Anyone Else Applying to 50+ MD Schools?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
I guess it depends how many of them share the same prompt.

But wow 50+ schools would be too much for me.. esp financially
 
Doctor Strange said:
50+ is a lot... How are your stats? You could probably spare to cut some out.
Click to expand...

GPA is a 3.6 through my degree (biochem at UCLA) over 180 semester units, and a 30R MCAT. But, when I left high school, I bombed about 2 years of community college classes while couch surfing. So, my cumulative GPA is a 3.1. I'm doing a masters in Pharmacology and Toxicology at UC Davis starting this Fall. I'm applying next year around this time.

I kind of don't want to go DO. 🙁
 
MDforMee said:
GPA is a 3.6 through my degree (biochem at UCLA) over 180 semester units, and a 30R MCAT. But, when I left high school, I bombed about 2 years of community college classes while couch surfing. So, my cumulative GPA is a 3.1. I'm doing a masters in Pharmacology and Toxicology at UC Davis starting this Fall. I'm applying next year around this time.

I kind of don't want to go DO. 🙁
Click to expand...

That GPA is a real killer. http://edge.studentdoctor.net/wamc/All_Applicants.png

Have you considered doing DO grade replacement? You stand a much better chance if you take advantage of that.

Also, just a side note, I have a BS in pharm/tox! Loved the major! Didn't do it at UC Davis, though...
 
Doctor Strange said:
That GPA is a real killer. http://edge.studentdoctor.net/wamc/All_Applicants.png

Have you considered doing DO grade replacement? You stand a much better chance if you take advantage of that.

Also, just a side note, I have a BS in pharm/tox! Loved the major! Didn't do it at UC Davis, though...
Click to expand...

You got that right. The worst part is that there were strings of D's, F's, C's in bonehead classes. We're talking humanities 1, english 1B, stuff like that.

I didn't even try to do grade replacement or retake any classes and I have a 3.4 cumulative AACOMAS GPA.

Pharm/Tox seems awesome. It's good to hear that you enjoyed it. I am anxious to start in the Fall.
 
Last edited:

Attachments

Last edited:
MDforMee said:
You got that right. The worst part is that there were strings of D's, F's, C's in bonehead classes. We're talking humanities 1, english 1B, stuff like that.

I didn't even try to do grade replacement or retake any classes and I have a 3.4 cumulative AACOMAS GPA.

Pharm/Tox seems awesome. It's good to hear that you enjoyed it. I am anxious to start in the Fall.
Click to expand...

I would approach pharm/tox very cautiously. Do not fall behind, or you're going to shoot yourself in the foot. Towards the end of my degree, the courses I was taking (e.g., pharmacology, pathophys, immuno, etc.) were (according to my profs) equivalent in content and pace to some med school courses.

Good luck.
 
wow, you are paying $1,800 on just your primary application...

I would cut out a lot of the schools. Try to bring it to 30.... quality over quantity!
 
MDforMee said:
My spreadsheet is attached... it's got a lot of good info about out of state favorability, average MCAT and grades, etc all with standard deviations and other fun calcs
Click to expand...

Can't seem to open your spreadsheet. Try uploading it to google drive.
 
Where are you from? You have a few schools on your list that don't seem to accept very many out of state applicants. I'd cut out any of the schools with less than 0.45 favor ability. Seems like a waste of money.
 
change the setting so anyone with a link can access it

Kansas city mostly take in BS/MD, and accept people when BS/MDs dropout. According to their website, app is due august and matriculate by jan 😕? Idk what the heck is going on there.

Any schools with less than 20% OOS matriculation you can probably remove...

WV cares more about GPA than MCAT, so you have the opposite stats. And they give preferential treatment to OOS with strong WV and appalachia ties.
 
Last edited:
Taking out schools with less than .4 OOS favor/20% non-resident matriculants eliminates a good portion.

I probably wouldn't apply to either DC school (too many applicants) or EVMS (way too expensive).

Then with your 60 LizzyM (GPA x 10 + MCAT - 1) score, you can pretty much eliminate 68+ schools...keep a couple for reaches.

That should be under 30 schools...a much more manageable number.
 
You are literally wasting enough money to build a house for some guy in Haiti that currently lives in a tent. There are not 50 MD schools where you have a realistic shot with those stats.
 
Can't open that googledocs-- it says 'too many redirects.'

Anyway, I applied to 34 schools last cycle and felt burnt out by secondary #25. The essays are different enough such that you have to carefully construct responses that answer the question specifically, which will sap your energy quickly. So, if it's not a question of cost and time, it's a question of application quality when you are slammed with 5+ secondaries per day. I'd cut the list to around 30 schools.

