Applying Together- Advice/School List Help?

[Comprehensive-Sink85]

My SO and I are planning to apply together this application cycle and would like some advice for school lists! We would like to apply to pretty much all the same schools/schools in cities with multiple schools. TIA!

• State/Country of Residence: WA / FL
• Ties to other States/Regions: NA for both
• URM? (Y/N): N for both (Asian)
• Year in School: Senior
• Undergraduate Major(s)/Minor(s): Neuro / BME
• Undergraduate Institution: T10
• Graduate Degrees (if applicable): NA for both
• Cumulative GPA: 3.8X/3.9X
• Science GPA: 3.8X/3.9X
• MCAT Score(s): 516/520
• Research Experience:
  • We both have pretty decent research experience (700 hrs & 1500+ hrs) where we feel like we contributed to the research process and can write about it well
• Publications/Abstracts/Posters (include how you were credited e.g. first author, second author, etc.):
  • I have 2 pubs (mid-author, mid tier journal), SO may have 1 pub but not in time for primary app
• Clinical Experience (paid or volunteer):
  • Future Hours: we are both taking 1 gap year and will most likely be working clinical/clinical research jobs. Start date will be before primary so we'll include them and project out.
  • Current Hours:
    • I have around 300 hrs clinical volunteering that is extremely meaningful and hands on.
    • SO has ~250 hrs clinical exp (~175 paid, 75 volunteer) that is a little bit more like hospital volunteering but can write about it in a meaningful/clinical-focused way.
• Physician Shadowing:
  • We both have decent shadowing experience although we both mainly shadowed in 1 specialty (difficult bc pandemic)
• Non-Clinical Volunteering:
  • I have 500-600 hours volunteering
  • SO has around 250 volunteering
  • both were COVID volunteering, tutoring, etc. with underserved populations
• Other Extracurricular Activities:
  • both have leadership experience (e-board) from a club on campus
• Other Employment History:
  • SO has around 400-500 hours of work (tutoring, admin jobs)
    • this is partly why SO's non-clinical volunteering is decent but not as high.
• Immediate family members in medicine? (Y/N): Y and N
• Specialty of Interest (if applicable): NA for both
• Interest in Primary Care (Y/N): Y for both
• Interest in Rural Health (Y/N): N for both
• Medical School List:
  • so far we have just added all our state schools + our alma mater

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[chilly_md]

If you are not married, it is highly unlikely that the person who is not a resident of WA will be considered at either of the schools in the state. Likewise for the person who is not from Florida. That person can still apply to UCF, USF, Nova MD and Miami though. FSU takes very very few OOS students and UF isn’t the best either.

Consider apply to the following on top of what you already have:

Wake Forest
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
UVA
George Washington
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Seton Hall
Albany
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Rochester
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Tufts
Cincinnati
Ohio State
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
USC Keck
Saint Louis
UCSD

If SO can get more non-clinical volunteering hours (more hands-on than tutoring ie soup kitchen, homeless shelter etc), you can both apply to:
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Creighton

 

[Comprehensive-Sink85]

If you are not married, it is highly unlikely that the person who is not a resident of WA will be considered at either of the schools in the state. Likewise for the person who is not from Florida. That person can still apply to UCF, USF, Nova MD and Miami though. FSU takes very very few OOS students and UF isn’t the best either.

Consider apply to the following on top of what you already have:

Wake Forest
Virginia Commonwealth
Eastern Virginia
UVA
George Washington
Temple
Jefferson
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Seton Hall
Albany
Hofstra
Einstein
Mount Sinai
Rochester
Vermont
Quinnipiac
Tufts
Cincinnati
Ohio State
Western Michigan
Medical College Wisconsin
USC Keck
Saint Louis
UCSD

If SO can get more non-clinical volunteering hours (more hands-on than tutoring ie soup kitchen, homeless shelter etc), you can both apply to:
Oakland Beaumont
Wayne State
Creighton

Thank you for the recommendations, we'll go through them and see which are good fits for us!

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

which score/stats has the pubs?

If it’s 3.9/520/2pubs vs 3.8/516/no pubs, the former is competitive for any school in the country, the latter not so much so.

Don’t get me wrong, both are competitive to get into a school but it would constrain one person’s options. If the higher scorer is okay with that, ask schools if they give additional consideration to couples.

