Step 3: Secondary Applications
Do your best to submit all secondary applications by no later than the end of July during the application cycle.
After verification, medical schools will start to receive your application. The earliest this typically happens is mid-to-late June. Medical schools won’t actually review applications at this point, but send over secondary applications to students who pass their minimum requirements.
Secondary or supplemental applications consist of up to 5 essays — some required, some optional — and they often require an application fee. Similar to the AMCAS, you may request a waiver if the fee isn’t financially feasible for you.
Check out this prompts database to get started writing right after submitting your primary application.
Once you’ve submitted secondaries, the admissions committees can start evaluating your applications. The earliest an admissions office would evaluate an application would be mid-July.
During this evaluation of your application materials, medical schools will drop you into one of 3 categories:
- Interview: You’ll get an interview invitation to meet with the medical school admissions committee. These interviews typically occur between September and March. Depending on the school, this may be in the MMI format (short, one-on-one interactions with several committee members) or a traditional interview where you meet with a few members of the institution’s admissions committee.
- On hold: In some cases, a school may not be immediately ready to move forward but not ready to reject your application. Most med schools will notify you by email if you have been placed on hold.
- Rejection: When a school decides you aren’t the right fit for their program, you’ll get a message to let you know you’ve been rejected.
Is a hold the same thing as a waitlist? No, being on hold means the admissions committee needs more time or information to make a decision. A waitlist has more to do with available seats in the entering class. There’s just not enough room to accept everyone, so schools have to wait until some accepted students decline their offer before accepting other suitable candidates.
If you’re selected for an interview, you’ll move on to the next step in the medical school application process.
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Step 4: Medical School Interviews
Between September and March, you’ll attend medical school interviews with each school interested in you as a candidate.
Interviews may be in-person or virtual. While virtual interviews have become more common, in-person interviews also remain popular and provide an opportunity to get to know your interviewer on a more personal level.
Regardless, preparing for these interviews takes quite a bit of time because they’re such an important part of the process. That’s why we’ve put together several resources to help you along the way:
Step 5: Admissions Decisions
Depending on the school, acceptance decisions may be made at any point between September and March of your admissions cycle.
Some schools send acceptance letters within a few weeks of your interview day (known as rolling admissions). Others wait to make final decisions until March, after all candidates have been interviewed. Even if you interview in September, schools in the second category won’t get back to you for several months.
How long does it take schools to evaluate applications? Medical schools evaluate applications in mid-to-late July at the earliest. Some schools may have a more extended timeline — they may not even look at your application until August. Some schools want to get a batch of applications before they start looking at them.
Because your medical education is so important, admissions teams carefully comb through your application. They want to make sure you’ve done your prerequisite coursework, participated in good extracurricular activities, and that you have the support of mentors.
Beyond that, schools must determine if your goals, personality, and demeanor align with their organization. Ultimately, they have to decide if you’re a good fit for their program. This process takes time.
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What about early decision programs?
Early decision programs can position you for a faster acceptance — with an offer by October 1st — but they also have some drawbacks (primarily that you can’t apply anywhere else until a decision is made). The deadline for all application materials at AAMC participating schools this cycle is August 1st, 2024. EDPs may also have additional admission requirements.
You can check out AAMC participating schools’ admission requirements using the MSAR database.
If you apply to a school’s EDP, you cannot apply to any other school until you’ve been formally released from the EDP commitment, or after October 1st. That means if you aren’t accepted, you’ll have plenty of time to apply to other schools, but you’ll be applying late in the game, which can put you at a disadvantage.
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Bottom Line
If you’re looking to apply to medical school in 2024, aim to have your ducks in a row by May. It’s almost a year-long process, so you’ve got to have some patience.
When you start filling out your application, keep in mind that you might not reap the benefits until March of next year. But the payoff to step nearer to your dream of being a physician makes the wait well worth it!
Want one-on-one support as you prepare for your interviews? Students who have 3 or more practice interviews with a Physician Advisor enjoy a 96% med school acceptance rate!