How much did it cost you to apply to med school?

[Farrah]

I am saving up so that I can apply for med school. I"m planning on applying to at least 20 schools b/cause I don't know about my chances. I know the process is fairly expensive but I was wondering how much money you all spent in the application process.

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[jlee9531]

43 schools and it has cost a bit over 5000 dollars.

for each school there is the primary app fee, secondary app fee, sending LORs fee and on occasion mailing the sec app fee (if you send priority mail like i did it adds up)

this is not even including the interview costs.

for each school you apply to...just to be on the safe side...set aside around 120-150 dollars for each school...this is just an average figure that I came up that includes the above fees...not including interview costs.

 

[Farrah]

are there any fee waivers?

 

[SoulRFlare]

Jlee...you applied to 43 schools?? I thought I held the record with 31! I imagine it's fun to see peoples' reactions when you tell them how many schools you applied to...

 

[jlee9531]

are there any fee waivers?

yes. You have to apply for it on the AAMC site. it is called the FAP waiver. if you do a search you can find info about it.

but make sure you fill out everything correctly and if you hear conflicting info from the people that work there....make sure you get a clear cut answer to a question before submitting. i was told incorrect information and i submitted it. you can only submit once. and i was rejected even though i knew i should have qualified.

but anyway...luckily members like cerb and peterock have been given the waiver.

i believe on the primary app you can apply up to 10 schools for free or a reduced cost...but thats not the cool part about the FAP...now secondary fees is where we lose a lot of our money. however most schools will waive that fee if you can supply them with the FAP fee waiver approval form. so you can potentially save thousands in that regard...depending on how many schools you are applying to. (talking about it still makes me bitter...grrr damn fap people)

you should apply at least a month before primary app is due because it takes a while to process the waiver request application...like 2 weeks or something.

good luck and i hope you get it. its a great program.

 

[jlee9531]

Jlee...you applied to 43 schools?? I thought I held the record with 31! I imagine it's fun to see peoples' reactions when you tell them how many schools you applied to...

haha 31 is nothing man. thats childs play compared to what a lot of the cali residents have to apply to. i believe 30+ is the average for most cali applicants. there are a good number that break 40 schools and my friend who is also applying this cycle applied to over 60 schools. and people wonder why we have it tough.

yeah they kinda choke or gasp when they hear 40+. since im always around cali applicants i thought 43 wasnt too high...that is until i came on sdn and read the range of schools other students apply to (noncali...) like...10s and low 20s at the most.

 

[doepug]

4 years ago, I spent $7000.

Between AMCAS and secondary fees, plane tickets, rental cars, hotel rooms, a new suit, and other expenses, things add up fast! I applied to about 25 schools and interviewed at about 10.

BTW -- It gets worse for residency.

 

[jlee9531]

4 years ago, I spent $7000.

Between AMCAS and secondary fees, plane tickets, rental cars, hotel rooms, a new suit, and other expenses, things add up fast! I applied to about 25 schools and interviewed at about 10.

BTW -- It gets worse for residency.

no need to bring us down before we even start med now haha.

but yeah ive heard...its MUCH worse than med school apps.

 

[mlw03]

21 primaries, 17 secondaries (i think), 9 interviews (3 of which were "free" because they were driven to)... ~ $5500

 

[Kalel]

I think that I spent ~$2-3,000 total applying for 12 schools for med school. I was able to find some good flight deals (back when TWA was still in business and had student discounts, also used southwest). AMCAS and those secondaries are expensive, I can't imagine the people involved not making money on that whole process. Fortunately, for residency app's, ERAS is much cheaper and there are usually no secondaries to be filled out or any secondary fees; the main cost comes from travel. Some places will even pay for your hotel depending on the specialty (I had 2 out of 8 interviews pay for my hotel in IM). Anyways, I'd definitely try to have at least $5,000 extra sitting in your bank account during your senior year of college and med school to pay for these costs.

 

[Cerberus]

Thank god for FAP

 

[snapdad]

I think it came to roughly $2600 for me. 15 AMCAS apps, 11 secondaries, 6 interview offers, of which I went to three because I ran out of cash for plane tickets and hotel rooms. I did manage to save some money at times; I spent a lot of time haunting the discount plane fare websites, and got my suit at a thrift store for something like $30 (pretty nice suit, too).

 

[hsouth]

12 primary applications, 8 secondary applications, new suit, travel to 4 interviews (drove to 3, only stayed in 1 hotel), time off from work etc etc - About $2000 (oh, plus the Kaplan class I took and the MCAT fee - twice!)

~Hilary

 

[English Chick]

I'm guessing I win for least amount spent this cycle. I figure I spent about $300 total - and that counts the new shoes I bought for my interview. I applied to two schools, sent in one secondary, and went to one interview (about a mile from where I live) wearing a suit I already owned. Oh, but I did get a parking ticket that day. So the real total is $335 ...

