Cost of application

[HansSpemann]

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Hello, I will be applying in the next cycle, and I am in the process of saving as much money as I can in order to avoid having my parents help me. But how much is sufficient? I am not the strongest applicant, thus necessity dictates that I cast my nests as wide as possible. I intend to apply to 25 schools, which will cost about $800 for primaries, and assuming I receive 20 secondaries, another $1600 for secondaries. Are there additional costs I should be anticipating?

 

[seraph524]

I found that a bulk of my costs are from travel. While most schools provide hotels or student hosts, very few pay for plane tickets...and they can rack up...I've spent over 2 grand already...

Other than that, the other misc. costs like suits, clothes, random gifts for your student hosts, travel costs like for food....

 

[richardlo]

Interviews, of course. If you live on the West Coast, you can easily shell out $300+ round trip to the East. Try to apply to some schools that you like and give out really early acceptances (Pitt, Wash U, Vanderbilt, Case Western, etc.), so you can cut down the number of trips you need to go as soon as you're accepted.

Things like suits and transcripts cost money as well. I know UCLA and Baylor require additional transcripts, but they're not that expensive. Ground transportation (from the airport to the student host and vice versa) may cost a bit as well. However, some student hosts will pick you up at the airport, so you can save a little.

That's all I can think of at this moment.

Hello, I will be applying in the next cycle, and I am in the process of saving as much money as I can in order to avoid having my parents help me. But how much is sufficient? I am not the strongest applicant, thus necessity dictates that I cast my nests as wide as possible. I intend to apply to 25 schools, which will cost about $800 for primaries, and assuming I receive 20 secondaries, another $1600 for secondaries. Are there additional costs I should be anticipating?

 

[solitude]

Some of my East Coast interview trips have cost me 300 bucks, and I live on the East Coast! I just bought plane tickets to fly to the Bay Area over winter break, about a month in advance (which can be the typical forewarning that an applicant gets before an interview) and it cost me $600. So the majority of the money that I have spent has been on airfare--it easily surpasses the application fees once you get to the third or fourth interview. Usually once I get to a school, they pay for everything, with perhaps the exception of a taxi here or there.

To echo richardlo, apply to schools that give out early acceptances. Also, I glanced at your mdapps which seemed to have a good number of Midwest schools, which is good. In my anecdotal experience, Midwest schools are more likely to pay for travel. Also, with a few exceptions, programs that are less selective will go to greater lengths to get you to interview. Stay with a host (or a friend in the city, if you have one) wherever you go--there is really never any need to stay in a hotel unless the school pays for it (and it actually precludes you from really getting a feel for student life).

Honestly, as admirable as it is for you to try to do it without your parents help, I wouldn't advise it (of course, that's assuming they have the spare cash to help you out). Think about it, this is the next 7 or 8 years of your life. You might as well borrow a couple grand from them and make sure you get to interview at as many potential schools as possible so that you end up at the place that makes you the happiest.

Interviews, of course. If you live on the West Coast, you can easily shell out $300+ round trip to the East. Try to apply to some schools that you like and give out really early acceptances (Pitt, Wash U, Vanderbilt, Case Western, etc.), so you can cut down the number of trips you need to go as soon as you're accepted.

Things like suits and transcripts cost money as well. I know UCLA and Baylor require additional transcripts, but they're not that expensive. Ground transportation (from the airport to the student host and vice versa) may cost a bit as well. However, some student hosts will pick you up at the airport, so you can save a little.

That's all I can think of at this moment.

 

[richardlo]

The airfare during winter break is definitely more expensive. I also paid $600+ for a round trip to the East. Hey OP - if you can combine a winter break with an interview, you can save an additional trip. I am going to the East Coast for Christmas and for an interview in early January. That way, you save a trip flying back and forth.

Also, you can combine several interviews into one big trip. I haven't quite done that - it can be difficult to schedule, but you can try to negotiate with the adminstrative people and see if that's possible. Submitting your app early may help as well. Try to score interviews in September and October (cheaper plane tickets).

Some of my East Coast interview trips have cost me 300 bucks, and I live on the East Coast! I just bought plane tickets to fly to the Bay Area over winter break, about a month in advance (which can be the typical forewarning that an applicant gets before an interview) and it cost me $600. So the majority of the money that I have spent has been on airfare--it easily surpasses the application fees once you get to the third or fourth interview. Usually once I get to a school, they pay for everything, with perhaps the exception of a taxi here or there.

To echo richardlo, apply to schools that give out early acceptances. Also, I glanced at your mdapps which seemed to have a good number of Midwest schools, which is good. In my anecdotal experience, Midwest schools are more likely to pay for travel. Also, with a few exceptions, programs that are less selective will go to greater lengths to get you to interview. Stay with a host (or a friend in the city, if you have one) wherever you go--there is really never any need to stay in a hotel unless the school pays for it (and it actually precludes you from really getting a feel for student life).

Honestly, as admirable as it is for you to try to do it without your parents help, I wouldn't advise it (of course, that's assuming they have the spare cash to help you out). Think about it, this is the next 7 or 8 years of your life. You might as well borrow a couple grand from them and make sure you get to interview at as many potential schools as possible so that you end up at the place that makes you the happiest.

