how much do you plan on spending for

[numberrronee]

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how much are you spending for mcat prep courses as well as applying to schools and plane tickets. pretty much everything you can think of to make sure you get into medicine. i know ill spend 2 grand on one of these courses, plus however much for applying, but just round off your final price for everything

 

[dd128]

how much are you spending for mcat prep courses as well as applying to schools and plane tickets. pretty much everything you can think of to make sure you get into medicine. i know ill spend 2 grand on one of these courses, plus however much for applying, but just round off your final price for everything

I'd guess if you want to count everything, it would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $3,500 to $4,000. Bear in mind this is mostly just interview costs and app fees. Didn't do much in the mcat prep department (as can clearly be seen), so if I have to apply again...oh god I don't even want to think of what the grand total will be 🙁

 

[shiftingmirage]

MCAT Prep 1600
MCAT 210
Primaries 440
Secondaries 910
Total 3160


Gasp! I have never actually totalled my expenses before and thats a crapload of money. My only interview was in the city so I didn't have any traveling expenses but plane tickets can go from 100-400+.

 

[myKuduSlewaZulu]

Everybody's different, but I wouldn't take the MCAT prep classes....they're mostly a waste of money. Just get the materials and study yourself.

 

[Doc Browncoat]

See now, I didn't even know that secondaries cost anything.

Well.. that's prolly because I don't know what secondaries are.

So- how do you go about figuring out what all your costs will be? What am I looking forward to in charges?




Shan

 

[ChubbyChaser]

See now, I didn't even know that secondaries cost anything.

Well.. that's prolly because I don't know what secondaries are.

So- how do you go about figuring out what all your costs will be? What am I looking forward to in charges?




Shan

30 dollars a school. then if the schools send secondaries for you to fill out (most do) then 40-120. Then add interview expenses

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I think my grand total will be in the 4000+ range. With MCAT, a few books forthe MCAT, primaries, secondaries, and hopefully plenty of interviews.

 

[RPedigo]

I'm probably at $4,000 or $5,000, but I'd rather not think about it.

 

[Maxprime]

I'm at about the $3500 mark, expecting it to go to around $4,000 or so. Sadness . . .

 

[Doc Browncoat]

30 dollars a school. then if the schools send secondaries for you to fill out (most do) then 40-120. Then add interview expenses

So I'm looking at shelling out $ for:

DAT
any MCAT prep, be it classes or self-study aids
MCAT
$30 per app
40-1120 per secondary


Interview expenses are what- just travel & lodging?

Am I missing anything?

Shan

 

[ChubbyChaser]

So I'm looking at shelling out $ for:

DAT
any MCAT prep, be it classes or self-study aids
MCAT
$30 per app
40-1120 per secondary


Interview expenses are what- just travel & lodging?

Am I missing anything?

Shan

Thats it, better start saving up!! I guess you want to apply to dental school too?? I dont know how that process works.

 

[Inuranic]

From my own experience, I would prepare to blow $3,000 - $6,000, depending on how many schools you apply to/how many interviews you get. For me, it was something like:

500 - 1000 on MCAT/MCAT prep
790 Primary Applications
100 - 200 Interfolio fees
Uh, 1000 - 1500 secondary fees?
Uh, 2000 - 4000 interview expenses?

Fortunately, with MD-PhD interviews, they reimbursed me about $1000 of travel expenses, and some put me up in hotels automatically so I didn't even worry about that.

 

[shiftingmirage]

Interview expenses are what- just travel & lodging?

Some schools have programs were you can stay with a current student for free so in some instances you wont have to pay for lodging.

 

[Jolie South]

Everybody's different, but I wouldn't take the MCAT prep classes....they're mostly a waste of money. Just get the materials and study yourself.

I think it depends on the situation you are in.

I had been out of college for four years when I started prepping and needed the organization that a class afforded. However, I was working full time, so it was hard for me to do the 'in person' classes. I ended up doing the online thing.

