It’s a common belief that submitting your AMCAs as quickly as possible is the best approach when applying to medical school. The mentality is to rush their submissions through at the moment the system opens because it’s a “first-come-first-interviewed” operation. However, this often leads to sub-par material and usually ends up working against the applicant. Below are a few reasons why people like to send their applications early and how that could impact their application in the long-run.
Before Submitting an Early Medical School Application
It’s important to know the positives of submitting an application early if you’re well-prepared for it. Medical schools go by a “rolling process,” which is just a fancy term that suggests people who apply first are more likely to land an interview. However, they still want the most impressive applicant, so if you rush your work, you’re still far less likely to be chosen. You have to prepare your application well in advance before you consider submitting it.
This leads to things that should be heavily emphasized in your application to medical school. You should print out the coursework you’ve completed in your studies so far in your transcripts and compare them to the ones closely related to the ones sent to AMCAs.
You should also take the time to thoroughly review your personal statement. A great piece of advice is to ask someone, who has never read your personal statement, to give it a read. They can give you an unbiased opinion on your work. They should focus on its readability, spelling, grammar, and how it would come across to the medical school examiner who’s looking for something special.
The most important thing to keep in mind is to write your application early. You need to get in with the crowd ready to submit their work right when the medical school’s system opens. However, you should also take the time to consider all the elements mentioned here to create something you’re proud of as well.