I Only Applied to 6 Schools

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Son of a Sailor

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Most people who post have applied to 20+ schools. Unfortunately I cannot afford to do so. Am I a complete fool for only applying to 6 schools. I only applied to schools where my stats were competitive, however.
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That's what I did the first time I applied. I thought my stats would get me in somewhere, but it didn't work out.

I think you should apply to at least 5 more.

It's actually cheaper to add schools now than have to go through this process all over again.
 
I applied to seven schools, interviewed at five, and was accepted to three. I applied to schools where I knew I would be competitive, but that I also liked. When you apply to a school, you need to consider if you would really attend if accepted. Try to picture yourself attending the school.

Applying to six schools seems to be on the low side when compared to most people. However, if you are confident, work hard on secondaries, are careful in whom you select to write recommendation letters, and prep well for interviews, you might be ok. Saving money is good, of course, but if you are somewhat worried about your chances of gaining entrance to a school, then by all means, apply to several more, and increase your chances.

Work hard, and good luck!
 
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Wow, two frighteningly different veiwpoints.
 
Better safe than sorry. Its only $30 for every extra school, right?
 
Assembler said:
Better safe than sorry. Its only $30 for every extra school, right?
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Not really. Add $50-100 for the secondary. Then, if you get an interview, $500-1,500 for that.
 
$500-1500 for an interview? that seeems a bit steep
 
That's about right for the interview cost. Plane tickets, food, hotels, etc... all add up.

You also won't get interviews at every school you apply to, so it's definitely worth applying to as many as you can afford (up to ~15 that is)
 
I spent approximately $2000 for all five of my interviews (travel, food, hotel).
 
you can always turn down interviews, but if you don't submit the intial app to them, you'll never get that interview. i'm all for spending lots of money up front to maximize chances. look at it this way, the total bill for med school will be about 120K, 5 more schools or a starter fee of 5*30 = 150. true there are secondary fees, but that's at most another 500. plus if you are strapped, you can arrange to have fees waved.
 
I found out that I can commute to most schools in NY via metro north :clap: I can pack a lunch :D
 
I only applied to eight or so. If you can pick out the schools in the sweet spot, ones you can get into and want to go to, then just apply to those.
 
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I plan on applying to 15 schools: 5 that are a somewhat of a stretch, 5 where I feel I have a good shot at, and 5 that are so-called safety schools. I don't know if that's a great plan, but I think its structured enough so I force myself to only apply to schools in each category that I would like to go to.
 
I applied to more than I really can afford. It's my motivation to bust my ass this summer. I hope it works out okay.
 
I weighed myself on several scales. It's official. I am fat :(
 
Well, lets look at it 'backwards'...

# of med schools you will attend = 1
source/proof --> you have only one body

---- No matter what, you can only matriculate at 1 school, though you may transfer later... -----

# of med schools you will have to decide upon post interview = 3
source/proof --> No 2 med schools are alike. Trust me.

---- After the interviews (no matter how many) you can/should narrow down your choices to at least 3 that eventually accept you. No 2 medical schools are the same. They may be similar, but after visiting the campus and talking with students and faculty, you will probably find at most 3 which you can realistically see yourself happy attending. The trick is, make good use of your interview day to find out all you can about what its really like at the school. From there, good luck choosing between them.

# of medical schools you will have to decide upon pre interview/AMCAS stage = 6

---- Yup, thats right, 6. I'm sure even those who applied to over 30 schools only have 5-6 where they really want to go and feel reasonably certain they have the stats. They just fill up their list with other places they think they are sure to get into (but really wouldn't like to go to), places they would be ecstatic if they got into (but know they really don't have much of a chance), places all their friends applied to ( but they would realistically not want to move all the way to the West Coast to attend) and the 'usual suspect' schools. If all you want is to have an MD after your name, thats fine. If you are certain what type of qualities you are looking to gain as a physician, then only a number of schools should appeal to you. Factoring in how competitive you know are, how much you are willing to pay and how far you are willing to move, you will find only 5-6 schools match you. Just do your research well. How often have you heard of people choosing not to submit secondaries to certain schools after sending them the AMCAS. Just do your research and be realistic.

