Questions about applying to a billion and two schools

[thehomez66]

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I am currently in the process of filling out the horrid AMCAS application as I assume many of you are. I have a few questions regarding the application and which schools to apply to. The questions are as follow, and thanks in advance for any advice you give me 🙂

1) Do the medical schools to which you apply to, see the other medical schools you are applying to? For example, if I apply to 20 schools, do admissions officers at X school see on my application or anywhere that I applied to 20 other schools?

2) For my one major problem that I've had throught the application process is finding the right schools to apply to, then narrowing them down to about 20-30 schools (money for application is not an issue). So given my stats: 28P MCAT (12 bio, 10 phys, 6 verb), URM, GPA 3.73, Science GPA 3.8 (at The College of New Jersey), plus ALOT of extracurricular activities, clinical work, volunteer work, and research. (NJ Resident)

So here are the schools which I currently have on my list and would really appreciate any help that I can get in taking any schools off. So, if you have a suggestion let me know which school to take off and why.

1. Albany Medical College
2. Boston U
3. Drexel
4. Finch U
5. Michigan State
6. NY Medical College
7. Temple
8. UMDNJ - New Jersey (one of my first choices)
9. UMDNJ - Robert Wood (one of my first choices)
10. Wayne State U (did my research here)
11. U of Vermont
12. Yeshiva U (Albert Einstein)
13. Creighton
15. Loyola U Chicago
16. Virginia Commonwealth U
17. George Washington U
18. Penn State
19. Jefferson
20. Medical College of Ohio
21. All the SUNY's
22. Tufts
23. Hahnemann U
24. U of Kansas
25. Medical College of Wisconsin
26. UNC
27. U of Oaklahoma
28. U of Rochester
29. St. Louis U
30. U of Louisville

Long shots:
1. Cornell
2. Johns Hopkins
3. Mount Sinai
4. U Penn


As you can see it is a very long list, and I would love to cut some out. Currently on my list I have about 36 schools when all the SUNY schools are included. I definately need to cut this down. Thanks again 👍

 

[superdevil]

i won't take your dreams away....but a 6 on the VR section pretty much takes you out of the running for your "long shots," even though you are a URM (unless you're REALLY special, i.e., a jewish-black-puerto rican lesbian or something).

good luck!!

 

[angstrom55]

Dont' a lot of the SUNY's mainly prefer NY residents? Which means even if they take a tiny tiny amount of out of staters, it may be hard with your low mcat scores to land in that group.

And also...I don't think there's a Hahnemann U anymore (the one in philly, right?) It's actually now called Drexel (which you got).

 

[bigdan]

OP-

Any chance at all that you're retaking the MCAT? Your stats are golden for any applicant, and statisically great for a URM. But that verbal....SUNY Syracuse AdCom (at least) would rather a 9,9,9 MCAT than your version of a 28.

All that being said, if you don't retake (which you should), applying to tons of schools is the way to get in. But let me plead my case again. You, in much likelihood, could PICK your schools if you got the same PS/BS MCAT and a 9 Verbal. Serious - like 10 schools of your choice.

To answer your question, get rid of all the "long shots", plus U of Rochester and UNC. SUNYs no longer hold a strong distinction for in-staters, but Stony Brook will raise an eyebrow at the verbal score.

Good luck.

dc

 

[thehomez66]

i won't take your dreams away....but a 6 on the VR section pretty much takes you out of the running for your "long shots," even though you are a URM (unless you're REALLY special, i.e., a jewish-black-puerto rican lesbian or something).

good luck!!

Yea, I figured the same thing but my parents are urging me to apply to them so I finally gave in and said fine.

Dont' a lot of the SUNY's mainly prefer NY residents? Which means even if they take a tiny tiny amount of out of staters, it may be hard with your low mcat scores to land in that group.

And also...I don't think there's a Hahnemann U anymore (the one in philly, right?) It's actually now called Drexel (which you got).

Thanks for the heads up about the Hahnemann U being Drexel now, I was not aware of that. Also, about the SUNY's, I know that they heavily favor NY state residents but I live in NJ, a neighboring state, and figure I might as well give them a shot


To add, the schools which have been removed from my list are now in red font, thanks again.

 

[thehomez66]

OP-

Any chance at all that you're retaking the MCAT? Your stats are golden for any applicant, and statisically great for a URM. But that verbal....SUNY Syracuse AdCom (at least) would rather a 9,9,9 MCAT than your version of a 28.

All that being said, if you don't retake (which you should), applying to tons of schools is the way to get in. But let me plead my case again. You, in much likelihood, could PICK your schools if you got the same PS/BS MCAT and a 9 Verbal. Serious - like 10 schools of your choice.

To answer your question, get rid of all the "long shots", plus U of Rochester and UNC. SUNYs no longer hold a strong distinction for in-staters, but Stony Brook will raise an eyebrow at the verbal score.

Good luck.

dc

Dan, thanks for the response. About re-taking the MCAT's, I currently do not have plans to retake. I'm really hoping that my number one choice (UMDNJ) will accept me with my current stats and if not, then I plan on retaking. However, I don't know if I will be retaking the April exam next year due to the fact that I will have an 18 credit semester that term. So right now i'm just hoping I'll get in somewhere 😳 And if I do decide to retake, wouldn't that mean that I will have to take a year off due to the fact that I will be applying for entry in 2006?

