Going through the application cycle is complicated, and it’s important to understand application timelines. Specifically, rolling admissions. Compared to traditional medical school application timelines, schools with rolling admissions evaluate applications in the order that they are received instead of waiting until a certain date to review all applications. Schools with rolling admissions will offer interviews and acceptances in the order that applications are received. You should consider the impact of rolling admissions as soon as you decide that you are ready to apply. The choice to apply to schools with rolling admissions will have a significant impact on the success of your application.
YES! Rolling admissions benefits the applicant because if you apply as early as possible your application will be reviewed before any other applicants who apply at a later date. That is, if you submit your application on the first day that the application opens, it will be reviewed before someone who submits their application on day 7. This is a huge advantage which is why we recommend submitting as as early as possible! You should study the application timelines very carefully in order to have your materials ready as early as possible.
Applicants who submit secondaries sooner will have their applications evaluated sooner and will get the earliest interview dates. Spots in medical schools with rolling admissions fill up gradually, rather than all at once. This puts you at an advantage compared to other applicants because if you interview sooner, you will be considered sooner for acceptance. For example, I received my first acceptance in October after applying as early as the application opened. Importantly, applying early to schools with rolling admissions also puts you at an advantage for receiving scholarships and aid because you will be considered before other applicants. It also allows your application to be evaluated more for its strengths than in comparison to other applicants. See here for more information.
Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive list of all the medical schools that use rolling admissions. You should check the websites of schools to determine if they use regular or rolling admissions.
One of the benefits of rolling admissions is that you can take more time to strengthen your application. If you need more time to work on your application, we recommend applying to schools with rolling admissions. However, these spots fill up over time, meaning that there is a smaller number of available spots the longer you delay submitting that application. Importantly, schools with rolling admissions usually still have deadlines for application submission. It’s crucial to research these deadlines for each school and keep track of them in your overall application spreadsheet or organizing tool such as our PreMed App. If you decide to submit your application later, don’t assume that rolling admissions means easier admissions. For these schools, your GPA, MCAT, personal statement, etc. matter just as much as other schools. In conclusion, if you need just a few extra weeks to really polish that application, go for it! But the longer you wait to apply, the more your chances diminish.
There is no exact date, but past July most schools have already filled up most of their interview spots. This means that if you submit in July you will be competing with students for a very small number of spots. We advise you not to apply past August because at that point there will be many applicants ahead of you and remaining slots for interviews and acceptances are limited. Overall, if you haven’t submitted your application by day 1, don’t panic! Check schools’ websites for a better understanding of how a late application will affect your chance of acceptance, and see our tips on applying to medical school late.
6. Is it better to submit my application later or wait until the next cycle?
Applying to medical school past August will put you at a significant disadvantage compared to the rest of applicants. At this point we recommend waiting another year to apply unless your application is truly stellar in terms of MCAT, GPA, etc. And even in that case, remember that you will be competing for a much smaller pool of available slots (for both interviews and acceptances). Unless there is a significant reason why you cannot wait another cycle to apply, such as financial or personal factors, we strongly recommend that you delay your application until the following cycle.
In conclusion, applying to schools with rolling admissions gives you more time to pick schools and perfect your application, as well as a competitive advantage over other applicants. If applying to such schools, apply as early as possible to be among the first applicants who are considered for interviews and offered acceptances!
