PRE-MED HANDBOOK

Timetable

Many students wait until very late in the process to apply, which can decrease their chances for admission. As may be seen from the discussion above, it takes several weeks from the time an application is certified and sent to AMCAS until a complete secondary application is on file at the medical school admissions office. If documents are lost in the mail, transcripts are not sent promptly or any of a dozen other things occur, it can cause a delay in completing the application that can stretch into many weeks. The amount of time required to complete a carefully prepared application is usually underestimated. The student who waits until the approach of a deadline to start to prepare the application will have a decreased chance for admission. This is due both to the fact that a hurriedly prepared application may not present the applicant in the best possible light and to the fact that a late application may not receive the consideration from the committee that it would have if it had arrived earlier. The late arrival of an application may also make it more difficult to receive an interview, all other factors being equal.

You should begin preparing your AMCAS application soon after spring semester grades are received. Official transcripts may be requested from the Registrar before leaving school for the summer with the stipulation that they are not to be mailed to AMCAS until after spring grades are posted. The application can then be mailed by midsummer, allowing secondary applications to be completed before returning to school in the fall. Students enrolled in summer school should have their applications essentially complete before summer grades are posted. Soon after these grades are reported, the application should be completed, certified, and sent. This timetable will usually allow the strong applicant to obtain an early interview and an early acceptance.

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