Also, you said that applying to alot of schools is worth while to increase my chances, does that mean applying to 30 schools? or is that still too much?

 

[leechy]

hey -- anyone have an answer to this person's first question (about schools knowing how many other schools you've applied to)? I'm wondering about that question as well.

anecdotally, I've heard of people with multiple acceptances receiving letters from schools to the effect of "you've got to decide between us and school x within one week" - and this is BEFORE May 15th... so it seems that as soon as you're accepted to places, schools know where you've gotten in... which could potentially suck, if the school you've gotten into is not one of your top choices, and schools that ARE your top choices assume that since you've gotten in somewhere, they don't need to let you in.

 

[skypilot]

You could retake the MCAT in August and it will automatically be forwarded to the schools you are applying to. I agree that bumping that verbal score up to an 8 might help at some schools which screen based on score.

Schools will not know how many other schools you are applying to until April 15th when the list is released to the schools.

Looking at your list, you obviously have put a lot of thought into the list. If money is no object, I would just narrow the list based on personal preferences.

 

[pbehzad]

I'd take OU and KU off since they dont really take too many out of staters.I think both schools say the maximum out of staters they will take is 15%, generally much less though.

Good luck.

 

[thehomez66]

thanks for all the advice guys, it seems like I will be narrowing down the schools I apply to by cutting a few more off and KU will probably be one of them.

Keep the tips coming, thanks again 🙂

 

[R_C_Hutchinson]

this is a really interesting place to be.
first off, honestly, there are no schools out of your range- assuming you'd really want to go, I'd toss some more reaches in there; harvard/hopkins/ucsf etc. will all have a real hard time saying no to a 3.8 ~30 URM, especially with great EC's (as i am assuming you have by your first post). if you want to cut some out, i'd "do more research" (as i see you've done some research on some schools before) and nix the ones you don't like. I know a lot (the vast majority) of applicants are in your approximate shoes stats wise, so you should apply to a good number of schools, especially if you're really dedicated to medicine. honestly, i dont know if your application tells each school which others you've applied to, but if i saw a student in your shoes without a lot of schools, i might question how dedicated he/she was to medicine, rather than to a locale or prestige level.
i know this post may not have helped much, because you want to off schools, not add them, but i'd encourage you to apply to as many as physically possible
good luck man,
R_C_

 

[jeonsied]

I know that Tufts asks yoou to send a copy of your AMCAS along with their secondary so they will see where you have applied to since it is part of the AMCAS you print out. About other schools knowing where you have gotten accepted, that is true, but only schools where you have been accepted know where else you have been accepted, they do not know in which schools you are wait-listed.
About applying to long-shots I would apply. I spoke once to a Harvard recruiter and she said that when it comes to low MCAT scores they tend to look better at people with low verbal scores but high scores in the other parts, which your scores in the other parts are good. So I wouldn't say apply to a lot but if you have ever dreamed of one of these top schools why not try and give it your best, you might at the leats get an interview.
As to eliminating, most medical schools are the same because they need all of their students to pass the same boards, so after looking at their programs and any small differences (PBL vs the traditional curriculum) look at location, that can be quite important. If you can apply to a lot of schools go ahead but remember that they have their secondaries which are pretty long and you should dedicate sufficient time to each so that the schools see that you are truly interested in them, not just another applicant. I would also seriously reconsider applying to mostly in-state med schools because if you are not way above average even as an URM they might not even take a look at you and you will have wasted your money and time and that spot for another school. Good luck!

 

[Tippy007]

I think Tufts allows you to "black out" the schools you have designated. That's something to check on if you are worried that other schools will see the names of schools that you are applying to.

That's interesting about Harvard. I've heard that it's the other way around at other schools. That a low verbal is worse than having a low score in phys or bio. I'm sure schools vary a bit in how they look at the MCAT.

 

[ASDIC]

a 6 on the verbal will kill you...even if you are URM...go for atleast an 8

 

[pathdr2b]

That's interesting about Harvard. I've heard that it's the other way around at other schools. That a low verbal is worse than having a low score in phys or bio.

In recent years Harvard has NEVER matriculated a student with a score in any one section lower than "8". And you're right, it is the other way around at other schools AND at Harvard.

FYI, the verbal score coorrelates best with problems passing the boards which is why schools would rather have this be the highest section score than the lowest.

 

[ravaha08]

As far as I know from doing this process already, AMCAS does not let other schools know where you've applied. I believe they do know when you hold multiple acceptances though. I believe it's stated in the AMCAS booklet.

 

[thehomez66]

Thanks for all the help and advice guys. Even though I know my 6 in verbal really sucks, I am going to go ahead and apply without retaking the MCAT's. I hope that my other characteristics and accomplishments will mask the bad verbal score and help me get into some of the schools I am applying to.

As of now, my list has been narrowed down to 30 schools, I think that this is a good number for me and will hopefully result in some acceptances. If anybody has any further advice/comments let me know. Thanks again

 

[superdevil]

As far as I know from doing this process already, AMCAS does not let other schools know where you've applied. I believe they do know when you hold multiple acceptances though. I believe it's stated in the AMCAS booklet.

this is straight from the AAMC's AMCAS FAQ page; as to what happens after your app is processed:

"Your AMCAS Application will then be made available to your designated medical schools. Medical schools do not receive a listing of the other schools to which you have applied."

hell yeah, this is definately a load off my mind! 😎