I believe that Penn asks about couples but I think it’s less formalized at most schools than couples Match. One probably is competitive for Penn so maybe if you list each other it could help?

For schools at which both are competitive

Tufts
BU
Umass
UVM
Pitt
NYMC
Albany
Hofstra
Stony brook
SLU
Quinnipiac
Brown
Jefferson
MCW
Case western
Georgetown
GWU
Emory
UCSD

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Congratulations. Has a ceremony been scheduled?

A bit more seriously, from my experience, we will more seriously consider you as a couple if you are already married or soon will be with a scheduled date, depending on the school. You disclose this in the general "is there something/ anything else we need to know" prompt if there is one on the secondary. If you are not at that level of commitment, we can't usually consider your application as a couple.

Ask the schools before you apply especially if you are in a situation where you may not be able to get married or have the state where the school is located recognize your marriage (which should no longer be a problem but you never know with state politics and SCOTUS).

 

[Comprehensive-Sink85]

which score/stats has the pubs?

If it’s 3.9/520/2pubs vs 3.8/516/no pubs, the former is competitive for any school in the country, the latter not so much so.

Don’t get me wrong, both are competitive to get into a school but it would constrain one person’s options. If the higher scorer is okay with that, ask schools if they give additional consideration to couples.

I believe that Penn asks about couples but I think it’s less formalized at most schools than couples Match. One probably is competitive for Penn so maybe if you list each other it could help?

For schools at which both are competitive

Tufts
BU
Umass
UVM
Pitt
NYMC
Albany
Hofstra
Stony brook
SLU
Quinnipiac
Brown
Jefferson
MCW
Case western
Georgetown
GWU
Emory
UCSD

It's 3.9/516/2pubs, 3.8/520/no pubs haha 😅 Does that change our competitiveness for the schools listed at all? I appreciate your help!

 

[Comprehensive-Sink85]

Congratulations. Has a ceremony been scheduled?

A bit more seriously, from my experience, we will more seriously consider you as a couple if you are already married or soon will be with a scheduled date, depending on the school. You disclose this in the general "is there something/ anything else we need to know" prompt if there is one on the secondary. If you are not at that level of commitment, we can't usually consider your application as a couple.

Ask the schools before you apply especially if you are in a situation where you may not be able to get married or have the state where the school is located recognize your marriage (which should no longer be a problem but you never know with state politics and SCOTUS).

Thanks for your response! We don't have a date scheduled yet since whether or not we are able to be in the same location for the next 4 years is a pretty big factor But if we're able to, we're hoping to set the date sometime next spring.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thanks for your response! We don't have a date scheduled yet since whether or not we are able to be in the same location for the next 4 years is a pretty big factor But if we're able to, we're hoping to set the date sometime next spring.

I think you can be realistic about this. Yes it is ideal to be together all 4 years of medical school to support each other. But understand you will need your study time, your individual social time, and travel to area or regional clinics. Many couples wind up at schools in proximity or reasonable driving distance and work out seeing each other over weekends. You both have to individually grow as professionals and students, and it is understandably challenging.

Schools are used to this now so it's not a big of a problem. I have seen one student go ahead of the SO when it comes to applications just to get a better shot at being in the same place for school, even if it is not synchronized. Just ask before you apply... students as well as administrators.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

It's 3.9/516/2pubs, 3.8/520/no pubs haha 😅 Does that change our competitiveness for the schools listed at all? I appreciate your help!

I think it definitely helps. Unfortunately, there has been some MCAT inflation ever since the format changed so now a 516 is at or below the 10th percentile at Hopkins, Penn, Vanderbilt, WUSTL, NYU, Columbia and a few other schools. I guess it never hurts to try as long as you have plenty of targets for both

 

[chilly_md]

It's 3.9/516/2pubs, 3.8/520/no pubs haha 😅 Does that change our competitiveness for the schools listed at all? I appreciate your help!

The 520 MCAT will get yield protected at some of the schools we listed since they will assume that person will get better offers. Do not apply to Quinnipiac, Oakland, Wake, Albany, NYMC, or Medical College of Wisconsin. Vanderbilt, Emory and WUSTL would be worth an application with a 520 MCAT. The 516 person can try Emory as well.