Multiple App Submissions

[Zalligan]

Hi all, I'm new here.

Two questions:

1. Is it possible to submit the application twice in the same cycle, if applying to different schools? For instance, say I apply to Barry, OCPM and DMU from the get go, but don't get accepted, can I then apply to other schools? I'm curious as this would save money and scheduling conflicts with interviews and school, assuming I were to be accepted in my first round of applications.

2. How important is volunteer work in the medical field, and shadowing of a pod? I have very little volunteer work currently, none of it in the medical field. I do have 70 or so hours of shadowing an orthopedic M.D. I am also currently contacting DPMs for shadowing opportunities. I'm currently working 20 hrs/wk and taking 16 hours of classes, so while I'm certainly not trying to scrape by on my ECs, i am trying to prioritize my time as best as possible.

My pre-med advisor said I needed a minimum of 100 hrs shadowing a pod and 70 hours of medical volunteer experience. Is this on par with what you all have found? She's mainly in the business of placing students in MD/DO programs so I'm definitely wanting to check her numbers.

Thank you all in advance

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[MaxillofacialMN]

Hi all, I'm new here.

Two questions:

1. Is it possible to submit the application twice in the same cycle, if applying to different schools? For instance, say I apply to Barry, OCPM and DMU from the get go, but don't get accepted, can I then apply to other schools? I'm curious as this would save money and scheduling conflicts with interviews and school, assuming I were to be accepted in my first round of applications.

2. How important is volunteer work in the medical field, and shadowing of a pod? I have very little volunteer work currently, none of it in the medical field. I do have 70 or so hours of shadowing an orthopedic M.D. I am also currently contacting DPMs for shadowing opportunities. I'm currently working 20 hrs/wk and taking 16 hours of classes, so while I'm certainly not trying to scrape by on my ECs, i am trying to prioritize my time as best as possible.

My pre-med advisor said I needed a minimum of 100 hrs shadowing a pod and 70 hours of medical volunteer experience. Is this on par with what you all have found? She's mainly in the business of placing students in MD/DO programs so I'm definitely wanting to check her numbers.

Thank you all in advance

1. Yes, you can submit as many times as you want (well... assuming you haven't submitted to all schools yet!). It costs $50 for each additional submission.

2. Your adviser is wrong. Don't waste a minute more than 20 hours shadowing a pod unless you really like it and it is entertainment for you. You need 0 hours of medical volunteer experience to be accepted. Certainly volunteerism will help with your app, but it is by no means "expected" as it is in the MD/DO world.

 

[Zalligan]

Awesome, that is good news on both accounts.

So essentially, you shadow a pod as many hours as it takes to get a LOR out of them? Also in regards to the volunteer work, how much before it becomes a waste of time? 20 hours, 50 hours?

I'm waiting on my MCAT score, which im anticipating to be mid-20s (hopefully high 20s) but who knows. That being said, would i be safe to get in only applying to 3 or 4 schools with ~3.1 sgpa and ~3.4 cgpa (extrapolating here as I'm in my senior year currently). Your name pops up quite often in those types of questions, it seems, so I figure you're a fairly good barometer.

Thanks

 

[nikkisorous]

Yes scoring low-mid 20s on your MCAT will get you an acceptance if all your after is an acceptance anywhere. It's highly probable you will get interview invites anywhere you want.

So no don't waste your money applying to all 9 schools, 3 would be fine.

 

[Zalligan]

Somewhat piggy-backing off my original question,

If I were to start volunteering and shadowing ~8 hrs/week this week or next, and then apply in October, would they ding me for only having a few weeks right before my app, even if I list it as an "Ongoing experience"?

And in the October, November time frame, how full are classes at this point? Are they still a little more on the accommodating side vs. applying in April/May?

 

[nikkisorous]

Somewhat piggy-backing off my original question,

If I were to start volunteering and shadowing ~8 hrs/week this week or next, and then apply in October, would they ding me for only having a few weeks right before my app, even if I list it as an "Ongoing experience"?

And in the October, November time frame, how full are classes at this point? Are they still a little more on the accommodating side vs. applying in April/May?

No you won't get dinged.
Yes classes will all be open and it'll be fine.