Acceptable number?

[4th year]

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Can anyone give me an idea of a reasonable NUMBER of programs to apply to? How many residencies did you guys apply to? They add up fa$t on ERAS!!
-4th year

 

[Lefty]

I applied to 28. I think 20 is a good number, 30 not bad. More than 30 seems like overkill to me unless you are a weak applicant. I applied to 28 b/c I couldn't make up my mind about some of them, plus many of them are nearby and won't cost me anything for traveling to their interviews. If you apply to less than 30 it still is cheaper than AMCAS. If you consider the cost of secondary applications you could apply to about 50 programs before costing more the total cost of AMCAS + secondary apps to med school. It sure beats that whole process.

 

[2ndyear]

I applied to 25 I think and went on 20 or so interviews. Overall it was too many apps and too many interviews, but a good experience. I can't overestimate the fact that you'll probably get interviews at places that you might think would pass you up, so apply! Also don't bother applying to places you wouldn't rank based on either location or reputation. You'll waste your time and money. Now do apply broadly enough to guarantee a match, and this is an inexact science. I read that you should have 8-10 programs to rank, so apply to enough to get this many interviews and you should do just fine.

 

[bigfrank]

My PD told me last month that 20 applications will generally land an applicant 15+ interviews, and 10 interviews are generally considered to be a "safe" number in terms of eventual matching.

 

[chillindrdude]

i applied to 20 programs....hoping to get at least 15 interviews...

 

[timtye78]

I applied to 35.

 

[Skrubz]

i applied to 16. in addition to how close you are to various programs, you should also take an objective look at your numbers. applying with a 182 to all the big names isn't likely to net too many interviews. 🙂

edit
i in no way meant to come across as condescending... i agree with the consensus that it's better to apply to too many and have to decline a good amount. and yes, conventional wisdom does say that ranking 10 is typically safe.

 

[VentdependenT]

20 is a good number if you have great scores. If you are nervous or still unsure then go for more. I applied to over thirty because I had absolutely no guidance other than from my friend who was applying to 80 urology programs.

Needless to say I turned down many interviews. On the other hand I also supprised myself by landing ones at programs I thought (ignorantly so) would never crack open my ERAS file.

So make sure to cover yourself as far as a match is concerned but don't be afraid to go for at least a few big dogs as well. Don't forget that you can always turn down an interview but that doesn't work if you don't apply.

Ventypants

 

[Gator05]

When I first started reading this thread, I got nervous.

Don't be nervous. It's early.

15 anesthesiology programs, and I've heard from 7-8 of them. Dean's letters aren't out. Whole swaths of programs are just now sending out their first invites. Some people are still completing ERAS.

I'd agree with 10 interviews; you should be safe with that number. Then again, most people only go down at MOST 3-4 down their list. Go figure.

Best of luck; still waiting on Duke, Mayo-JAX, BID, BW, MUSC, UPenn plus a smattering of transitional years.