The Dreaded Question: How many schools have you applied to?

[thzone1986]

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So I have my first DO interview coming up soon. I've been brainstorming for it and honestly I can give solid reasons why I'm interested in Osteopathic schools and such, but the once question i'm worried about is "how many other schools have u applied to?"

I applied to like 27 allo schools and 5 DO schools. Before I get ragged on, let me first say that I'm pretty much fine with going to either allo or osteo. I'm interested in treating patients and either road is fine with me. I don't know I would answer this question tho. If you tell the truth it could be seen very badly by a DO interviewer couldn't it? But if you fib can they find out somehow what schools you really applied to? Will they care?

 

[DrMidlife]

Rag on me first. 34 MD schools, 11 DO. When it's come up in interviews, people have only said things like "you really want this, apparently." Then I nod.

What are they going to accuse me of, being non-selective? Look a little bit over to the left there, see where it says "Data *****?" I can tell you more about those 45 med schools than the faculty at any one can tell you about his/her own. I've got the last 5 years of MSARs, dog-eared, highlighted, spreadsheeted. (It's SO much harder to research a DO school.) I've got USNews data cross-referenced. I've physically been on almost every campus. I used a ten-variable selection matrix. Interviewers REGRET asking me if I have any questions.

It's foolish money spent, turns out, to apply to that many schools, but I only applied to ones I'd happily attend and had a chance in hell at. Who's going to argue with that?

 

[TexasTriathlete]

You can't guess how anyone will respond to that. It depends on who is asking the question. Just be honest, if asked, and hope for the best.

 

[Saregamapadanis]

2 DO schools.... and 40 MD schools...

 

[pamkitti]

32 MD, 12 DO and glad it's over!

 

[Tachymeter]

10 DO schools.

 

[spazzz]

is this actual turned in the secondaries for? I applied to about 20 MD schools and all of the DO schools except RVU and UMDNJ. But only filled out about a dozen secondaries

 

[DadAndPreDOinMO]

1 DO school (got into my top choice early so no need to apply to anymore!!!!)

 

[DiverDoc]

1 DO school (got into my top choice early so no need to apply to anymore!!!!)

Wow that must have been nice. I applied two 2 MD (1 reach, 1 state school) and 18 or 19 DO. Cancelled interviews after I got an acceptance I was happy with.

 

[Amy B]

Just tell them the truth without sounding like you are apologizing...

At VCOM, They asked me, I told them and the interviewer then asked where I applied and one of the places was Chicago, and that lead him to ask me why I said I wanted a rural location and yet I applied to a large city. I told him I was also having to take my husband's ablitity to find employment into consideration and chicago would be filled with jobs. He said true and we moved on. Schools know you are more than likely going to be applying to places other than their school. They might ask you if you would go MD if accepted to both and you need to be prepared to answer that if you are applying to both DO and MD.

Good luck to you all.

 

[theserbatron]

6.02 x 10^23 schools

 

[HrvatskiDoktor]

I applied to 7 DO schools and turned in secondaries to 6 of them. I had almost only applied to 2 schools (based on what I thought I wanted) but after I visited KCOM, I knew that I wanted to go there so I was glad that I spread my net out to more than 2 schools.

I picked my 7 based on schools that I knew that I would go to if I were accepted. I didn't want to apply somewhere that I didn't really want to go to. That is just my personal reasons for applying to the 7 schools.

 

[theserbatron]

I applied to 7 DO schools and turned in secondaries to 6 of them. I had almost only applied to 2 schools (based on what I thought I wanted) but after I visited KCOM, I knew that I wanted to go there so I was glad that I spread my net out to more than 2 schools.

I picked my 7 based on schools that I knew that I would go to if I were accepted. I didn't want to apply somewhere that I didn't really want to go to. That is just my personal reasons for applying to the 7 schools.

no you didn't... haha, sorry, i had to vicki. hope all is well 🙂

 

[zhousilai]

I told the truth
10MDs and 3Dos
i applied to 3 DOs and got interview to all of them...rejected two interview cuz i already got my top school

good luck y'all

 

[Bacchus]

LECOM-Erie, PCOM, VCOM, NYCOM, and OUCOM: 5
Allo: Probably 10-15

 

[Punchap]

Also, I hate it when they ask about other acceptances...those really shouldn't factor into their decision to accept me. For example, just because I got accepted to schools x and y doesn't mean that I wouldn't forgo those for school z. B/c if I do go to school z, that will free up two seats for other qualified applicants at schools x and y. This whole process can get so frustrating. 🙁

 

[Sartorius24]

too many primaries...and 17 secondaries