Applying to Medical School

Applying to medical school is not done on the spur of the moment, it takes a lot of time, preparation and energy. To put the application process in perspective you can submit your AMCAS application in June; complete secondaries over the summer and fall; begin interviewing in fall and winter; and finally receive admissions decisions between October and March. Preparation Be sure you have the basic requirements for medical school complete. Depending on where you apply, you should be aware there may be additional coursework required such as biochemistry, calculus or the humanities. And we know it is crucial to take the MCAT before applying. You can submit your application before taking the MCAT, but your application will not be considered complete until the score arrives.

AMCAS

Ideally, you will have completed your prerequisites prior to applying. In the year before entry to medical school you will have taken the MCAT preferably in April or early summer.

AMCAS is very important when applying to medical school, essentially it is comparable to the common application for undergraduate institutions. AMCAS begins to officially accept applications on June 1st.

Secondaries

Once you have designated the schools you want to apply to on your AMCAS application, many of them will automatically send you their secondary application. Secondaries are a way for each medical school to ask applicants questions specific to their school.

Seccondaries can range from basic biographical questions to half page essays on a number of topics. In general most secondaries fall between these two extremes and are limited to one or two paragraph responses for each question.

Interviews

To be accepted into medical school you must do an interview at the respective school. This is a good way for the medical school to see if you actually represent the person on paper and for you to determine if you really want to go there. The interview season begins in September and runs through March.

Admissions

Admissions decisions for medical school run the entire length of the interview season. The earliest that you would know if you are accepted is October 15. If the school is not on a rolling admission cycle, then all decisions are made at once, typically in March. Again, you can only get admitted if you are invited for an interview and present yourself well.

As you can see applying to medical school is a very long process and it can easily last eleven months from the time of the MCAT (April) to an admission decision (March). Please turn to the many pages found on this website to learn the specifics of the medical school admission process.