan in advance in this way, I suggest that you simply finish (and get good grades in) first year Biology, Chemistry, and Physics as soon as you possibly can. Afterwards, take a period of months to prepare for the MCAT, and then take and score well on the MCAT at your earliest opportunity. Complete your applications as soon as you can after that.

Your very LATEST OPPORTUNITY to take the MCAT will be in the LATE SUMMER, fully 12 months before you hope to enter medical school.

If you find yourself in the situation of having to take a late summer MCAT, you might still plan to send your completed, high-quality application forms in as early as you possibly can (anytime after June 1st, 15 months before you hope to enter). It's trueyour application won't be complete on that date (without an official MCAT score), but most schools will review that application and give you an early invitation to submit the supplementary ("secondary") application forms with the requisite required additional essays. Receiving an early invitation to complete "supplementaries" can be very, very helpful. Typically, the more time you have to complete the supplementary process, the stronger they – and so your overall application -- will be.

WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME LEFT?

Some applicants find themselves almost in a frenzy during the summer before their late summer MCAT. Many students are working, volunteering, perhaps taking a compacted summer school class, and trying to prepare for the late summer MCAT, all at the same time! If this sounds like you, let me give you some special advice.

First, if you hope to enter medical school 12 months after your late summer MCAT, studying for the MCAT must take priority. It's critical for you at that point. If you can, try to free up your schedule in any way that you can. Cut back on your hours at work, if possible, and perhaps put off taking the summer school class if that is at all feasible. YOU MAY EVEN ELECT TO NOT EVEN WORK ON YOUR MEDICAL SCHOOL APPLICATIONS AT ALL UNTIL THE MCAT IS OVER. You might just do all you can to concentrate on the MCAT for as much of the summer as you can.

When the MCAT is over, then, start immediately on your medical school applications. Take about one month to make them the highest quality they can possibly be, and then certify them ONE MONTH after the late summer MCAT. This will assure that AMCAS has a period of weeks to process your application, and it will still reach the medical schools right when your MCAT scores do. Essentially, your entire application will all come together – application forms, MCAT scores, and everything – right at the same time: approximately October 1st, eleven months before you hope to enter med school. This plan will result in your having to complete many "supplementary" essays in a very short space of time, but it is far preferable to performing badly on the MCAT because you didn't have enough time to prepare for it.

ONE IMPORTANT WORD OF WARNING:

Do not, under any circumstances, throw together a rushed, hurried, substandard application and personal essays and then breathlessly click on "certify" just to say that "you got it in early." Submitting the highest quality application you possibly can is what matters ... even if that means you get it in a little later. Having an early application can be nice, yes, but it in no way makes up for a hastily thrown together, substandard effort.

Take your time. Your medical school application is one of the most important documents you will compile in your entire life. Give it the quality time and attention it deserves. And if you need help, I'm available. Click on GET HELP NOW.

I’M EAGER TO GET GOING ON MY AMCAS APPLICATION, BUT THE APPLICATION WON’T BE AVAILABLE ONLINE UNTIL MONTHS OR WEEKS FROM NOW!

It’s true that the AMCAS application doesn’t become officially available online until sometime between April 15 and May 1 each year. If you want to, though, you can start the application process much earlier than that. You may:

1. Start working on your essays earlier (for a reminder of the AMCAS essay questions and their length limits, click here)
2. Contact your college or university to order a copy of your transcript for your own perusal (you’ll want to be sure everything on it is accurate before you start working from it to complete the Coursework section of the AMCAS application – and certainly before you ask your school to send it to AMCAS)
3. Begin thinking through your application responses -anytime- by starting to work through the Applicant Worksheet that can be found at http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/start.htm

Don’t have your transcripts sent to AMCAS early, though; if they receive a transcript prior to May 1, they may destroy it. Best of luck to you as you put together an outstanding application to medical school! If you need any help, click on GET HELP NOW.

Best of luck to you!

Note: Because application advisors cannot control your grades, your MCAT scores, your amount and quality of volunteer experience, or how thoroughly you follow the advice offered on these pages, please understand that we cannot guarantee any individual's acceptance to medical school.