Only applying to 1 school?

[aweimer]

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Hey fellow future ODs,

I was thinking of applying to only one school, Pacific University. Am I crazy for doing so? I have done loads of research, visited campus, and I am in love.

Here are my stats:
- GPA: 3.9, Biology
- OAT: practice scores ranging from 370 (opted) 340 (kaplan) total and science, the big day is about a week away!
- Shadowing: just shy of 90 hours
- EC: President of honors association, representative in college council and fee review board, member of pre-op club, regular volunteer at low vision center & lions club, roughly 200 total hours
- Work: 4 years of undergrad research in botany & ecology (not super pertinent... but I was in a lab)

So basically me question to you all is. So long as I don't royally mess up the interview, do you think that putting all of my eggs in one basket is too risky?

Any advice appreciated! Best of luck to you all 🙂

 

[Salmon]

Yes, that is crazy. Your stats are good enough to get in, but you never know. A friend of mine applied to just one school (his dream school) with stellar stats, amazing OAT scores (380/380 I think), and great extracurriculars, and guess what? He got rejected! It threw him into a panic but luckily he was able to get his stuff together in time to get accepted into another school. Don't make the same mistake! Apply to more than one school.

At UCB's fall conference they said straight out that it's a bad idea to apply to just one school. Admissions committees don't really see it as a plus or a minus to apply to more than one program.

Again, your stats are good and you'll probably get in but applying to just one school is a very bad idea.

 

[EyeCaptain]

I personally know someone with stats similar to yours who was not even invited for an interview at Pacific. If you apply to more schools, you may spend a little more money, but I think that would be less of a disappointment than the alternative.

 

[thisguy88]

I had a 3.6 GPA, scored 280/290 on my OATs the first time and still got invited for an interview at Pacific (on the condition that I retook). I did better the second time and ultimately was accepted.

But I am from Oregon, so home court advantage? lol could be a factor.

SOOO..... the moral of the story is that you'll never know what will happen. GOOD LUCK!