How many medical schools did you apply to?

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How many medical schools did you apply to?

  • 0 - 10

    Votes: 42 6.7%

  • 11 - 20

    Votes: 143 22.8%

  • 21 - 30

    Votes: 214 34.1%

  • 31 - 40

    Votes: 156 24.8%

  • 40+

    Votes: 73 11.6%
  • Total voters
    628
pc200 said:
And why?
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I did 12. basically every MD/DO school in a 3-4 hour radius from my home town. realistically I applied only to schools I stand a chance at, none of this applying to yale with a 3.56 nonsense. My parents dont have a lot of money (read as my parents aren't doctors, so we dont have a household income approaching half a million dollars) so I cannot afford to blow 5000 dollars on primaries and secondaries. It sucks that I cant apply to every school in the US or I would, but financially it is impossible.
 
I'm thinking of applying to 40. I already got accepted for the Fee Assistance Program so I would only have to pay for the extra 25 primary applications since most secondary applications are waived using the FAP. I know applying to this many sounds crazy, but I HAVE to get into medical school because I have no other plans after college. That's why I'm applying using the shotgun approach, you gotta be really unfortunate to get turned down from 40 medical schools. I know it only takes one to get the job done, but I'm not gonna risk it.
 
Ezra Redden said:
I'm thinking of applying to 40. I already got accepted for the Fee Assistance Program so I would only have to pay for the extra 25 primary applications since most secondary applications are waived using the FAP. I know applying to this many sounds crazy, but I HAVE to get into medical school because I have no other plans after college. That's why I'm applying using the shotgun approach, you gotta be really unfortunate to get turned down from 40 medical schools. I know it only takes one to get the job done, but I'm not gonna risk it.
Click to expand...

Another downside to applying to 40-50 schools is you will have to fill out 40-50 secondaries... averaging $75 per school that is $3000 plus whatever the extra fee is for the 20 schools not covered by FAP. Plus even if you get II for half that is still 20 interviews you have to attend and hotel, airfare, food, and gas to drive there isnt. To do this and not go in debt you literally have to be a Trust-fund Kiddie with two physician parents and a household income of $400,000+.

If you can pull that off I hope you get accepted so you dont have to re-apply and go through it again.
 
I'm gonna pre-write my secondaries during the school year so that I can easily submit them when the time comes. I have a summer research internship where I earn about $5000 and next summer, I should have one as well. I'll save up my research stipends instead of going berserk at best buy.
 
29 MD programs and 1 DO.

CA applicant, average amount of pre-med paranoia, etc. If I wasn't from CA, I probably would have applied to 15-ish.


Secondary burnout is currently very real (did not pre-write, whoops) but.....I'll have an opinion on it at the end of the cycle after everything plays out.
 
ATPsynthase123 said:
Another downside to applying to 40-50 schools is you will have to fill out 40-50 secondaries... averaging $75 per school that is $3000 plus whatever the extra fee is for the 20 schools not covered by FAP. Plus even if you get II for half that is still 20 interviews you have to attend and hotel, airfare, food, and gas to drive there isnt. To do this and not go in debt you literally have to be a Trust-fund Kiddie with two physician parents and a household income of $400,000+.

If you can pull that off I hope you get accepted so you dont have to re-apply and go through it again.
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The only pipebomb I really see coming my way is the interview season where I really have to pick and choose carefully how I go about things. But, everything should be alright unless I nail all my secondaries and magically get 40 interviews around the country.
 
19. about 10 core schools that I felt my stats matched with their median, and then 9 reach schools. Safety schools do not exist in this process (case in point: my state school WL'd me.)
 
Lost in Translation said:
19. about 10 core schools that I felt my stats matched with their median, and then 9 reach schools. Safety schools do not exist in this process (case in point: my state school WL'd me.)
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You could always apply DO as safety schools. There is nothing wrong with that.
 
27. WedgeDawg told me to. CA resident, aiming for top schools so basically 15 top schools and then 12 mid-tier schools.
 
Ezra Redden said:
I'm thinking of applying to 40. I already got accepted for the Fee Assistance Program so I would only have to pay for the extra 25 primary applications since most secondary applications are waived using the FAP. I know applying to this many sounds crazy, but I HAVE to get into medical school because I have no other plans after college. That's why I'm applying using the shotgun approach, you gotta be really unfortunate to get turned down from 40 medical schools. I know it only takes one to get the job done, but I'm not gonna risk it.
Click to expand...

Actually you don't have to be really unfortunate. You just have to make a mistake and not apply wisely. I know quite a few people who applied to 30 and didn't get in.
 
Fifteen this cycle as a high-stat applicant. Lots of top programs, plus my state school (I go there for undergrad as well), and a few that I thought would be "safer" schools before I learned what yield protection is.
 
