Applicants with low numbers who applied to 25+ schools: Your experience/opinions

[MDMBS]

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Quick summary of my situation: Graduated top 10 school with 2.6, Postbacc 1 year 4.0, SMP 3 semesters coming hopefully 3.7 to 4.0. MCAT 33, amazing clinical experience, have volunteering, great extracurriculars. I'm doing a great job of atoning for my poor academic undergrad record and will apply when the time is right.

SDN has chimed in and said apply to possibly 30 schools. I'm all for it. I am interested in hearing the experience of those students who did apply to such a high number of schools due to having low numbers.

Did this strategy make all the difference for you?
Did you ever feel like you were spread too thin? Did this affect your secondaries, your interviews?
Were you overwhelmed? How did you feel about this monetarily?
Did interviewers ask you how many schools to which you had applied? How did you handle this (illegal) question?

 

[RunningDiva]

Quick summary of my situation: Graduated top 10 school with 2.6, Postbacc 1 year 4.0, SMP 3 semesters coming hopefully 3.7 to 4.0. MCAT 33, amazing clinical experience, have volunteering, great extracurriculars. I'm doing a great job of atoning for my poor academic undergrad record and will apply when the time is right.

SDN has chimed in and said apply to possibly 30 schools. I'm all for it. I am interested in hearing the experience of those students who did apply to such a high number of schools due to having low numbers.

Did this strategy make all the difference for you?
Did you ever feel like you were spread too thin? Did this affect your secondaries, your interviews?
Were you overwhelmed? How did you feel about this monetarily?
Did interviewers ask you how many schools to which you had applied? How did you handle this (illegal) question?

FTR, a 3.7 and 33 aren't really low numbers at most schools. Well done!

I didn't apply to quite so many but I can give my general impressions from my experience. Doing 20 secondaries at one time is daunting. You need to prioritize based off of your preferences. Do schools you care about most first, while you're still go-ho and super fresh. Or maybe do those ones after you do a few others so you get the hang of the secondary essays. It is overwhelming but remember that many essays can be recycled for multiple schools.

Monetarily, its annoying. Forking over 80 bucks will really make you think if you absolutely want to apply to certain schools.

I did have interviewers ask me about the number of schools. I answered honestly with a well thought out response. I didn't make any excuses because I had my reasons for where I applied. Also, I didn't apply to 20ish schools indiscriminately. I applied broadly and wisely.

 

[guyski79]

Consider 25 to be about the upper limit.

Once interviews start rolling in, you will have zero motivation to complete any more secondaries.

 

[mdbound1987]

If you truly want to apply to that many schools, the secondary essays for practically every school is on this site, so start some of them in the early summer b4 u apply/while you apply so when they come in, you an have a lot of them already done.

 

[alibai3ah]

I'm assuming your undergrad GPA is about 2.9 and grad gpa is about 3.7-4.0ish?

I would apply to 25+ schools. If there is any linkage with your SMP program that'll help as well. With a 2.9 undergrad GPA you are looking at an uphill battle, but your amazing SMP grades will offset this qutie a bit. That 33 MCAT also helps a great deal. Good luck!

 

[NightSwim]

Not sure if the above posters are imagining applying from your shoes. The way I see it, every extra application is another shot at medical school. If your goal is to simply GET IN, I think the more the better. Obviously, secondaries are a pain in the a**. However, many aren't that bad. Plus, though the expense of secondaries adds up quickly, I think a few extra apps is totally worth it in the grand scheme of things. Basically, more applications = more work and more money. But, if you're worried about simply getting in, isn't it worth it?

 

[mdbound1987]

Not sure if the above posters are imagining applying from your shoes. The way I see it, every extra application is another shot at medical school. If your goal is to simply GET IN, I think the more the better. Obviously, secondaries are a pain in the a**. However, many aren't that bad. Plus, though the expense of secondaries adds up quickly, I think a few extra apps is totally worth it in the grand scheme of things. Basically, more applications = more work and more money. But, if you're worried about simply getting in, isn't it worth it?

I couldn't agree more. You definitely don't want to have to reapply because you didn't want to apply to enough schools. This process can be very psychologically demanding and you don't want to do it twice if you don't have to.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Consider 25 to be about the upper limit.

Once interviews start rolling in, you will have zero motivation to complete any more secondaries.

That's assuming interviews roll in at all. OP, what's your overall GPA going to be, including the SMP? If both your science GPA and cumulative GPA are over 3.0, you might stand a chance. It'd be nice if your MCAT was higher, but a 33 certainly isn't bad. As someone who did the crap GPA/high MCAT thing, my advice is to do one of the following:

1. Apply to every private school with an MCAT score equal to or lower than yours and every public school that takes OOS kids. Applying to every state school should be a given.

That should probably put you in the 30-35 range. It'll cost a lot of cash, obviously, but it'll be worth it if you get in without spending years rehabing your GPA. If you can't afford that many apps, just apply from the bottom up. Do all your state schools, and then start tacking on schools in order of perceived probability of acceptance until the well runs dry.

