engaged and only applying to schools in one area?

[alestrx9]

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I recently got engaged (after being together for a very long time) 😀 and my fiance is a Ph.D student at a school in Manhattan. This school has a medical school but I know I have very slim chances of getting in there even if I score high on the MCAT (my GPA is only 3.5, but BCPM from my post-bac is about 3.7). My fiance had much better grades in undergrad than I did haha. I'm a non-trad/post-bac student and hoping to start med school when I'm 27. I would do anything to stay in the NY metro area but that leaves me with a limited number of schools (these are the only schools that are within 2 hours of where I currently live with my fiance):

Albert Einstein, Columbia, Mount Sinai, NYU, Weill Cornell = very very slim chances

Hofstra, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Downstate = perhaps my only hope although they still have higher average GPAs than mine. I feel I would be very happy at any of these schools. Hofstra is very expensive so Stony Brook and Downstate are my current top choices.

Would it be very stupid of me to only apply to these schools?

 

[Nymphicus]

I recently got engaged (after being together for a very long time) 😀 and my fiance is a Ph.D student at a school in Manhattan. This school has a medical school but I know I have very slim chances of getting in there even if I score high on the MCAT (my GPA is only 3.5, but BCPM from my post-bac is about 3.7). My fiance had much better grades in undergrad than I did haha. I'm a non-trad/post-bac student and hoping to start med school when I'm 27. I would do anything to stay in the NY metro area but that leaves me with a limited number of schools (these are the only schools that are within 2 hours of where I currently live with my fiance):

Albert Einstein, Columbia, Mount Sinai, NYU, Weill Cornell = very very slim chances

Hofstra, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Downstate = perhaps my only hope although they still have higher average GPAs than mine. I feel I would be very happy at any of these schools. Hofstra is very expensive so Stony Brook and Downstate are my current top choices.

Would it be very stupid of me to only apply to these schools?

You didn't list an MCAT score. It really depends on what that is.

Two other medical schools that might be close enough are NYMC (about as far away as Stony Brook?) and Touro NY (DO). There are some NJ schools that may be a comparable distance away as well.

 

[Double A]

i took this gamble last cycle so i feel your pain. if you're willing to move 1-3 hours away from your fiance then you will have many more school to apply to.

if you're sure you are or are not willing to do this then i think you've made the most difficult decision. i decided i wasn't willing to leave my significant other and so i gambled by applying to only 4 schools. i was prepared to choose a different career in the likely chance that i didn't get in.

good luck i know how hard this can be.

 

[Planes2Doc]

I did the same thing, for most part... I was still flexible in terms of moving. Definitely mention this in your essays and hopefully interviews as well! It is a very important of why you are choosing that school. Engagement also shows maturity as well, though this is probably more of a case for business world hiring.

 

[Mountaineer12]

You shouldn't have much trouble getting in to TouroNY in Harlem if you do good on the MCAT and apply early. Even if you don't want to go DO it can still be your safety school.

 

[reece05]

good luck! i did this 2 years ago in the dc area...needless to say it did not work, so I'm reapplying this year.
very hard, I feel your pain, and wish you the best of luck!

it does depend on your mcat score, and ECs...but even with those I feel it is going to be tough to get in an MD school with location limitations.

 

[occams_razor]

if you only apply to those schools it won't be applying broadly and since most of the NYC/long island schools are very competitive, with a 3.5 cGPA even if you get an excellent MCAT score, ECs, LOR, etc it's a gamble.

I wouldn't want to move more than 2 hours away from my spouse.. it's a ****ty situation. you'd think the state schools would take this into consideration. maybe write about it in secondaries?

 

[WorksInProgress]

Just to throw out another idea: In addition to the UMDNJ schools and NYMC, consider Temple, Drexel, and Jefferson. It's a cheap 1.5 hr bus ride into Philly, and for many schools usually during the 1st 2 years you only need to physically be there to take tests and attending your doctoring class. All three of the schools are either walkable, bikeable, trainable, once you get into Philly.

It's far from ideal, and 3rd year you basically won't see your then wife/husband, but then again you probably wouldn't see them anyways...

Edit: Also throwing Quinnipiac in North Haven, CT out there. (Metro North + shuttle)

 

[gyngyn]

I did the same thing, for most part... I was still flexible in terms of moving. Definitely mention this in your essays and hopefully interviews as well! It is a very important of why you are choosing that school. Engagement also shows maturity as well, though this is probably more of a case for business world hiring.

I would respectfully differ with the opinion that engagement shows maturity. Relationships are important but emphasing your SO in your application is not always well-received.

 

[occams_razor]

i don't really see why it wouldn't be well received especially in the case of a non-trad who is married. given that most applicants are probably 22 year olds, being a bit older and married is going to add to the diversity of the class. i would think adcoms would like that?

 

[gyngyn]

i don't really see why it wouldn't be well received especially in the case of a non-trad who is married. given that most applicants are probably 22 year olds, being a bit older and married is going to add to the diversity of the class. i would think adcoms would like that?

The committee doesn't judge the quality of the relationship. An applicant who focusses on their relationship status is not always seen in a better light compared to others who do not.