How many medical schools should I apply to?

[DrNowzick]

So here is the deal I have no idea what my chances are really of acceptance.

Stats 31O MCAT 2.97 uGA

Tufts SMP (masters) 3.8

Research publication
2 years of lab work, 200 hours hospital volunteering, 250 hours work medical and non-med, 120 hours community service, and at least one very good letter of rec others may just be descent.

So at this point cost is honestly not an issue. I have over 150,000$ in debt whats another 2k going to hurt... especially if it is the limiting factor in my acceptance.

So the biggest problem I see is that I will get screened out with that low uGPA and I am also not a great interviewee sometimes I get nervous.

At this point I'm considering at least 25 schools, but I don't see why I shouldnt apply to say 50 schools.

I am also a URM being that I am 98% sub Saharan africa.

All help will be greatly appreciated!

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[TheShaker]

Even if cost isn't an issue, 50 schools is a bit much. Think about all the secondaries you have to write. Most people get burned out when they apply to 30 schools just because of the sheer amount of writing that you have to do.

I'm not sure how you managed to find 50 schools though. I selected my schools by GPA/MCAT and OOS friendliness and I have only gotten to ~30 schools. Make sure those schools are OOS friendly.

Also, I hope you have Howard and Meharry on your list. Those schools have a low GPA/MCAT median and give a huge preference to black applicants.

 

[DrNowzick]

Even if cost isn't an issue, 50 schools is a bit much. Think about all the secondaries you have to write. Most people get burned out when they apply to 30 schools just because of the sheer amount of writing that you have to do.

I'm not sure how you managed to find 50 schools though. I selected my schools by GPA/MCAT and OOS friendliness and I have only gotten to ~30 schools. Make sure those schools are OOS friendly.

Also, I hope you have Howard and Meharry on your list. Those schools have a low GPA/MCAT median and give a huge preference to black applicants.

Thanks! Do you have a list of those that are OOS friendly or a link? I am applying to Howard but hopefully I will get into a school that is a little more research focused.

 

[DrNowzick]

Here is a follow up question. Are the medical schools able to see exactly how many schools I have applied to? I can see that it might look like I'm reaching and not confident if I apply to 134 schools.

 

[MedPR]

Thanks! Do you have a list of those that are OOS friendly or a link? I am applying to Howard but hopefully I will get into a school that is a little more research focused.

Buy the MSAR.

Here is a follow up question. Are the medical schools able to see exactly how many schools I have applied to? I can see that it might look like I'm reaching and not confident if I apply to 134 schools.

No.

 

[DrNowzick]

Buy the MSAR.




No.

Thanks I feel like I will be spamming my application but hey 1% x 100 = 1 acceptance

 

[MedPR]

Thanks I feel like I will be spamming my application but hey 1% x 100 = 1 acceptance

If you can complete 100 high-quality secondaries I will applaud your commitment.

 

[1289]

i can most definitely understand the insecurity, but do not blow your money away applying to every school under the sun. buy the msar and research how OOS friendly some of the schools are, despite being URM there are many places that take such a small percentage of OOS that combined with your low GPA it is just not worth it. as someone else said, i think your best shot is at howard or meharry. are you applying this cycle?

 

[LOVEDMU]

Hi everyone!

I am a reapplicant this cycle. I need some advice on what schools to apply to based on my mediocre stats.

Last year I submitted my primary applications in September to 13 schools (about half MD, half DO). Also took me a month to fill out secondaries once I got them...I realized it was going to require a lot of luck to get accepted based on the circumstances. I received only 1 interview where I got the waitlist. This interview was in late February so definitely the rolling admissions took its toll since the admissions coordinator said I had a good interview and that they liked me. Bummer!!!

• Major: Biology
• Minor: Chemistry
• Involved in honors science club for 2 years
• Graduated in 3 years
• 3.48 science GPA
• 3.55 cumulative GPA
• 23O MCAT (retook couple weeks ago, waiting for new score which is most likely higher by at least a couple points)
• So far 10 months of volunteering not in a hospital setting but I do volunteer for the hospital's Auxiliary (~100 hours)
• Taught two classes as an assistant teacher at the hospital as a volunteer. (~5 hours)
• Been working in an emergency room for 4 years (no real patient contact here since I work in registration)
• Have worked in an assisted living facility for 6 years (had patient contact here)
• Shadowed a lot at work and outside of work. Hard to pinpoint the hours at work, but outside of work have shadowed 71 hours so far. Still shadowing.

