Application Timeline

While individual circumstances may differ, an ideal time line for application for an individual who wishes to enroll into medical school immediately after completing their undergraduate studies would entail:

• Taking the MCAT by spring/summer of the junior year
• Completing the AMCAS/AACOMAS application by early June
• Submitting the AMCAS/AACOMAS application, ideally with MCAT scores in hand
• Collecting all needed letters of reference by end of May/early June
• Returning all completed secondary applications along with letters of reference throughout summer and early fall
• Going to interviews during fall and winter semesters
• Starting financial aid paperwork in early January
• Accepting offers as they are extended in late fall and winter
• Narrowing down acceptances to one school of choice by early May
• Starting medical school by late summer!

Of course, many permutations of this ideal schedule are possible depending on individual circumstances. See a sample application timeline [PDF] for students wishing to enroll in medical school by fall of 2009.