Here's some ways to cut-- don't pick schools with less than 7% OOS interview rates, don't pick schools with extremely high tuition (Illinois), and don't pick schools with a 'mission' that you don't have the ECs to prove that you'd fit in (i.e. primary care based school that wants people with lots of non- clinical volunteering, if you don't have much non- clinical volunteering).
 
Mt Kilimanjaro said:
You are literally wasting enough money to build a house for some guy in Haiti that currently lives in a tent. There are not 50 MD schools where you have a realistic shot with those stats.
Click to expand...
this. applying to 50 MD schools with a 3.1 cGPA is foolish IMO. you will be wasting your money. as others have said you should cut that number down to 25-30 schools
 
SilverCat said:
Can't open that googledocs-- it says 'too many redirects.'

Anyway, I applied to 34 schools last cycle and felt burnt out by secondary #25. The essays are different enough such that you have to carefully construct responses that answer the question specifically, which will sap your energy quickly. So, if it's not a question of cost and time, it's a question of application quality when you are slammed with 5+ secondaries per day. I'd cut the list to around 30 schools.
Click to expand...

This completely. Secondaries SUCK and they sap away your energy rapidly. I am applying to 25 schools and I feel dead right about now on secondary #20... I can't even IMAGINE doubling that number.
 
Agree with everyone else you've got way too many. For example, you've got all the SUNY schools, but Buffalo, Brooklyn, Syracuse, and Stony Brook all have a very small amount of OOS matriculants. I think this is the biggest issue with your list - cut out the OOS unfriendly schools and save yourself the time and money.
 
If you're dead set on MD, you should be doing an SMP.

Even if you do apply to 50+ schools, with a 3.1/30 and a regular MS, your chances still aren't very good unless you have some great ECs.
 
MDforMee said:
My spreadsheet is attached... it's got a lot of good info about out of state favorability, average MCAT and grades, etc all with standard deviations and other fun calcs. I'm a California resident with ties to Florida.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_VQD4NBz545TG1CRXpFYlhUNUk/edit?usp=sharing
Click to expand...

For those who can't access this (Disclaimer: MDforMee already made this info public, I'm simply copying and pasting public information):

UC Davis
UC Irvine
UCLA
USC (Keck)
UCSD
UC Merced
UC Riverside
CNUCOM
George Washington
Georgetown
Miami (Miller)
FL State - Tallahassee
U of Florida - Gainsville
South Florida - Tampa
Florida Intl. U
Florida Atlantic
U of Central F
ChicagoMed/Franklin
Loyola (Stritch)
U of Illinois - Chicago
Rush
U of Kentucky
U of Louisville
Tulane
Wayne State
U of Minn. - Minneapolis
Saint Louis U
U of Missouri - Kan. City
Creighton
U of N
Albany Med. Coll.
NY Medical College
SUNY – Buffalo
SUNY Downstate - Brooklyn
SUNY Upstate - Syracuse
SUNY Stony Brook
Wake Forest
Cincinnati
Med. Coll. of Ohio - Toledo
Ohio State
Jefferson
Drexel
Penn.State
Temple
U of Vermont
Eastern Virginia - Norfolk
Virginia Commonwealth U
Med.C. Wisconsin
West Virginia U

Schools to cut for IS preference and/or too difficult based on your stats. I only left a lot of the Florida schools because of your ties*.:
  1. Miami
  2. Florida
  3. Illinois
  4. Kentucky
  5. Louisville
  6. Wayne State
  7. Minnesota
  8. Nebraska
  9. All 4 of the SUNYs
  10. Toledo
  11. OSU
  12. Penn State
  13. EVMS
  14. West Virginia
*Regarding state ties: public schools have state requirements to accept X% number of IS residents (FL schools are probably around >60%). No matter how strong your ties, you cannot fill this state requirement. Keep that in mind when applying to FL schools. Your ties will really mainly give you an advantage when they're comparing you to equally competitive OOS candidates. Sadly, they'll take the 35/3.8 OOS applicant with no state ties any day over one with lower stats.


