choosing schools to apply to

[acromonkey]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I've read you are supposed to apply "broadly" to schools, so you have the best chances of getting in. I am looking at the MSAR from 2009-2010 and I'm seeing schools like Morehouse in GA who has an average MCAT of 27, are these schools not great schools to apply to? Does the school you attend have much weight when it comes to applying to residencies? How do you know which schools you should apply to???

What allows for the MCAT score to be much lower than most schools, for example at Morehouse. Is it not a great medical school? I wonder how to go about this process. I don't know how to go about choosing schools to apply to and how you know what is "special" about schools.

I'm sorry if this sounds silly, but I have no one else to get advice from! Thanks SDN

 

[senorsquishie]

You apply above, below, and at your stats schools. You then pick from the ones you get into

 

[Chelslen]

You apply above, below, and at your stats schools. You then pick from the ones you get into

dumb question but i'm curious so i'll double check:

med schools can't see other schools you've applied to, right?

 

[DrYoda]

I've read you are supposed to apply "broadly" to schools, so you have the best chances of getting in. I am looking at the MSAR from 2009-2010 and I'm seeing schools like Morehouse in GA who has an average MCAT of 27, are these schools not great schools to apply to? Does the school you attend have much weight when it comes to applying to residencies? How do you know which schools you should apply to???

You school does have some weight on residency apps. There also tends to be home field advantage at your own school for residency.

Knowing which schools to apply to: Figure out where your competitive at (you can get MCAT/GPA data from school websites or the MSAR). Apply to a mix of places that are above, around and below your stats. If you have gangster stats, still mix it up by some high, mid and low tier. Narrow by location and features of the school you're interested in (PBL, required class time, pass/fail ect) if you have a lot of options to choose from.

What allows for the MCAT score to be much lower than most schools, for example at Morehouse. Is it not a great medical school? I wonder how to go about this process. I don't know how to go about choosing schools to apply to and how you know what is "special" about schools.

Usually it's the prestige factor and location. Morehouse (and the other historically black colleges) are largely geared towards creating doctors who will go work in underseved areas, so they have some of selecting for that vs. grades going on as well.

dumb question but i'm curious so i'll double check:

med schools can't see other schools you've applied to, right?

Correct, they can't see.

 

[acromonkey]

You school does have some weight on residency apps. There also tends to be home field advantage at your own school for residency.


Knowing which schools to apply to: Figure out where your competitive at (you can get MCAT/GPA data from school websites or the MSAR). Apply to a mix of places that are above, around and below your stats. If you have gangster stats, still mix it up by some high, mid and low tier. Narrow by location and features of the school you're interested in (PBL, required class time, pass/fail ect) if you have a lot of options to choose from.


Where can you find this information?? I was also trying to find out what the schools rotation schedule, since some schools are now only doing a year and a half of classroom and then starting rotations. This info is not in the MSAR and I've checked some individual websites and I can't find that information either.

 

[DrYoda]

Where can you find this information?? I was also trying to find out what the schools rotation schedule, since some schools are now only doing a year and a half of classroom and then starting rotations. This info is not in the MSAR and I've checked some individual websites and I can't find that information either.

Most of that info should be available on school websites (except, I imagine, the attendance policy; which you can look on SDN or ask current students about, most schools don't require attendance).

Try looking under curriculum on schools websites for their schedules, most sites have a curriculum or similar area. Off the top of my head UPenn, Duke and Baylor all have a shortened basic science curriculum.