The Importance of June 1st

If you’re submitting your med school application at midnight before the December deadline, I hope you’re preparing your application for the next cycle. Although the med school application process is similar to that of the undergrad common application, the “deadline” should be renamed “dead-end”. You should be applying when applications open, not close, and I’ll explain why.

All applications for med school are handled through AMCAS, a part of the AAMC (who also handles the MCAT). AMCAS opens up May 1 for the concurrent year’s application cycle, and allows you to submit your application June 1. The big difference between most undergrad schools and medical schools is that the admissions process is rolling. That means that as soon as a school sees an applicant they like, they accept them. What that means for you is the later you apply, the less seats that will be available, and arguably, the more competitive it gets.

Applying late has a snowball effect, too. The application procedure consists of a few parts - the primary application, verification, and the secondary application. The primary application is what all schools see, and what you’re submitting to AMCAS. Once you submit your application, it will then be verified by AMCAS. AMCAS verifies your application with your final transcript, and MCAT score. Once verified, AMCAS pushes your application to your selected schools, who then send you their secondary application, usually some essay questions.

Back to the snowball effect. Because a minority of people apply the first few days of June, your application will be verified within a couple days. As the application cycle proceeds through the summer, the number of applications AMCAS receives increases, and the longer it takes for them to verify - this can get as long as a month. By the time you get your secondary application submitted, schools will be overwhelmed with them and you may miss out on an interview opportunity because of the mass of applications.

With rolling admissions, time is critical. But you have control of a few things.
1. Plan to take the MCAT before May 1 so your score will be available before June 1
2. Start filling out your application in May so you can submit it June 1. There is a lot of tedious information such as all your college courses, activities, etc (more about the actual application in a later post)
3. Order your final transcript early. You want to be first in line when everyone rushes after graduation to have final transcripts sent to employers and grad schools. Don’t get stuck in your school’s bottleneck.

I cannot understate the importance of submitting all aspects of your application early - including your secondaries. I brushed off one of my secondaries and didn’t submit it until November. I received an interview in February and my interviewer said “you’re basically interviewing for a waitlist spot. With your stats, I can guarantee you’ll get it. But if you had applied earlier, I could have guaranteed you an admission.” He was right - I was waitlisted and never got off of it.
The main point is to submit your primary on June 1. If for any reason you can’t, submit it as soon as possible. Admittedly, I submitted mine June 22 because I didn’t plan ahead - I took the May 21st MCAT and had to wait for my score. Know your important dates and keep track of them - timing is critical.