Number of schools applied to??

[Marianne11]

---

Members do not see this ad.

How many is too many? I see people quote 10, 15, 30+ that they've applied to. Do other schools see your list? Does it look bad if you applied to a lot? How many are you applying to?

 

[umass rower]

14 so far, but I may add more.

 

[Gleevec]

15, I didnt do 1 secondary though so I guess its 14.

 

[calebho501]

30+ is just way too many, and I think it'll be overwhelming. I applied to 24 schools and I already found myself hitting mental exhaustion now that I'm working on the 22nd secondary.

 

[exmike]

I applied to 50!!

Turned in 30 secondaries already, 9 waiting to be completed, 11 not received (mostly state schools that screen out of staters)

 

[thackl]

1

 

[momof2]

1

 

[efex101]

32 on AMCAS, but I am not returning two secondaries (Colorado and Vermont although they did invite me for secondary) submitted all secondaries except UNC (waiting to hear from them)
it is not as bad as people make it out to be. Secondaries can be done fast as long as you do them as they come in...

 

[Grumpy Bear]

I applied to 20, but I haven't been as on top of secondaries as I should be... I'm finding that the ones I have left are the schools I'm not as interested in, though, so that's sort of revealing. Too bad those are the ones I'd be more likely to get in to... I'd better get cracking!

 

[MDmiracle]

31

 

[kilroth]

12

 

[finnpipette]

For people like myself that applied to 30+ schools, what do you guys do? I work full-time salaried, exempt from overtime, i.e. i work more than 40 hours a week. plus i'm taking classes in the evenings. i work on the secondaries every day until 1am, but i'm still have a hard time getting them done. how do you guys do it?

 

[SMW]

Originally posted by Marianne11
How many is too many? I see people quote 10, 15, 30+ that they've applied to. Do other schools see your list? Does it look bad if you applied to a lot? How many are you applying to?

It depends. CA residents apply to a lot, because there's a lot of state schools to apply to, the insane level of competition in their state, and the need to then apply to lots of other schools. Then there's the strength of your application to consider. And the schools you're applying to. In general I'd say 15 - 25 is a good number. They should be to a wide range of schools, not all top 25 schools. Do your homework and only apply to places you'd really want to go if accepted.

Schools do not see your list of schools, nor do they have a right to, so no, it doesn't look bad if your list is long. If for any reason a school asks for a paper copy of AMCAS, just do not include that section. I applied to 23, and managed to get 13 interviews despite being an August MCATer. But there was no rhyme or reason to the places that invited me vs. those that didn't. If I'd have cut my list in half, there's a chance I could have cut out all the schools that did invite me.

 

[Marianne11]

I applied to over 30 schools all together. I intially applied to only top tier schools. Then I took the MCAT last weekend and I'm nervous my score won't be as good as I hoped for. So I added 16 lower tiered schools just in case. I know I may be doing over 20 secondaries, but it will be worth it if I get an acceptance. 🙂

 

[mattorama]

4...but almost just 1

 

[kwanny]

21... but i haven't filled out a single secondary yet... I'm thinkin about adding more "safety" schools... damn, I can't make up my mind!!

 

[Grumpy Bear]

😱 eek, mattorama... you must feel confident. Any special circumstances?

 

[spinestudent]

For some people 1 is plenty. If you have quality numbers, an early app, good EC's, quality clinical experiences, shadowing, etc then why not just apply to your state school(s)?

This assumes two things:

1) the applicant wants to go to their state school
2) the applicant resides in a state which has a school which gives heavy(< 10% out of staters) preferance to state residents and is not competitive(Cali)

In many cases spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of dollars isn't required.

 

[spinestudent]

thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours I mean

 

[mattorama]

Originally posted by Grumpy Bear
😱 eek, mattorama... you must feel confident. Any special circumstances?

My state school, Indiana, accepts 60% of residents who get an interviews (EVERYONE from Indiana with a 3.2+ GPA and a 24+ MCAT get an interview). While not an outstanding school by any means, it is still a fairly solid med school (usually ranked 38-40). I feel pretty confident that I will at least be able to get in at Indiana and would be perfectly content to attend. I am applying to 1 other school at the level of Indiana and 2 really good schools that would be awesome to go to, but I won't hold my breath. With Indiana being a decent school with low tuition for in-staters, I decided to save my time/money instead of "shotgunning" across top schools. I think a lot of SDNers are dead set on going to a top school so I am assuming that is why most apply to a lot. I hope I won't regret this later. 🙂

BTW: I know a lot of people who are applying to less then 5 schools.

 

[mattorama]

Originally posted by spinestudent
For some people 1 is plenty. If you have quality numbers, an early app, good EC's, quality clinical experiences, shadowing, etc then why not just apply to your state school(s)?

