Critical Mass in Medical School Applications?

[CanadianRN]

Quick question. I realize that applying broadly is key to success in medical school applications. However, even as an international applicant, I have only been able to narrow the numbered of U.S. medical schools that I would like to attend down to about 40... Obviously, some I prefer over others. At some point, the number of applications submitted must become counter-productive. There is no way you could write 40 heartfelt genuine secondary applications without the quality beginning to slip.

How many schools would you consider applying to? I realize that it is important to find the right fit, but for the sake of argument, imagine the number of suitable schools were indefinite.

Thoughts?

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[ciestar]

I honestly think whenever I do put together a school list, I'm going to cap it at 20.
The secondaries would be overwhelming with 40 schools.. it's already stressful enough!

 

[NontradCA]

mcm= 10^GPA * MCAT^2
60

 

[darkjedi]

~15 is what people generally recommend, depending on how competitive you are. 20-25 would be the upper limit of what I think most people would be willing to do.

 

[Ismet]

I sent my AMCAS to 18 schools and ended up only doing 11 secondaries. But I'm lazy. Average number is 15.

 

[Patros]

Like others said, 15ish is around the ballpark for most people. If you have money to burn and want to apply to more top-tier schools, 20-25 isn't a bad idea. However since you are an international applicant, you will have to add 5-10 more schools as compared to a US resident, just to be safe.

I think about 20-25 should be a solid number, although we could help narrow down schools based on your stats and location preferences.

 

[274631]

I applied to 21, completed 20 seondaries as a fellow international. Looking back on it I probably would have been fine applying to about 15, but 20 allowed me to feel safe about my chances.

 

[CanadianRN]

Thank you for all your input everyone. It sounds like somewhere between 15-25 is the number. I will see if I can narrow my list down any further.

 

[Shazam243]

If you have the financial freedom, apply to as many as you want. Keep in mind that you don't have to complete all of their secondaries. As others have said, 20-25 is optimal.

Take a look at previous threads to get a sense of what your schools' secondaries are, as many, if not most, recycle the exact same prompts year after year.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

It may be anathema, but I recycled most of my secondary essays. None, save the targeted ones, took me more than an hour so I had no problem with 20 secondaries.