How many schools is too many?

[Unmuzzled]

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Hi guys,

 

[zerial]

adcoms don't see how many schools you apply to or which schools those are. if you're willing to do that many secondaries (which is a struggle), then go for it.

 

[Sandey]

I agree with Zerial. Only do that many if you are going to follow through with the secondaries and you can afford the primary and secondary fees. I applied for as many as i could afford and only schools I knew that I would be comfortable attending. And adcoms dont know how many schools you apply to unless you tell them.

 

[shahak49]

However, How to narrow down the list as high as 40 -50 schools?
I have looked down to resident-friendly schools?


So, as the primary questioner said, if LOCATION, MONEY AND TIME are not issue. how to simplify the selection? And, around what number would be considered outrageous?

AK

 

[Unmuzzled]

shahak, i basically looked through the MSAR "novel" and went by what schools accepted people in my GPA range and also let in a decent amount of out of state applicants. that easily narrowed it down to about 30.

 

[shahak49]

Yes Unmuzzled, that's what I did with MSAR. But, I ended up with 42.
The disadvantage with me is - I don't have my MCAT score as I will be taking it in July. So, it's a bit harder!

 

[lrkoehle]

Yes Unmuzzled, that's what I did with MSAR. But, I ended up with 42.
The disadvantage with me is - I don't have my MCAT score as I will be taking it in July. So, it's a bit harder!

You can't hardly do anything without an MCAT score. If it is not good (let's hope this isn't the case), that should narrow it down for you. If it is good, then you can be more selective and choose schools you think you will be happy at.

 

[schismal]

Yes Unmuzzled, that's what I did with MSAR. But, I ended up with 42.
The disadvantage with me is - I don't have my MCAT score as I will be taking it in July. So, it's a bit harder!

I'd recommend applying only to your state schools now, presuming that you'll do so regardless of MCAT, and adding the rest after your score has been posted and you're able to refine your list accordingly. I had to do the same because of a late July MCAT.

 

[NeuroChaos]

adcoms don't see how many schools you apply to or which schools those are. if you're willing to do that many secondaries (which is a struggle), then go for it.

The difficulty of secondaries is over rated; What you really need is 5 solid generic essays of 1 page each and you are good to go. Believe it or not, you can also make a generic essay for why XYZ School of medicine.

 

[mmmcdowe]

The difficulty of secondaries is over rated; What you really need is 5 solid generic essays of 1 page each and you are good to go. Believe it or not, you can also make a generic essay for why XYZ School of medicine.

I agree more or less. It is a long process though. I applied to about 30 schools, and I probably wrote 10 unique essays and 15 combinations/shortenings/lengthenings of said essays. If you are going to sit there and revise, revise, revise, it will take you months. I personally wrote every essay with no revision except for spell checking and grammar, going through 2-3 applications a day. It worked for me, except maybe at cornell where I foolishly told them I wanted their connections and influencial name . It was like my last application and I was so over it...

 

[TexanGirl]

The difficulty of secondaries is over rated; What you really need is 5 solid generic essays of 1 page each and you are good to go. Believe it or not, you can also make a generic essay for why XYZ School of medicine.

Yes, you may also want to look at the secondary prompts released from the previous cycle to see which school's prompts overlap and decide from there.

 

[witness23]

I agree more or less. It is a long process though. I applied to about 30 schools, and I probably wrote 10 unique essays and 15 combinations/shortenings/lengthenings of said essays. If you are going to sit there and revise, revise, revise, it will take you months. I personally wrote every essay with no revision except for spell checking and grammar, going through 2-3 applications a day. It worked for me, except maybe at cornell where I foolishly told them I wanted their connections and influencial name . It was like my last application and I was so over it...

agreed. it gets difficult during the waiting period for interviews and acceptances. the amount of time you wait is longer than the amount of time it takes you to write those secondaries. while you are gonna end up using a generic template, you will start to feel that you wish you tailored the prompts to each school after your interviews.

 

[SnarkyMD]

It's all about your chances, which as many have pointed out, are very much based on you MCAT score. Even with shoddy numbers, I can't imagine the cost and time of applying to 42 schools (or the necessity - you shouldn't have to apply to 42 schools for 1 acceptance).

Instead, set a limit for yourself before you even start parsing down your list before you apply. I said 15 schools, but I think 20 might be on par. You just have to be smart about applying to schools in your range. Targetting your range is better than "broadly." It's okay not to apply to Harvard.

(P.S.) a tough to hear word of advice, but note that everyone believes they have "lots of clinical exp, research, etc."

 

[shahak49]

Thanks everyone for your responses!
I agree! Yoou do make a logical point. And, eventhough I have good GPA likewise everyone lese...I am assuming my MCAT will be average or below average for sure....I guess I will narrow down to like 30 schools...Should I also apply to DO schools? Like 2 or 3 in state? Or just go with additional 2 or 3 low range MD school?

It's all about your chances, which as many have pointed out, are very much based on you MCAT score. Even with shoddy numbers, I can't imagine the cost and time of applying to 42 schools (or the necessity - you shouldn't have to apply to 42 schools for 1 acceptance).

Instead, set a limit for yourself before you even start parsing down your list before you apply. I said 15 schools, but I think 20 might be on par. You just have to be smart about applying to schools in your range. Targetting your range is better than "broadly." It's okay not to apply to Harvard.

(P.S.) a tough to hear word of advice, but note that everyone believes they have "lots of clinical exp, research, etc."

 

[Disinence2]

I know this has been said before. But as a reminder...

Don't apply to ANY school that you wouldn't realistically be happy going to!

 

[jackson1]

Thanks everyone for your responses!
I agree! Yoou do make a logical point. And, eventhough I have good GPA likewise everyone lese...I am assuming my MCAT will be average or below average for sure....I guess I will narrow down to like 30 schools...Should I also apply to DO schools? Like 2 or 3 in state? Or just go with additional 2 or 3 low range MD school?

I think it really depends what exactly your MCAT score ends up being. If it's in the high 20's I would add a few DO schools, but low 30s plus a good GPA should get you in to an MD school (assuming you have volunteering, shadowing, etc).

 

[MossPoh]

I applied to 30+ as a weak applicant. It sucked...a lot. Its expensive, time consuming and frankly, it is hard to keep track of your status with each one. I had to create an excel spreadsheet just so I remembered. Then when interview season comes, if you're paranoid like me, you go on a ton of interviews and put classes on the backburner. It gets real stressful. If you're a weak applicant then do it but otherwise, try to narrow it down.