CAPPING number of schools you apply to

[darkelven29]

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It seems that the application process gets crazier and crazier, with delays, increased applications in every med school, long waits, mistakes among busy admission staff, application costs.....

1. What do you think if AMCAS caps the number of schools an applicant can apply to?

2. What is the max number you think an applicant should apply to?

 

[LikeClockWork]

I don't think it'll happen. I mean, there's money to be had!

 

[doinmybest5840]

1. I don't think this will happen. Students have the right to apply to as many schools as they wish/can afford.
2. If this DID happen, my guess is that they'd cap it around 25-30, since that's about 20-25% of the schools. But again, I highly doubt this would happen.

 

[Mace1370]

But what about poor people? Don't you think they are at a disadvantage when some (rich) people in the applicant pool can gain an advantage over them by applying to more schools? It seems that capping the number of schools you could apply to is only practical and fair.

 

[167649]

1. What do you think if AMCAS caps the number of schools an applicant can apply to?

This would never, ever happen. The AAMC would never turn down all that free money.

But what about poor people? Don't you think they are at a disadvantage when some (rich) people in the applicant pool can gain an advantage over them by applying to more schools? It seems that capping the number of schools you could apply to is only practical and fair.

Uhhhh...AMCAS fee waiver maybe? They already do this.

 

[doinmybest5840]

Poor people can get a job and work for their money. Not everyone who applies to a lot of schools got the money from their "rich" families. If you're capable of medical school, you're capable of getting a job. End of story.

 

[Kthanksbye]

What about just requiring that schools screen primaries! This seems like a better option to me. No sense in wasting everyone's time and money filling out secondaries when they would just screen you out anyway. The only reason to do this, it seems, is to collect the application fees -- which can be substantial! Multiplying the secondary application fee by the number of people who filled out secondaries last year (according to MSAR) would have most schools taking in $500,000 to over one million dollars PER YEAR, only to end up rejecting the majority outright. Do they really need those secondaries?

This is not just my opinion. My genetics professor was a professor at a med school and served on its admissions committee for about 10 years, and he also thinks it's almost criminal that they automatically send secondaries to everyone, whether they would consider them or not. They already get a piece of the AMCAS fee, which should be enough for the pre-screening that they would do on the primary.

Loyola and Wake Forest, at least, have some dignity in this regard. They actually screen primaries. Kudos.

Edit: This would help poor applicants, too, since the primary application is cheaper and it would mean that getting a secondary actually meant something, thereby justifying the added expense.

 

[darkelven29]

So people are saying that Admissions and AMCAS are in for the money??? Shouldn't someone regulate them so that application fees are not just wasted?

 

[doinmybest5840]

The fees aren't wasted, they're likely used to make updates to the school's facilities or something like that.

 

[littlealex]

2 things:

1)it's not like the adcoms pocket the money. Schools are always looking for revenue, and they know they can get away with it.

2) The application process is not that expensive. Can't afford to apply? Get a job out of college, save up some money, and apply. AND you would be a better applicant with some real life experience. Or get some money out of your trust fund.

 

[HumbleMD]

2 things:

1)it's not like the adcoms pocket the money. Schools are always looking for revenue, and they know they can get away with it.

2) The application process is not that expensive. Can't afford to apply? Get a job out of college, save up some money, and apply. AND you would be a better applicant with some real life experience. Or get some money out of your trust fund.

It's not just the application fees keeping poor folks out of medical school. Look to private preschools, kindergarten, elementary, middle, High Schools and colleges, and you'll understand that there are some people out there a step behind in the process before they've even started.

On another note, very true that the application fee is not some big money making opportunity, but rather a way to defer the cost of entire admission departments, buildings, recruitment materials, etc.

Back to the topic at hand though, I think an application cap would be a great idea. It would cut down on the number of reach appliations that waste school's time, equal the playing field somewhat, and overall streamline the process. I'd put the cap at 15.