# of schools to consider submitting the AMCAS to = 20

---- Thats a reasonable number. Using various sources, you should be able to select 20 schools to consider for your AMCAS. Using all factors (hearsay, stats, location etc), you can easily come up with 20 schools that match what you are looking for.

Conclusion: As long as you do your research well, 6 is a reasonable number of medical schools to apply to. You will be using more time (doing the research) for the money you will be saving.

My 2 cents on that.
 
Originally Posted by NubianPrincess
I weighed myself on several scales. It's official. I am fat :(
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OMG :laugh: :laugh: where the hell did that come from?! :D

i'm sure you're damn fine, so don't worry about it!

ah, the unraveling of our sanity...this process is a trip, isn't it? ;)

P.S.: "Peter's friend" is Cleveland. Family Guy returns 6/05!!! :cool:
 
I applied to ten and ended up withdrawing from three of those, so really I only applied to 7. Location is very important to me and that limited my options. I would be miserable at a school that's far from home or too cold. If you only apply to 6, you probably won't get to revel in telling people how hard it is deciding between 4 med schools. But that's survivable. When it all boils down, you only need one acceptance.

Also, my pre-med advisor recommends applying to 6. No more; no less.
 
Last year, I applied to 7 schools. I received 7 secondaries, 5 interviews (Cornell, Columbia, Wash U, Tufts, U of AZ), rejected at 3, accepted at Tufts (too $$$ for me to go considering I didn't like it), and 1 waitlist (Wash U). I am reapplying this year with 24 schools. I was stupid not to give myself more options. I selected a much broader range of schools and have subsequently had an a$$-load of secondaries to fill out and pay for, but in the end, I'll be attending a school on my terms, not just because it was the only option.

And before you flame me about not taking my acceptance, and other vitriolic BS, I decided it wasn't worth $250K to go somewhere I didn't like.


Summary: It's worth the pain to apply to as many schools as you can - otherwise you run the risk of applying a second time, like me.
 
McP said:
Also, my pre-med advisor recommends applying to 6. No more; no less.
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Since when did premed advisors know what they were talking about?
 
SticknRudder said:
<snip>And before you flame me about not taking my acceptance, and other vitriolic BS, I decided it wasn't worth $250K to go somewhere I didn't like.
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Contrariwise, that's one of the braver things I've ever read here. Congratulations and best wishes this cycle.

My advisor suggested 30 schools, so that's how many I selected. But, of course, it completely depends on the applicant. I have a unique situation. 6 may be perfect for the "typical" candidate, if such a thing exists.
 
even though my stats are pretty good, i still applied to a baker's dozen. i couldn't settle on anything less than that and still cover all my bases ("safety schools", "reach schools", and those in-betweeen). even at 13, i feel like i cut my list down a bit too much. oh well. if you cover all of your bases with only 6 or 7, that's gotta feel good. :smuggrin: much luck to all!
 
Don't worry. I m in the same boat. I m also applying to 6 schools!

We will be fine. No point in wasting whole buncha money.
 
One of my friends only applied to 2 schools.. and he ended up getting into one of them. Now that is what I call luck :)
 
SticknRudder said:
Last year, I applied to 7 schools. I received 7 secondaries, 5 interviews (Cornell, Columbia, Wash U, Tufts, U of AZ), rejected at 3, accepted at Tufts (too $$$ for me to go considering I didn't like it), and 1 waitlist (Wash U). I am reapplying this year with 24 schools. I was stupid not to give myself more options. I selected a much broader range of schools and have subsequently had an a$$-load of secondaries to fill out and pay for, but in the end, I'll be attending a school on my terms, not just because it was the only option.

And before you flame me about not taking my acceptance, and other vitriolic BS, I decided it wasn't worth $250K to go somewhere I didn't like.


Summary: It's worth the pain to apply to as many schools as you can - otherwise you run the risk of applying a second time, like me.
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Depends on the applicant. If you've got the numbers to interview at Wash U, then you're strong enough to apply to a handful of schools and get into one. But as you said, if you have the resources, why limit your choices? It's better to have a good number of acceptances and pick one on your own terms.

Best of Luck
 
wow im applying to 28 MD schools and 10 DO schools....just keeping my options open ;-)
 
i'm applying to one MD school and one DO school. and neither of them are early decision. but i also couldn't afford to apply to more than that so i just have to keep my fingers crossed and prayers sent! you'll be fine! good luck! :thumbup:
 
I'm applying to 18 cause I just keep finding awesome schools I think I'd want to go to!
 
