How many schools are you non trads applying to?

[Tofurkey]

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Hello,

I am a 27 married non trad and I am applying to 28 schools for 05. This seems too low to me, my hubby and I are trying to add more but still be in good areas for him to find jobs.

I am VERY concerned about not getting in (this is my first application) and don't want to have to do this whole thing again.

I have a 3.5 UGPA, 3.0 law school, 3.6 post bacc, and who knows about MCAT (I predict 24.)

Should I apply to more schools with these stats or is 28 enough? Most are low to mid tier--i.e. Rush, Drexel, Temple, NYMC, Albany, etc.

Thanks,

T

 

[dr.z]

I applied to about 35 and few DO schools. If you have the money to apply, it wouldn't hurt to apply to more schools. It is really hard to predict your chances at med school. Thus far I only have 1 interview at DO school.

 

[efex101]

The more you apply to the more you increase the chances BUT make very very sure that if any of those schools was the only ONE to accept you that you would go. Some times you will only receive one acceptance and then you realize well...this is not my favorite city/school/area/whatever. So apply to as many as you financially can (thinking interviews get expensive fast). I applied to 32 last year and never did regret this. I went on 11 interviews and after that I stopped going on interviews once my top choices accepted me...so you can "triage" where to go or not once you have one acceptance in hand.

 

[DianaLynne]

Good Lord that sounds like a lot of schools! I applied to 13. You must have written a billion essays. Good luck!

Diana

 

[sfbear]

One thing I wish I had checked before I picked schools was what sort of letters of rec they require and how flexible they are. NYMC, for example, says you'd better have 3 letters written by professors who taught you or don't bother applying. I don't know if this will be an issue for you, but it's worth checking out.

I think 28 is plenty. If you're from California, you might want to consider a few more. Have you checked out EVMS? I just interviewed there and nearly everyone in my goup was non-trad. They take a lot of out-of-staters, too.

 

[seacatch]

I'm also a non-trad (41) and am applying to 25 allopathic and 5 osteopathic schools. The main thing is to choose carefully which schools are your best shots. I looked at the number of seats total, the % out of state accepted, average MCAT and GPA. Increasing the number of schools is fine but look at your odds too. There are some schools that seem to have a reputation for accepting non-trads.

Good luck.

 

[RangerD]

I applied to 26 schools, and I think it was a bit much. I have already had about 9 interviews and I still have more pending. I didn't know how competitive I would be initially, so I figured that I better play it safe with the numbers. Apparently, the non-trad status made me more competitive than I thought. I am certain I will get in one of the schools I have already interviewed at and I am considering cancelling the rest that are pending and those that have yet to request an interview. The travel costs are adding up...

 

[njbmd]

Hi there,
I applied to six schools, interviewed at six schools and was accepted by six schools. I was extremely tired of secondaries and interviews by the time I got to number six. I applied to my state schools and a couple of private schools that were located in the geographical region that was of interest to me. I also applied to one out of state school because I loved the curriculum and administration (University of Maryland). I was fortunate to have a diversity of choice within my geographical area and the school that I eventually attended made my decision for me with a "full-ride" tuition scholarship. I managed to get through four years of medical school with virtually no debt which is the best decision that I made.
njbmd 🙂

 

[efex101]

Once you get one acceptance in hand you can and probably should cancel some interviews. That is exactly what I did...good luck.

 

[abraxas20]

I applied to one, yep one, school. EDP. My state school. I don't think I knew I was taking a chance, but I thought that since I have low stats and am non-trad, declaring my allegiance seemed like a good idea.

 

[dandelion]

I applied to 17 schools, including all my state schools (4). I was going to apply to fewer but then added a few because I experienced a lapse of confidence at the last minute.

 

[lseo]

Are there schools that accept non-traditional students and those that don't?

😕

 

[njbmd]

Are there schools that accept non-traditional students and those that don't?

😕

Hi there,
There are schools that have lower percentages of non-traditional medical students but I know of no medical school in the United States that does not have any non-traditional medical students. If you meet the criteria for admission to medical school, then you may not be discriminated against because of the fact that you are changing careers or came to medical school later in life.

The percentage of non-traditional medical students at a particular school is pretty meaningless as your competition to get into medical school is among both traditional and non-traditional students. If you are interested in a particular school, look up their admissions requirements and exceed them.

njbmd 🙂

 

[lseo]

Thanks for your info...
I heard a rumor that there are schools that do not accept non-traditional students. Something about wanting to mold their future doctors. I will be applying to most of the schools in the west coast, but I am not sure about the east. Any suggestions?

