The Medical School Application Process: A Timeline
Students and alumnae planning to apply to the fields of medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, or podiatry, must contact Ellen Schneider, Coordinator to the Medical Professions Advisory Committee (MPAC), as early as possible in order to be placed on a mailing list. The timeline below is an outline. Please refer to the MPAC Packet distributed in November for details and for a more complete version of the timeline.
November/December/January before application year
- Those applying to medical, dental, veterinary, optometry, podiatory, or osteopathic medical schools for the following year should attend an MPAC informational meeting. At this November meeting, the Medical Professions Advisory Committee Packet is distributed. This packet provides specific instructions and suggestions for the application process as well as a detailed calendar. Shortly thereafter, MPAC advisors are assigned. Applicants are urged to contact their advisor very early in the second semester.
February
- Submit two copies of your resume, answers to a questionnaire, applicant summary, and two photos to the Committee Coordinator.
- Request recommendations from faculty if you have not already done so.
- Prepare for the MCAT. Take the spring MCAT, if possible, rather than waiting until the fall. MCAT and Dental Admission Test (DAT) Registration Packets are available from the Committee Coordinator.
March
- Set up a thirty-minute interview with the Committee Coordinator. Prior to this meeting you must meet with your advisor, turn in your resume, answers to the questionnaire, and applicant summary.
- Deadline for faculty recommendations. It is the applicant’s responsibility to make sure that the Medical Professions Advisory Committee receives the letters. Check with the Committee Coordinator.
April
- Attend April meeting which explains the mechanics of completing the AMCAS application.
May
- AMCAS application is available online.
- Write to non-AMCAS schools to request application forms, catalogues, and financial aid information. All applications should be filled out and submitted as soon as possible.
- Since AMCAS expects to receive all transcripts prior to the receipt of the AMCAS form, contact the Wellesley College Registrar before you leave campus to arrange to have your records sent to AMCAS. Obtain a personal copy of your transcript to use in completing the AMCAS application. Request transcripts for each college in the United States and Canada you have attended (including summer school).
June
- It is important to start your AMCAS application proceedings as soon as possible. AMCAS will accept applications after June 1. Submit yours as soon thereafter as possible.
Summer
- Begin work on your application essay. Your objectives in writing your application are to provide information requested by the school and to convey information you feel is important. Explain interruptions in your education or poor grades. Express yourself concisely, clearly, and positively. On non-AMCAS applications do not hesitate to attach an appendix or extra page. Correct spelling, grammar, and sentence structure is essential. Your health professions advisor will be happy to work with you in constructing your essay.
- Submit to the Committee Coordinator Composite Letter Requests for each school to which you want your composite letter sent. Request forms are available from the Committee Coordinator. Please see the MPAC Packets distributed in November for details regarding the procedures for sending out the composite letters. No composite letter will be completed and mailed until the Committee has received a release form, your grades, a copy of your completed AMCAS application, a copy of your processed AMCAS application, and, if possible, MCAT scores.
Fall
- It is your responsibility to check with the schools to determine whether your application file is complete. A file consists of your application and transcripts, usually a secondary application, and application fee. It is advisable to keep copies of all materials sent and to check on your application periodically by telephone or letter.
November/December/January of the application year
- By late fall and early winter you should begin to receive requests for interviews. If you have not, check with your advisor.
- You may wish to write additional letters, particularly after you have received your first semester grades. If you have had interviews, but have not received an acceptance, write additional update letters informing them of your grades, your progress on special projects, etc.
March and Beyond of the application year
- This is the time to make decisions based on the information you have to date. If you have not been interviewed you will want to work with your advisor to develop a strategy for this year’s and/or next year’s plans. If you have been interviewed, but have not been accepted, you will want to inform schools of your continued interest. If you have been accepted at several schools, during the spring you will want to choose well from among your alternatives. Once you have been accepted at a school you plan to attend, do not keep your files active at schools which no longer interest you. It is unfair to other students who are waiting to hear.