I submitted my primary apps two weeks ago and am waiting for them to get verified as well as waiting for the new MCAT score to release (Sept 5th).

Which schools do you think I stand a chance? So far I designated: DMU, KCUMB, Midwestern , A.T. Still, Creighton, University of Iowa, Rosalind Franklin, Loyola University, and St. Louis University. So far only 9 schools

Also to mention, I am not born in the U.S. Came here as a teenager. Worked 30+ hours as full time student graduating in 3 years. Lived in Germany for 8 years, but native to Bosnia so I speak at least 3 languages fluently. I think this won't hurt my chances. Let me know what you guys think!!

Thanks guys!!

 

[dsk89]

Hi everyone!

I am a reapplicant this cycle. I need some advice on what schools to apply to based on my mediocre stats.

Last year I submitted my primary applications in September to 13 schools (about half MD, half DO). Also took me a month to fill out secondaries once I got them...I realized it was going to require a lot of luck to get accepted based on the circumstances. I received only 1 interview where I got the waitlist. This interview was in late February so definitely the rolling admissions took its toll since the admissions coordinator said I had a good interview and that they liked me. Bummer!!!

• Major: Biology
• Minor: Chemistry
• Involved in honors science club for 2 years
• Graduated in 3 years
• 3.48 science GPA
• 3.55 cumulative GPA
• 23O MCAT (retook couple weeks ago, waiting for new score which is most likely higher by at least a couple points)
• So far 10 months of volunteering not in a hospital setting but I do volunteer for the hospital's Auxiliary (~100 hours)
• Taught two classes as an assistant teacher at the hospital as a volunteer. (~5 hours)
• Been working in an emergency room for 4 years (no real patient contact here since I work in registration)
• Have worked in an assisted living facility for 6 years (had patient contact here)
• Shadowed a lot at work and outside of work. Hard to pinpoint the hours at work, but outside of work have shadowed 71 hours so far. Still shadowing.

I submitted my primary apps two weeks ago and am waiting for them to get verified as well as waiting for the new MCAT score to release (Sept 5th).

Which schools do you think I stand a chance? So far I designated: DMU, KCUMB, Midwestern , A.T. Still, Creighton, University of Iowa, Rosalind Franklin, Loyola University, and St. Louis University. So far only 9 schools

Also to mention, I am not born in the U.S. Came here as a teenager. Worked 30+ hours as full time student graduating in 3 years. Lived in Germany for 8 years, but native to Bosnia so I speak at least 3 languages fluently. I think this won't hurt my chances. Let me know what you guys think!!

Thanks guys!!

Drexel, NYMC

But regardless, you are a long shot with that MCAT score, hopefully you have a big improvement on your retake. If not, a 23 will get you screened out at a lot of schools.

 

[LOVEDMU]

I am thinking it will be around a 28 but we will just have to wait and see. I feel like my verbal score will be low like last time! Verbal is hurting my overall score by a lot and preventing me from getting that 30. Hopefully they take into consideration that I am not native, but at the same time some schools will just screen out based solely on the MCAT score which sucks! Thank you!!

 

[La Presse]

30-35.
State Schools
1 or 2 reaches
Neighboring Schools whose residency requirements may favor you.
MSAR. 'nuff said.

 

[LOVEDMU]

I don't have the MSAR because I can't afford to buy it :/ Thank you so much for your input!

 

[La Presse]

I don't have the MSAR because I can't afford to buy it :/ Thank you so much for your input!

Alternatively, you can use the medical school spreadsheet to guage what schools you should apply to. The spreadsheet calculates your LizzyM score, which is a measure of how likely you are able to matriculate into the program.

http://is.gd/sdn_med_matriculant_data

 

[LOVEDMU]

Alternatively, you can use the medical school spreadsheet to guage what schools you should apply to. The spreadsheet calculates your LizzyM score, which is a measure of how likely you are able to matriculate into the program.

http://is.gd/sdn_med_matriculant_data

Thank you so much. This spreadsheet is extremely helpful