Applying to less schools?

[Ronin]

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The reason I am asking this is that in the past week, our family falls into dire financial straits. I applied to 25 schools (wide range) in my AMCAS, but now i am thinking that I should just give up on several schools that I have the least chance of getting in so that I could save money, for the secondary/interview processes of each school could demand hundreds of dollars.

Could anyone give me some advice on this?
And could anyone tell me how many schools they applied along with their financial situation?

 

[14931]

well i really dont know how to resond to this cos u didnt post ur stats or anything and well the medical application is not exactly consistent.

what i mean is people with high gpas and mcats have been denied and people with low gpa and mcats have been accepted.

before u decide to drop some schools ask ur self these questions?
1) what kind of school do u want to go to? does it matter? if it does then u can easily eliminate the schools u dont want to go to,if not..
2) can u ge fee waivers? u mentioned financial cicumstances?
3) well ok i ran out of questions but if u really dont have money, u could consider reappying next year, cos if u cut back on schools, u are kind of cutting back on ur chances, or u could just go ahead with few schools and pray, several people have done this.

there really isnt any definite right answer, its up to u to take the risk of appying to few schools, but even with lot of schools, remember the appilcation process is not a guaranteed one

just my two cents

 

[Ronin]

Thank you, immediatespring. I appreciate your response.
For now, it might be too difficult and time-consuming for me to go through the financial aid process (i.e. by the time it goes through, secondaries would be past deadline), and our family's situation probably could not provide proper paperwork yet. But you are right... i worry about decreasing my chances of getting in, so that's why i am in such distress....

 

[Mike59]

Ronin,

As a person who is working to pay for all of my secondaries and app fees, I can empathize with your financial concerns.

Posting your stats and accomplishments may give us a better idea of where your application should be targeted. My suggestion is to organize all of the schools on your AMCAS under the following headings: (I'll use some random examples)

- out of state, probably impossible (Duke, Stanford)
- out of state, have a slim chance (Indiana, U. Michigan)
- out of state, have a good chance of admission (Finch)
- your state's public / D.O. (if applicable) schools

Decide how much money you wanna shell out on secondaries / interviews. Assume about $100 per school for secondaries. So, suppose you choose to spend $1200 on secondaries. Spread out 12 schools under the headings, so that it looks like a pyramid. In other words, more apps to schools you have a better chance at, but still throw in a couple at more prestigious schools just in case.

Do not make the mistake of only applying to schools you perceive as "easy", because this process is random and you never know. You may apply to 4 in-state schools, 1 slim out of state, and throw in Hopkins, and find out that Hopkins is the only school that accepts you.

I hope this quick chart is of some help, it has helped me prioritize my applications, save some money, all while maintaing a decent chance of getting in somewhere.

Good Luck!

 

[Ronin]

Thank you very much, Mike59!
I really appreciate your help and have made good use of your categorization scheme. Well, after some reorganization, I have decided to not even worry about the secondaries of 5 top med schools on my list; that should help me some a bit without jeopardizing my chances much. Thanks again, man.

 

[X]

Here's another way to think about this. The secondaries aren't as expensive. I mean they are, but in the grand scheme of things they aren't. Send in secondaries, and make that decision of not going to some interviews to save money, if you get multiple ones. Interviews are the real money eaters. This will increase your chances of getting interviews and save you money in the long run. I suggest this because you never know which school will grant you an interview, sometimes its the one you least expected.

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