<p>Just trying to make sure this is basically how it goes if you would be a May, 2011 graduate.</p>
<li><p>Take MCAT probably April, 2010</p></li>
<li><p>AMCAS application available early June, 2010 - be ready and submit ASAP</p></li>
<li><p>Next the schools interested in you will send a supplemental application to fill out - assume this would be the summer of 2010</p></li>
<li><p>Then schools still interested in you will ask you to interview - is this all during your senior year of college?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The reason I ask is that D is a science/foreign language double major, plus a music minor and wants to study abroad at least for a summer. Studying abroad for a semester would be difficult due to the double major and if she wants to have the chance to take at least a couple of those great classes that have nothing to do with premed or your major. She was considering the summer after her junior year then learned of the supplemental applications.</p>
<p>Does the basic outline above look correct?
Do you spend the summer between your junior and senior year doing supplemental applications, etc.? Are interviews ever conducted during that summer?
Any other thoughts or basic words of wisdom?</p>
<p>You're correct that the summer after junior year is a bad time to be abroad, although secondaries CAN be filled out from anywhere. I've known a couple people who did this from overseas; in one case, she was too busy and I think the timing did end up sabotaging her. Most secondary applications are electronic, although some demand mail. Interviews MAY happen in August, but those are pretty rare. Generally they'll start in earnest in October.</p>
<p>As a parent of someone who went throught the process, your timeline is correct. You need to submit the application as soon it's open for submission in June. The "secondaries" come as soon as the verification process is complete, which takes a week or two. You could take some time to go abroad in the summer after junior year, but you have to leave time to get all the secondaries done my mid-august. Interviews start in late August and continue through the Spring. However, most schools are on a rolling basis, so the earlier they review your application, the earlier you get an intereview, the more slots they have open. Doing everything early in the application process is a big help. I would also suggest that your D starting working on the personal statement for the application a few months ahead of the submission date. Take the time to go through several drafts and get a really good statement that is ready well in advance.</p>
<p>Thanks you BDM (as always) and MTS - your responses helped alot.</p>
<p>Sorry for being such a newbie, but I have a couple more questions.</p>
<p>Is it correct that the MCAT is only offered April and August now, with April being the preferred test taking time? Since it is taken on computer, do you get the score "on-site" as with the GRE?</p>
<p>Regarding the interviews - (this is going to sound incredibly niave), but do you just fly off here and there for interviews, missing class, during your senior year? Are the interviews held during the week or on Saturdays? </p>
<p>BDM - the time alert was incredibly helpful. I just added 3 years to every date!
One question - #6 on your list - do you request secondary essay topics so you can go ahead and write up essays on the outside chance someone is using the same topic or also just simply for the practice? </p>
<p>MTS - (Another dumb question) What exactly is the "verification process" - just waiting for your transcript, recommendations, etc.?</p>
<p>On interviews, yes, you fly off and miss classes. I don't believe my son had any interviews on the weekend. He tried to schedule them on Friday, when he (as many seniors) had no class, but he missed plenty of classes.</p>
<p>Verification is as follows. On the application, the student fills in all of their grades and course work. The association then gets your transcripts, and they check to make sure that the information you put in was correct. It's just mechanical. Once they verify all of that, they send it out to the medical schools.</p>
<p>MCAT's are offered year-round, but the scores are NOT reported on-site. I'm not sure why this is. In any case, it takes about three weeks. Fortunately, the test is not adaptive (gets harder as you do better).</p>
<p>Ideally, you will want a score by the beginning of June, so that you know where you should be applying. Test-day surprises, one way or the other, are very common.</p>
<p>Interviews are held during the week.</p>
<p>Doing old secondary applications is because relatively few schools change them, year-to-year. So if you have Baylor's 2010 topics, they've got a medium-good chance of being Baylor's 2011 topics as well. Plus, there's substantial overlap from school-to-school as well. Again, that's just if you find yourself ahead of the game.</p>
<p>The MCAT is offered 22 times a year so you should be able to take it practically any month you want. I think the 3-4 week delay in score reporting has to do with scoring the essays.</p>
<p>Sorry BDM, I should have looked up the MCAT test dates before asking - I heard some place it was just April and August (not sure where that came from!). It looks like it is offered every month except February, October, November, and December - at least for 2009. If you want the score by the beginning of June, April still sounds like a good month.</p>
<p>Thank you both so much for all the pearls of wisdom! If you think of anything else, we'd love to hear it!</p>
<p>
[quote]
You're correct that the summer after junior year is a bad time to be abroad, although secondaries CAN be filled out from anywhere. I've known a couple people who did this from overseas; in one case, she was too busy and I think the timing did end up sabotaging her. Most secondary applications are electronic, although some demand mail.
[/quote]
That sucks. I'll be in the States for May, but will be leaving early June for Australia for quite a while. My state schools essentially have no essays for their secondaries, so that shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully the secondary topics found on SDN won't change too much and I can work on them spring semester.</p>