There you go. That's 17 less schools brining your total down to a more manageable 32 school. I would also consider dropping the schools with massive applicant pools:
  1. GW
  2. GT
  3. Temple (I believe?)
  4. Wake Forest

Boom! 28 schools. Much more do-able.
 
pachewisc said:
For those who can't access this (Disclaimer: MDforMee already made this info public, I'm simply copying and pasting public information):

UC Davis
UC Irvine
UCLA
USC (Keck)
UCSD
UC Merced
UC Riverside
CNUCOM
George Washington
Georgetown
Miami (Miller)
FL State - Tallahassee
U of Florida - Gainsville
South Florida - Tampa
Florida Intl. U
Florida Atlantic
U of Central F
ChicagoMed/Franklin
Loyola (Stritch)
U of Illinois - Chicago
Rush
U of Kentucky
U of Louisville
Tulane
Wayne State
U of Minn. - Minneapolis
Saint Louis U
U of Missouri - Kan. City
Creighton
U of N
Albany Med. Coll.
NY Medical College
SUNY – Buffalo
SUNY Downstate - Brooklyn
SUNY Upstate - Syracuse
SUNY Stony Brook
Wake Forest
Cincinnati
Med. Coll. of Ohio - Toledo
Ohio State
Jefferson
Drexel
Penn.State
Temple
U of Vermont
Eastern Virginia - Norfolk
Virginia Commonwealth U
Med.C. Wisconsin
West Virginia U

Schools to cut for IS preference and/or too difficult based on your stats. I only left a lot of the Florida schools because of your ties*.:
  1. Miami
  2. Florida
  3. Illinois
  4. Kentucky
  5. Louisville
  6. Wayne State
  7. Minnesota
  8. Nebraska
  9. All 4 of the SUNYs
  10. Toledo
  11. OSU
  12. Penn State
  13. EVMS
  14. West Virginia
*Regarding state ties: public schools have state requirements to accept X% number of IS residents (FL schools are probably around >60%). No matter how strong your ties, you cannot fill this state requirement. Keep that in mind when applying to FL schools. Your ties will really mainly give you an advantage when they're comparing you to equally competitive OOS candidates. Sadly, they'll take the 35/3.8 OOS applicant with no state ties any day over one with lower stats.


There you go. That's 17 less schools brining your total down to a more manageable 32 school. I would also consider dropping the schools with massive applicant pools:
  1. GW
  2. GT
  3. Temple (I believe?)
  4. Wake Forest

Boom! 28 schools. Much more do-able.
Click to expand...

👍
 
I am applying to 50 schools exactly. 47 MD schools and 3 DO schools. GPA 3.63, MCAT 32 with good extra curriculars, research, shadowing, and strong written documents. HOWEVER, my grades went down majorly my last year and a half for personal reasons, which i have been told is a huge red flag. So i decided to go all out. Also im a nontrad.
 
Oh, and i pre-wrote my secondaries. Took me about two months of writing nearly everyday. Huge pain in the ass, but worth it to get in.
 
Levitin said:
Oh, and i pre-wrote my secondaries. Took me about two months of writing nearly everyday. Huge pain in the ass, but worth it to get in.
Click to expand...

Impressive. You don't happen to have a document or spreadsheet listing out all of your schools, do you? What was the cost on all of your secondaries?
 
I do, in fact. I havent turned in all my secondaries yet because im waiting to get verified, but 45/50 of the secondaries are already written. Here is my list. I am a Colorado resident.

USC
UC San diego
*UCLA
UCSF
*University of Colorado
George Washington University
Georgetown University
Florida international university college of medicine
University of Miami Miller School of medicine
Emory University
Rosalind Franklin Univeristy
University of Chicago
Rush Medical School
University of Illinois, Chicago
Loyola University
*Northwestern
Tulane
Boston University
Tufts
University of Michigan
Albert Einstein College
State university of New York Downstate medical center
NYU
Columbia
Drexel University
Jefferson Medical College
Temple University
*Vanderbilt
(medical college of Wisconsin) University of Wisconson
University of Wisconsin Madison
Wayne State
Creighton
New York Medical College
Saint Louis University
Albany
Buffalo
Univeristy of cinncinnatti
Midwestern University College of Osteopathic Medicine
*Touro College of Osteopathic medicine – manhattan
University of Pittsburgh
Philadelphia college of osteopathic medicine

Touro Nevado Henderson
Dartmouth
*Mount Sinai
Hofstra University
Baylor
University of Washington
*Oregon
 
Levitin said:
I do, in fact. I havent turned in all my secondaries yet because im waiting to get verified, but 45/50 of the secondaries are already written. Here is my list. I am a Colorado resident.
Click to expand...