I applied to 4 Allopath last year.

2 invites, 1 acceptance, 1 waitlist.

I also applied to 1 DO, invite and acceptance.

I knew I was competitive, so I was confident that I'd grab at least one. I also didn't submit my amcas until the end of sept and most of my secondaries in Nov.
 
dulcinea said:
i'm applying to one MD school and one DO school. and neither of them are early decision. but i also couldn't afford to apply to more than that so i just have to keep my fingers crossed and prayers sent! you'll be fine! good luck! :thumbup:
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But since it costs $300 just for one app on AMCAS, it would have been more worth your while to either apply to 10 MD schools or10 DO schools (not sure about AACOMAS fees).
 
ummm... how does 40 schools feel like?

Yeah. Too many damn secondaries. They're being taken care of... slowly but surely...

Jason
 
This is such an individual matter. I think if you do your homework, gauge your chances accurately, and know what you want, you can apply to a small number of schools and do just fine. A lot of people prefer to apply to lots of schools because they are unsure of their chances and they don't know exactly what they are looking for, and that's fine, too. I know people who apply to only two schools and get into both, and these are what would be called "average" applicants on here - 3.6, 30 MCAT (although they aren't really average). Granted, it's relatively easy to get into med school in KY. I know of one brave person who applied to only 3 schools - Harvard, Hopkins, and UMich. It worked for him. If you feel confident about what you're doing, go ahead with it.
 
How many schools u apply to depends on ur stats. If your gpa/mcat are competitive then u can apply to 50 schools if that's what floats ur boat...u should catch at least one fish with ur bait if u choose ur schools wisely.

If your stats are low/non-competitive, don't think applying to 50 schools is going to mask ur grades somehow...this is not a lottery (in ur case).
Be realistic, save ur money, and don't waste precious time. Contact the schools, ask about ur chances and make wise decisions.

If u stats are average then u can apply to 15+ (still pick wisely) and cross ur fingers, u should land on ur feet somewhere (assuming u picked wisely).

My mcat stats were borderline average/non competitive. I applied to 6 schools after speaking with the deans, I was invited for interviews at 4, attended 3 of the interviews (declined the last one) and I was accepted at the 3 schools I interviewed at.

I could have applied to 15 schools but with my stats, who was I kidding? It would have been a waste of moohla. And I kept my list limited to the east coast, cause I knew I wasn't willingly to travel to timbuktu medical school in Nowhere, USA.
 
liverotcod said:
Contrariwise, that's one of the braver things I've ever read here. Congratulations and best wishes this cycle.

My advisor suggested 30 schools, so that's how many I selected. But, of course, it completely depends on the applicant. I have a unique situation. 6 may be perfect for the "typical" candidate, if such a thing exists.
Click to expand...

Funny, that word seems straight out of 1984 and the dictionary of NewSpeak.


DoublePlus Good!!
:thumbup:
 
Jason110 said:
ummm... how does 40 schools feel like?

Yeah. Too many damn secondaries. They're being taken care of... slowly but surely...

Jason
Click to expand...
That sounds about right. I agree with you on the secondaries. I don't have a committee letter either, so individual letters it is for me. Oh well, better overkill than having to re-apply.
 
Code Brown said:
That sounds about right. I agree with you on the secondaries. I don't have a committee letter either, so individual letters it is for me. Oh well, better overkill than having to re-apply.
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Hell no - I dont care what your stats are, but forty schools is way too many. Why in the world would anyone apply to that many? Is that person just hoping for some random acceptance into a school that generally accepts students with much higher stats?
 
SanDiegoSOD said:
Hell no - I dont care what your stats are, but forty schools is way too many. Why in the world would anyone apply to that many? Is that person just hoping for some random acceptance into a school that generally accepts students with much higher stats?
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No, my stats are fine. The money is not an issue (I had a really good job up to last year). Just paranoid I guess. Although being a bit older does have some part to do with it, being from California as well, and not being a US citizen could affect it. I just have this worry about having to re-apply. I would rather spend a few extra grand to ensure my piece of mind. Plus, my wife would **** if I didn't get it in and she had to wait another year to have kids (we agreed that we would wait until residency to start a family).
 