35 schools -- I'm a CA resident and have a fee waiver, so basically I have to pay for 20 primaries and almost no secondaries. I was going to do 25, but I prewrote all of them and had some time, so I ended up adding more schools. I mean, why not if there's time + no secondary fees? :shrug:
 
Lurid said:
35 schools -- I'm a CA resident and have a fee waiver, so basically I have to pay for 20 primaries and almost no secondaries. I was going to do 25, but I prewrote all of them and had some time, so I ended up adding more schools. I mean, why not if there's time + no secondary fees? :shrug:
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In the same boat, just that I'm an NY resident and I'm applying to about 40. Not taking any chances.
 
Avicenna said:
Almost 40 MD no DO. 3.66c/3.55s/512. Premed paranoia. I want to not have to do a gap year so badly.
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Wow, I'm applying to 40 too, but if I had a 512, I'd be a lot more laid back. A 512 is almost a guarantee as long as you have decent secondaries and interviews. Anyway, congrats man, you're set!
 
DingoPingo said:
Actually you don't have to be really unfortunate. You just have to make a mistake and not apply wisely. I know quite a few people who applied to 30 and didn't get in.
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What kind of mistake?
 
ATPsynthase123 said:
Another downside to applying to 40-50 schools is you will have to fill out 40-50 secondaries... averaging $75 per school that is $3000 plus whatever the extra fee is for the 20 schools not covered by FAP. Plus even if you get II for half that is still 20 interviews you have to attend and hotel, airfare, food, and gas to drive there isnt. To do this and not go in debt you literally have to be a Trust-fund Kiddie with two physician parents and a household income of $400,000+.

If you can pull that off I hope you get accepted so you dont have to re-apply and go through it again.
Click to expand...

I attended 20 interviews, including some on the other side of the country, and my overall travel expenses never exceeded $1000 (maybe $1100). I managed to take buses most places and never stayed in a hotel (student hosts for everywhere) or ate out. I also have no license so I used public transportation in every city (no uber). It is doable. While yes that is still a high cost, still comes out to be $50/interview. BUT this is only manageable if you live near a city with easy/cheap access to a lot of nearby cities (i.e. NYC, philly, Boston, etc)

I applied to 26 schools because I felt this process was an investment and wanted to take a chance at every school that interested me.
 
White male 3.85 cgpa, 3.80 sgpa, 513 MCAT (128/126/130/129)
Applied to several top tier schools like Duke, Columbia, Yale, UPenn (Yale and UPenn an advisor has strong ties with these schools)
Applied to mostly middle tier schools, then some where I am 2-3 points above their mcat
Looked to stay mostly between 30-34 MCAT scores, accepting a good amount out of state
Of course my state schools.

My parents are incredibly supportive in this process, assisting in the finacing, and I feel this is a good number to hopefully set me up for success.
 
About 30 schools. Why? 3.3 ugpa. I'm damn near broke after 25 secondaries, so I think I'll stop there.
 
I can understand applying to 40-50 schools if one is really against reapplying and wants as high of a chance as possible at getting in. More schools=higher chance of acceptance right?
 
I'd say 40+ is a good number if you're not too confident with your GPA and everything
 
starspells said:
I can understand applying to 40-50 schools if one is really against reapplying and wants as high of a chance as possible at getting in. More schools=higher chance of acceptance right?
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No. There are very few people for whom this will increase odds of acceptance (folks with IA's, police records, some types of grade/MCAT dissonance, many MCAT scores...).

I know someone who applied to 110 schools.
We can usually tell when an applicant has applied to too many schools. It tends to show in the secondary.
 
gyngyn said:
No. There are very few people for whom this will increase odds of acceptance (folks with IA's, police records, some types of grade/MCAT dissonance, many MCAT scores...).

I know someone who applied to 110 schools.
We can usually tell when an applicant has applied to too many schools. It tends to show in the secondary.
Click to expand...

Then a good solution for that would be to start secondaries early!
 
gyngyn said:
No. There are very few people for whom this will increase odds of acceptance (folks with IA's, police records, some types of grade/MCAT dissonance, many MCAT scores...).

I know someone who applied to 110 schools.
We can usually tell when an applicant has applied to too many schools. It tends to show in the secondary.
Click to expand...

But if you're neurotic like me and started prewritting in 2014....
 
15 schools, 2 interviews, 2 acceptances (both in state), so glad I live in Florida
 
starspells said:
If she had good stats I can't imagine why she felt the need to apply to 110 schools then...
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She had one of the problems I listed. Even so, it was not a good idea.
 
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gyngyn said:
She had one of the problems I listed. Even so, it was not a good idea to apply to that many.
Click to expand...

Okay so you agree it is important to apply broadly if you have one of those issues. If 50 is a lot then what is the max number of schools you would recommend applying to for students with those issues?

I agree with you that if you have strong/good stats and/or are from a good state it is not necessary to apply to more than 15-18 schools.
 