I think it was worth it. I wouldn't have known where to start otherwise. You just can't get the level of practice that you can with kaplan, TPR, etc. They have so many tests and questions that it's impossible to do them all. The pre-made flashcards were great too.


As for total expenses,

$1800 Kaplan online
$200 MCAT
$450 AMCAS
$200 Interfolio expenses
$1200 secondaries
$3000-$4000 for travel expenses and lodging, not even considering the loss of income

Yea, so I spent a lot. $7-8k easy. I did go on a lot of interviews and lived pretty far away from most.

 

[shiftingmirage]

I think it depends on the situation you are in.

Very true. I know personally that had I purchased a book or two and studied solo, I would not have had the discipline to dedicate the appropriate amount of time for studying. I did know that if I shelled out that much money, I would at the very least drag myself to the classes and most likely do some independent learning. I will say I don't think I got my money's worth out of the class, but my score did go up so I don't necessarily regret the decision.

 

[1956Goldtop]

I probably spent about 4,000 so far (and that's with driving to most of my interviews!)

 

[HSTeacher2MD]

Can you get a tax deduction for application expenses?

I applied to 20 schools, filled out secondaries for 17 of them.

CURRENT TOTALS:
MCAT Prep = $1500
MCAT = $120
Primaries = $730
Secondaries = $1500
Interfolio = $100
Flights & Hotels = $425
Deposits = $200 (the ONLY good expense, as they're refundable!)

TOTAL: $4500


...good lord.

 

[kuhlguy]

i have u all beat

total spent: 11K ....

holy crap

 

[130912]

i have u all beat

total spent: 11K ....

holy crap

I thought I had it bad with my ~$4000 total. Geez.

Maybe we should take up a collection to help out a little.

 

[1956Goldtop]

Geeze, how in the world did you end up spending 11k???

 

[87138]

Everybody's different, but I wouldn't take the MCAT prep classes....they're mostly a waste of money. Just get the materials and study yourself.

BINGO.

 

[Maxprime]

Geeze, how in the world did you end up spending 11k???

CA resident with interviews @ Georgetown, Vandy, & Wake - pretty good start on air fare alone.

 

[mvenus929]

Anticipate at least $4000. I'm at the low end... didn't buy an MCAT prep course and spent probably $250 total prepping for that, plus another $210 for the test itself (that's right... right?), then with 4 interviews and 7 schools with secondaries, I've probably spent $2000 on plane tickets and one night in a hotel (the rest of the time I stayed with people on campus), plus all the application fees.

 

[bodonid]

I think I win.

I didn't take an MCAT course.
I applied to only a handful of schools.
I drove to all of my interviews.
I even stayed at a Motel 6.
I will never do that again.

Total cost:
MCAT + AMCAS + Gas + Hotels + School App Fees= ~$775
Get This: The school I am going to doesn't even have an application fee.

 

[wally47]

Like the poster above me said some schools don't have secondary fees, I applied in FL and both UF and FSU had free secondaries, UM was 65 and USF was 30. If you stay away from the private schools then your costs will be much less. For example Georgetown's secondary fee is 150$ ouch. Hindsight, I would have only applied to FL schools.

 

[Doc Browncoat]

Thats it, better start saving up!! I guess you want to apply to dental school too?? I dont know how that process works.

Oh.. no.. not interested in Dental.

I didn't know that was what DAT was for. I'm still kind of lost on a lot of the abbreviations/terms used here. :blush:



Shan

 

[ArchiMed]

~$5000.....yeesh....it's worth it once you get that acceptance though (at least that is what I have been telling myself 🙄!). Good Luck!

 

[beachblonde]

with Kaplan prep + MCAT costs + primaries + secondaries + interview travel I'm at about (a little under) $6000.

and it's looking like there's a definite possibility of reapplication. 🙁

next time, though, I'm not spending $1700 on an mcat class, and I'm applying to fewer schools. Screw the reach schools, I'll stick with my state ones and a few extras.

thank goodness my parents can pay for all of this....I can't imagine trying to do this process without financial support from the parentals.

