How important is it to submit your application early for CASPA?

[beancurd]

Sorry, just a quick question. Couldn't find it on the forums using search function for some reason. I'm thinking I'll probably only be able to submit my completed application by mid-July to early August-ish, this is at least a month earlier than the deadline of the schools that I'm applying to. I kinda scanned through the submission dates of the "Post your stats" thread and saw that some people on submitted their on September... some seemed to have no problem landing interviews, some didn't, so that wasn't very conclusive. So how important is it to submit an application early exactly?

 

Thanks for your insight.

[beancurd]

Sorry, just a quick question. Couldn't find it on the forums using search function for some reason. I'm thinking I'll probably only be able to submit my completed application by mid-July to early August-ish, this is at least a month earlier than the deadline of the schools that I'm applying to. I kinda scanned through the submission dates of the "Post your stats" thread and saw that some people on submitted their on September... some seemed to have no problem landing interviews, some didn't, so that wasn't very conclusive. So how important is it to submit an application early exactly?

 

Thanks for your insight.

[beancurd]

Sorry, just a quick question. Couldn't find it on the forums using search function for some reason. I'm thinking I'll probably only be able to submit my completed application by mid-July to early August-ish, this is at least a month earlier than the deadline of the schools that I'm applying to. I kinda scanned through the submission dates of the "Post your stats" thread and saw that some people on submitted their on September... some seemed to have no problem landing interviews, some didn't, so that wasn't very conclusive. So how important is it to submit an application early exactly?

 

Thanks for your insight.

[GaeaAM]

All the admissions offices of the schools I applied to advised me to submit my application as early as possible. Also Duke has an early submission date, which improves your chances of acceptance. I'm sure other schools have the same thing listed on their websites.

[GaeaAM]

All the admissions offices of the schools I applied to advised me to submit my application as early as possible. Also Duke has an early submission date, which improves your chances of acceptance. I'm sure other schools have the same thing listed on their websites.

[GaeaAM]

All the admissions offices of the schools I applied to advised me to submit my application as early as possible. Also Duke has an early submission date, which improves your chances of acceptance. I'm sure other schools have the same thing listed on their websites.

[marktheshark89]

Very important. CASPA can take weeks to process your application once you have officially submitted it, especially if you submit during peak times (end of July -August). You might want to check with schools who have deadlines that are a month or so after you plan to submit to see if the deadline is for your application to be submitted to CASPA or received by the office. Also, if you are applying to schools with rolling admissions, when you apply can make a big difference in getting an interview or not. My guess is that most of the people who applied in September and got interviews were either stellar applicants, or got interviews mostly at schools that were not rolling admissions.

[marktheshark89]

Very important. CASPA can take weeks to process your application once you have officially submitted it, especially if you submit during peak times (end of July -August). You might want to check with schools who have deadlines that are a month or so after you plan to submit to see if the deadline is for your application to be submitted to CASPA or received by the office. Also, if you are applying to schools with rolling admissions, when you apply can make a big difference in getting an interview or not. My guess is that most of the people who applied in September and got interviews were either stellar applicants, or got interviews mostly at schools that were not rolling admissions.

[marktheshark89]

Very important. CASPA can take weeks to process your application once you have officially submitted it, especially if you submit during peak times (end of July -August). You might want to check with schools who have deadlines that are a month or so after you plan to submit to see if the deadline is for your application to be submitted to CASPA or received by the office. Also, if you are applying to schools with rolling admissions, when you apply can make a big difference in getting an interview or not. My guess is that most of the people who applied in September and got interviews were either stellar applicants, or got interviews mostly at schools that were not rolling admissions.

[interests]

Early is better if the school does rolling admissions. But it doesnt hurt if you submit early to schools that do not do rolling admissions, making sure everything is in received is key.

[interests]

Early is better if the school does rolling admissions. But it doesnt hurt if you submit early to schools that do not do rolling admissions, making sure everything is in received is key.

