The Medical School Application and Rolling Admissions

By Michelle A. Finkel, MD

Founder, Insider Medical Admissions

In recent years the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS)has opened in early May, and pre-meds have been able to submit theirmedical school applications, including the activity descriptors, most meaningful paragraphs, and their personal statementsstarting in the first week of June. Because of rolling admissions, submitting a complete medical school application early in the cycle has distinct advantages at many schools.

Rolling admissions means that an institution takes medical school applications in the order in which they are received and makes decisions about interviews and then acceptances, accordingly. So, as times goes by, there are fewer interview and admissions offers remaining to be made. Years ago I read a great description of the rolling admissions process:

Imagine there is an auditorium full of seats. The doors to the auditorium are opened and people start to trickle in. As they do, some of the seats are taken. As time passes, more and more of the seats are occupied and there is, therefore, less and less space for new folks to sit. Rolling admissions has this same structure. The longer you wait to apply, the fewer slots are left for you.

If your medical school application is not complete, your candidacy may not be evaluated early when there are more opportunities for interviews and admissions. So it’s important that you get started on your written materials as early as possible (within reason, of course) to ensure you have time for multiple drafts, expert review, and the unavoidable errors that will present themselves. Anticipating the workload and submitted as early as possible could make a huge difference in your available opportunities. That doesn't mean you should submit suboptimal written materials; it means you should plan in advanceso that you are offering your best work.