 

[Jolie South]

with Kaplan prep + MCAT costs + primaries + secondaries + interview travel I'm at about (a little under) $6000.

and it's looking like there's a definite possibility of reapplication. 🙁

next time, though, I'm not spending $1700 on an mcat class, and I'm applying to fewer schools. Screw the reach schools, I'll stick with my state ones and a few extras.

thank goodness my parents can pay for all of this....I can't imagine trying to do this process without financial support from the parentals.

hello credit card debt! though, I wouldn't want my parents to pay either.

Luckily, I've only got about $2500 in debt left to pay off. I'm slowly but surely digging out of the 6-7K.

 

[beachblonde]

hello credit card debt! though, I wouldn't want my parents to pay either.

Luckily, I've only got about $2500 in debt left to pay off. I'm slowly but surely digging out of the 6-7K.

wow. like I said, I can't imagine.

I have the feeling that we're in very different places in our lives, though...I'm still very much dependent on my parents for everything (money, roof, food, etc). the only jobs I've ever had have been during the summer...

 

[Jolie South]

wow. like I said, I can't imagine.

I have the feeling that we're in very different places in our lives, though...I'm still very much dependent on my parents for everything (money, roof, food, etc). the only jobs I've ever had have been during the summer...

well, i don't know about that. my husband and i still live under their roof!

didn't mean to insult you.

 

[beachblonde]

well, i don't know about that. my husband and i still live under their roof!

didn't mean to insult you.

oh, no, you didn't! If I were married, I wouldn't want my parents inserting themselves in my finances (or at least, I would do my best to keep them out). When you get older you gotta have some sort of separation from the parents, I get that. I'm just not quite there yet!

 

[mvenus929]

oh, no, you didn't! If I were married, I wouldn't want my parents inserting themselves in my finances (or at least, I would do my best to keep them out). When you get older you gotta have some sort of separation from the parents, I get that. I'm just not quite there yet!

I'm slowly making my way there. Got my first job this year, and I've paid for most of my application, though my mom footed the bill for a few expenses, like a hotel room when my housing for the night fell through, and a secondary to a school she wanted me to apply to.

 

[Jolie South]

oh, no, you didn't! If I were married, I wouldn't want my parents inserting themselves in my finances (or at least, I would do my best to keep them out). When you get older you gotta have some sort of separation from the parents, I get that. I'm just not quite there yet!

it takes time and mental fortitude. it will happen. even though i'm paying out of my arse for this, i feel good about the independence of it.

 

[SStorm]

Well... let's see here:

1600.............MCAT Prep
850...............AMCAS
~2100...........Secondaries
~2500...........Interviews/travelling costs (I could drive to 4 of my interviews, thank god)

Grand total so far: Around 7k (and probably another 1k of lost work pay, not to mention the interest from credit card debt too). If you were to add up everything, I'm looking at close to 10k with the potential for more.

Lesson of the day kids, don't apply to 25 schools.

 

[Maxprime]

We'll all be poor soon enough. App fees are basically an ante - pay $10k for the "priveledge" to pay another $250k for med school.

 

[Crixivan]

I think I win.

I didn't take an MCAT course.
I applied to only a handful of schools.
I drove to all of my interviews.
I even stayed at a Motel 6.
I will never do that again.

Total cost:
MCAT + AMCAS + Gas + Hotels + School App Fees= ~$775
Get This: The school I am going to doesn't even have an application fee.

Similar story here (without the Motel 6).

I have to say that the SDN/mdapps stories I read are not typical of my colleagues. In the places where only in-state residents are really welcome, it doesn't seem practical to spend so much money on applications unless you are in a highly competative climate for public education (e.g. west coast).

 

[bodonid]

Similar story here (without the Motel 6).

I have to say that the SDN/mdapps stories I read are not typical of my colleagues. In the places where only in-state residents are really welcome, it doesn't seem practical to spend so much money on applications unless you are in a highly competative climate for public education (e.g. west coast).

Word.

Do the Texas schools discriminate against OOS too? Other than Emory, all the GA schools are heavily biased.