researching school choices?

[queenbee]

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i'm curious to know how non-trads went about researching and looking into the schools you have applied to or will be applying to?

there's been a bunch of open houses in my area for local schools, but attending them is near impossible right now (work, school, trying to maintain my sanity, etc). i hope to attend them next semester after i'm done with my prereqs.

did you apply to any schools without actually checking out the school? was reading about it on-line sufficient enough? did you go to every school you were interested in?

i want to be able to speak about why i am interested in xyz school beyond what i can find on the internet, but i'm not sure if it's possible for me to fly out across the country to see schools. what have people done in this case?

thanks in advanced!

 

[ruraldr]

I found that most schools have very thorough internet sites. My undergrad institution also keeps a file of alums going to med schools across the country. I visited my undergrad school to meet with the healthcare advisor and took down names of alums at various med schools to contact and get their thoughts on their med school experiences.

Between these sources I found it pretty easy to narrow down a list of schools to apply to...

 

[SpartanBlueJay2]

First, I would recommend getting an MSAR from the AAMC. It is a book that lists all the U.S. allopathic med schools and their info/stats. It will give you a little bit of insight into each school, plus will help you decide where your stats might be competitive. Your stats will be pretty important in determining how many schools you should apply to. The better your stats, the fewer the schools you can get away with.

I chose to apply to most of the schools in my home state. I have friends who have attended most of the schools in my home state and have been very happy at their respective schools. If you have medical schools in your home state, I would recommend applying to most if not all of them. Public institutions tend to have lower tuition than private institutions and many favor in-state applicants.

As far as out-of-state schools I applied to, I chose some based on proximity to family/friends. I also applied to some schools that I liked when I had visited them while I played volleyball in college or while I applying to graduate school.

 

[gman33]

As suggested get the MSAR and take a look at the avergae stats of accepted applicants. Depending on your stats, you probably want to apply to a lot of schools. Try to find schools that are a good match with your stats; this may be hard to do if you haven't taken the MCAT. Your first goal is to get accepted to a school, any school. After that you can worry about narrowing down your choices. Any school that invites you for an interview will give you a tour, etc. while you are there. If they don't interview you, no sense going to an open house because you won't be going to that school.

All that being said, if you can fit in a few open houses it will be an opportunity to learn about the schools and maybe give you a frame of reference when comparing options. You can probably learn all you need to from a school's website. I wouldn't put too much weight on your impressions from an open house, whether good or bad.

 

[queenbee]

thank you, that was so helpful! i will def purchase a copy of the MSAR. i went to the AAMC website and the latest copy was published in April 2007. does anyone know if a new one will be available again in April 2008? should i wait until next year or just get it now?

for a frame of reference, i plan to apply in June '08 for '09 start. tia!

 

[QofQuimica]

thank you, that was so helpful! i will def purchase a copy of the MSAR. i went to the AAMC website and the latest copy was published in April 2007. does anyone know if a new one will be available again in April 2008? should i wait until next year or just get it now?

for a frame of reference, i plan to apply in June '08 for '09 start. tia!

Check the current one out of the library and purchase the new one.