Everyone says applying to medical school early is important — the medical schools, your pre-health advisors, the online admissions sages, the private consultants, the guide books, and your cousin/sister/uncle in the field. But how early is early? And is it important to be the earliest? We recommend submitting your AMCAS by mid-July. Mid-July is fine, but you will feel nervous waiting for your secondaries while everyone else is completing them. Do not submit in August. Every year we work with applicants who submit in August and do not get in simply because they were late in the process. Applicants with very strong applications. Secondaries should be turned around in a timely manner and we suggest within two weeks. The letter packets from the University of Pennsylvania go out in August (If that freaks you out, remember that your secondaries are not returned until around then either. Nobody is waiting for letters of recommendation before they review the AMCAS, which can take up to 4 weeks to process and verify.)
So, you may be thinking, if it important to be early…isn’t earlier better? Isn’t the earliest the best? Won’t I have the best
chance of being invited for an interview if I am very early? It doesn’t really follow unless you assume medical school admissions staff believe that their strongest applicants apply first. Of course, they will want information early because they have a lot of work to do and there can be unexpected problems that slow down the process. But it doesn’t mean you are “hurting your chances” by taking the time you need to submit a polished application and thoughtful secondaries.
Yes, it is important to apply early, but it isn’t a mandate to do everything as quickly as possible under extreme stress. It isn’t a race (although it may feel that way sometimes). Losing sleep because it feels like others are “ahead” will not help either. Staying organized and focusing on your application is all you can do. Rushing through secondaries will not help. Be early, but be good, and have faith that medical schools need the information in a timely fashion but are committed to identifying the applicants who are the best fit for their program.
