How many schools to apply to?

[OSJ]

I am applying to vet schools this year for the first time. I have a list of all the schools whose pre-reqs I meet and I excluded a few that except only a few out of state applicants and are very hard to get into. I also included a few that only accept a few out of state applicants because they look like schools that I would really LOVE to go to. My list is up to 23 and I think I need to narrow it down!
I can afford to apply to alot, and honestly I don't care so much where I go - I just want to get in somewhere!
I think I am a competitive applicant and I will be applying to my state school. Any advice?

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[ri23]

23 is practically all of the schools. Will you have enough time/money to travel to interviews? If you give us the 23 schools you are interested in, your GPA, GRE score, and vet/animal experience as well as state residency maybe we can help a little more.

 

[Emio]

no, how about you don't give us all 23 of hte schools. if you read a few threads around here, you'll find that this question has been answered several times; you'll find that 4-7 is "average."

if you're a competitive applicant, you won't need to apply to many "back up" schools. sdn has some members that applied to one school, and another member or two that applied well into the teens.

 

[fargeese]

I made the mistake of only applying to one school last year, so I would not recommend applying to just one, no matter how qualified you are. Schools are quirky as far as I can tell, and you do hear stories of people who get rejected from their state schools but got in everywhere else. That being said, try for 3-4 extra schools that you can honestly imagine attending. For example, I thought seriously about applying to Miss, but know I would absolutely miserable in that kind of heat. Is that a really compelling reason to reject a school? Of course not, but it did knock the list of 10 I was considering down to 9.

And be nice other posters! We were all new on this forum once

 

[Phebe]

Is it really "bad" just applying for only one school? Since I have no idea studying out state...I reside in Texas and just have Texas A&M to be choose...have not looking at other vet school at all..is it a "bad" thing? I still have a year before a apply though...

 

[thelarson]

Phebe - it's only "bad" in the sense that, if A&M doesn't accept you, you have no other shot of making it in. As mentioned above, sometimes people get into lots of out-of-state schools and not their in-state school...seems backwards, but it happens. I think it's always a good idea to apply to several schools to have back-ups. If it's worth it to you to only apply to A&M and risk not getting in, waiting another year, etc.... then go right ahead.

 

[Phebe]

therlason, I understand what you mean...thanks

 

[ckgilabert]

i spoke to a person who reviews applications at western, and they think that 8 is max and that they look at who you apply to. i spoke to my advisor and he said try to keep it to 6-8 schools. good luck!!

 

[cyrille104]

It will definitely be a huge waste of time and money to apply to 23 schools. 6-8 even seems like a lot, but it's still do-able. Unless you're a REALLY REALLY competitive applicant, don't waste your time with schools that only accept 1 or 2 out of state student. Similarly, don't waste your time with too many schools that you'd want to go to less than your state school, since your state school is your best shot and cheapest option.

 

[chris03333]

since your state school is your best shot and cheapest option.

Not if CA is your state.

 

[spikey]

I made the mistake of only applying to one school last year, so I would not recommend applying to just one, no matter how qualified you are.

it can be done.

what i reccommend to you is to find the schools that would fit you, and that you would flourish in, and apply to just those. for some people, like what's been said, it can be 4 or 7 or 2 (or in my case, 1). only apply to those, i would think, that you would seriously attend if they accepted you. you don't want to spend four years in a place you don't like (ideally, right?).

good luck!

 

[sofficat]

make sure that you know about all of the supplimental applications. that was a pain and i only applied to 5 schools. btw, i got in out of state.