[Torshi]

Early as possible is definitely plus - less worries - just becomes a waiting game after that. Getting things in ahead of time def help you out

[Torshi]

Early as possible is definitely plus - less worries - just becomes a waiting game after that. Getting things in ahead of time def help you out

[beancurd]

I see. Thanks guys. I was contemplating between submitting early with insufficient HCE hours or submitting like 2 months later(but before deadline) with the bare minimum of HCE hours. I guess it's better for me to try next year, huh? =/

 

And is it safe to assume that for schools who don't explicitly say that they give strong preference to applicants who did their prereqs within 5 years don't? By next year my prereqs(G-chem and G-biology) would be about 6 years old.

[beancurd]

I see. Thanks guys. I was contemplating between submitting early with insufficient HCE hours or submitting like 2 months later(but before deadline) with the bare minimum of HCE hours. I guess it's better for me to try next year, huh? =/

 

And is it safe to assume that for schools who don't explicitly say that they give strong preference to applicants who did their prereqs within 5 years don't? By next year my prereqs(G-chem and G-biology) would be about 6 years old.

[beattie228]

Beancurd,

 

If you have the money to spare, I would recommend applying this year. It's a good learning experience to go through the process and paying CASPA to send your application to just 1 program saves your data for next cycle and everything gets imported. Additionally, you may wow the admissions committee with your background/narrative/application and receive an interview invite. It's very much an example of 'you'll never know if you don't try'. Best of luck!

[beattie228]

Beancurd,

 

If you have the money to spare, I would recommend applying this year. It's a good learning experience to go through the process and paying CASPA to send your application to just 1 program saves your data for next cycle and everything gets imported. Additionally, you may wow the admissions committee with your background/narrative/application and receive an interview invite. It's very much an example of 'you'll never know if you don't try'. Best of luck!

[DoTheEvolution]

Technically, it depends on whether the program you apply to uses rolling admissions or not. If the program doesn't, it doesn't matter if your application is first or last, unless you care about when you interview (in an early group or a later group), as long as it gets there by that program's deadline.

 

Then, it's a matter of adhering to programs' hard-and-fast application deadlines, where the program does not accept a CASPA application past the deadline, even if you submitted your application to CASPA before that program's deadline, and CASPA failed to get the application to the school of your choice in time. For this reason alone, officials at schools highly recommend you submit your CASPA application with AT LEAST a month between submission and application deadline. CASPA and PA programs are backlogged with record numbers of applicants, as I understand it, and are unable to process your application immediately. A program told us in an info session recently it can take 4 weeks or more for CASPA to get the application to the school, and even if the school receives it a day late, the applicant must wait until the next application cycle. For me, the programs I'm interested in have deadlines of Sept. 1 and do not offer rolling admissions (no first-come, first-served applicants), so I intend to submit to CASPA by July 1 at the very latest.

[DoTheEvolution]

Technically, it depends on whether the program you apply to uses rolling admissions or not. If the program doesn't, it doesn't matter if your application is first or last, unless you care about when you interview (in an early group or a later group), as long as it gets there by that program's deadline.

 

Then, it's a matter of adhering to programs' hard-and-fast application deadlines, where the program does not accept a CASPA application past the deadline, even if you submitted your application to CASPA before that program's deadline, and CASPA failed to get the application to the school of your choice in time. For this reason alone, officials at schools highly recommend you submit your CASPA application with AT LEAST a month between submission and application deadline. CASPA and PA programs are backlogged with record numbers of applicants, as I understand it, and are unable to process your application immediately. A program told us in an info session recently it can take 4 weeks or more for CASPA to get the application to the school, and even if the school receives it a day late, the applicant must wait until the next application cycle. For me, the programs I'm interested in have deadlines of Sept. 1 and do not offer rolling admissions (no first-come, first-served applicants), so I intend to submit to CASPA by July 1 at the very latest.