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General rule 1: There is no one right way to do things.
This guide is a starting point, a framework for how to put together a broad list that maximizes your chances. Your end list may look very different and that’s a good thing! I’ve worked with students applying to medical school for nearly a decade and this has been my workflow for how to create a preliminary school list. However, don’t stop there. Learn as much as you can about these programs, you may be going to one of them for years!
General rule 2: Making your school list is a high yield activity.
One of the biggest traps people fall into is making their school list in an hour or making a post about it (let’s say on SDN) and not doing their own research. A bad school list can destroy someone’s cycle. Put the effort in! Too top heavy and you get shut out. Too low tier and random, you get yield protected. A strong school list will optimize your chances.
General rule 3: There is no right number of schools to apply to, but more is not necessarily better. This is my recommended breakdown for how many schools you should apply to by category.
General rule 4: MSAR is your friend. Embrace flexibility!
There are tons of websites that people like to use for applying. Any resource is your friend! But let’s talk about MSAR. It’s just so convenient. You can narrow the search results using US schools (avoid Caribbean schools though), MCAT or GPA (though I usually just ignore the GPA one). When you click on a school, under acceptance data, you can see if your MCAT is over the 10th percentile for the school. You generally want this to be the case, but you can still apply if you’re a little under. 10% of all accepted students are below that, and exceptions always exist. I was beneath the 10% for GPA for every school I applied to. Don’t be too rigid with your screens!
In acceptance data, you can also see the table showing instate and out of state applications, interviews, and matriculants. This is where you can evaluate in-state bias. If a school has 2,000 IS apps and 200 IS interviews (10% IS interview rate), and they have 5000 OOS apps and 50 OOS interviews (1% OSS interview rate), is that telling? Of course. But wait, aren’t there website that have lists of IS and OOS metrics? Yes, yes, and you can look at those for a quick review. But looking at the raw numbers can give you important information, especially for your state schools where IS bias helps you. It can also help you evaluate fringe cases. Generally, I like to see greater than 3% OOS interview rate (low bar), but also a comparable IS and OSS interview rate (closer the better), and lower total applications (5000 or less is the sweet spot)—stay flexible here! Note that when total apps are greater than 10,000, many of those applications are not very selective and I consider total apps of 10,000 about as equivalent as anything higher than 10,000. Throughout this process, also factor in your personal values in terms of location, prestige, what you know about the school, etc. A lot of students have literal and concrete thinking, qualities that are rewarded in chem and bio lab classes, sure, and will ask me things like “well can I apply to a school that has under 3% OOS interview rate, and what are the exact parameters again, and wait can you give me a list of criteria I can follow exactly—” Embrace flexibility!
General rule 5: The bigger your school list, the broader it should be.
Are you targeting schools in different states and cities, that preference volunteering versus research (based on your app), that have varied school cultures, and that have differing selectivity (to a degree)? Like I said, increasing your school list won’t necessarily improve your chances, but that’s definitely the case if you’re applying only to top schools. Spread the love and you might get a bite!
General rule 6: Learning more about schools will you help you now and further down the road.
When students have clear reasons for applying to a school, they tend to write better secondaries. When it comes to writing secondaries about why you want to go to a program, it can be helpful to have inside knowledge. Ask around. Be shameless. Ask all of your medical school and resident friends. Read the forums. Schedule phone and zoom calls. Get the inside scoop. Learn about the student organizations and special features of the program. Visit the cities that are a short drive from you or when on vacation. I often have students who say, “Well I don’t know anyone, I don’t have friends and I don’t drive, and my computer broke.” Ok, so go to a library, jump on google maps, peruse the school’s website and their undergrad facebook groups, go to school-specific events, ask friends if they know anyone and ask them to connect you. This process rewards initiative and perseverance. My med school professors would say that OCPD was “the med student disorder.” People who are organized, make checklists, and follow up tend to thrive in this process.
FAQ:
I have limited funds. How many should I apply to?
I have unlimited funds. Should I apply to 100?
I have a low MCAT and high GPA.
I have a high MCAT and low GPA.
I only want to apply to 1 (or very few) schools.
What if I need to be close to home for a sick relative?
