If you’re getting ready to send in your primary application for medical school, you probably think you have to have every little thing ready to go (especially your MCAT scores) before you hit submit. But, the truth is, you can do way less and still be ready to hit that submit button once applications open.
So, can you submit your primary application without MCAT scores? You sure can, and it’ll even end up saving you both time and energy! Here’s how to do it.
This post is all about answering can you submit primary application without MCAR scores.
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Can You Submit a Primary Application Without MCAT Scores? – Find Out Here
Why You Should Submit Your Primary Application ASAP
Unfortunately, you can’t submit secondary applications right after you submit your primary application. There’s a 4 to 6 week verification process in between where you can’t really get much done on your secondaries yet. This is even if you already have a full school list in mind.
With that timeline in mind, I recommend hitting submit on your primary application right on June 1, especially for pre-meds who want to get everything done as early as possible to stay ahead. It might sound scary or overwhelming to try to put together your primary application while studying for the MCAT or juggling other commitments, but I promise you that it’ll be easier than you think. That’s because there are some things you can leave for later!
3 Surprising Things You Don’t Need for Your Primary Application
Let me blow your mind right now. I bet there are 3 pieces of your medical school application that you’re honestly stressed about: your MCAT score, your letters of recommendation, and your full school list. But, what if I told you that you actually don’t need any of these to be ready to press submit on your primary application?
1. MCAT Score
Lots of pre-meds feel like they have to wait until they have their official MCAT score in their hands before they can submit their primary applications. However, it’s not one of the core pieces that you need to click submit! Some students haven’t even taken the MCAT yet by June 1. If that’s you, you can go ahead with your primary application and enter the verification queue. That way, you’ll be ready to finalize your secondaries as soon as your MCAT score arrives.
2. Letters of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation are always tricky to nail down because they aren’t entirely under your control. In a perfect world, all your letter writers would have their letters finished. Also they should’ve been uploaded by June 1, but that’s probably not what will happen. Realistically, you might reach out to them and end up getting ghosted for a while. Or, they’ll tell you they’ll have it done by a certain date, and it ends up taking them way longer. Meanwhile, you’re badgering them with emails.
If that sounds like you, I’m here to tell you not to wait to press submit on your primary application! You don’t need to have all your letters uploaded to do it. So go ahead and get into the verification queue instead of waiting around. You will need your letters by the time you are ready to submit your secondaries though. So keep reminding your letter writers if they’re still lagging behind.
3. Full School List
From work to studying to finding time for the things you love, you juggle a lot of things at once as a pre-med, especially in May and June. Looking at the full scope of your medical school application might even make your head spin with how many parts there are. But, the key to staving off that overwhelming feeling is to break everything down into more manageable chunks. Also, you can do exactly that with your primary application.
Rather than forcing yourself to research a full school list while simultaneously studying for the MCAT or working on your personal statement, set that part of your application aside for later. You can submit your primary application with just one school listed, then freely add your full school list later on.
First, spend your time focusing on writing an amazing personal statement and extracurricular essays. Also, make sure you input your grades properly, especially if you went to multiple colleges. After your primary application is submitted, you can then use the verification period (when you’ll be waiting around anyway) to sit down and think about what you want in a medical school. Look up stats and residency bias information in the MSR. You have to really dig into that research when you actually have time for it.
I promise you’ll still have your full school list ready when it’s needed. Also, you can make the absolute best use of your precious time!
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What You Actually Need to Submit Your Primary Application
So, what pieces of your application need to be ready before you press that submit button? Let’s go over a quick list:
- Transcripts. Make sure you input all your undergraduate transcripts as well as any you have for graduate or post-bacc work.
- Personal Statement. Your personal statement will probably be the most labor-intensive part of your application. However, putting in the work for a stellar personal statement will be well worth it!
Extracurricular Descriptions. Give yourself enough time to write engaging extracurricular essays that really tell the stories of your experiences. Explain what you gained from them.
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These 60-90 minutes are jam-packed with the key strategies that helped me receive 10 acceptances, despite a lower GPA. So you can get there as well!
Once you have those three pieces of your primary application ready, you’re good to go with submitting!
Don’t Wait – Get Ahead of Schedule
There are so many benefits to staying ahead of schedule when it comes to med school applications. The last thing you want is to be scrambling to put everything together and hit submit right before the deadline. Not only will you stress yourself out way more than necessary, but you could also hurt your chances of acceptance if you aren’t putting your best effort into your essays because you had to rush them.
Taking little steps like submitting your primary application early can make a huge difference as you prepare. Same goes for breaking up the work you do for your application. It’ll make juggling life, work, and studying much easier while also teaching you in advance how to handle a lot of different things coming at you at once (something you’ll have to get used to quickly once you’re in medical school).
The best advice I can give to all pre-med students is to plan ahead as much as possible. If you go into each day knowing exactly what you need to get done, you’ll feel so much more in control of your whole application process. There might still be some anxiety and tears involved here and there. But you can really cut back on that stress with just a few small life hacks like this that give you more room to breathe.
Final Thoughts on Submitting Your Primary Without MCAT Score
Applying to medical school is an intense and stressful journey. So it’s important to find the little life hacks along the way (like not waiting for that MCAT score) that could make things easier for you. I hope this information helps you feel more prepared to submit your primary application and stay ahead of schedule without putting yourself through so much stress. Good luck – I know you can do it!
