2005 applicants: How broke will you be this time next year?

[Treg]

I just sat down and added it up, and with AMCAS + secondaries for 11 schools I am looking at at least $1500. Then add a few interview trips, and I can tack on another $1000 easy. Then the new suit...

How about we commiserate on our lack of cash flow 😀 😀

Treg

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Dr. Chiquita]

$940 already for 27 schools on AMCAS. ~$65/each for secondaries, conservatively speaking, which will add up to ~$1,700. Then, maybe ~$2,000 (lower end of estimate for flying and lodging). I will be looking at over $4,500. 👎

 

[Mistress S]

Ha ha, how about how broke am I NOW. I had to get a credit card which I will use shortly to pay the $730 for my AMCAS (20 schools) since I pretty much exhausted my savings on Kaplan, then I'm probably looking at $1300-1500 for secondaries, and god only knows how much for interviews. Good thing I'm working full time now. This process sucks in so many ways, but I really think more should be done to make med school admission financially accessible to those of us lacking a trust fund (and don't talk to me about FAP, I applied for that and even though I made <10k last year and my mom made <19k, I still didn't get it).

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Haha, is that daddy's platinum card a quote of mine.

 

[Dr. Chiquita]

Treg, weren't you applying during the last cycle? 😕

 

[Shades McCool]

One school. 😎

 

[Treg]

Treg, weren't you applying during the last cycle? 😕

Yeah, I was. I applied a year early while in grad school, originally because I was hoping to get in MD/PhD at my grad school this fall. I also applied to a handful of other schools out of curiosity's sake with the potential option to defer. Well, after a subpar MCAT performance last August, this cycle hasn't produced the one admission I could take (at my grad school) and has resulted in me getting an open deferral at another school (which I was happy to get into but felt wasn't the best school for me). I decided to rewrite the MCAT, and to my surprise I improved a lot and got 37R, which has really changed my outlook on going to med school. After going on interviews, etc. this last year I have a much stronger sense of what I am looking for in a med school, and will apply accordingly this time 🙂 Hopefully I will have a lot of success this time!

Thanks 🙂

Treg

 

[Ryan]

Wow 😱 ! We need to be a bit more careful with our $!

 

[Treg]

Hey, can those of you with daddy's card loan me some $$? Will he even notice???
👍

 

[ih8biochem]

Say a school gets 5,000 applicants and the average cost incurred per applicant (primary and secondaries combined, fewer secondaries, I know) is $50. Yup, a quarter million per year just for applications! And I think my #'s are quite conservative. Ahh grasshoppa... now I know why schools are so concerned with presteige. = more applicants.

 

[Fermata]

Hey, can those of you with daddy's card loan me some $$? Will he even notice???
👍

Yea...but if you get accepted.....it's FREE, BABY. 😀

 

[drlexygoat]

Yeah, the process is expensive. Just look at it as an investment in your future, as corny as that sounds....

Last year I spent a good 3k on prep courses, app fees, interviews, travel, etc. Granted, I applied to 22 schools and had 22 secondaries to fill out, but still.

Grit your teeth and bear it. You don't want to be too frugal and find out your missed your dream school because you had to buy a new pair of jeans.

 

[UCLAMAN]

who cares how broke you will be after applications....the real question is how broke will you be when you graduate medical school?

application fees are chump change compared to financing the actual education part...even if you do happen to end up at your state school.

 

[Paws]

I spent about $5000 last year and applied to about 30 schools. I know, I know that's alot of schools but I wanted to make sure that this would be the one cycle where I did everything in my power to have the best application. I thought: it's better to do it all once then to try and save money but have to do it again in year. I admit, alot of the schools I applied to where 'just on the chance' schools - Mayo, Yale, WashU, Rochester, UPitt, Stanford and I didn't get interviews but it was worth it to try at least. I was thrilled to get secondaries from schools like Stanford and Pitt and it was worth every dollar to get those emails.

I spent almost $1,000 on Albany med alone, what with appl., secondary and interview. ($700 for the trip). So be prepared for the huge financial crush that is coming.

This was money from my own pocket - and credit line.

 

[KNightInBlue]

so did u get in Paws?

 

[oldtimer]

I spent close to $5000 for prep course, AMCAS fees, secondary fees, and interview expenses. I applied to 24 schools. I had very low interview expenses because I have like a million airline, hotel, and rental car points that I used to pay instead.

I have a ton of these points left and I don't have much need for them. If anyone is interested in getting lower airfare, hotel, or car expenses, PM me and maybe we can work something out.

 

[Premedtomed]

I am just applying to three instate schools - univ. of Cincy is a great one.
So not going to spend a lot of money. 😀

 

[g3pro]

I am lucky that I don't have selfish dingus parents who would rather not give me a dime and make me go into debt after undergraduate school than helping me out through school. 😍