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For those of you who applied last cycle, how many schools did you apply to and how much did it cost you?
how many schools did you apply to and how much did it cost overall?
- Thread starter cadingcading
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10 primaries, 2 secondaries ~350 iirc. I ended up paying 2 deposits at a thousand a piece which was costly. Avoid that if you can.
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Whole cycle cost me about $6,000 or so, between 20 applications, putting down not one, not two, but three seat deposits (first one was just to make sure I had a spot at my safety school, second one was my number three choice but they only gave me 2 weeks to decide, and then after that two weeks I was offered an interview at my number one), a flight halfway across the country with a hotel and rental car, etc.
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28 school applied to, 5 interviews attended, 2 deposits paid. Roughly 10K........
I was lucky my top choice school that I eventually got accepted to doesn't require a deposit. Recommend getting a large credit card that can collect airline miles.
I was lucky my top choice school that I eventually got accepted to doesn't require a deposit. Recommend getting a large credit card that can collect airline miles.
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Yea I applied to 10 with the financial aid waiver (though it was not used on secondaries apparently). I think with my two interviews (both driving >200 miles) it was something like $1000. But then there was the deposit and thats where it gets you. If you are applying to like 10-20 schools (which is a pretty normal number) try and have either $4,000 sitting around or a credit card big enough to hold that.
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Aut 24 primarys, 12 DO, 12 MD, filled out 9 or 10 secondaries for each group respectivly, probably cost about $2500. Not counting the II's cost would be a mistake, they arent cheap. Prob an average of $150 each for interviews.
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I applied to 9 DO schools for around $500. Sent secondaries to five of those schools after receiving all prompts. Was accepted at my top choice first so I didn't bother sending in the rest of the secondaries and I canceled my other 2 interviews. I think it was close to $800-900 after clothing and travel expenses.
Lucky! Pays to have good stats!
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$500 didnt include secondary fees unless he had fee waivers.
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9 DO and 18 MD, primaries to all but 1, attended 3 interviews, accepted to top choice = total cost of $3,300
Just my 2 cents, but it seems pointless to pay the primary fee for a school and then not even fill out a secondary. If you don't plan on filling out the secondary why punt away the app fee in the first place?
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This right here....
Do not just apply to a handful of schools on the assumption that its all a statistical game. Spend your time and research the schools and apply to a very, very specific list of schools for very specific reasons. Applying to 10 well chosen schools is better than 20 random ones that you may have no business at. This is helpful not only for your acceptance chances but this also helps your wallet.
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@Awesome Sauceome
There are people (like me) who don't fit into any statistical data to determine their application success.
I would assume @Deranged Medic also fit into that category being a "non-traditional" applicant.
There are people (like me) who don't fit into any statistical data to determine their application success.
I would assume @Deranged Medic also fit into that category being a "non-traditional" applicant.
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D
deleted158872
please include interview costs, too!
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Absolutely, so even more so y'all should really be playing to your strengths. Apply to schools that are into that sort of thing. And I imagine if you are older and have a family then really saving money is critical. I know it was for me when I applied. I picked 10 not out of choice but out of financial limits.
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I can't speak for everyone, but for me at the time of sending my primary apps I had only 1 MCAT score that wasn't great, so I applied to a range of schools just in case. Retake scores came back, and sent secondaries accordingly.
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I applied to a broad range of schools due to my lower GPA. By the time I had gotten some secondaries back, I had already scheduled a couple of interviews, so I just decided to be pickier with those later secondaries. I was also burnt out to be honest. I worked to get all my secondaries in within a couple of days, so I was just over it.
My total cost was ~$7500 which includes ~30 primaries, ~20 secondaries, 6 interviews, and a $1000 deposit.
This right here.
By the time I received some secondaries, I already had IIs from other schools. Then when I received my first acceptance, my motivation to complete more secondaries just disappeared. In retrospect, maybe I would have sent in fewer primaries. But then again, the school I ended up choosing was low on my list because I figured I didn't have much of a shot (due to OOS status). If I cut out some primaries, that would've been one of the first. When I went to the interview there, I absolutely loved it and knew that's where I wanted to attend. So.... I guess it all worked out.
To answer JW2020's question.... We planned to fill out the secondaries, but due to the situation changing, we decided not to.
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Definitely have the nontrad thing going on over here. My MCAT was much lower than expected, and since my application was already verified, I decided to cast a wide net and give this cycle a shot. I don't regret it one bit—I'm going to be a doc!
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I better start pulling some OT. 
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For me, it took awhile to fill out secondaries (they are tiring) when I started getting a lot of II's I didn't feel the need to fill out secondaries for some primaries that were further away. Also it costs money, I deliberately filled them out in order of preference to make sure I got the ones I thought I was A. most competitive for, B. Location was desirable, and C. Cost of tuition was less.
