Application Costs

[elephino]

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Hi,
I tried to do a search, but that has been disable from this forum!?!?

Heres my question-how much should i anicipate the APPLICATION process costing? I don't want to factor in interviews etc. at this point.
For example, what is the cost of the MCAT, the application, the number of schools you apply to etc.
I need to start saving for next spring!!

Thanks

 

[tBw]

I can't remember the exact numbers but it's something like this:

MCAT: $185
AMCAS: $180 + ( $30 per school)
Secondaries: Varying from $0 (rare) to >$100 per school

But the biggest part will be interviews which have costs depending -

clothing - do you have to buy new clothes or do you have a suit?

airfares - or maybe you live in NY say and are within commuting distance of all the schools

hotels - or maybe you will have friends there or stay with students

 

[aquaboy]

I applied to 12 schools and went to 5 interviews. My total cost was around $3,000. Luckily I was accepted to my top choice by Jan. or I would have gone to 3 additional interviews. If you get an acceptance to one of you top choices early on it can cut down considerably on the cost. I would say that the majority of applicants spend about 2k in applications, secondaries, interviews, etc. It's expensive but it is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of a medical education.

There are ways to cut costs. ie sheduling interviews in a general area around each other (rarely works), staying with student hosts, taking public transportation, looking for discount airline tickets, etc. You can keep costs down if you plan effectively. Good luck. The credit card will take a hit unless you are independently wealthy.