Hi there,
There are schools that have lower percentages of non-traditional medical students but I know of no medical school in the United States that does not have any non-traditional medical students. If you meet the criteria for admission to medical school, then you may not be discriminated against because of the fact that you are changing careers or came to medical school later in life.

The percentage of non-traditional medical students at a particular school is pretty meaningless as your competition to get into medical school is among both traditional and non-traditional students. If you are interested in a particular school, look up their admissions requirements and exceed them.

njbmd 🙂

 

[efex101]

I am pretty sure that is incorrect. No medical school will purposely exclude non-traditional students although some may just have a lesser percentage of non-traditionals. Again, the bottom line is numbers to get the first cut regardless of age. I think that some non-traditionals assume that "age and experience" can make up for the other things adcoms are looking for and that of course is a bad assumption.

 

[abraxas20]

Thanks for your info...
I heard a rumor that there are schools that do not accept non-traditional students. Something about wanting to mold their future doctors. I will be applying to most of the schools in the west coast, but I am not sure about the east. Any suggestions?

I will have to agree with other posters who said that some schools have very few non-trads. But you can't discriminated against based solely on age. However, since med school admission seem to be very hack-and-slash (ie. totally unpredictable). We could never know why someone didn't get in.

Check out your state schools (if you are CA - good luck), since they are supposed to educate docs for that state, they may be interested in you, especially if you want to stay in the state.

 

[CanIMakeIt]

I applied to 37 schools (had applied to 36 originally but I don't know one night I just added one more.....I have no idea but I did)....then I got most of the secondaries....all those essays and sec fees made me go crazy and when I got into my top choice school I just cancelled all other interviews because each interview was costing me ~$400 ..... so think of all those things......In the hindsight I think I applied to too many schools.....but I did choose them so that I would not regret attending any one of them if I were selected.....but I did have peace of mind thinking I have done what I could to increase my chances .....so it was worth it.......

So I would say narrow your choices as Efex said.....and just go with them ......

 

[ambaduchi]

have applied to 19. hope that was enough...

 

[smokeycat]

I'm applying to 4 maybe 5

 

[QofQuimica]

I plan to apply to about eight: maybe as few as six but definitely no more than ten. I think that number is a reasonable balance between having a decent shot at getting in while not biting off more than I can chew in terms of the time and money needed to apply to more schools (and hopefully travel to them for interviews). On another note, as a young and foolish undergrad I only applied to three.

 

[ntmed]

Hello,

I am a 27 married non trad and I am applying to 28 schools for 05. This seems too low to me, my hubby and I are trying to add more but still be in good areas for him to find jobs.

I am VERY concerned about not getting in (this is my first application) and don't want to have to do this whole thing again.

I have a 3.5 UGPA, 3.0 law school, 3.6 post bacc, and who knows about MCAT (I predict 24.)

Should I apply to more schools with these stats or is 28 enough? Most are low to mid tier--i.e. Rush, Drexel, Temple, NYMC, Albany, etc.

Thanks,

T

The average student applies to about 11 programs. Nontraditional applicants, or anyone with a low GPA or MCAT score should probably apply to more.

I'm a nontraditional student in my 4th year of medical school. I applied to about 24 schools, interviewed at 10 or 12, and got accepted to at least 4.

In your situation, your GPA is fine. But an MCAT of 24 might be a deal-breaker, no matter how many schools you apply to.

 

[nikibean]

How about 27 years old,
Narrative Evals from UCSC but a good GPA from my post-bac program, and a MCAT in the low 30s?

I applied to 13 schools and have only received one interview so far. One rejection, too.

What should we expect as non-trads, interview-wise? Are we less desirable or more so? Does it depend on the program?
My post-bac program gave NO advising as to where to apply to med school, just a few names, and most of the kids were fresh out of college with engineering degrees. Nobody sat with us and said, based on these experiences and what I know of this program you should go here... blah blah blah. I'm pretty frustrated right now.

 

[Khenon]

I applied to 15 MD and 12 DO schools (the DO schools I just submitted to though). I've gotten no post-secondary rejections, but no interviews either. I hope things are better with the DO schools, though I'm a little late. Definitely, if you have a lower MCAT (I have a 23) you need to apply to more schools. I wish I had applied to more.

 

[lightnk102]

i applied to 25 MD schools.

Out of that 25:
2 rejected me pre-secondary
2 rejected me post-secondary
8 decided to interview me
1 of those 8 waitlisted me post-interview (one of my own state schools too)
13 have not responded.

I'm also an August MCAT-er, have a low ugrad gpa (~3.1), spent 2 years working in a non-medically-related field (business), and went through a special master's program to help me get into medical school.

