<p>My D. is a Junior and has the chance to go overseas for 6 weeks and will not be able to take the MCAT until July/August. Will that really impact her med school applications? Yes, we know April and May are best, but that just can't happen. She is not interested in taking a year off either. Do meds schools truly accept most of their applications by September/October?</p>
<p>Med schools do accept applications in September and October, however, many of their interview invitations may have been extended by that point, so she may be applying for substantially fewer interview spots at that point.</p>
<p>You know, this cycle is starting to wind down and we’re again seeing the exact same thing. Too many of my friends tried an MCAT in August, a result in September, applications and secondaries throughout October – and they’re getting rejections left and right even among a very good spread of schools. Don’t risk it. This has really majorly bitten a lot of my friends in a very negative way.</p>
<p>Get the applications in early. This is the single biggest thing you can do for your application.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your responses. I think the timing issue is a bit frustrating and is as scary as getting a low score because she isn’t prepared…both situations are problematic…although a low score…clearly puts you out of the running. </p>
<p>So my question is: if she has the application submitted by mid-July and the test score arrive to complete her application by mid-August, is that any better than September/October?</p>
<p>I know bluedevilmike and phoneyreal98 you must be thinking, “Didn’t we already answer this question”, you did…it is difficult, because she doesn’t want to “throw” the application together and she simply has no time as she is going out of the country to work with a physician in her field (which may impact her application—regardless whether the experience is positive or negative). </p>
<p>She is so excited to join the field that waiting a year to apply will be difficult for her, but may be the best option.</p>
<p>July is better but still really bad. My old advisor’s rule of thumb was the earlier the better, but the July 4 weekend is when things really turn ugly. I hate to say it but if she’s just not ready then she just has to take a year off. I’ve seen it go way too ugly way too many times. Some of my very qualified friends didn’t get in anywhere; some of my very most brilliant friends only had one or two choices which normally they wouldn’t have taken.</p>
<p>PS: We should measure these things in terms of time of complete application. So July 4 would be a May or June MCAT, while a July MCAT means a complete date nearly six weeks later than that crucial July 4 date.</p>
<p>Will taking the MCAT “late” (in august) hurt you if you are applying to mostly non-rolling admissions schools?</p>
<p>We’llsee, you’llsee…sorry couldn’t resist! Anyway, I am not sure which schools don’t have rolling admissions. From my understanding, I thought all Med Schools open their enrollment and start scheduling interviews…if the candidate qualifies…as they receive the application. Is this incorrect? Can you please tell me which schools DON"T have rolling admissions? When are there deadlines, then?
Thanks.</p>
<p>There are some schools which do not admit students until March. These are referred to as “non-rolling.” They tend to be the upper-tier schools (Harvard, Penn, Duke). Some of these schools really are rolling and simply don’t tell anybody until March. Obviously applying late would still be a disadvantage.</p>
<p>A few of these schools – like Duke – really are non-rolling and applying late really won’t hurt you, so you’d want your secondary finished by October or whatnot.</p>
<p>But if you are only applying to Duke and other genuinely-non-rolling schools, then you’ve already sabotaged yourself very badly.</p>
<p>Ok, Thanks for the info. It is exactly as you stated…the non-rolling admission schools are probably some of the most competitive schools to get into.
- Harvard
- Yale
- Duke
- UPenn
- NYU
- Columbia
- University of New Mexico
- University of Missouri, Kansas City
- University of Arizona—incorrect, they do have rolling admissions. </p>
<p>University of Arkansas</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>For a school with rolling admission, do they give you a time limit to accept or decline?</p>