How did you decide what med. schools to apply

Get Your Med School Admissions Questions Answered!
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
L

lolasmommy

Full Member
10+ Year Member
5+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Messages
97
Reaction score
0
Please list in order what you felt were the deciding factors on how you chose what schools you applied to.

example:
1) location
2) tuition
3) various programs

*give details*** :)
Members don't see this ad.
 
i used only three criteria:
1. location
2. average MCAT score (of course you need a realistic spread but with a few schools whose averages beat your score thrown in)
3. earliest MCAT accepted (this didn't end up being a problem)
 
1) Location - I eliminated a lot of schools simply because I didn't want to live in, say, Illinois or Ohio.
2) AP scores - whether or not the school accepted them, particularly for physics. That eliminated a few.
3) OOS acceptance rate - I have one state school, so I applied to a few others that had a history of accepting a fair number of OOS applicants.
4) Research powerhouses - I did absolutely no research in undergrad, so I didn't apply to (many) schools that I knew were going to be looking for that. I went more for the primary care schools.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Can't wait til the new MSAR comes out. Ill let you know how Im picking mine for next cycle once I get ahold of that sucker lol
 
mvenus929 said:
4) Research powerhouses - I did absolutely no research in undergrad, so I didn't apply to (many) schools that I knew were going to be looking for that. I went more for the primary care schools.
Click to expand...

Did you base your school choices from the US News med school rankings for research and primary care, or did you use something else?
 
How I chose schools to apply to:
1) Location
2) Location
3) Location
4) Chances of getting accepted

How I chose the school I would attend:
1) Cost
2) Location
 
1. Location
2. Special programs/"prestige" (I applied to mostly highly ranked programs and schools with programs or opportunity to get involved in bioethics)
3. Cost

I considered a few schools where 2/3 overcame a location I didn't like, but most schools I applied to were in New England or New York. Although I love Boston, once a school is in the MA/NH/RI area location sort of stopped mattering, and cost/"prestige" became more important.
 
I chose schools based on one criteria.

Would I go there if accepted. It is worth it in the end to chose every school you are willing to go to, and improve your chances. Most people would rather goto a school that costs more than not get in. Obviously, you can take top schools out if you really have no hope, but most people like to leave some reaches in there.

You can do the choosing once you get in. That is just my opinion.
 
I started out rather broad by looking for schools where I had an OK shot of getting in. From there I narrowed it down by deciding if I would be excited to go there if I got in. This got me down to an acceptable number of schools, and I subsequently added every school in CA regardless of my chances there just to make sure I was doing what I could to stay in the state.

So for me it went
1. Location/Would I be excited to go there?
2. Chances of getting in
 
The typical real estate answer: location, location, location.
 
1. Average GPA/MCAT. Basically do I have a shot?
2. Would I be excited about going here? This included location.
 
1. Location
2. Prestige
3. Places where I have friends who've told me good things
4. Application fee
5. OOS acceptance rate
6. Class size
7. Amount of merit-based aid given

There were other reasons I'm sure, but these are the ones I can remember.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
pdxjazz said:
Did you base your school choices from the US News med school rankings for research and primary care, or did you use something else?
Click to expand...

Not really. I didn't even look at those rankings until after I applied the second time. I mostly just went on the general impression I got from a school from their website once I got past the first three criteria... Johns Hopkins is a big research school, CU is big on both primary care and research, etc.
 
1. chance of getting in (based on an assessment of several factors)
2. location
3. fit

That's it. I would go to school anywhere that accepts me. If I get in to 2 or more schools, I then look at location and fit.
 
Okay awesome responses. Can anyone tell me if the MSAR from last year (2008-2009) is really different from this years MSAR? I have last years and I am researching schools based on those stats. Do you suggest I not use that book and buy the more current one?
 
Or so we like to pretend...

In case it wasn't obvious, I was all about just getting in. Granted, I would've been all about just getting in even if I'd had a 4.0/45, but I would've at least been able to consider a couple other factors.
 