This guide is a starting point, a framework for how to put together a broad list that maximizes your chances. Your end list may look very different and that’s a good thing! I’ve worked with students applying to medical school for nearly a decade and this has been my workflow for how to create a preliminary school list. However, don’t stop there. Learn as much as you can about these programs, you may be going to one of them for years!
General rule 2: Making your school list is a high yield activity.
One of the biggest traps people fall into is making their school list in an hour or making a post about it (let’s say on SDN) and not doing their own research. A bad school list can destroy someone’s cycle. Put the effort in! Too top heavy and you get shut out. Too low tier and random, you get yield protected. A strong school list will optimize your chances.
General rule 3: There is no right number of schools to apply to, but more is not necessarily better. This is my recommended breakdown for how many schools you should apply to by category.
Dream schools (3): These are your Harvard, Stanford, JHU. Everyone should be allowed to dream, but recognize that for the vast majority of students these appds tend to be donations. If you want to apply to more “dream” schools, or unattainable schools, you’ll have to increase the number of schools you apply to maintain a balanced list.
State schools (all): Almost all students have their best chances at one of these (state dependent). Many students only get into their state schools, so applying to more schools doesn’t necessarily help them. You should apply to all of these for obvious reasons. Check out the in-state (IS) bias of many of these schools (see rule 4) and you’ll see why your chances are higher.
Public Out of State (OOS) (10-30): This is where the magic happens (see rule 4). I usually recommend fewer total schools, yet students always want to apply to more, so this is the category that is the most flexible. Often, those with the “grit your teeth and bear it” mentality tend to do well in school. There are many teeth-gritters in medicine. But just blasting through applications won’t necessarily improve your chances. Instead, think about whether you can write high quality secondaries if you’re applying to 100 schools. Think about what sacrifice you have to make in your research lab, your volunteer work, your paid work, so that you can up these numbers. Is it worth it?
Private (2-5): These are programs like Tulane, Drexel, Tufts. These schools typically don’t have in-state bias, since they are not funded by the state to produce physicians who will ultimately practice in the state. As a result, they have MANY applicants. Check out the total number of applicants for these schools. They are typically high!
Connection (all): These are schools you have some special connection to, like you grew up in that college town, your parents are alumni, you have close family living in the area and will act as your support system. These are things you can write about in your secondary essays and convince a school you want to go there. Often students tell me things like, my dad’s friend is on the adcom or works in admissions, and so often I see these students rejected. I’m not a fan of “I know someone important.” People like to brag about being able to get you in somewhere. Instead, think about where you’ve lived, where your family lives, what actual meaningful connections you have to a school or a city.
General rule 4: MSAR is your friend. Embrace flexibility!
There are tons of websites that people like to use for applying. Any resource is your friend! But let’s talk about MSAR. It’s just so convenient. You can narrow the search results using US schools (avoid Caribbean schools though), MCAT or GPA (though I usually just ignore the GPA one). When you click on a school, under acceptance data, you can see if your MCAT is over the 10th percentile for the school. You generally want this to be the case, but you can still apply if you’re a little under. 10% of all accepted students are below that, and exceptions always exist. I was beneath the 10% for GPA for every school I applied to. Don’t be too rigid with your screens!
In acceptance data, you can also see the table showing instate and out of state applications, interviews, and matriculants. This is where you can evaluate in-state bias. If a school has 2,000 IS apps and 200 IS interviews (10% IS interview rate), and they have 5000 OOS apps and 50 OOS interviews (1% OSS interview rate), is that telling? Of course. But wait, aren’t there website that have lists of IS and OOS metrics? Yes, yes, and you can look at those for a quick review. But looking at the raw numbers can give you important information, especially for your state schools where IS bias helps you. It can also help you evaluate fringe cases. Generally, I like to see greater than 3% OOS interview rate (low bar), but also a comparable IS and OSS interview rate (closer the better), and lower total applications (5000 or less is the sweet spot)—stay flexible here! Note that when total apps are greater than 10,000, many of those applications are not very selective and I consider total apps of 10,000 about as equivalent as anything higher than 10,000. Throughout this process, also factor in your personal values in terms of location, prestige, what you know about the school, etc. A lot of students have literal and concrete thinking, qualities that are rewarded in chem and bio lab classes, sure, and will ask me things like “well can I apply to a school that has under 3% OOS interview rate, and what are the exact parameters again, and wait can you give me a list of criteria I can follow exactly—” Embrace flexibility!
