How do you decide which Med school?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Dream4June

Junior Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
20+ Year Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2001
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
I'm entering in to that part of this whole process where I should be narrowing down to my idea of an assortment of medical schools I should apply to, and I'm lost. How do you decide which schools to apply to? Of course your GPA and MCAT scores can help you narrow down the list, but if you've never had your heart set on a specific school, how do you begin? Where is a good place to get some information about different schools?

Members don't see this ad.
 
Since yu are a new mexico resident you may want to start by putting UNM on your list. Aplly to those schools where you meet the GPA criteria and where you think you may like to spend 4 years of your life.
 
Your premed advisor may be of some help telling you where students from your school have been successful for some reason or another. Generally, same as how you chose college. Apply to a few dream schools, apply to a few safety schools, and base the rest on where you can imagine yourself living and whether the program is attractive to you or not. I think it goes without saying that you should apply to your state school(s).
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Do you know what qualifies you as "in state" in terms of medical schools? My situation is this: One parent lives in TN where I went to high school and 2 years of college, other parent lives in AL where I live over the summers, now I live in NM finishing up my undergrad. Do I qualify in all of those states? What determines this?
 
You would have to contact the schools in each state, because they all have different requirements for residency. However, you can only qualify for residency in one state. Unless you are independent the state where you attend college probably will not allow you to consider yourself a resident. More than likely it will be the state where your mother lives or the state listed as your permanent residence (the state where you are registered to vote or have a license). Hope this helps.

 
You go to the one that ACCEPTS you!!
smile.gif


Sorry guys...couldn't help it...just a little humor!
 
Hi,

A good starting point is the MSAR (Medical School Admissions Requirements). It has a list of all the accredited med schools, stats about applicants, and a description of the school's programs.

If there are particular areas that you are interested in, you can also check out the US News top med schools section, which ranks in several areas.

Kimya
 
I'm in this process right now, too. Here's what I'm doing.

1. Bought MSAR, read each schools bio, marked each school that seemed to most closely match my GPA, expected MCAT, geographic restrictions, and educational ideals.

2. That brought it down to 30 schools. Next, I ranked them using the same criteria as above, but also including tuition, and amount available for in-school grants.

3. Now I'm calling the admissions departments to find out what kinds of students they're looking for. I tell them what my situation is, and ask them what they think. Some schools have been really receptive to this, some haven't, but I've gotten some really good advise and I've made a few good contacts.

4. I'll make another ranking after this process - and then I'll pare it down to about 15 schools, which for my stats and situation seems reasonable.

Hope this helps - and happy hunting!

Nanon

 
How many schools should you apply to in order to increase your odds and play it safe?
 
one element that hasn't been mentioned but that will definately come into play will be the cost of applying.

looking at the amcas fees only, if you apply to say, the average of 15 schools, amcas is going to hit you up for $525. being the good applicant that you are, you'll get 15 secondaries that will ask for probably an average of $65 bucks each. that's an additional $975. when your invites for interviews come in you're responsible for travel costs, most food, and possibly lodging if you don't stay with a host. i was lucky in that i have a car here at school and was able to drive to many of my interviews. but like most people, i did have several interviews that were too far for driving, and i ended up with a few 300 dollar plane tickets to buy. as everyone who has gone through this process knows, it can become very expensive.

if you're going to try to play the shot-gun approach and apply to more than, say 20-25 schools (like some of my friends did) i'd seriously recommend setting aside an "med school application costs" fund now. as far as "safety" numbers go it really varies per applicant. i applied to 8, i've met people that applied to as few as 3 and as many as 33.

[This message has been edited by dxn (edited 03-10-2001).]
 
That is a valuable point, dxn. We're already saving. I figure I'll be spending about five grand, after all is said and done.

To the previous poster, I decided that 15 well chosen schools would fit not only what we can budjet, but also the amount of time I can realistically spend on each application. Talking to the admissions departments gives me a really good idea of what kind of student they're looking for, beyond the numbers. I'm also getting information about health insurance, rents in the area, etc.

Nanon

 
I went to NMSU and graduated last year, and I'm currently a med student at UCSF, so hopefully I can help you out. Do you go to NMSU? I'm going to write this message assuming that you do. I'll tell you what I did, since I didn't particularly find the pre-med advising at NMSU that helpful. First of all, I would take into consideration what type of climate you would like. Because coming from NM, it wouldn't be so good to spend a winter in 3 feet of snow. That's what I thought anyways. Then decide what type of atmosphere you would like in terms of the school--laid back, hard core, competitive...Then you can look at things like cost and what it would be like to establish residency in a new state. (Some states have really rigorous requirements while in others it may only take a year or so to establish residency.) And lastly, don't just settle on UNM because your from NM. Sure it's much cheaper than going anywhere else...but there are lots of schools out there that may be better for you. I personally didn't even apply to UNM. But you should definetely apply to as many schools as you want to and are interested in. Also, you can look up info and facts on each medical school a book by AMCAS (can't remember the exact name right now, but ask around, someone's bound to know it) Once you see some that are interesting to you, get info directly from the school by calling and asking them to send you stuff. Good Luck!
 
Thanks for all the advise! I do go to NMSU, but this is my first year here. I agree with evaluating all the "what I want" aspects of a school, but I would hate to not apply to a school that would accept me, and that I would enjoy simply because I didn't think it'd be nice to live in Iowa or something.
smile.gif
I am looking to move back toward the East coast where I'm from, but that's pretty much my only reserve. I've ordered the MSAR (the book that I think you were referring to) so hopefully that will help me out as well! Thanks again!
 
dxn said:
one element that hasn't been mentioned but that will definately come into play will be the cost of applying.

looking at the amcas fees only, if you apply to say, the average of 15 schools, amcas is going to hit you up for $525. being the good applicant that you are, you'll get 15 secondaries that will ask for probably an average of $65 bucks each. that's an additional $975. when your invites for interviews come in you're responsible for travel costs, most food, and possibly lodging if you don't stay with a host. i was lucky in that i have a car here at school and was able to drive to many of my interviews. but like most people, i did have several interviews that were too far for driving, and i ended up with a few 300 dollar plane tickets to buy. as everyone who has gone through this process knows, it can become very expensive.

if you're going to try to play the shot-gun approach and apply to more than, say 20-25 schools (like some of my friends did) i'd seriously recommend setting aside an "med school application costs" fund now. as far as "safety" numbers go it really varies per applicant. i applied to 8, i've met people that applied to as few as 3 and as many as 33.

[This message has been edited by dxn (edited 03-10-2001).]

Just FYI, but I heard from a coworker today that if you are the child of a United Airlines employee that you fly for free anywhere and everywhere... I wonder if that applies to spouses too. Singles on this forum may wish to reconsider their choice of S.O.! *har har*

ps. United Airlines is currently having a sale....
 
congrats on the thread necromancy, geez. KK - they probably won't respond to this thread, since it's over four years old.
 
Top