when to apply?

[iseewholewheat]

Hello, All!  Long time lurker, first time poster... I plan to apply this Spring/Summer to (hopefully) matriculate in 2016.  

 

Some quick stats:

ugGPA, 2010: 3.569 BS in Athletic Training

grad GPA, 2012: 3.691, MS in Athletic Training

post grad GPA: 4.0-- having to retake all my sciences because they are older than 5 years

HCE: >10k (full time ATC)

 

I will be taking micro, genetics, and another upper level science this summer and taking Orgo in the spring.  I originally wanted to have my CASPA in no later than June 15, however my summer classes should be finished the end of July, official grades posted the first week of August.  

 

I know schools like to have all prereqs finished by the time you apply, none of the schools I am interested have a problem with a few outstanding preregs.  However, do you think it is better to apply early with classes in progress or wait until the beginning of August to apply and have them done.  I would hate to wait that long to apply, since it would probably take another 2 weeks for CASPA to verify while I send transcripts... What do you think?

[Guest MedLib42]

Depends on the school. Some schools have rolling admissions (even though they still might have a posted deadline) which means the sooner you submit your app, the better. Find out if the schools you're applying to use them. If they do, applying early with classes in progress is much better. Most of the schools I applied to did use rolling admissions, so even though I still had outstanding prerequisites, I submitted my app I think 3 days after CASPA opened (can't remember exactly, but it was something like that).

 

Also, keep in mind that you can do a "grade update" with CASPA, even after your app has been submitted and verified. As soon as you complete a class, you can update it in CASPA and that update gets sent to the school within a day or two. So in my opinion, this makes it much easier to apply earlier with classes still in progress.

 

Although, on the other hand, if your schools don't use rolling admissions, you're also probably fine submitting your app later, although for safety's sake, I'd recommend making sure it's submitted about 4-8 weeks prior to their application deadline.

[t_pac]

I don't know if this matters in your situation but grade updates will not be included in your GPA calculation once CASPA is verified.