Am I overapplying?

[NeophyteParkour]

My cumulative is somewhere around a 3.5, and my prereq is around a 3.3-3.4ish
I took the new GRE and I don't have my official scores but the range it gave me was something like verbal: 480-580, quantative: 640-740
I have about 500 volunteer hours in 3 settings.

I'm applying to 13 schools. I want to get in now and I don't want to take a year off or more. The average accepted GPA's of the schools I'm applying to are between 3.3-3.7.

Before I submit, should I narrow it down to 10 schools to save money? I've heard about so many people getting rejected and I don't want to take a chance...

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[DancerFutureDPT]

It depends on the deadlines/admissions procedures of some of the schools...if they all have a Nov. 1 deadline, then you need to apply now. If some of them have later deadlines and still admit applicants up through their deadline, then you could hold off on some until you hear back from some of your first apps.

I personally think 17 is a lot to apply to. I applied to 6 (Northwestern, UIC, Midwestern, Rosalind Franklin, Duke, Mayo) with similar stats as you and didn't get any rejections. I understand about being nervous about getting rejected though, and making sure you have some "safety schools" in the mix.

Make sure that you would be happy going to any of the schools you apply to. If you apply to 17 and only get into one, and it's your last choice, would you still be happy going there? Or would you rather wait until next year, maybe retake a class to boost your GPA, reapply, and then go to a higher preference program? Don't apply to any schools you don't really want to go to.

My senior year of college I almost applied to a small school because it was the only one that was still accepting applications and had a few less prereqs (i.e. it only required chem I I think, no GRE, and no calc), so I would have been able to cram everything in the summer and start in the fall. I decided though that I probably wouldn't be able to get in since I had so few prereqs done, but even if I would be accepted I would have been hesitant to go to a school that would have accepted me with the lack of info they would have had, and I would have always wondered if I would have been able to get into one of the bigger and better schools had I waited to apply. Yeah, I would have been able to start the program a year earlier, but it wouldn't be what I wanted.

The point of my long-winded story: don't sell yourself short, and don't settle for something (or someplace) that you won't love. You're going to be there for 3 years (or two, and then a year of clinicals, depending on the program).

But in all honesty, I think your stats look fine and you shouldn't have an issue getting accepted at one of your primary choices. Out of curiosity, what are your 17 schools?