Also with 2 or 3 MD programs I applied to, I discovered after the primary that I wasn't competitive as an OOS (i.e. I was above the 10 percentile, but not good for an OOS student), also one program I thought would consider me instate, did not because of the part of Florida I am from. The 2 DO I didn't fill out were do to preferential reasons I wasn't aware of during the primary and they sent me their secondaries later than everyone else/they were really long, and expensive. So that is how that happens. I probably shouldn't have applied to any MD outside of my own state and Loma Linda (which I am target demographic).
Money is a big issue in secondaries, especially with the way that schools release them (some release much faster than others, etc.). You will see it happen when you apply. Sometimes you think that you need to apply to a bunch of schools cause your not sure how they will view your app. Its really a crapshoot. I would not have predicted that I would get the amount of II's I did before this season started. I also predicted that I would have more success at nearby DO than I actually did. I only applied to 5 schools originally, and somewhat thought I would get my pick of the DO schools in Fl/Al/GA. I wasn't actually accepted to any of them. And PCOM-GA wouldn't take my LOR so I didn't do their secondary.
Yes. I was naive and apple to all but 3 schools. I then realized a lot of schools I really should not have bothered applying to. I sent every secondary except for 3 or 4 I think. Some schools surprisingly didn't even offer me a secondary. Do your research before applying! Had I done this I probably could have saved a couple hundred. I have my acceptance though and am glad I don't have to worry about it anymore.
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$8,000 total...
On the good side, I'm in and now it is up to me to get there...6 digits income in 7 yrs.
On the good side, I'm in and now it is up to me to get there...6 digits income in 7 yrs.
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I applied to 16 DO and 12 MD, sent ~22 secondaries (was a ludicrous amount of essay writing since most of them arrived within the same week or so 
), I got 16 II (14 DO, 2 MD), went to 3 interviews, 2 of which required air travel. I was accepted at all 3 and cancelled the rest of my interviews. The total including travel and a new suit was a little over $5000. My stats were fairly high on the DO side of things, so I probably could have scaled back how many I applied to, however, I was already on a gap year and did not want to risk anything to chance.
), I got 16 II (14 DO, 2 MD), went to 3 interviews, 2 of which required air travel. I was accepted at all 3 and cancelled the rest of my interviews. The total including travel and a new suit was a little over $5000. My stats were fairly high on the DO side of things, so I probably could have scaled back how many I applied to, however, I was already on a gap year and did not want to risk anything to chance.
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I didn't fill out all of my secondaries because I applied so late that I just figured it was going to be a waste of money. There are also people who fill out secondaries throughout the cycle based on priority and get interviews before all of their secondaries are complete.
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Applied for c/o 2018.
In total it cost me close to $6k. Applied to about 20 schools and filled out 3/4 of those secondaries.
It really depends on where you live. My home state had 2 med schools and 3 others were within a 8 hour driving radius. If you live on the east coast the travel considerations would be different.
I had at least 1 interview per week for 8 weeks until I started withdrawing. Placed a school I didn't like very much first so I could practice my interviewing skills. Think of it as a fee for interview training. The schools I liked were right in the middle and the mid tier schools were at the end. If I hadn't gotten accepted to a school I really liked I would have just called the safety schools and asked to move my interview date earlier.
The reason I scrunched them all together was so that I could get my decisions early and only pay 1 deposit. The deposits are what really drain the budget.
@O Grady had a high risk high reward method. 2 interviews at his top choices and both turned into acceptances. I wouldn't follow that method unless you have his stats.
In total it cost me close to $6k. Applied to about 20 schools and filled out 3/4 of those secondaries.
It really depends on where you live. My home state had 2 med schools and 3 others were within a 8 hour driving radius. If you live on the east coast the travel considerations would be different.
I had at least 1 interview per week for 8 weeks until I started withdrawing. Placed a school I didn't like very much first so I could practice my interviewing skills. Think of it as a fee for interview training. The schools I liked were right in the middle and the mid tier schools were at the end. If I hadn't gotten accepted to a school I really liked I would have just called the safety schools and asked to move my interview date earlier.
The reason I scrunched them all together was so that I could get my decisions early and only pay 1 deposit. The deposits are what really drain the budget.
@O Grady had a high risk high reward method. 2 interviews at his top choices and both turned into acceptances. I wouldn't follow that method unless you have his stats.
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I would only recommend this to someone if they apply within the first 2-3 months. You don't want to be writing secondaries in November-December.
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Yea... I was writing secondaries in February haha
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I did 18 osteopathic schools on the primary, I submitted 9 secondaries, and applied to 47 allopathic schools, completed 37 secondaries, had 8 II and attended 6 of them. Between all of the application fees (primary, secondary), flights and deposits (I had to do a 2000 nonrefundable at NSU) i spent close to 12500.
Mine might have been extremely expensive because as a CA resident, flying across the country is a 350-600 round trip ticket. I also had to fly to interviews that were within a 6 hour driving distance because I was limited on the amount of time I could take off work.
Mine might have been extremely expensive because as a CA resident, flying across the country is a 350-600 round trip ticket. I also had to fly to interviews that were within a 6 hour driving distance because I was limited on the amount of time I could take off work.