General rule 5: The bigger your school list, the broader it should be.
Are you targeting schools in different states and cities, that preference volunteering versus research (based on your app), that have varied school cultures, and that have differing selectivity (to a degree)? Like I said, increasing your school list won’t necessarily improve your chances, but that’s definitely the case if you’re applying only to top schools. Spread the love and you might get a bite!
General rule 6: Learning more about schools will you help you now and further down the road.
When students have clear reasons for applying to a school, they tend to write better secondaries. When it comes to writing secondaries about why you want to go to a program, it can be helpful to have inside knowledge. Ask around. Be shameless. Ask all of your medical school and resident friends. Read the forums. Schedule phone and zoom calls. Get the inside scoop. Learn about the student organizations and special features of the program. Visit the cities that are a short drive from you or when on vacation. I often have students who say, “Well I don’t know anyone, I don’t have friends and I don’t drive, and my computer broke.” Ok, so go to a library, jump on google maps, peruse the school’s website and their undergrad facebook groups, go to school-specific events, ask friends if they know anyone and ask them to connect you. This process rewards initiative and perseverance. My med school professors would say that OCPD was “the med student disorder.” People who are organized, make checklists, and follow up tend to thrive in this process.
FAQ:
I have limited funds. How many should I apply to?
Consider FAP and remember that you can upload a signed letter as evidence of income rather than a W2/tax return if you or your parents don’t file taxes or have special circumstances. If your funds are truly limited it will come down to your risk tolerance and personal values, as well as what the in-state bias of your state school looks like. Like if you’re in Oklahoma, where the state MD school interviews 2/3 of applicants and of those, accepts 3/4 of those or so, then your chances are fairly good. If you’re in Florida, well, lucky you. It is very possible to create a strong school list of 10 as a Florida applicant.
I have unlimited funds. Should I apply to 100?
There are a lot of better ways to spend your time, both in terms of your application and your life. What social issue or population do you care the most about and how can you impact them? Are you on a research project and can you publish a paper? Do you have time for a part-time scribing job that will net you some cash and prepare you well for medical school?
I have a low MCAT and high GPA.
This is a tough position to be in. Definitely screen more heavily using MCAT when making the Public OOS section of your list. Depending on your overall app, consider dual applying to DO. Look at Texas programs. For these students, a strong and compelling application with interesting activities matters.
I have a high MCAT and low GPA.
This is generally a better position to be in than the above (depending on how low the GPA is). 3.7 is typical. 3.5 is fringe. 3.3 is low-ish. In this situation, I wouldn’t rely as much on screens. If you have a 3.1 GPA and you have two schools that have a 10th percentile GPA at 3.5 and 3.6, respectively, does that help you decide? No. Apply broadly, focus on your activities, research, and secondaries.
I only want to apply to 1 (or very few) schools.
The why really matters here. When students say this to me, it’s usually pride or lack of knowledge about the system. I have seen star students apply to one school and get accepted, but that doesn’t make it smart or the best decision. If you have family and kids, yes, it would be great to not move. But many people are in this position and they do move, they struggle, they cope, and they persist. Or they choose not to go into medicine, which can be brutal on couples and families. If your goal is to increase your chances and save your time and money by not having to reapply, then make a proper school list.
What if I need to be close to home for a sick relative?
Many of us are reaching that age when are parents are getting sicker. Many of you may have duties to your grandparents or siblings, or other loved ones. I hear you. But can we consider the difference between a 3-hour drive and a 3-hour flight? Is there a real difference? “But the flight will cost more!” When we consider booking alerts, credit card miles, loyalty points, and when there’s a will there’s a way, I think it makes sense to open your school list to a broader geographical area. What if you get into a school with a full ride that is a 3-hour flight, versus paying full sticker price for a 1-hour drive? Isn’t that a good option to have? So apply to schools that are farther away and compare your financial options later.
For my general post on admissions advice, see here.
