My fiance and I are both pretty decent candidates (I think....🙄 ) He is stronger academically than I am (graduated undergrad with honors and scored a 38 on the August MCATs), whereas I am more well rounded: I have extensive EC's, been working as a registered nurse for the last couple of years, and have a decent GPA (3.5). I didn't score that well on the last MCATs but have been busting my butt for the April '07 MCATs (aiming for a 32).
I know we have a HUGE uphill battle to fight in order to get into the same school or at least in the same city.....but it would be great to hear some success stories OR from anyone who has ever been in the same boat (even just applying as girlfriend and boyfriend).
Lastly, just a thought. Since we really have the odds stacked up against us...should we even apply to US med schools? Especially since it is incredibly expensive for the both of us to apply to 30+ schools. Would we have a better chance just applying to the top 4 carribean schools? 😕
Here's my situation:
I applied this year with fiance. We went on two interviews together, which made it more enjoyable and also let the schools know we were in it together. We both got accepted at one of the schools we visited together. We're still waiting to hear from the second one. If he had gotten his act together and applied earlier, we could have gone on more interviews together. It would have made this process SO much more tolerable, in my mind.
My fiance had 3 points higher on the MCAT than me, but we both had mediocre GPAs, and I think I had better EC's and essays (though that's very subjective). We went to the same undergrad.
I applied everywhere about a month before him, and I think I was a little more successful than him in this process for that reason. I ended up going on 12 interviews, he only got 4.
We're still waiting to hear from a few more schools, so I don't know where we'll end up. I'm pretty happy with the place we both got into, but I was also accepted at another school that I may like better that is 1.5 hours away by car, so I might consider going there. I don't know yet. He is still waiting to hear from this school.
My opinion is that it would be a HUGE mistake to apply internationally. Would your fiance be willing to take that kind of a hit for you? Are you assuming you can't get into a med school in the US? There are plenty of cities (New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, to name a few) that have 5+ med schools with a nice mixture of top-tier and less competitive. Just hit up those cities full gusto. That's what my fiance and I did. That was pretty much our entire strategy when it came to filling out the AMCAS. When you get closer to applying you can contact me and I'll let you know which schools were on our list.
In general, I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is not applying to enough schools. This is even more true when you're trying to apply jointly. You should just accept right now that you will both be applying to 30 or more schools. I know it's a lot of money, but start saving now. Not getting in the first time around, or not getting in at schools close to each other will end up costing you a whole lot more.
One thing you'll have to consider when you apply is that if you really are a less competitive candidate as you say, the schools you may qualify for in the US may not take a second glance at your fiance unless he makes it explicit that he is seriously considering that school. That happened to my fiance at a couple places where his MCAT score was way above their average, whereas my MCAT score was only slightly above their average.
It definitely can be done. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.