(But I'm sure I spent thousands when I applied to 20 or so schools two years ago!)

 

[Farrah]

jlee, you're record's history dude. I'm applying to 93 allo schools this June. What can I say, I have a lot of free time...

93! How much is that going to cost you!

 

[derf]

farrah, money is no obstacle if your dream is medicine. I'm a Ca resident and I'm convinced that I'm better safe than sorry.

 

[Farrah]

derf deleted that post i was referring to....i highly doubt anyone is capable of applying to that many schools unless they have staff working for them. in fact i like the idea of having people work for me when it comes to the application process... maybe i might try something...

 

[patzan]

I sent back 17 secondaries and spent ~$6000 total. Flights from where I live are all expensive (8 interviews) - distance from your interviews is definitely a factor in overall cost.

 

[derf]

derf deleted that post i was referring to....i highly doubt anyone is capable of applying to that many schools unless they have staff working for them. in fact i like the idea of having people work for me when it comes to the application process... maybe i might try something...

Farrah, I'm not sure I understand, is it possible for others to interview for you?

 

[creverte]

i applied to 7 schools (AMCAS and secondaries) costing app. $600 and then i went to 5 different interviews costing about $1,500

i would set aside at least $1500 to $2000

good luck

 

[elias514]

I applied to 7 schools, interviewed at 5, and I spent approximately $3000. The process is very expensive, especially if you apply to schools outside your state of residence. The airfare is by far the most expensive part of it. My best advice is to fly Southwest and take advantage of the Saturday night stayover--it significantly reduces the cost of airfare. Also, you should stay with med students.

 

[BubbleBobble]

haha 31 is nothing man. thats childs play compared to what a lot of the cali residents have to apply to. i believe 30+ is the average for most cali applicants. there are a good number that break 40 schools and my friend who is also applying this cycle applied to over 60 schools. and people wonder why we have it tough.

yeah they kinda choke or gasp when they hear 40+. since im always around cali applicants i thought 43 wasnt too high...that is until i came on sdn and read the range of schools other students apply to (noncali...) like...10s and low 20s at the most.

Why do people from CA apply to so many schools? I understand the need to apply to all of your state schools, but that only accounts for a dozen or so.

I guess it would make more sense to me if CA people applied to 20-ish schools, which is 10-ish more than non-CA people (I applied to 12, WA resident).

 

[Farrah]

so on average people have to save $2000 for applying? that is about the price of my ghetto car, i guess i'll need to sell it to afford applying

 

[labfiend]

sent AMCAS to 19, 13 secondaries, 8 interviews (of which 3 involved flights) for a total of ~2k (of which a good part was one cross-country flight...)

I think ~2k is pretty normal, if you keep in mind that AMCAS is $130 (or was it $150?) for the first school and $30 for each subsequent school, and secondaries average about $80 apiece. Interviews vary widely, but definitely stay with students and drive/take Southwest if possible. I'd also say apply early and try to apply to some places that will let you know early so you can save money by withdrawing from other schools pre-secondary or pre-interview if you get in.

 

[jlee9531]

farrah, money is no obstacle if your dream is medicine. I'm a Ca resident and I'm convinced that I'm better safe than sorry.

hey if i remember correctly...your #s are good...you just need solid ECs etc...
i dont think you need to apply to 93. you might actually die from exhaustion. 43 was HAAARD man. i think if you are worried...30-40 for you would be fine. honestly. you need a corporation to bust up 93 schools. dont go overboard bro....

im just lookin out for ya.

 

[Peterock]

Fee Waiver.

$0 for 8 schools' primary/secondary.
$85 for the MCAT.
$200 for a round trip flight.

play the game play the game play the game

 

[docjolly]

43 schools and it has cost a bit over 5000 dollars.

for each school there is the primary app fee, secondary app fee, sending LORs fee and on occasion mailing the sec app fee (if you send priority mail like i did it adds up)

this is not even including the interview costs.

for each school you apply to...just to be on the safe side...set aside around 120-150 dollars for each school...this is just an average figure that I came up that includes the above fees...not including interview costs.

Jlee,

My gosh! I've never heard of such a high number (Although I myself will be applying to 25+ med. schools). Just one question for you: how did you manager all of those secondaries? were you ever asked by an interviewer how many schools you applied to?

 

[jlee9531]

Jlee,

My gosh! I've never heard of such a high number (Although I myself will be applying to 25+ med. schools). Just one question for you: how did you manager all of those secondaries? were you ever asked by an interviewer how many schools you applied to?

it was tough since i worked till about midnight every day and so the only real time i had to work on secondaries were late at night. id get home a bit past midnight...check email and all that jazz and would try and start my secondaries around 1am...work till i couldnt go no more...around 4-5am...then sleep till about 11...and do work for a few more hours before i had to get ready for work at 2pm. i had a bit more time on the weekend so i was basically bound at home for the next few months. "luckily" i got rejected presecondary to about 3 places so I ended up completing 39 secondaries.

you gotta make sure you dont slack off with it or else its gonna keep on building up and up...and thats when it gets bad. but as long as you are consistent with keeping up the work...you will be fine...somewhat tired...but fine .

and i think one school asked me how many i applied to...and i just said that i applied to a large number of schools...and he asked if it was because i was from california...and so he understood...but for the most part schools tend to ask where we have interviewed or got accepted...