1. Location - I really like living in cool areas, and don't think I would enjoy living in e.g. Baltimore for 4 years.
2. Research programs - my background is research heavy, and I want to remain active in that. I also find that research powerhouses tend to attract fascinating people with interests similar to my own.
3.Happiness of third and fourth year students with their clinical rotations - amount of scut, etc.
4. Residency placement - though it can be misleading, I take is as a positive sign when schools place large numbers of applicants in competitive programs.
5. Pre-clinical structure - I'd like to get into the clinic as early as possible, and I'd like the preclinical years to be strictly P/F, unranked.
 
- Where I stand a chance, GPA/MCAT
- Block Schedule, the less mandatory lectures the better, NO traditional schools
- Location, tired of big city life for now
- Cost
- No research heavy schools, I doubt my term papers (literature reviews :laugh:) count. My semester long research for my psychology research methods course probably won't carry much weight either.
 
Selected area of country, then picked a range of schools based on my GPA and MCAT relative to their averages. After that, weeded out based on a variet of factors til I was down to anapplicable number
 
MilkmanAl said:
Or so we like to pretend...

In case it wasn't obvious, I was all about just getting in. Granted, I would've been all about just getting in even if I'd had a 4.0/45, but I would've at least been able to consider a couple other factors.
Click to expand...

Al, can you give me a ballpark figure on what you think the chance is of getting accepted to UAMS the first time around if you're an Arkansas (life long) resident?

I work for the state now. Wish that mattered, lol.
 
1) Location (no midwest except UM and Chicago schools, no south)
2) Ave MCAT/GPA
3) MCAT/GPA range
4) OOS interview rate
5) OOS matriculation rate
6) US News Rankings (med school & hospital)

I picked my top 29 schools according to these factors and applied. My first interview invite in Sept was an extreme "reach" school, so I decided to apply to 3 more "reach" schools. I got accepted to and will be attending the very last school I applied to in Sept. Also, I happened to only got accepted to schools that were in my last 10 choices, so needless to say I am a strong believer in applying to 30 or so schools w/ plenty of reaches if your stats are at least w/in range. Good luck! :luck:
 
ArkansasRanger said:
Al, can you give me a ballpark figure on what you think the chance is of getting accepted to UAMS the first time around if you're an Arkansas (life long) resident?

I work for the state now. Wish that mattered, lol.
Click to expand...
Uh...well, I'm not really sure how things work now that they've increased the class size, but I'd wager that there has been a much larger increase in seats than applicants, proportionally speaking. My class had about 300 IS applicants, of whom ~130 matriculated. I'd say those are really good odds. If you live in the southeast or northeast, your chances improve dramatically.
 
MilkmanAl said:
Uh...well, I'm not really sure how things work now that they've increased the class size, but I'd wager that there has been a much larger increase in seats than applicants, proportionally speaking. My class had about 300 IS applicants, of whom ~130 matriculated. I'd say those are really good odds. If you live in the southeast or northeast, your chances improve dramatically.
Click to expand...

Yeah, tell me about that if you don't mind. I haven't read or seen anything about that. They opened a satellite campus in NW Arkansas didn't they? I read about it when "they" first got the idea to do that. I wonder if the applications will increase in the next year or so.

I'm hoping to get my app in next year and am going starting back this summer to take o-chem and physics which is all I need. I've got the rest even though I'm retaking general chem this summer since it's been so long since I had it. It sucks that I have to quit my job to take four lousy classes although I'm going to take a few others electively.
 
1. Chances!
2. MCAT averages (MSAR was a bible for a while)
3. IS/tuition cost

I mostly applied middle-to-low tier schools to increase my chances of getting in at least somewhere. O, and there was a spreadsheet somewhere on these forums where you can put in your GPA and MCAT score and the Excel plays out your chances. It was kinda fun, so it should be around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

2
How do you decide what advice to take and let go?
Replies
7
Views
818
candbgirl
C
C
How many gap years did you take and what did you do during them?
Replies
4
Views
727
Nontrad_FL_LGBT
N
sharksarefriends33
Did you ever struggle to decide between pre-med and pre-vet?
Replies
3
Views
518
sharksarefriends33
sharksarefriends33
C
For premeds who earned a very high science GPA, what did you do?
Replies
13
Views
1K
JAK2-STAT3
J
Eren.Yeager
Having second thoughts - what to ask to decide on future?
Replies
3
Views
499
Goro
Goro
Top