picking schools to apply to

[sharpnerd00]

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I know everyone says you should do research on schools before deciding to apply to them... but reading up, even on all of the MSTP schools seem like a lot of work and a practice that might only leave one confused some more. Not to mention for MD/PhD schools, there are no fall back schools, really. How do you decide how many schools to apply to and which ones are worth your time & money?

 

[b&ierstiefel]

several things will determine where you end up applying to:

what are your qualifications/stats? how competitive of an applicant are you? (this requires an honest self-appraisal as well as appraisal from unbiased folks such as advisers)

do you have a geographical preference? would you rather stay on the east coast, midwest, or west coast? or are you pretty flexible?

do you want to go to a big institution with lots of research options or a smaller, cozier institutions with specific established strengths? (this requires a lot of research on your part...i didn't do this much when i was applying. i was too lazy.)

generally when you apply via AMCAS, it is advised to cast a wide net (i.e., apply to a lot of places). if you are an uber-candidate, you'll get interviews everywhere you apply. so if you checked off 20 schools on that little AMCAS form, you'll hear from all 20 at some point.

of course, you don't wanna be going to 20 interviews...that would be way too exhausting. if the less desirable programs for you invite you for interview first, schedule a few of them early but the others late. the early interviews will serve as a warmup so that you can see if you feel comfortable walking around in your interview suit and you get used to the whole interview/wine-n-dine routine. the late interviews are there as a backup but you can cancel them. eventually, your top choice programs will also invite you for interview. schedule those somewhere in the middle of your schedule.

feel free to PM me if you want more personalized advice.

 

[tedrik]

the early interviews will serve as a warmup so that you can see if you feel comfortable walking around in your interview suit and you get used to the whole interview/wine-n-dine routine. the late interviews are there as a backup but you can cancel them. eventually, your top choice programs will also invite you for interview. schedule those somewhere in the middle of your schedule.

This is extrememly good advice. Pretty much all of the applicants I met toward the end of the interview season were exhausted and sick of giving their typical interview answers. I had to cancel my last two interviews because I was so tired of traveling and I was literally out of money.

This also applies to writing your secondary essays. I recently went back through some of my old application material and I could see drastic improvements in my later essays compared to my earlier essays. Since you recycle a lot of your earlier answers, you end up adding and deleting things as well as catching minor errors. You want to get everything done as early as possible, but I would suggest starting with your 2nd choice schools first.

Good luck!