 

[drlexygoat]

Friend of mine applied to 37 schools --- and still hasn't gotten in.
I tried to tell him to retake the MCAT but he was confident that his 25 and a 3.6 would get him into an MD program.

 

[Lion-O]

Cost at least $2000. If you get an early acceptance, it will definitely save you some money; you'll be able to withdraw from schools you know you won't attend.

 

[jlee9531]

Friend of mine applied to 37 schools --- and still hasn't gotten in.
I tried to tell him to retake the MCAT but he was confident that his 25 and a 3.6 would get him into an MD program.

yeah that 25 is pretty shaky...but the rest of his app must be strong if he is that confident about getting into an MD school. but i think your advice was very sound. he should have listened to you about retaking the mcat. even a couple point improvement could have made a huge difference.

 

[Alexander99]

haha 31 is nothing man. thats childs play compared to what a lot of the cali residents have to apply to. i believe 30+ is the average for most cali applicants. there are a good number that break 40 schools and my friend who is also applying this cycle applied to over 60 schools. and people wonder why we have it tough.

60 schools?! Isn't that close to half of all the MD schools in the U.S.? I think that's excessive, CA or not. I applied to 24 myself and in retrospect, I feel like 20 would have been a good amount (I'm no superstar applicant.) Our school has a handout and it says the average CA applicant applies to anywhere from 15-20 schools.

 

[jlee9531]

60 schools?! Isn't that close to half of all the MD schools in the U.S.? I think that's excessive, CA or not. I applied to 24 myself and in retrospect, I feel like 20 would have been a good amount (I'm no superstar applicant.) Our school has a handout and it says the average CA applicant applies to anywhere from 15-20 schools.

yes that is about half, but considering gpa and mcat...and after the initial shock it was reasonable...2 interviews from schools that was just randomly added to the list. so it was worth it.

 

[Baditude]

I am over $10,000 in the hole after considering travel expenses. I applied to 20 schools and recieved 18 secondaries.

 

[ventulus18]

5k+ for me

 

[drlexygoat]

Around 5k (19 MD, 3 DO, 20 secondaries, several out of state interviews and 2 in state ones)

 

[Eraserhead]

I'd say 5K sounds reasonable, probably more though.

 

[SMW]

About a cool ten grand 2 years ago, with some change for a reapplication this time around. That included MCAT prep class and fee, application and secondary fees for 23 schools, interview duds, travel expenses for a dozen interviews. Of course, travel from Alaska is more expensive.

 

[Blade28]

Hmmm...think I applied to around 20-25 schools, so that's $2,000 right there. Then extra costs for secondaries, a few interviews (airfare, hotels, etc.)...yikes!

 

[efex101]

10K and I applied to 32 on AMCAS sent in 30 secondaries went on 11 interviews

 

[summervacation]

Hi Farrah,

I too was really worried about money before I applied, but I there's an excellent strategy you can use to keep the costs down. Try to apply early to rolling admissions schools that are high on your list. This way if you get in early (read: Oct-Nov), then you can avoid some secondaries and interview costs at schools you're less interested in.

Using this strategy, I applied to 16 schools on the AMCAS, completed 12 secondaries, and interviewed at 7 schools. The total cost was $2,500.

In addition, if you're booking an expensive cross-country flight, try to coordinate with a couple schools in the area to have your interviews on the same week/weekend. Always stay with a student host to eliminate pricey hotel costs and get discounted plane tickets online from Expedia, etc.

Best of luck to you!
sv

P.S. you might want to change the poll categories to <$1,000, $1,000-2,500, $2,500-4,000, $4,000-$5,500, and $5,500+ to give you a better idea of what to expect.

 

[spinestudent]

I know a good number of people that have spent less than 500 dollars(not including mcat prep/fees). I spent 650 or so on the amcas primary, probably 400 or so on secondaries, 50 or so on lor service costs, and another 400 or so on lodging/travel costs. So about 1500 total. That doesn't include shoes/suits, but I don't think it's fair to count that since I eventually needed a suit anyway and I'll wear it a lot more.

I applied to too many schools. If I was going to select 12-13 schools on my amcas primary, I should have selected schools that I thought I would probably go to over my state schools. Real dream schools. I wasn't going to go to UVA, MCV, EVMS, Tulane, Miami, UAB, etc after I got in. Should have replaced these with stanford, duke, etc and hoped to snag an interview. If you have a good application and you would rather go to your state school than non-spectactular out of state schools, don't apply there. But for people who are looking to move away, go for it.