2. Go the smart route and apply mainly to DO schools with maybe a dozen MD schools thrown in. A 3.0-ish/33 with good clinical experience will make you a decent candidate at DO schools, and you shouldn't fool yourself into thinking that possibly burning a year (or more) is worth having different letters after your name. Put apps in to maybe 15 DO schools and whatever MD schools you feel like applying to, and go for it. This strategy is by far the better one, in my opinion.

To answer the title question, here are a few of my experiences:

1. You have to be perfect in every aspect of your application in your control. Nail your essays, and interview like you've been doing talk shows your whole life. It's easier said than done, I know, but it's essential.

2. Keeping in touch with admissions departments is a good thing.

3. You're in for a long, crappy, expensive year. Don't let it get you down.

4. Prepare for the worst. You've already exhausted your last option in the SMP, so if you don't get in, you're probably in bad shape. Hopefully it won't be an issue, but it never hurts to have a plan.

 

[Jrsharp70]

Wow... figure 150 for first MD app, 150 for first D.O. app, then 50 each after that (Milkman's idea, not terrible). If you have 30 total and 10 are D.O., you are looking at $1,700

Assume all schools want secondary, ranging from $100 to $85 a hit, so let's just call it $100 each, that is $3,000! Most schools don't pre-screen, so they will just get your money. You are already up to $4,700.

I don't know what your situation is... maybe you are loaded, maybe your parents pay for it, maybe you are using residual money from loans, whatever. If that is the case, sweet. That is what I would have done if I had unlimited funds.

Try this, if funding may seem to get a little tight, or even just because it is a sound idea.

First, apply early.

Second, research your schools you want to look at. That is a lot of research, but whatever. Find average MCAT and GPA of M.D. schools you want to attend. Then, weed out all that are a longshot except for a few that you are really really interested in. (Don't give Harvard your $150, they already have a good enough endowment). Then choose 10 more M.D. schools you feel you are within the "range" of.

Then pick 5 D.O. schools. A D.O. school will regard an upward trend as an indication of future success (as will most M.D. schools). Also, your MCAT is very competitive at any D.O. school, as well as most M.D. schools. Look at D.O. programs with the best rotations and most established programs (and decide if PBL is for you). You will find that PCOM, NYCOM, Michigan, and others have phenomenal rotations. Your GPA is low, but your upward trend, MCAT and extra curriculars will carry you through any justification to the poor undergrad.

Finally, your secondary essays need to not suck. This is a given. Don't sound whiney apologetic. Sound confident, upbeat and relatable. If you apply to D.O. schools, make sure you know about the programs and have a D.O. mentor to write you a recommendation, otherwise you are pretty much S.O.L.

Final advice... when you go to your interview, steer it in the direction you want it to go. If they ask you to ask questions (common) or what you think of X or Y, don't clam up. If they feel they have gotten out of you what you are willing to say, they will dismiss you and you will be in there for 15 minutes and nobody will remember you. If you are conversational, knowledgeable and bright, you are a lock at that point.

Hope this helps

Edit: milkman is right, keep in touch with adcoms. For the love of baby jesus, one of the most common things on the forum I see is qualified candidates that get their applications stuck on a shelf and not reviewed, or just lost in the melee. Call 2 weeks after you send any documents to them to confirm their receipt, including your fees. This at least gets overwhelmed admissions coordinators to check to make sure your file is even in their stack. (I had 5 of my 6 schools that I applied to saved in my phone. It would have been 6, but EVMS did not offer me a secondary, which was actually very nice of them for not taking my $100)

 

[MossPoh]

I applied to 32 schools....It is expensive, but not as expensive as the extra year of not making physician money.

 

[MilkmanAl]

$50 each? Did they raise the price? It was $30 for me, and my secondaries were mostly in the $50-$80 range, with some notable exceptions (GW and Georgetown).

I think applying to only 15 schools is very unwise unless they're all DO. That's going to be a bigger waste of money than applying to more places. You also don't have the luxury of choosing which schools fit you best (not like that's something most people can figure out anyway). Apply where you can get in, and pick the one that seems the best, assuming you're lucky enough to have a choice.

edit: I'm moving this to the WAMC forum since that's more in line with the OP's questions.

 

[deleted248403]

How much does it cost to use AMCAS?
AMCAS charges an application processing fee of $160 for one (1) medical school designation, and $32 for each designation thereafter.

http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/faq/fees.htm

 

[Jrsharp70]

How much does it cost to use AMCAS?
AMCAS charges an application processing fee of $160 for one (1) medical school designation, and $32 for each designation thereafter.

http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/faq/fees.htm

Sorry... I was working full time and keeping up with a bunch of other crap... You are right

From the AACOMAS website:
The fees for applying to additional colleges for each time you add a college or colleges:
$50 for the first additional school
$90 for two additional schools
$125 for three additional schools
$150 for four additional schools
$175 for five additional schools
$200 for six additional schools
And $30 for each subsequent school beyond six.

Sorry for the misinformation.

But I am fairly certain about supplementals. Some were 50, most were 85-100. Don't crucify me if I am off...