how many schools?

[collegegrad]

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i have been told that, with my stats, i am an average applicant by an admissions counselor. (3.0 gpa, upper-80's pcat). ideally, i would just need to apply for 1 school and get accepted to that school but that is not always the case. if anyone was in my shoes, how many schools would you apply for? I am actually looking at 16 but im realizing that i need to cut down.

see i could just apply to, like, 20 schools...... but that would just be terrible to my pocket, lol.

 

[IrishOats]

I'm kind of in the same boat as you stats-wise, but I'm not applying until next year, after I finish my undergrad degree. I think applying to somewhere between 5 and 8 schools would be reasonable. Definitely apply to your in-state school(s) if it interests you or you would be willing to go there, since you will likely have an advantage being a resident of the state. Those of us with more average stats really need to make the other parts of our applications shine (LORs, extracurriculars, strong personal statement, etc).

 

[GT500]

Apply to as many schools within your budget range. The worst case scenario is you spend more than you should have. I am sure you will be offered interviews and acceptances if you apply to 10 schools because your PCAT is high enough. Also, if you are applying to schools out of state make sure those pharmacy schools are private schools.

 

[evilolive]

It depends - if you apply to the most competitive schools, then more is always a safer shot. Then again, the word competitive itself is subject to relativity of the applicant pool, residency status, and your personal strengths as an applicant.

 

[YiYaoYue]

If you don't have any money problems just send it out and get whatever you can done.

If you have money problems, pharmcas allows you to add (not delete for refund) schools after submitting, so submit to your top 8 or so then after completing them (sending out supps w/ money and anything else they ask) send out more by adding in pharmcas if you feel you have time and energy to keep going with sending out additional supplementals.

 

[jyw003]

It depends - if you apply to the most competitive schools, then more is always a safer shot. Then again, the word competitive itself is subject to relativity of the applicant pool, residency status, and your personal strengths as an applicant.

must say...this is quite on the dot. hah...i am applying to 7 schools and I am on similar boat. although I have had friends in the past apply to 15+ schools....crazy ppl...

just don't go crazy like some of my med school friends...i had one friend who applied to 28 med schools...

 

[collegegrad]

why would schools give preference to in-state applicants over out-of-state applicants? this i have always been wondering....

(also, its great to know there are more people in the same boat as me. i dont feel alone now. lol)

 

[YiYaoYue]

why would schools give preference to in-state applicants over out-of-state applicants? this i have always been wondering....

(also, its great to know there are more people in the same boat as me. i dont feel alone now. lol)

in state colleges want their graduates to stay in state, because most out of state students go back and since in state paid state tax they also have benefit of getting a cheaper tuition. private schools normally don't care either way.

 

[evilolive]

must say...this is quite on the dot. hah...i am applying to 7 schools and I am on similar boat. although I have had friends in the past apply to 15+ schools....crazy ppl...

just don't go crazy like some of my med school friends...i had one friend who applied to 28 med schools...

I'll admit to filling out 12 on PharmCAS but not going to all the interviews/filling out all the supplementals out of laziness 🙂

 

[RxWildcat]

If you really really really want to get accepted this year, then apply to like 10+ schools. If you only really want to go to 1 or 2 of those schools then apply to those 2, and if you don't get in then work on raising your stats for a year.

 

[collegegrad]

thank you all for clarifying for me! i think i will apply to 10 to be safe.

 

[jpquach87]

thank you all for clarifying for me! i think i will apply to 10 to be safe.

I also had the same question. Good thing I found this thread. I'm in California and a lot of the California schools are really competitive, so I'm thinking of applying to 15+ schools. The only downside is the supplemental applications!
Does anyone have any advice for me? I'm dying with the UCSF supplemental application already (I doubt I have a shot but it's worth a try).

 

[OleMiss2012]

The first two years I applied, I only applied to schools in my home state. The third year, I applied to schools in my home state and about 6 out of state schools. Again, I interviewed at every school except two that I applied to. And again, my home state schools all rejected me. However, I got accepted to two out of state schools the first time I applied to them.

I will tell you....the more schools you apply to the better your chances of getting accepted. Apply everywhere. You'll be very busy flying/driving to interviews. During March and April, I think there was only one week that I didn't have any interviews. Some weeks during that time I had two interviews and had to fly to both. I was also finishing up my pre-reqs.

I was so tired by the end of April, but it was definitely worth it!! I was bound and determined to get in somewhere this time. I am extremely happy that Ole Miss was one of the two schools where I was accepted. It was in my top two choices!

Apply everywhere.

 

[transzincIIB]

I'm worried about how many schools as well. I've been checking the archives and I saw a link where in people only applied to 3-4 schools. They get interviews and atleast one of those schools they were accepted. What is the common number of applying to schools? Is there any stats page?

 

[jyw003]

i think it that will depend on stats too tho...ppl that apply to 3-4 schools are quite hopeful and must have strong stats....

 

[veritaserum]

i wonder if i am being overconfident. so far i've submitted the pharmcas applications to only 5 schools - touro (CA), univ of the pacific, midwestern glendale, LECOM erie, and UB. my gpa is pretty terrible, 3.12 cumulative, but i have a biochem degree from uc davis so i don't know if that makes it better? i have a good amount of volunteering experience, 10 wks each in 2 different pharmacies, some community service from being a part of a service fraternity, joined a couple non-academic cultural clubs on campus, but very little leadership experience. still waiting on aug pcat scores. can anyone give me insight into what my chances are? if i should apply to more schools? how did you decide which schools to apply to?

 

[jyw003]

i wonder if i am being overconfident. so far i've submitted the pharmcas applications to only 5 schools - touro (CA), univ of the pacific, midwestern glendale, LECOM erie, and UB. my gpa is pretty terrible, 3.12 cumulative, but i have a biochem degree from uc davis so i don't know if that makes it better? i have a good amount of volunteering experience, 10 wks each in 2 different pharmacies, some community service from being a part of a service fraternity, joined a couple non-academic cultural clubs on campus, but very little leadership experience. still waiting on aug pcat scores. can anyone give me insight into what my chances are? if i should apply to more schools? how did you decide which schools to apply to?

well, your gpa isnt as terrible as you said. holding a BS will give you a little help. is your personal statement strong? a lot of people tell me with a strong personal statement you can go a little further as well...the supplementals are also important so make sure you put some time into those. i went on pharmcas and looked over all the schools...decided if i wanted to do more 3 year programs or 4 year programs. certain schools require other pre-reqs, have gpa minimums of __ and have an average entrance gpa of __. how much each school's tuition is, cost of living...etc. you've gotta do all this research on your own and find out what you really want. if you don't mind where you are going then apply to as many as you want

 

[veritaserum]

thanks jyw003. i did put a lot of consideration into the 5 schools i chose, that's why there's so few, because i'm picky. as for personal statement, i asked my school's health sciences advisor and my friend who's at uop, and they both liked it... i don't know, i feel like luck is going to be a huge factor too.

 

[alenadoma]

Hi everyone,

I am also in a similar boat. I have about a 3.3 cumulative undergrad GPA (My degree is in Biomedical Sciences), my PCAT is high 80s, and I am finishing up my Master's in Cancer Control and Prevention (my current Graduate GPA is about 3.4) this year. I esubmitted my application today, to 9 schools..but my #1 choice is definitely UB. Does anyone have any insight on supplementals, interviews, or what they think of my chances?

Thanks, I'm so nervous about all of this!!