Turns out we didn’t read the email correctly. D’s advisor was pointing out a change in the application process for DO schools. Duh.
I know this has been discussed before but I can’t find it now. Do they get 2s once they get verified or LORs need to be in in order for 2s to be sent out?
Schools send out secondaries once they have received a primary application. Primary applications are sent out by AMCAS only after verification.
Most schools sent out secondaries upon receipt of a primary application. (Last cycle when AMCAS was really backlogged, some applicants on SDN reported receiving secondaries before their apps were officially verified, but generally that’s not the process.)
Schools that pre-screen can reject an applicant before sending out secondaries. (Some schools will tell an applicant he’s been rejected pre-secondary; some just don’t send them secondaries. It’s a form of a silent rejection.)
An applicant does not have to send LORs to receive a secondary at most schools. Some schools specifically say NOT to send LORs unless the school requests them. (Another form of pre-screening.)
Each school has its own process for handling applicants. Follow directions exactly.
However, an applicant won’t be considered complete at a school until all application materials (primary, secondary, fee, LORs, etc) have been received. Incomplete files won’t be reviewed by the admissions committee.
IT BEGINS
Thanks @WayOutWestMom I was hoping that’s the case since his committee letter won’t be available until after August 1st.
This is probably a stupid question, but how should son dress for committee interview? His interviewer told him that it will be a casual interview. Should he still wear a suit or khakis and a nice shirt will suffice?
He should treat like an actual med school interview. That means a suit & tie.
By casual what’s usually meant is that the interview will be softball questions. The interviewer won’t ask stress questions or be adversarial/negative or delve into politics.
Thank you!
DS just had his interview. He was told not to wear a suit and that it was casual. He had his interview after a volunteering event, so he had khakis and his school polo. He should check with his advisor. As you can tell, not all schools are the same. At his school he also met with the committee three times this semester.
Is there a place on the app to include any honors or awards received? We can’t find any
There’s no separate place to list those.
If he wants to list awards/honors, he will have to use one of his experiences/activities slots.
@wayoutwestmom - what is the general practice in terms of the distribution of the 15 slots?
I have no idea. I would guess it varies by student.
Since my Ds were a non-trad and a gap year applicant, with publications, jobs,volunteering, and extensive clinical experiences, these occupied the bulk of their slots. Neither ended up listing any of their academic awards (PBK, Dean’s List, prize for best senior thesis in the natural sciences, prize for highest achievement in modern physics, etc).
Looking at D2’s AMCAS (I don’t have a copy of D1’s), she listed at least one of as many different types of experiences as she could.
Definitely varies by student. My D didn’t even use all 15 slots (although she did combine several things she could have separated-- her personal decision) and she did use one slot for all academic awards and scholarships earned. I think she only used 12 of the 15. She was a trad applicant applying during her senior year.
I wonder about value of including academic award(s) as they can tend to be related to how well someone locked themselves up in their room and studied. One might say that academic awards show an applicant is hard working and motivated but I think high GPAs and strong MCAT already answered that for most part and so academic awards can be somewhat redundant. IMO, after review of GPA, MCAT, LORs, PS, ECs, adcoms have more than enough to determine if II is warranted without much consideration of academic awards.
You guys have been so helpful. Hoping you can help with the current problem. The app cycle haven’t begun yet but son already has issues. Registrar at his UG screwed up his transcript request and didn’t include his spring semester grades. We got a copy in the mail today which means AMCAS should be getting it any day now also. I’ve read here on CC that if you submit multiple transcripts your application will get delayed. He called AMCAS and they said that as long as the correct version gets to them before his application is processed it will be ok. He then called his registrar and they mailed another copy of his correct transcript to AMCAS while he was on the phone with them. So theoretically there’s enough time for them to get it by June 2. I’m still freaking out though. My stomach is all in nots and I’m literally hyperventilllating. This process is complicated enough without this snag.
So do you guys think he’s ok with the timing? Anything else he should do to speed this along?
The processing starts only in June because that is when you can submit.(June 2nd).
^He’s going to be fine. A couple days or a week delay (which there probably won’t even be) will NOT be the reason he doesn’t get into med school. He is still going to be in good shape and on time. AMCAS was not as backed up processing verifications last year like they were the year prior, and hopefully this year will be the same.
Agree with others. He will be fine! You’ll find that this hardly counts as a “snag” and that with all his advance planning he will be able to cope with this no problemo. Try to relax and realize how on top of it you guys are! (I’m just one data point, but my transcripts weren’t turned in until mid-July, and I just graduated from medical school!)
My concern is that if he submits his app before his second transcript arrives his spring grades won’t be verified.
He didn’t take any prereq classes and his GPA didn’t change spring semester. His science GPA went from 3.93 to 3.94, which is not a big deal. So his 2 options are:
- Don’t submit app until 2nd transcript is processed
- Submit on June 2nd. Hope for the best. And if the second transcript doesn’t arrive before his application gets processed, notify the med schools directly with his spring breaks.
I read some SDN threads and the consensus there for kids whose spring grades don’t arrive in time for June 2nd submission seems to be to go for option 2. Especially if there are no prereqs invoked and GPA is unchanged.