General Admissions & OTCAS How many schools to apply too

[Mitch16]

How many schools did you all apply too? I'm worried about the cost of applying to so many schools. I have a 3.4 GPA and a pretty average GRE score

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[eedee]

Hey! I had pretty similar stats and was in the same dilemma last cycle. I applied to 4 schools early on in the cycle, and if I didn't hear back by December, I was gonna apply to 3 more schools. So that way, I didn't spend a ton of money all at once, and had time to save up for more application costs in case the first 4 schools didn't work out. Luckily, I heard back by 3 out of the 4 schools by then.

Just take your time researching each program's admissions standards! I basically kept going through the list of participating programs on OTCAS (https://portal.otcas.org/otcasHelpPages/participating-programs/) for every school til I found schools I felt pretty solid applying to, as well as going through pages and pages of this forum.

 

[CurlyHairedGirl]

I didn't apply early enough in the OTCAS cycle, and so I think about half the schools I applied to didn't even seriously consider my application because they were almost full by the time OTCAS verified. I actually applied to about 20 and got interview invitations for about 6-8. Unfortunately, a number of those invitations were for conflicting dates, and I also got some interview invites after I'd already had to put down a deposit at the school I'm going to.

I got accepted to two schools that didn't interview me, after the point when I'd had to commit to the other school. One was an applicant school and one was a December start date. Both schools required public speaking, and I'd already dropped my public speaking class in order to take Physics, so that left me out. Also since public speaking was a 9 am class at a campus 20 miles away, I was spending over an hour stuck in traffic to get there each day, which was messing up my sleep schedule/physical health/stress level.

Even though a school may say that its deadline isn't until say Feb 1st, I wouldn't wait until then to submit my app in OTCAS. Even if you've applied to 4 other schools with early deadlines, they may take a while to send out acceptances. Many schools with late deadlines actually have rolling admissions and take closer looks at the students who apply early.

 

[Celtics1138]

I had the same stats as well. Last year I applied to only a couple nearby schools and I applied late and I did not get in anywhere. This year I retook anatomy and applied to 7 schools total and I was accepted to four wait-listed at two and denied to one. Apply early! That is a huge plus. And while just applying did cost a lot especially since I had to travel for a lot of interviews, it is now worth it in the end! I would rather be safe than sorry and apply to a handful of schools. Just make sure you apply to realistic ones. If you do not see yourself actually going to a school than there is no need to apply there.

 

[misseureka]

Hi guys,

How early are you all talking about?
If the deadline is December....?
I'm thinking of getting my applications in August? Or Sept?
Thanks!

 

[RedHeadOT]

Hi guys,
I'm thinking of getting my applications in August? Or Sept?
Thanks!

I completed my applications in early September and I think that was around the perfect time.

 

[misseureka]

I completed my applications in early September and I think that was around the perfect time.

OK great thanks.
I'm going to aim to get mine all in before fall classes start then. !

 

[msot4me]

I think 10 is a good number. It's becoming really competitive and even if you think that you're an excellent candidate you really have no idea what they're looking for. The more schools you apply to, the less stressed you will be after the apps are in (at least for me).