Deciding where to apply

[SharpieMarker]

How did most people decide what schools to apply to? I know you should apply to a range, reach, middle, safety. I asked one first year, and she said that she chose based purely on reputation and location. What say ye?

What correlation is there between med schools and residencies? (i have a feeling that it's not as simple as the higher ranked the med school is on usnews, the better residency you'll get into)

Other factors to consider? Thanks!

 

[DropkickMurphy]

In order:
-Cost of school
-Location (ruled out NY, TX and CA schools) and cost of living
-Likelihood I will get admitted

Prestige/reputation and residency placement statistics doesn't play much of a role in my decision making processes.

 

[gary5]

Decide how many you want to apply to - let's say 15-20. Divide that number in thirds: reach, most-likely, and safety. I ended up interviewing at but not accepted at my reaches, interviewed and accepted at my most-likely's, and had an acceptance so declined interviews at my safeties. In terms of residencies, try to get into the best school that you want to go to.

 

[unfrozencaveman]

I'm not quite sure what the logic is behind applying to as many reaches as you would safeties. My thoughts were, apply to a few as safe as possible safeties, and then every reach out there, so my apps were really top heavy. But why would I be any safer with my safeties had I only applied to one reach?

 

[sanford_w/o_son]

I'm not quite sure what the logic is behind applying to as many reaches as you would safeties. My thoughts were, apply to a few as safe as possible safeties, and then every reach out there, so my apps were really top heavy. But why would I be any safer with my safeties had I only applied to one reach?

even getting into a "safety" involves the roll of dice (albeit more like a 2d6 rather than 1d20). the safeties may not be safe enough to keep you safe from rejection, so it's safe to say that it's safest to apply to more than two safeties. what if they anticipate you rejecting them and so they pre-emptively reject you? or what if your stats are above average, but things just don't go well for you in the interview?

so my recipe for slaying the level six goblin will be 3 safeties, 5 reach, and 7 on the money. if things aren't going so well by around october, it's time to rush apps to more safeties.

but it's very important to only apply to a safety if you think you would actually go there if it were your only option. so do the thought experiment first. otherwise you wasted $.

 

[sanford_w/o_son]

another good reason to apply to safeties is that if the school is a safety for you, you are probably more likely to get a fellowship offer over other students for whom it isn't a safety.

 

[SharpieMarker]

How did you gauge reach v. middle v. safety. Where are you getting numbers to compare to? I'm in sort of an odd number situation, as I have a decent MCAT and mediocre GPA from a good school, so I'm not sure how I fare because my MCAT is higher than most school averages but my GPA is lower than most school averages. I tell myself that admissions folk will take into account my undergraduate institution when viewing my GPA, but it makes it difficult to figure out what a reach, middle, or safety is. How did you guys figure it out?

 

[DesiMcatAcer]

How did you gauge reach v. middle v. safety. Where are you getting numbers to compare to? I'm in sort of an odd number situation, as I have a decent MCAT and mediocre GPA from a good school, so I'm not sure how I fare because my MCAT is higher than most school averages but my GPA is lower than most school averages. I tell myself that admissions folk will take into account my undergraduate institution when viewing my GPA, but it makes it difficult to figure out what a reach, middle, or safety is. How did you guys figure it out?

check the numbers in MSAR to compare your numbers

 

[TX515]

from Texas, and don't really care to leave it.

 

[TX515]

out of curiosity, why would you rule out TX based on location?

 

[tacrum43]

out of curiosity, why would you rule out TX based on location?

Probably because he is out of state. Texas doesn't accept many out of state people. NY and CA are also very competitive.

 

[TX515]

by law state schools have to admit 10% from out of state. Texas is a big state and in need of doctors. The state wants to admit students from in state to solve the shortage.

 

[SharpieMarker]

check the numbers in MSAR to compare your numbers

And what if my MCAT scores are higher than the school average and my GPA is below?

 

[jebus]

And what if my MCAT scores are higher than the school average and my GPA is below?

I have this, too (3.4 & 36). And I went to a top tier school. Take it from me, try to bring up that GPA and get some good clinical ECs. Your MCAT helps, but some places really like long-term achievement as illustrated by a good GPA.

 

[Risa]

No one has mentioned my two top criteria: curriculum and "personality."

There's a huge difference between a school where the curriculum is primarily PBL and one where it's primarily lecture based. I prefer less traditional, more integrative and more open-ended types of learning.

And, it's important to me to really feel like I "belong" at a school. I've been able to evaluate this more at interviews than I could when initially choosing where to apply, but you can still get a feel for the values of a school from its website and other informational materials (sdn interview feedback is also a good place to check out people's impressions of a school's personality).