😱
 
MDforMee said:
GPA is a 3.6 through my degree (biochem at UCLA) over 180 semester units, and a 30R MCAT. But, when I left high school, I bombed about 2 years of community college classes while couch surfing. So, my cumulative GPA is a 3.1. I'm doing a masters in Pharmacology and Toxicology at UC Davis starting this Fall. I'm applying next year around this time.

I kind of don't want to go DO. 🙁
Click to expand...

I wouldn't bother with Tulane. It's an expensive application, and the rumor on the 2014 thread is that there is an automatic cutoff at 31 MCAT this year.

I am a Tulane student, but I honestly have no idea how admissions works here. Just passing on the communal knowledge of SDN.
 
I'm also applying broadly to 141 MD schools.
 
Levitin said:
but 45/50 of the secondaries are already written.
Click to expand...

1117257d1370981615-what-your-next-watch-900x900px-ll-9bb28d6b_mother-god-super-troopers.jpeg
 
Levitin said:
Are you serious?
Click to expand...

Yes, I am seriously applying to every MD school in the nation. Why do you ask? Do you think that's excessive? I was concerned that by applying literally everywhere I wasn't applying to enough schools, but maybe I overdid it a little.
 
I applied to 39...I hope they email me if something changes because I cannot remember all of these username/passwords for all these sites lol
 
OCDOCDOCD said:
Yes, I am seriously applying to every MD school in the nation. Why do you ask? Do you think that's excessive? I was concerned that by applying literally everywhere I wasn't applying to enough schools, but maybe I overdid it a little.
Click to expand...

Totally understand how you feel. I decided to cover myself and apply to all MD and DO schools in the northern hemisphere. 43 MCAT 4.1 GPA. Hope I get in! :xf:
 
ORU2Medicine said:
Totally understand how you feel. I decided to cover myself and apply to all MD and DO schools in the northern hemisphere. 43 MCAT 4.1 GPA. Hope I get in! :xf:
Click to expand...

Not a 44? Sorry man. Try carib...
 
If you are not officially a resident of Florida, do NOT apply to FSU - last i checked they only take in-state applicants. Also, this isn't law school, where you have ties doesn't help you for IS preference purposes. Schools in very specific areas may give you a bump if you can convince them you will stay in that specific area (not just broadly the state, though that may vary for more central schools not focued on a sigle area like UF, but I wouldn't apply there as OOS), but it's not the same as IS preference. In Florida, I'd say UCF and Miami are the best bets for OOS, unless you have family in Boca and want to go to FAU.

seriously, but the MSAR and find which public schools accept a lot of OOS students. pick out those and middle-to-low stat private schools
 
If i dont get in ill just found my own medical school..
with black jack...
and hookers...
In fact, forget the med school.
 
OCDOCDOCD said:
Yes, I am seriously applying to every MD school in the nation. Why do you ask? Do you think that's excessive? I was concerned that by applying literally everywhere I wasn't applying to enough schools, but maybe I overdid it a little.
Click to expand...

Gotta add Carib, too yo. Don't think it's beneath you; you never know.
 
I know one other person that applied to 50+ schools. He got 6 interviews. And one acceptance. In state. And that was 10 years ago.

There is no reason to apply to this many schools. People awhile do are the reason the system is so clogged now. Not to mention that secondary fees would be crushing unless you have FAP or really wealthy parents.

In addition to taking out schools with a strong in-state preference, I would look at school mission statements. Many have specific goals ( eg rural medicine) in addition to being in the middle of nowhere that would make them schools where you are unlikely to matriculated if accepted.
 
CriticalCond said:
I know one other person that applied to 50+ schools. He got 6 interviews. And one acceptance. In state. And that was 10 years ago.
Click to expand...

This actually sounds like a good reason TO apply to that many schools. If he hadn't, he might not have gotten more then 1-2 interviews, which would put an awful lot of pressure on him to preform on that interview.

I think if you have the money, theres no reason not to apply broadly, assuming the schools are within your range and dont hate OOS.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Worth applying to Texas schools? 514
Replies
4
Views
3K
Adiemus
Adiemus
W
Any tangible benefit to applying MD/MPH or MS on AMCAS to OOS public schools or schools where you might be yield protected
Replies
3
Views
434
TheRealBibFortuna
TheRealBibFortuna
M
Non-Trad applying to Med School. Help with LOR list
Replies
1
Views
3K
Pile O' Nephritis
Pile O' Nephritis
T
Worth applying to Howard University?
Replies
13
Views
1K
Topiary56
T
D
Anyone have experience applying to rhodes/marshall i can dm w questions?
Replies
2
Views
536
deleted1193855
D
Top