If you want to have a good chance of getting into your
preferred medical school, you will need to ensure your application is sent in
early. If you have not yet submitted your application forms, you will need to
know the implications of submitting it late.
Will it Hurt Your Chances?
Several medical schools operate on a rolling admission
process, with around 44 percent of applicants receiving their acceptance
letter. Schools that use the rolling admission system can choose to accept an
application on the first day of admission season or even after two months.
However, by the month of August, most schools have already decided which
applications have been chosen. Since medical schools interview only a select
number of applications, your late application could be automatically rejected
if there are no more interview spots remaining.
What You Should do if Your Application is Late?
The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS)
starts the application process in May and sends applications to schools by the
beginning of June. Though the deadline to submit application forms is in
October, some schools can extend up to December. The AMCAS has to verify
applications before transmitting it, so the wait in May is the shortest. If you
wait until June to then, you will have to wait longer. If you submit your
application in September, it could be too late. In which case, it would be
better to wait and apply the following year.
Alan Faustino is a well-known doctor and entrepreneur,
having founded two companies.
