Applying to 6 schools too much?

[Noemimi]

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So I will be applying July 2009, and I have been researching schools based on curriculum and clincal experience. These are the schools I am seriously considering/decided to apply to:

UCBSO
SCCO
SUNY
ICO
NECO
UHCO

I am unsure about NECO and UHCO because of location, but I heard that they are GREAT schools.

Here is my question... should I even bother applying to NECO and UHCO? I ask this because I am scared that 6 schools may be considered too much. School like seeing you apply to more than 1 or 2 schools, it shows you want to be an OD. BUT... applying to too many schools makes it seem like you are just wanting to get in no matter what. I am scared that 6 schools may be considered too much and I should just apply to 4. I am afraid that it will negatively affect me during the application process. What do you guys think?

 

[blysssful]

It didn't affect me.
-I applied to 6 also: SUNY, NECO, SCCO, PCO, UCBSO & WU (WU was a "what the hell" decision)
-Got interview invitations from 5 (no UCB)
-Only actually interviewed at 3 (SUNY, NECO & SCCO) & got accepted to those three with no questions/comments as to why I applied to 6 schools (at least none directed to me).


I don't think that "wanting to get in no matter what" is a negative thing... but I'm obviously not on an admissions committee. Personally, I think only applying to one school is looked upon more negatively than applying to many.

 

[Noemimi]

thanks.... that makes me feel better... my other concern is that Berkeley is my first choice --love the school 😍and very close to home. However, Berkeley is one of the last schools to do interviews. I don't have much money (paying for everything on my own 🙁) to go to EVERY school I get an interview in (hopefully I do get interviews).... what I am afraid of is that I have not visited any of the schools (except Berkeley) so I don't know which one I favor. However, if I were to get an interview in many of the schools I apply to, I don't think I can afford to go to each one. I also don't want to sell myself short and accept the first school that accepts me while I wait for Berkeley just because I lack the funds. I also don't want to give a deposit for a school, get an interview for another, and like the second school and lose my deposit.

I know I wrote a lot, sorry...

also, usually how many days after acceptance do you have to submit a deposit?

 

[blysssful]

Well, like I mentioned, I didn't go to every interview I was invited to, and I'm sure many people are in the same boat. The best thing you can do if you can't afford to make visits to every school is to just find out everything you can about the school in other ways. Of course take others' opinions with a grain of salt.

NECO & SUNY gave 4 weeks for $500 deposits & SCCO gave 2 weeks for a $750 deposit. I forget if NECO's was refundable, but SUNY's is 100% refundable until April 1st, and SCCO gives back $250 before May 15th.

Of course it sucks to lose out on any money, but in this situation, it could be worth it.

 

[Commando303]

Is it necessary that every school to which you apply know how many optometry colleges, total, you've applied to?

 

[AfricanOD]

I see nothing wrong applying to that many schools, as long you kinda create a choice list for yourself before given multiple admissions. You dont have that much money to be throwing around(in these harsh recession times) on reserving several seats. Btw, some admissions come b4 other interviews are given, so you can save money on the travelling. I got into the game pretty late for this cycle myself, only applying to ICO and NOVA (1 week b4 deadline for ICO, and Yesterday for NOVA). I've pretty much given up hope, and looking forward to reapplying to these 2 and applying to 3 more next cycle. Good luck man

 

[OpticalBlackOut]

The one reason I would be opposed to applying to that many schools is really just cost. Transcripts/OAT scores/Letters/App fees. Then flying for interviews/traveling expenses can really add up.
Try to gauge the strength of the programs, and see if you can eliminate some of the programs depending on how much you like them. If you really fear rejection, you can even try to call admissions about your chances (probably after this app. cycle ends), I think PCO offered to look over my transcript before I even applied.

I feel like the average # of schools students apply to are ~4 (just because that's how many OAT reports we can send out for free), maybe aim for that to save money...otherwise, no negatives.

 

[jymezg]

Is it necessary that every school to which you apply know how many optometry colleges, total, you've applied to?

Depends, some ask in your applications some don't. Its a minuscule detail and I don't think it plays any major part as admissions looks over your app.


To the OP. Apply to the schools you want to go to. Its about 50 buckaroos an app (+ whatever the extra oat fee is). You never know what schools you'll get interviews from, and you don't want to regret not applying to NECO and UHCO in December. Later in the year you can start making the ENDLESS LIST of pros and cons for each school and decide interviews/deposits/acceptances/final desicion and all that fun stuff. 😀 g'luck.

