Is There a Downside to Applying to All DO schools (aside from cost)?

[romealone]

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hey guys
I was wondering if there were any downsides to choosing to apply to all of the US DO schools on your primary (aside from cost).

For instance, do the various DO schools know which (if any) other DO schools you have applied to? If so, I could imagine that a school may be less likely to accept you if they knew you applied to 30 other schools (they would assume that even if they accepted you that you would not likely attend their school since you applied so broadly).

I chose to apply this broadly in order to maximize my chances of getting in (since my stats are borderline). So are there any downsides aside from the cost and extra work of applying to sooo many schools? Thanks-Rome

 

[st2205]

No. I applied very broadly (hadn't taken the MCAT before I applied), which in hindsight was overkill, but if I did it again I wouldn't change it. The initial cost of overapplying <<<< the cost of sitting out a year. Also, I ended up getting interview requests from schools I would have never considered before that opened my mind to a lot of different things.

 

[FutureDoc1988]

I think theres no downside as long as you are willing to spend the money and the time.

A few schools will ask which other schools you applied to, UNECOM I know does this, but a lot of people have applied to a lot of schools. So don't worry about putting down all the schools because others do it too.

 

[GraceEuphoria]

I suppose some schools could question your reasoning- lack of confidence in getting into your top eight schools or something like that. I think as long as you don't lie about it on your app or in your interview and you can reasonably explain why you did it, it won't be misconstrued. I think for me personally, the down side would have been the stress of it. Trying to schedule interviews, travel plans, etc can be overwhelming, especially since the schools are so spread throughout the country. Plus, I found that investing my time in a few schools and really showing interest there seemed to pay off for me. Good luck! Your chances of acceptance definitely increase this way.

 

[st2205]

I don't think anyone is going to ask you much about it. I got asked in one or two interviews where else I applied, but it was more in regard to "what schools have caught your eye" rather than "give me a huge list". Each time it was more to get a feel of what the interviewee is looking for so they can reaffirm the strengths of their school to the applicant. If you get asked this question it's probably because the interview is going well and they feel comfortable with you. However, I'm sure someone out there has counter-examples, but I'm inclined to think that'd be less common.

 

[Poliscidoc]

Anybody that has gone this route care to share your total expenses? Not a detailed list or anything just a very basic breakdown.

Thanks in advance

 

[Kevin Baker]

Anybody that has gone this route care to share your total expenses? Not a detailed list or anything just a very basic breakdown.

Thanks in advance

It's expensive. Secondaries range but average maybe $75 with primaries around $30 so think $100 per school.

Plus flights are costing me maybe $300-$350 on average, and that's not counting hotels, a rent-a-car, food, and lost wages from work.

I'm trying to drive to places within 8 hrs of me, but that usually mean I miss a day of work, or have to show up with little to no sleep.

 

[Bacchus]

A few downsides, besides cost, can include schools not having have well-established rotations, others have horrible rotations, and some will make it difficult for you to apply to in terms of your location since they select for certain regions of the country.

 

[romealone]

Anybody that has gone this route care to share your total expenses? Not a detailed list or anything just a very basic breakdown.

Thanks in advance

I dont mind sharing. I just sent out my primaries to all but 3 of the DO schools and the total cost was just over $1000.
Obviously the secondaries are going to cost a pretty penny.

I guess I just decided that I wanted to maximize my options and that when considering the entire med school experience is going to put me 200k plus in debt...another thousand or so here or there won't really make much of a difference.-Rome

 

[FutureCTDoc]

The down side is that you may be applying to schools you would hate to attend. There are schools that due to location, reputation, newness or other reasons you don't want to go to. The downside is you will apply to poor fits.

 

[Daedra22]

The down side is that you may be applying to schools you would hate to attend. There are schools that due to location, reputation, newness or other reasons you don't want to go to. The downside is you will apply to poor fits.

Agreed. I never understood why people applied to places they would not like to attend--there is no possible upside to doing so.

 

[st2205]

The down side is that you may be applying to schools you would hate to attend. There are schools that due to location, reputation, newness or other reasons you don't want to go to. The downside is you will apply to poor fits.

In my case I ended up applying to schools that were a good fit that I probably never would have applied to had I have known my MCAT score. I ended up at KCOM, but who knows if I would have done so otherwise. I also got an interview pre-secondary with KCUMB (after getting my MCAT score I had to be more conservative with my money). I would have never filled out their secondary otherwise but after I interviewed it would have been my top choice had there not been extenuating circumstances. What I'm saying is that definitely goes both ways and there's really very little one can glean about a program and how it fits by reading about it on paper.

 

[FutureCTDoc]

In my case I ended up applying to schools that were a good fit that I probably never would have applied to had I have known my MCAT score. I ended up at KCOM, but who knows if I would have done so otherwise. I also got an interview pre-secondary with KCUMB (after getting my MCAT score I had to be more conservative with my money). I would have never filled out their secondary otherwise but after I interviewed it would have been my top choice had there not been extenuating circumstances. What I'm saying is that definitely goes both ways and there's really very little one can glean about a program and how it fits by reading about it on paper.

Most people know that they don't like certain things. Don't like California? TUCOM-CA and WesternU are out. Don't like rural areas? You knock out a litany. Don't like PBL? Lecom-B is a poor fit. MCAT score isn't germaine really.

 

[st2205]

Most people know that they don't like certain things. Don't like California? TUCOM-CA and WesternU are out. Don't like rural areas? You knock out a litany. Don't like PBL? Lecom-B is a poor fit. MCAT score isn't germaine really.

I don't necessarily like rural -- I'm at KCOM and certainly not because a lack of choices.
Love the desert... did not like my options out there.
Never was excited about living in Missouri... post KCUMB interview was ecstatic about living in KC. Never would have known if I didn't go. Never would have thought about rural Missouri, but here I am loving it.

The fact is, the average person has experienced very little of the US as well as had limited diversity with regard to experiencing different educational institutions, among other things. It would be just as unreasonable to assume that everyone knows precisely what they want by internet searches as it would be for a college sophomore to declare they aren't interested in PM&R.

 

[kopitar]

hey guys
I was wondering if there were any downsides to choosing to apply to all of the US DO schools on your primary (aside from cost).

For instance, do the various DO schools know which (if any) other DO schools you have applied to? If so, I could imagine that a school may be less likely to accept you if they knew you applied to 30 other schools (they would assume that even if they accepted you that you would not likely attend their school since you applied so broadly).

I chose to apply this broadly in order to maximize my chances of getting in (since my stats are borderline). So are there any downsides aside from the cost and extra work of applying to sooo many schools? Thanks-Rome

One downfall to applying to so many schools is all the work it takes to fill out the secondaries. If you have 30 secondaries to fill out they are probably not going to look as good as, say, 10 secondaries. What I mean by that is you will end up going through the motions with all the essays and stuff. It really is a lot of work. I did 13 or so and it took a lot of time to complete all the paperwork and still make it attractive to admissions. You will be tempted to just BS your way through them to get it over with. When I did all my secondaries I was in full time school. If you arent in school and have time to dedicate to each of the 30 schools I would go for it.