 

[mudphudwannabe]

25 schools seems excessive. Think about it not just in terms of money, but in terms of time. Secondaries and interviews take a lot of time. I only applied to 10 schools, but it took a big chunk of time out of my senior year and it was a lot of stress. I highly recommend narrowing this list. I'm all for applying broadly, but I can honestly say I haven't heard of anyone applying to more than 20 schools. Maybe I'm missing something, but there's nothing I can see in your MD applicants profile that is a "red flag" for me -- your GPA is maybe a little lower than the average MD/PhD applicant (but not bad) and you perhaps don't have as much total research time as most applicants, but otherwise you seem to be very well rounded which you can definitely play up on secondaries. Do a little research on the programs, think about where you want to live for 8 years of your life, and maybe you can narrow the list to 15 or so.

 

[richardlo]

I did apply to more than 20 schools, but once I got an acceptance from Pitt I cut down probably 10 schools. I don't mean to be rude to (or to discourage) the OP, but I think it's safer to apply to more schools.

25 schools seems excessive. Think about it not just in terms of money, but in terms of time. Secondaries and interviews take a lot of time. I only applied to 10 schools, but it took a big chunk of time out of my senior year and it was a lot of stress. I highly recommend narrowing this list. I'm all for applying broadly, but I can honestly say I haven't heard of anyone applying to more than 20 schools. Maybe I'm missing something, but there's nothing I can see in your MD applicants profile that is a "red flag" for me -- your GPA is maybe a little lower than the average MD/PhD applicant (but not bad) and you perhaps don't have as much total research time as most applicants, but otherwise you seem to be very well rounded which you can definitely play up on secondaries. Do a little research on the programs, think about where you want to live for 8 years of your life, and maybe you can narrow the list to 15 or so.

 

[HansSpemann]

25 schools seems excessive.

Yeah, 25 seems like a lot to me too: I am just afraid of not getting in anywhere and having to go through the process again. As you mentioned, my gpa is low and I attend a LAC, so I have not had as many research opportunities as I would have liked. Consequently, I am unsure of how successful I will ultimately be as an applicant. I will give serious thought to cutting the list down; I will not be applying until June, so I have time to think these things over. Thanks for the advice

 

[mudphudwannabe]

Ok, I understand a little better now. I hadn't noticed the LAC part -- is that Latin American/Caribbean? I'm not sure what is typical in your situation, but 25 does seem a little more reasonable given that fact.

Maybe you can narrow things down once you start getting interviews -- as others have mentioned, traveling for interviews is where expenses can start to add up. For most of my interviews, travel expenses (plane tickets and maybe a cab ride to/from the airport too) were paid for, but those incidental expenses can definitely add up. Also consider lost time at work, since many MD/PhD interviews are multi-day events.

 

[OncDoc19]

Ok, I understand a little better now. I hadn't noticed the LAC part -- is that Latin American/Caribbean? I'm not sure what is typical in your situation, but 25 does seem a little more reasonable given that fact.

I believe LAC is liberal arts college.

 

[OncDoc19]

Yeah, 25 seems like a lot to me too: I am just afraid of not getting in anywhere and having to go through the process again. As you mentioned, my gpa is low and I attend a LAC, so I have not had as many research opportunities as I would have liked. Consequently, I am unsure of how successful I will ultimately be as an applicant. I will give serious thought to cutting the list down; I will not be applying until June, so I have time to think these things over. Thanks for the advice

To boost your research experience I would think about a summer pre-MD/PhD program. I did one at my school (Iowa) this summer. http://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/mstp/New/mstp/summer/index.htm
Unlike many of these programs it isn't specifically for URMs. Additionally most or all of the students are from outside of Iowa and many are from small LACs. It is a great opportunity to get 8 weeks of research plus they provide you with a clinical mentor for shadowing. $3000 stipend plus a dorm room and travel. It's a good deal!

 

[Kraazy]

Yeah, 25 seems like a lot to me too: I am just afraid of not getting in anywhere and having to go through the process again. As you mentioned, my gpa is low and I attend a LAC, so I have not had as many research opportunities as I would have liked. Consequently, I am unsure of how successful I will ultimately be as an applicant. I will give serious thought to cutting the list down; I will not be applying until June, so I have time to think these things over. Thanks for the advice

I agre that 25 seems like a lot with your profile, but I completely understand the way you feel. I applied to 22 schools at first, then got nervous and added another 2. Honestly though, I don't think that (unless you are a subpar applicant, which you are not) there is a considerable marginal advantage to applying to more than 20 schools. One thing I would pay attention to, is to not apply to schools to which you would not go just because you want to improve your chances. The whole process is pretty darn draining, and you want to make sure your efforts are well placed. Rather than apply to a bunch of places, limit yourself to 20-ish schools, but work like hell on your essays and interview prep; make sure you come off as focused and motivated in your application materials. I think that will make a much greater difference than 5 more apps.

In terms of your "on paper" profile, your GPA is a bit low (which may be a problem at some places, but not all) but you rocked the MCAT, which should redeem you. You don't have years and years of research yet, but you've already had some pubs, and have a few more months on undergrad research to go, plus you plan on doing IRTA, so you'll have plenty of experience by the time you apply and go on interviews. Again, at this point I would say that the biggest favor you can do yourself (besides trying to up your GPA) is work on the "intangibles": recs, essays, etc...

Oh, and agreed that interviewing is the most costly part of the process.

Good luck!

 

[mudphudwannabe]

I believe LAC is liberal arts college.

Oh, hmm. Then I stand by my original advice -- 25 is probably too many, and it will make your life a lot easier if you can whittle it down a bit. Sorry I'm not hip to the lingo! 😳

 

[HansSpemann]

I wanted to thank all of you for the advice; I truly appreciate it