 

[Noemimi]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I know that I should just wait it out and hope for the best. However, it is hard since I don't have the opportunity to visit the schools before/during interviewing to see if it is even worth it. Also, as mentioned, it is not just the interviews that will cost me money. We shall see what the future holds.

 

[thanotoriousfob]

So I will be applying July 2009, and I have been researching schools based on curriculum and clincal experience. These are the schools I am seriously considering/decided to apply to:

UCBSO
SCCO
SUNY
ICO
NECO
UHCO

I am unsure about NECO and UHCO because of location, but I heard that they are GREAT schools.

Here is my question... should I even bother applying to NECO and UHCO? I ask this because I am scared that 6 schools may be considered too much. School like seeing you apply to more than 1 or 2 schools, it shows you want to be an OD. BUT... applying to too many schools makes it seem like you are just wanting to get in no matter what. I am scared that 6 schools may be considered too much and I should just apply to 4. I am afraid that it will negatively affect me during the application process. What do you guys think?

I don't think it will hurt you. I applied to 4 schools and was invited to three but did two interviews.

I think if you are worried about this, make sure you have a reason for why you applied to each individual school other than "because I really want to get in and applying to more schools will increase my chances."

As others have said, make sure you do your research before applying to a school and have legitimate reasons for why you applied to said school just in case it does come up in an interview. Good luck.

 

[Noemimi]

Well UCSB SCCO and SUNY are a given for me. I like their curriculum and I know people from there that have shared their experiences with me... so they seem like great schools.

ICO... I am leaning towards because their curriculum also features a lot of clinical experience-from what I've read...UHCO and NECO both appear to have lots of clinical experience as well... which is a plus. However, I don't know people from these schools, so I really don't know if I will like it. I am leaning towards ICO because I favor it location wise to UHCO. I am fearfull of NECO because I have been reading the forums here and also looking at their website... and they don't really disclose their 1st time pass rate on the boards....

So, to make it short. I do have legit reasons for applying to each school (well at least the 1st 3) I just want to include one more (I am a bit OCD and I can't just apply to 3). However, I cannot decide between the last 3, so I don't know if I should just apply to all three or eliminate 1 or 2

 

[thanotoriousfob]

The one reason I would be opposed to applying to that many schools is really just cost. Transcripts/OAT scores/Letters/App fees. Then flying for interviews/traveling expenses can really add up.
Try to gauge the strength of the programs, and see if you can eliminate some of the programs depending on how much you like them. If you really fear rejection, you can even try to call admissions about your chances (probably after this app. cycle ends), I think PCO offered to look over my transcript before I even applied.

I feel like the average # of schools students apply to are ~4 (just because that's how many OAT reports we can send out for free), maybe aim for that to save money...otherwise, no negatives.

With all due respect blackout, cost is a personal issue. Who knows maybe the OP can afford to apply to all the schools they mentioned and be financially okay with it.

If I had enough money and was worried about my chances, I personally would not let cost affect my decision to apply to less schools if I originally intended to apply to more schools. I see this process as an investment, and yes you will lose money if you apply to multiple schools. But then again, we all lose if we apply to multiple schools because ultimately if we get accepted somewhere we will go to one school and lose out on all the time and money invested in the other schools (app fee, travel costs, deposit, etc). I could sit here and say I want my money back from the schools I didn't interview at and the travel money from the school I decided I did not want to go to but I don't think that is how we should look at it. I'm not saying throw your money around but rather that you should look into the schools you are applying to for reasons other than the expenses accrued during the application process.

 

[Noemimi]

does anybody know the deposit deadlines/refunds for Berkeley, ICO, UHCO, and PCO?

 

[eheaps]

I applied to 10 schools and got interview invites from 8 of them. However, I had low stats (although many things that made up for that) on my application, so a few of the schools were "just in case" schools, like WU and UMSL (I'm sure it's a great school, but I didn't really have an intention of going there if I got in somewhere else, which I did). Anyways, I think the hardest thing for me was that most of the invites I got came within like a two month period a few months after I got all my apps in, and as a result I went to most of them. However, after I got accepted into a couple schools that were high on my list, I chose one (Nova over PCO) and was set on that. A couple weeks ago I got an ICO invite and yesterday I got a NECO invite (I've been set on Nova since January), so it's kind of like a what if situation if I didn't give my full deposit or if the interviews came sooner. I was more happy and surprised than anything after not hearing a word from NECO at all. Anyway I guess my point is that I think you should apply to as many schools as you think necessary, especially if you think it will give you a better chance of getting in somewhere as that's the approach that I took. But be prepared to make a tough decision if you get a handful of interview invites and even acceptances!!