I don't feel like I applied to too many schools. Though, there are some schools that I wish I had not applied to, and some that I wish I had. What I've found surprising about this process is that there is no rhyme or reason to it. Students with lower stats than I have get interviews at schools I was rejected to, and vice versa. The bottom line is that every school is likely looking for a special type of applicant to fit whatever role in their class (they like to have diversity), and you never know - someone might see something in your application that you don't.

I consider applying to med school like rolling a pair of dice at the craps table. You could hit your perfect 7 on the first roll (someone else here only applied to 1 school and got in), or you could roll 10 times and never hit that 7. You can argue that having better numbers or graduating from a better school may help your odds, but the fact is - no one knows how the admissions process works. It definitely doesn't seem to follow any sorts of patterns based on what I've seen. I personally prefer to roll my dice a few times, just to hedge my bets.

 

[efex101]

For some reason I do not see it as a roll dice at all, at least no the getting "in" part. Half the folks get in that apply and I truly believe that "if" everything is in place you will get one acceptance. The only caveat is that you never know where this acceptance will come from. One big mistake IMHO that folks make is assuming things like age will give you an edge due to experience at the expense of grades/mcat/lor/ec's. I truly believe and lived it, that if you apply early and have everything done at the right time *and* you are competitive most folks will get in. There is a lot to be said for getting your stuff in early "the early bird *does* get the worm". If you take the April MCAT there is no reason that by mid June or early July you should have AMCAS submitted. Having the LOR writers on top of stuff also helps meaning you need to tell the in the Spring about your LOR needs and stay on top of it. I applied early and had interviews by August...I know that getting stuff on time was crucial. I also submitted secondaries within about 72 hours of recepit and if this mean staying up until 3 am so be it. If OTOH you are an August MCAT taker having stuff in early is a HUGE benefit. AMCAS should *not* be submitted after you see your scores in October that is way to late. AMCAS should be submitted as soon as you are done with your MCAT this way you will start getting secondaries before your scores come out, and schools are will just need to see your performance to invite you for interview. Another thing I have found out after talking to adcoms is that LOR's are very very important and not all LORs are made equally so beware. Be nice to the office staff the DO write comments on applications and they are taken seriously.

 

[OrthoFixation]

I applied to 21 with mediocre stats and less than stellar GPA due to engineering degree w/ no preplanning for med applications down the road. Two LORs made my files complete late, about 9/6, hurting my odds somewhat. So far, I have 4 interviews and 2 acceptances, 2 that I feel good about but won't be revealed until Feb. 1 on the Texas match. With a lot of business experience, once they interview me, I'm golden. Have yet to hear from 9 schools 😕

Caution: Early application is the key. There is no rhyme or reason to the whole process, you must throw mud at the wall. Some of my schools did not interview some very high numbers but took me, while lower average number schools passed me over. APPLY EARLY, but make sure you are truly interested in each school that you apply.

 

[lightnk102]

There is a lot to be said for getting your stuff in early "the early bird *does* get the worm". If you take the April MCAT there is no reason that by mid June or early July you should have AMCAS submitted. Having the LOR writers on top of stuff also helps meaning you need to tell the in the Spring about your LOR needs and stay on top of it. I applied early and had interviews by August...I know that getting stuff on time was crucial. I also submitted secondaries within about 72 hours of recepit and if this mean staying up until 3 am so be it. If OTOH you are an August MCAT taker having stuff in early is a HUGE benefit. AMCAS should *not* be submitted after you see your scores in October that is way to late. AMCAS should be submitted as soon as you are done with your MCAT this way you will start getting secondaries before your scores come out, and schools are will just need to see your performance to invite you for interview.

I cannot agree more with what efex101 says here. I asked for recommendations in March, and specified that I would need them by June 1st at the latest. I have to differ from efex though with AMCAS submission timing for August MCAT-ers. Submitting your AMCAS when you're done with your MCAT is ENTIRELY TOO LATE. Submit your AMCAS at the same time that April MCAT-ers submit them (i.e. June). Get all your secondaries finished before September. It takes time to process the primaries and secondaries anyways. But you want everything to be already reviewed and just waiting for the MCAT score. Some schools have "auto-interview" status flagged on certain applications. This means that everything in your primary and secondary is A-okay. And if your MCAT comes back above a certain score, an interview invitation is automatically sent. You want to catch those schools because you'll get early interviews from them.

 

[efex101]

Oh yeah, I think you misread my post but of course I was typing so fast that who knows how it came across. I meant to say that for sure submit your AMCAS ASAP even if you are an August MCAT taker...do NOT wait until October to sumbit AMCAS for it can take them two months to process your stuff! submit AMCAS as soon as you can regardless of when you take the MCAT...