how many schools are you applying to...

[drmota]

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More curious than anything... my counselor told me no more than 25, my mom told me >40 (she's a doctor and cried when i told her i'm not applying to UCSD cuz i won't get in...she's funny). I'm applying to 29. you?

 

[DrHopeless]

Wow you have a lot of money 😀

 

[drmota]

umm...thanks? you didn't answer my question though

 

[tigress]

I think there was a thread about this at some point.

edit: I forgot we can't search the forum right now. Anyway it depends on a lot of factors, like how good your stats are and whether you really want (or have) to stay in a particular location. I applied to 10, but I almost definitely have to stay in Philadelphia. If I didn't have this limitation, I probably would have applied to about 15, and definitely fewer than 20.

 

[CerealBox]

So, because you're from California, 29 sounds typical. Its a lot of money and a lot of work, but that's the price you pay for living in the state with the hardest med schools to get into.

I'm from Washington, so I kind of had to apply to a bunch to watch my back as well. I put 20 down on AMCAS, but I already eliminated 2 that I'm not interested in anymore.

My friend from Alabama only applied to 2 last year and got accepted to her state school no problem. A cousin in S Carolina also only applied to 2. But they live in those states.....

 

[drmota]

lucky bastards...

 

[drmota]

so what about you cali people?

 

[Daichi Katase]

18

 

[domukin]

so what about you cali people?

Around 30 primary, turned in about 15 secondaries (time and $ constraints, plus not all of them sent em out).

 

[CerealBox]

18

woah DetectiveChubby, you're 17yo?

 

[jc11011]

20

 

[bwells46]

19 total but 14 if you count schools I have a realistic chance at (i.e. eliminate Harvard, Johns Hopkins, etc.)

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

CA applicant, 20 schools. I won't be buying anything new for quite a while... 🙄

 

[DarkFark]

21. I think it's a good number.

 

[Nakhrewali]

21. I think it's a good number.

Cali resident here.. 40+ here and would you believe I've submitted over half of the secondaries? 😱

 

[kalenakai]

Hawaii resident, 13 schools (UH and schools from the 2 coasts)

 

[Starvin Marvin]

Cali resident here.. 40+ here and would you believe I've submitted over half of the secondaries? 😱

Congrats big time. Only did 16 (not cali resident) and have yet to submit secondary. Spent the last week "working" on the first one even though i have others piled up. I hate my lazy self. 🙄

 

[Daichi Katase]

Congrats big time. Only did 16 (not cali resident) and have yet to submit secondary. Spent the last week "working" on the first one even though i have others piled up. I hate my lazy self. 🙄

you added schools?

 

[Starvin Marvin]

you added schools?

hehe, yeah. added harvard for the heck of it. i wanna frame that rejection letter and hang it in my living room.

 

[Overeducated]

CA applicant, applied to 34.

IMO, if you're a california applicant, you have to apply to at least 20 schools to be safe, unless you have monster stats and ECs (or you're a URM). How many schools beyond that depends on the strength of your overall application. Of course, sometimes it's very hard to determine just how strong your application is (I'm still trying to figure that out myself). 😀

 

[pseudoknot]

CA resident; applied to 38. So far I've received 22 secondaries and sent out 12. I think I'm having trouble with the essays because I'm not self-absorbed enough.

Overeducated, I don't know why you are applying to so many--you look like a good candidate. I'm sure you'll have a lot of options.

 

[RayhanS1282]

I applied to 17 schools and completed and submitted secondaries for 11 of them.

I am just waiting to get an acceptance anywhere so that I can tally up all the money I spent and say " prep course - $1400, MCAT - $195, AMCAS application - $640, LOR - $60, Secondaries - $900 (so far), acceptance to medical school - priceless".

 

[LJDHC05]

MA resident, 14 schools for now, when I start freaking out it will be 16 to 18 (when I realize that I need to leave New England it'll be more)

4 submitted
2 finished but need photo
2 underway
1 not touched yet (outlined, not typed up)
5 untouched

 

[diosa428]

MA resident, applying to 16

 

[doublepeak]

Well I guess I'm daring.

I am a Cali resident and am only applying to 7 (all in Cali schools except Loma Linda). I want to move back to the west coast for med school.

