Do med schools know if you apply to other professional schools?

[Trojanation]

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I'm going to be applying to med school (again) because it doesn't look like my waitlists are going anywhere. I'm also going to be applying to pharmacy schools and PhD programs at the same time because I really don't want to risk not getting into med school a second time and being left with no options, in addition to the fact that there is tremendous pressure on me to move on with my life and quit "wasting time". My main concern is that schools will find out about this and look unfavorably on my app because of it. I did a search on this but didn't find much. Has anyone here done this before or does anyone know if schools would find out about an applicant applying to other professional programs? For example, I would be applying to different programs at the same schools and that has me a bit worried.

 

[Lokhtar]

No, they won't find out. However, PhD and pharmacy are completely different fields, and if you want to be a doctor, make sure you have exhausted all possibilities (apply widely, apply DO, consider top 1-2 caribbean, etc).

 

[kavorca]

I had a friend applying to a PA school and med school at the same time, and the schools knew about it. She didn't tell the schools, and the med school was kind of annoyed. I am not sure how they found out. I assume the schools "talked", but it may have been a coincidence such as adcom peeps at each school who knew each other talking.

 

[Depakote]

There is a lot of cross over in programs at schools, there isn't a shared application service, but if you apply to the MD program at XYZ school of Medicine and the PhD/PA/PT/Pharm program @ XYZ school of medicine, it's quite probable that there's going to be someone on the admissions committee that will have seen your application for both.

It's not just clinicians that review the files, there are a lot of PhD faculty on the admissions committee and they teach for the other schools too so it's not surprising that they'd be on other admission's committees.

 

[Trojanation]

Thanks for the responses! Yeah, I am worried about the cross over. Do you think they would hold it against me to the extent that I would get rejected soley for applying to multiple programs?

 

[Law2Doc]

There is a lot of cross over in programs at schools, there isn't a shared application service, but if you apply to the MD program at XYZ school of Medicine and the PhD/PA/PT/Pharm program @ XYZ school of medicine, it's quite probable that there's going to be someone on the admissions committee that will have seen your application for both.

It's not just clinicians that review the files, there are a lot of PhD faculty on the admissions committee and they teach for the other schools too so it's not surprising that they'd be on other admission's committees.

Right. I'd say like 90% of the first year med school faculty aren't physicians, and many are also faculty at the local graduate or pharmacy programs. And many interview. So it is not inconceivable that the same person who reviews your app for a med school can also be on the adcom at the affiliated pharm school. So while the schools themselves do not formally share info, they might share faculty who might share info. Probably best not to apply to multiple fields at the same school or risk your committment to any particular one to be brought into question.

 

[LindsayRein1]

I'm going to be applying to med school (again) because it doesn't look like my waitlists are going anywhere. I'm also going to be applying to pharmacy schools and PhD programs at the same time because I really don't want to risk not getting into med school a second time and being left with no options, in addition to the fact that there is tremendous pressure on me to move on with my life and quit "wasting time". My main concern is that schools will find out about this and look unfavorably on my app because of it. I did a search on this but didn't find much. Has anyone here done this before or does anyone know if schools would find out about an applicant applying to other professional programs? For example, I would be applying to different programs at the same schools and that has me a bit worried.

If you're not applying to the same school for both PhD & Medicine, then the chances they will find out are slim. Very slim. I go to Penn and I know several people in my program who have applied to more than 1 type of professional school, and have had success.

 

[Mobius1985]

Another way schools might find out is if your Letters of Recommendation make reference to your other potential careers. Even if they are overly vague, they could be a tip-off, e.g., "I highly recommend So-and-so for admission to any science related program." The only way to avoid that, as you aren't supposed to have access to the letters, is to have different sets of letter writers. And it's hard enough to come up with one set.

 

[prepharmgirl09]

I'm going to be applying to med school (again) because it doesn't look like my waitlists are going anywhere. I'm also going to be applying to pharmacy schools and PhD programs at the same time because I really don't want to risk not getting into med school a second time and being left with no options, in addition to the fact that there is tremendous pressure on me to move on with my life and quit "wasting time". My main concern is that schools will find out about this and look unfavorably on my app because of it. I did a search on this but didn't find much. Has anyone here done this before or does anyone know if schools would find out about an applicant applying to other professional programs? For example, I would be applying to different programs at the same schools and that has me a bit worried.

The less you say, the better off you are in life 🙂

 

[Kaustikos]

Another way schools might find out is if your Letters of Recommendation make reference to your other potential careers. Even if they are overly vague, they could be a tip-off, e.g., "I highly recommend So-and-so for admission to any science related program." The only way to avoid that, as you aren't supposed to have access to the letters, is to have different sets of letter writers. And it's hard enough to come up with one set.

If I could, I would purposefully ask a professor to write me a letter designating that they write it on recommending me for "any science related program"