10 schools, 4 interviews. 3 acceptances and 1 WL. My undergrad (for some dumb reason) told me that I was actually applying to too many schools and actually tells students to "not waste their money and apply to five or fewer". I have no clue as to why the pre health advisors say this, but they do
 
starspells said:
Okay so you agree it is important to apply broadly if you have one of those issues. If 50 is a lot then what is the max number of schools you would recommend applying to for students with those issues?

I agree with you that if you have strong/good stats and/or are from a good state it is not necessary to apply to more than 15-18 schools.
Click to expand...
Even in the worst of circumstances, it's hard to imagine that applying to more than 40 would help.
And it would require an extreme case of the types I listed.
 
23 schools, 4 interviews, 2 acceptances.

I am a California resident with solid, but not stellar, stats. Interestingly enough, I only received interviews at schools I would have applied to if my list were trimmed down to 15 schools. It taught me that you tend to add poor fit schools past a certain number of applications.
 
Pagan FutureDoc said:
15 as a high stat applicant. Applied to mostly top 20 plus schools in my home state and the state I spend 30 years in.
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Also applied to 15. Probably could have taken a few off.

EDIT: Adding my stats for future viewers (I guess):

cGPA = 3.85, sGPA = 3.95, MCAT = 99th percentile, research = ~ 5-6 yrs (non-trad)
 
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I had saved up for years because I knew how expensive this process was and I qualified for the FAP so I did the "go for broke" style of applications.
35 apps, 35 secondaries --> 18 IIs --> 14 Interviews Attended --> 13 Acceptances, 1 Waitlist

Thankfully last summer my second job was as a security guard at a front desk to a building and I could work on my secondaries there. I usually made it a plan of mine to finish 1-4 secondaries per night and working 5 nights a week ensured that I was done with all of them in less than 3 weeks.

Looking back, I applied to waaaay too many schools. But, like many of you now, no one would have been able to convince me to apply to less schools. I was terrified that I wouldn't get in anywhere and I didn't have a plan B for a gap year job. The gamble paid off though, can't wait to start school in less than 2 weeks! Good luck to everyone!! 🙂
 
The Knife & Gun Club said:
I had the funds and the time so applied to 35 MD and 5 DO.

Basically got to the point where I'd answered almost every possible question so was basically just recycling material over and over
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This was my thinking as well. I know that the average applicant reaches the point of diminishing returns at 20 schools, but such logic and clear thinking doesn't work when you are as paranoid as I can get. I really do not want to have to reapply, so I wanted to have the piece of mind that I threw everything into this cycle as I possibly could and not have any regrets.
 
gyngyn said:
No. There are very few people for whom this will increase odds of acceptance (folks with IA's, police records, some types of grade/MCAT dissonance, many MCAT scores...).

I know someone who applied to 110 schools.
We can usually tell when an applicant has applied to too many schools. It tends to show in the secondary.
Click to expand...

I'm lost why applicants unrealistically apply to 50+ schools. Specifically, i'm very interested to know the schools they applied. Did they apply to top tiers despite having terrible stats? Did they apply to OOS state schools that accept very very few OOS applicants?

This is why the MSAR should be a mandatory purchase, yet applicants will whine and protest as to how they will acquire the $26 to buy the MSAR since they are so poor and overwhelmed with debt. But they somehow have thousands of dollars available to spend on 50+ apps, secondaries etc. /rant
 
Applied to 20, II to 7, accepted to 2, waitlisted at 4, accepted off the waitlist at 2. On my original list of 15, I only had 2 invites and 1 acceptance so I am glad I spent the money. I am going to a school that most said not to bother with an application as it was an OOS public with few OOS interviews. 3.9, 516 MCAT.
 
Lawper said:
I'm lost why applicants unrealistically apply to 50+ schools. Specifically, i'm very interested to know the schools they applied. Did they apply to top tiers despite having terrible stats? Did they apply to OOS state schools that accept very very few OOS applicants?

This is why the MSAR should be a mandatory purchase, yet applicants will whine and protest as to how they will acquire the $26 to buy the MSAR since they are so poor and overwhelmed with debt. But they somehow have thousands of dollars available to spend on 50+ apps, secondaries etc. /rant
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They may have low cGPA, but great trend (like 1.5, 1.5, 4.0, 4.0 kind of great), and a great MCAT. So it's really hard to know how schools will interpret applicants like these. And MSAR doesn't really work for cases like this because it doesn't capture this crazy upward trend these applicants have.
 
summergirl said:
They may have low cGPA, but great trend (like 1.5, 1.5, 4.0, 4.0 kind of great), and a great MCAT. So it's really hard to know how schools will interpret applicants like these.
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Same, this is my issue. It's just hard to predict which schools will be receptive to such disparity.
 
First and only cycle, sent 9 primaries, 5 secondaries. Got 5 interviews, attended 2. Got 2 acceptances and going to my top choice.

My MCAT was 3-4 points above the median for all schools to which I applied, while my GPA was slightly higher than average.
 
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