Code Brown said:
No, my stats are fine. The money is not an issue (I had a really good job up to last year). Just paranoid I guess. Although being a bit older does have some part to do with it, being from California as well, and not being a US citizen could affect it. I just have this worry about having to re-apply. I would rather spend a few extra grand to ensure my piece of mind. Plus, my wife would **** if I didn't get it in and she had to wait another year to have kids (we agreed that we would wait until residency to start a family).
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Those are all good reasons to be cautious. But there are only so many private schools you can apply to, and being from CA, you really dont have a great chance at many public schools. Your going to do what you want to do, and I wish you the best of luck, but I'm absolutely certain that you could trim a number of schools from that list, considering that your stats are fine.
 
SanDiegoSOD said:
Those are all good reasons to be cautious. But there are only so many private schools you can apply to, and being from CA, you really dont have a great chance at many public schools. Your going to do what you want to do, and I wish you the best of luck, but I'm absolutely certain that you could trim a number of schools from that list, considering that your stats are fine.
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You are probably right about the sheer volume, and I'm sure it's overkill. I'm just hoping to get a few early interviews and an acceptance fairly quickly, so I can really cut out the schools below the one I got into and save myself the excessive interviews. I guess everyone has a method to their madness in this crazy process.
 
Just D.O. It! said:
I applied to seven schools, interviewed at five, and was accepted to three. I applied to schools where I knew I would be competitive, but that I also liked. When you apply to a school, you need to consider if you would really attend if accepted. Try to picture yourself attending the school.

Applying to six schools seems to be on the low side when compared to most people. However, if you are confident, work hard on secondaries, are careful in whom you select to write recommendation letters, and prep well for interviews, you might be ok. Saving money is good, of course, but if you are somewhat worried about your chances of gaining entrance to a school, then by all means, apply to several more, and increase your chances.

Work hard, and good luck!
Click to expand...


This is pre-allo, so I think your D.O. situation is different... and a bit misleading to the OP.
 
ZOT! ZOT!,

I applied to both types of schools, allo and osteo. In addition, I completed secondaries at both, and interviewed at both. As far as my experience was, I didn't notice that much of a difference in the application process. Therefore, my experiences may be helpful to Sonofasailor, the member who started the thread, and hopefully to others as well.
 
6 schools is probably on the low side. But then, applying to more schools doesn't necessarily increase your chances. Some have applied to 30+ schools, and didn't interview at one. My friend applied to 20+, and by the time the secondaries came, he couldn't fill them out fast enough. Although he got interview invites from most schools, he only went to a handful, and then matriculated at his top choice.

But 6 is too little, the average is around 11-13... I think
 
I was kinda paranoid too...ended up applying to around 20-25 places, and subsequently had to put LOTS of time and energy into a bunch of secondaries.
 
Iffy premed said:
6 schools is probably on the low side. But then, applying to more schools doesn't necessarily increase your chances. Some have applied to 30+ schools, and didn't interview at one. My friend applied to 20+, and by the time the secondaries came, he couldn't fill them out fast enough. Although he got interview invites from most schools, he only went to a handful, and then matriculated at his top choice.

But 6 is too little, the average is around 11-13... I think
Click to expand...

Actually, some guy on this forum had done research on this. Applying to more schools DOES increase ur chance of getting in.
 
I applied to 17 schools. I'm not paranoid about not getting into a medical school, because I feel that I'm a good candidate for my state schools and Baylor. Nevertheless, I worked as hard as I have for a reason, to get into a good medical school, so I just want to see what happens.

Besides, I think I'm going to have a lot of fun in the interview season.
 
Best reason right there. Seeing "what happens." :thumbup:

You'll never know if you don't try, and there are certainly some amazing schools around the country.
 
It really depends on where this guy is from and what his stats are, doesn't it? I have a good friend from Alabama who has a 3.75 36. He's only applying to the two Alabama schools, Vanderbilt, and Tulane. I see no reason for him to apply to any more, since he's perfectly fine attending either Alabama state school (who wouldn't at 9k/yr?).

There's no question this guy is getting into UAB or USA.
 
mistake
 
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