 

[Highclimber]

48...2 abroad.... 10 of them completed...

 

[coco]

Cali res, applied to 33...I think I've filled out about 15-16 secondaries so far, and I have 3 on my desk waiting...I've heard from all the schools at some point (not necessarily secondaries) except from about 7. so all in all, I guess I'm doing ok 🙂 hehe

 

[eddaman]

18. hope somebody gives me some love this time.

 

[anystream]

18. hope somebody gives me some love this time.

california resident, applied to 30 schools

i feel it's hard to keep up with all of them after a certain point when you apply to so many. i'm filling out secondaries right and left, the first few seemed meaningful, but now i can't get them off my desk fast enough.

i think CA doesn't feel the need to add more state med schools because lots of physicians want to move here eventually...its just so nice

 

[ShyRem]

15: half MD, half DO. Haven't received secondaries from 5, the others are done and out the door.

 

[63768]

wow. only 18. hmmmm...

 

[vwjennyvw]

Just one school for me...I'm applying EDP to UVM. I'm a Vermont resident though and I currently work for the university, so I think my odds are pretty good. If I don't get in this year, I'll reapply next year after strengthening my app.

 

[Reimat]

MA resident applying to 24 schools MD/PhD only. I have so many essays to write 🙁

 

[SuzieQ3417]

Wow...should I be worried? I am only applying to 11.

 

[jbrice1639]

Wow...should I be worried? I am only applying to 11.

i only applied to 15, and i thought that was a lot at the time. i think it's just important to have some realistic schools and some less realistic schools. for me, adding schools probably wouldn't really help my chances since i already applied to all of my best bets. i don't think you should be worried at with 11 as long as you carefully chose your 11.

 

[Kazazzle12]

Wow...should I be worried? I am only applying to 11.

I'm glad to hear it... I applied to 12 🙂

 

[speranza]

I only applied to 12. I think I have a really good shot at my (one) state school, which is a pretty decent school. The rest of the of schools one my list are ones I'd rather go to than my state school and where I think I actually have a shot... I guess I didn't apply to too many reach schools but also no schools that had lower or very similar stats as my state school, keeping my total number to a minimum.

 

[redclover]

48...2 abroad.... 10 of them completed...

ow?

 

[redclover]

26 so far

 

[frostynorthwind]

I am in the painfully laborious (and expensive) process of applying to 21 schools. Although my GPA is decent, my MCAT wasn't great. Although I scored a 30T, I floundered on VR and ended up with an 8. Hopefully, applying early and assiduously writing all those secondary essays will pay off, though... Despite how nice the luxury of having a choice between schools would be, I really only need 1 acceptance. 😀

 

[DrBowtie]

Anyone want to speculate on what is the most anyone has applied to? I would say approaching 100 b/c 20 or so don't take OOSers.

 

[LJL]

California resident, applied to 20 first, then added 2 more the more I thought about where I want to live for four years. I got my application fees as a graduation present from my family, so I didn't have to worry about the cost.

 

[angietron3000]

CA resident. Applied to 36, 11 submitted so far. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with an obscene number of secondary essays to write. I was starting to think I was nuts for applying to so many.

 

[snumie]

24 but may add more

 

[tank you]

CA resident, 40 schools

 

[drmota]

Anyone want to speculate on what is the most anyone has applied to? I would say approaching 100 b/c 20 or so don't take OOSers.

100 is a ridiculous number, i'm gonna go with 70...damn, i just got the chills
-mota

 

[shakeit]

22- 16 md 6 do....but will probably not complete some of the secondaries...im from ohio so i have a few choices of in-state which is nice.

 

[kalenakai]

[updated] HI resident, added 3 more while waiting for verification, total at 16

 

[CerealBox]

Wow...should I be worried? I am only applying to 11.

No, with a 33Q and 3.9+ GPA from Missouri, you have probably a 80%+ chance of getting into your state school. Just don't vomit at your interview.

 

[thegenius]

I'm in California too. Applied to 35 schools. I'm getting all my secondaries now and starting to turn them in. I suspect I'll send in about 30 secondaries. There are a few schools I wish I didn't apply to, but I didn't have the proper resources at the time of selection to know that (like the MSAR).