Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Waiting Game

    Once your secondaries are submitted, it's all out of your hands until you are called for an interview. It takes about a standard two to three weeks for them to review it, however, you will not hear from everyone right after they review you. The amount of time you will have to wait depends on when you submit your secondaries. Medical schools don't wait until everyone has submitted everything to then evaluate the applications. They start evaluating applications and having interviews as they come. They usually start interviewing in August through September and don't finish until March-April. While this is the general timeline some schools may finish interviews sooner than others, so it's important to submit everything early. A late secondary app submission is around November through December; the closer to the deadline of submission, the later it is.
     Submitting late has the small advantage that you will have to wait less than everyone else to hear the news (rejection or interview). But it has the large disadvantage of appearing like a redundant applicant to schools. If you are late, it means the admissions people have already viewed hundreds of other applicants. Unless you have an amazing application, it will be hard to stand out and still look refreshing when compared to all the previous candidates. You want all cards on your side for this.Schools will usually call if they want you, and email you if they don't, so now is the time to start taking calls on your phone from unknown numbers.
      The waiting game can be tough, especially when you submit early. You start hearing about peers who already have interviews; people keep asking you if you have heard from any schools all the time; then you receive your first rejection and that lowers your morale a little more. All the while there is nothing more you can do to increase your acceptance chances. During this period two key things will help: keeping busy and having a  plan B. Now that you are done working on the application process, you have free time! Use it to do anything that you may have put aside while applying. Hobbies, sports, people, anything. Go out, have fun, relax, put your mind in a different place to keep it from stressing out about the lack of news. It's easier to to do this when you have a plan B. With a career as competitive as medicine, the odds really come out to whoever is meant to be a doctor, will be a doctor. You have to be realistic about the competition and consider what would you do if you do not get in this year. Will you re-apply the next year? Take some time off to work, travel, do research, improve components in your application, apply to PA school? While everyone like to think they're amazing and they're hard work is bound to be noticed, there have been students with excellent numbers that have been rejected. Have a plan ready and don't lose hope. When you finally get that call, things will start looking up.

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