This assumes two things:

1) the applicant wants to go to their state school
2) the applicant resides in a state which has a school which gives heavy(< 10% out of staters) preferance to state residents and is not competitive(Cali)

In many cases spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of dollars isn't required.

exactly

 

[Grumpy Bear]

sounds like a plan! I'm jealous 😀

 

[Marianne11]

My adviser told me I should only apply to 5-7 schools tops. She said I'd most likely get into 3-4 of those. I was just way to chicken to risk it, so I applied to as many as I could. I might be losing a lot of money this way, but at least I feel I have a chance at a few acceptances (hopefully at least one). My state school interviews most residents, but chooses about 25%. I hear good and bad things about U Nev, and strange interview stories. It doesn't sound like what I'm looking for in a school. And, the odds aren't great either.🙄

 

[bjolly]

I applied EDP to my state school for pretty much the same reasons---it's a good school, the price is right, and I think I have a very good chance of getting in & would be happy to go there. I do feel a little out of the swim of things as everyone talks about doing their 20+ secondaries and starts getting interviews....but I only need one interview and one acceptance, right here in town, and I'll be ecstatic.

 

[Outer Space]

I'm applying to 8. Well 9, but I decided not to fill Mt. Sinai secondary out. I have avge stats - 33-34 mcat, 3.75 gpa, plenty of ECs. But I need to get out of the country by midnovember so I can go on my dream backpacking trip, and I want to be gone until late June. So I really have to get all my interviews out of the way by then, if not, then too bad. You gotta have your priorities. And if I don't get out of here in time, there is no way I will have enough energy to complete med school. Anyway, as I realize after completing my secondaries, 8 schools is the perfect number - my brain can't contort much more.

 

[mattorama]

Originally posted by Outer Space
I'm applying to 8. Well 9, but I decided not to fill Mt. Sinai secondary out. I have avge stats - 33-34 mcat, 3.75 gpa, plenty of ECs. But I need to get out of the country by midnovember so I can go on my dream backpacking trip, and I want to be gone until late June. So I really have to get all my interviews out of the way by then, if not, then too bad. You gotta have your priorities. And if I don't get out of here in time, there is no way I will have enough energy to complete med school. Anyway, as I realize after completing my secondaries, 8 schools is the perfect number - my brain can't contort much more.

Where are you going backpacking?

 

[AlternateSome1]

Originally posted by Outer Space
I'm applying to 8. Well 9, but I decided not to fill Mt. Sinai secondary out. I have avge stats - 33-34 mcat, 3.75 gpa, plenty of ECs. But I need to get out of the country by midnovember so I can go on my dream backpacking trip, and I want to be gone until late June. So I really have to get all my interviews out of the way by then, if not, then too bad. You gotta have your priorities. And if I don't get out of here in time, there is no way I will have enough energy to complete med school. Anyway, as I realize after completing my secondaries, 8 schools is the perfect number - my brain can't contort much more.

Your stats are quite a bit better than average. Good luck with getting early interviews!

~AS1~

 

[....]

utlimatly your fate at any single school rests on what one or two guess thought of you at your interview. You would trust your fate to one or two guys you never met. What if they just dont like you for some reason? What if you fart at your only interveiw...!

 

[Marianne11]

Your stats are a lot better than average, but I'm confused as to how you are going to cover the acceptance process?? You could get most of your interviews done by November if your files are complete now, but most schools don't make final decisions until Feb 15th. How will you accept or deny an acceptance, pay holding fees, etc., if you're out of the country? If you don't respond within 2-3 weeks of acceptance your spot is given away to another student. I hope you have someone opening your mail & making those decisions for you.

 

[Outer Space]

Originally posted by Marianne11
Your stats are a lot better than average, but I'm confused as to how you are going to cover the acceptance process?? You could get most of your interviews done by November if your files are complete now, but most schools don't make final decisions until Feb 15th. How will you accept or deny an acceptance, pay holding fees, etc., if you're out of the country? If you don't respond within 2-3 weeks of acceptance your spot is given away to another student. I hope you have someone opening your mail & making those decisions for you.

Basically, I will leave my check book (or equivalent) with my mom so she can send the deposits (which are refundable anyway), and i will be back in winter for 2 weeks in order to turn in my FAFSA. I already got all my shots (which was a huge hassle, but at least my insurance covered it) - i just have the hep b titter left and it's only $17. It's definitely a balancing act though, but the good thing is - I definitely will skip the whole "waiting" part of the game and if only a few (or one school) will accept me, that would be fine with me since a. i wouldn't mind attending any of these 8 schools, and b. less hassle for me. Besides, I already have a very clean cut variable which will determine which school I will attend in case of multiple acceptances - cost. So there won't be too much handwringing and deciding. (at least that's the plan).
🙂