How many MD school should I apply?

[feeling-dizzy]

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I have 30 MCAT (Verbal=9, Physic=10, Bio=11); GPA = 3.7.
How many schools should I apply to have a decent chance? My application was just verified. I live in California. Do you think I have any shot with Cali schools?

 

[hoihaie]

Hard to say if you have a shot at UCs not knowing your ECs.

You should apply to as many schools as you can afford, starting with schools that are within your range

 

[feeling-dizzy]

Sorry, I have shadow a family doctor for since May, so 10 hours a week; should be about 120 hours shadowing so far. Some youth church group activity/fund raising at the church. Volunteer at Alzheimer nursing home. I only attend a research lab for two semester, however no paper or poster published.
My friend told me he apply to 30 MD school, does it have to be that many? Since how can you convince out-of-state school interview you without any tie/relationship to those schools?

 

[TheBossDoctor]

Sorry, I have shadow a family doctor for since May, so 10 hours a week; should be about 120 hours shadowing so far. Some youth church group activity/fund raising at the church. Volunteer at Alzheimer nursing home. I only attend a research lab for two semester, however no paper or poster published.
My friend told me he apply to 30 MD school, does it have to be that many? Since how can you convince out-of-state school interview you without any tie/relationship to those schools?

If you're from the Inland Empire or Central Valley, then MAYBE you'll have a shot at UCR or UCD (whichever one applies). The other UC's seem like long-shots. Just apply to ~20-25 private schools at which you are competitive given your stats. Private schools don't care as much about which state you're from although there is a little bit of bias at some schools.

 

[hoihaie]

Sorry, I have shadow a family doctor for since May, so 10 hours a week; should be about 120 hours shadowing so far. Some youth church group activity/fund raising at the church. Volunteer at Alzheimer nursing home. I only attend a research lab for two semester, however no paper or poster published.
My friend told me he apply to 30 MD school, does it have to be that many? Since how can you convince out-of-state school interview you without any tie/relationship to those schools?

Your EC seems a bit on the weak side. Your friend is right - you should apply to as many schools as you can. There are out of state schools who don't care about where you are from (i.e. private med schools) or whether you have ties to the school or not.

 

[Aerus]

Is English not a native language for you? How is your fluency and pronunciation?


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[feeling-dizzy]

Is English not a native language for you? How is your fluency and pronunciation?


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English is my second language. I came to the State when I was 16 years old, so my accent is on the heavier side. I think I am lucky to get a 9 on verbal

 

[Aerus]

English is my second language. I came to the State when I was 16 years old, so my accent is on the heavier side. I think I am lucky to get a 9 on verbal

Alright. I only ask because you will be expected to communicate with a certain proficiency in English. Obviously, if you have trouble, practice as much as you can in an interview setting, but from the looks of it, you should be fine.


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[Osteoth]

The average person applies to 15 medical schools. +5 for CA resident, +5 for average stats, I would apply to AT LEAST 25.

 

[stester77s]

English is my second language. I came to the State when I was 16 years old, so my accent is on the heavier side. I think I am lucky to get a 9 on verbal

If I may ask, which country are you from originally?

And I think you have a good shot at a school California, and certainly a good shot at many schools in the US. Coming as an immigrant to this country at 16-years-old can prove to be a compelling story. If you need any help with secondaries or writing your statement, just send me a message. Good luck.

 

[Aerus]

If I may ask, which country are you from originally?

And I think you have a good shot at a school California, and certainly a good shot at many schools in the US. Coming as an immigrant to this country at 16-years-old can prove to be a compelling story. If you need any help with secondaries or writing your statement, just send me a message. Good luck.

OP has a shot at California. Looking at the MSAR stats for California as well as OP's EC's, I wouldn't say it's a good shot.

 

[stester77s]

OP has a shot at California. Looking at the MSAR stats for California as well as OP's EC's, I wouldn't say it's a good shot.

That's fair for you to think that. Obviously, I encourage him to apply broadly. Either way, I uphold my statement and encourage him to remain confident, convey his story convincingly, and work hard on secondaries.

 

[feeling-dizzy]

If I may ask, which country are you from originally?

And I think you have a good shot at a school California, and certainly a good shot at many schools in the US. Coming as an immigrant to this country at 16-years-old can prove to be a compelling story. If you need any help with secondaries or writing your statement, just send me a message. Good luck.

Thank you, I am from Vietnam. This year I apply to most California school anyway. But my friend apply to another 30 more out of state MD school, and encourage me to do the same. I think it is a little bit excessive. So I am thinking apply about 20 MD schools total (including Cali) is good enough? Any thought on that?

 

[ThisCouldBeYou]

I'm assuming your English is better in spoken form than in written form. Just grab a grammar book and check this before you send out your secondaries. Sorry to sound critical, but you'll need to pay attention to your verb tense (past: verb + ed, present: verb + s or ing, future: will + verb).

Thank you, I am from Vietnam. This year I apply to most California school anyway. But my friend apply to another 30 more out of state MD school, and encourage me to do the same. I think it is a little bit excessive. So I am thinking apply about 20 MD schools total (including Cali) is good enough? Any thought on that?

"This year, I applied (looks that way because it ended in Consonant + y) to most California schools, but my friend applied to another 30 more and encourages me to do the same. I am thinking of applying to about 20 total. Is that good enough? Any thoughts on that?"

 

[moisne]

Apply to Cali schools and maybe 10 more.

 

[gyngyn]

Buy the MSAR. Find at least a dozen (private) OOS schools with median stats near yours. Alternatively, if your friend had stats like yours, start your research with his list.
Your goal is to have about a dozen schools where you have a fair to good chance at an interview. As previously noted by @TheBossDoctor, in CA you may have a realistic shot at UCR and UCD if you fit their missions. By far your best chances are OOS, though.