Was it stupid of me to only apply to 3 schools?

[whatever5]

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Stats wise, I considered myself a pretty solid applicant for DO schools (29/3.65), so I only submitted primaries to schools I had a serious interest in attending - PCOM, CCOM, KCOM and TouroNY (I ended up not filling out TouroNYs secondary because it was too expensive).

I've been complete since August, however, and haven't heard a thing from any schools - am I a huge idiot, or do schools sometimes take over 3 months to give you an answer?

 

[Anicetus]

PCOM and CCOM are more of the crapshoots of those 3, but you should most definitely be getting SOME love from KCOM.

Only 3 schools is never something I would do, however.

 

[cabinbuilder]

You have pretty good numbers. But 3 schools? I would have applied to 15. Depends on how bad you want it?

 

[chizledfrmstone]

It's not too late to add more schools.

If I were you I would add at least 5-6 schools and not all high stat places.

 

[TreadLightly]

I applied to TouroNY and KCOM with stats pretty much even with yours and they are among the few schools I haven't heard back from.. I'm sure its not too late to throw in some newer schools?

 

[darkmb101]

It's not too late to add more schools.

If I were you I would add at least 5-6 schools and not all high stat places.

Definitely not to late to add more. If I was getting antsy and had the money, I'd apply to schools without rolling admission or schools where you'd be willing to attend. Your stats are good for DO, so you'll at least have a chance.

 

[Eremba]

Stats wise, I considered myself a pretty solid applicant for DO schools (29/3.65), so I only submitted primaries to schools I had a serious interest in attending - PCOM, CCOM, KCOM and TouroNY (I ended up not filling out TouroNYs secondary because it was too expensive).

I've been complete since August, however, and haven't heard a thing from any schools - am I a huge idiot, or do schools sometimes take over 3 months to give you an answer?

I only applied to 3 schools and got in to one, wait listed at one and withdrew my app to the third after my acceptance.

My stats were same GPA as you but lower MCAT.

I am not saying do as I did, but it worked out for me....

 

[TeddyBoomBoom]

am I a huge idiot

I'm not saying you're an idiot, but it was an idiotic move to apply to only 3 schools. Why in the WORLD would you do that??

 

[md420909]

I feel like everyone is always so obsessed with stats on this site. Medical schools DO consider other things! Just because you have a decent MCAT & GPA doesn't mean you have good volunteer, clinical, and life experience. They look for well-rounded applications. I'm not saying that you don't have these things, but they were not mentioned. There are other things to consider about your application. Do you have many shadowing hours? Spent time with D.O.s? Volunteer? Involvement in other organizations? I would also maybe consider applying to some additional schools. Was your primary complete in August or is that when you submitted secondaries?

 

[touchpause13]

I would never suggest applying to such a small number of schools. Seriously consider adding more

 

[withoutlyrics]

I would add more if you want to go to school next year more than you want to reapply to your desirable schools.

 

[Seth Joo]

Stats wise, I considered myself a pretty solid applicant for DO schools (29/3.65), so I only submitted primaries to schools I had a serious interest in attending - PCOM, CCOM, KCOM and TouroNY (I ended up not filling out TouroNYs secondary because it was too expensive).

I've been complete since August, however, and haven't heard a thing from any schools - am I a huge idiot, or do schools sometimes take over 3 months to give you an answer?

You should have applied to more schools, at least 10 or more. PCOM, CCOM, and KCOM are probably the most selective DO schools.

 

[Jumpstartmy5HT]

You may be ok. You can add more schools, but they won't be schools where you have "serious interest in attending."

 

[stlrams22]

Stats wise, I considered myself a pretty solid applicant for DO schools (29/3.65), so I only submitted primaries to schools I had a serious interest in attending - PCOM, CCOM, KCOM and TouroNY (I ended up not filling out TouroNYs secondary because it was too expensive).

I've been complete since August, however, and haven't heard a thing from any schools - am I a huge idiot, or do schools sometimes take over 3 months to give you an answer?

I applied to 16 schools and heard from 14. I received 13 interview invites and have interviewed at 4 places. I have been accepted to all 4 so I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum. I regret applying to so many, but I'm thankful to have gotten my acceptances. I am in the process of cancelling the rest of my interviews. You are a solid DO applicant, but keep in mind DO schools tend to be more holistic than MD so they look at more than GPA and MCAT. For you it is definitely not to late to add more schools and get in somewhere. I didn't apply to TouroNYs because their secondary fee is outrageous (they can keep their secondary for my part). Good luck to you, I suggest applying to ten more schools and you should be getting some interview invites soon after Christmas.

 

[lysine9740]

I only applied to one school, MSUCOM... Got accepted last month. As long as you are confident you will get in. I know it was stupid but it worked out. lol

 

[Back 5]

I have good stats and I applied to 20 schools. Too many you say? I was rejected pre-interview from a couple schools that I thought I would be accepted to and I was accepted to a school I thought I was a long-shot for.

You never know how this process will play out. If you are the type of personality that you can say all the right things that the ADCOM wants to hear...3 schools might be okay. I am definitely NOT that guy, so I had to cast a wide net.

Best of luck OP!

 

[NuttyEngDude]

I was rejected pre-interview from a couple schools that I thought I would be accepted to and I was accepted to a school I thought I was a long-shot for.

You never know how this process will play out.

I agree with this. Applying has been one of the most unpredictable experiences I've had in my life so far!

Apply to more schools, OP. You also may find one that wins you over during the interview visit.

 

[whatever5]

What schools would you recommend I add? For clarification, I was complete at those schools in August, have above average ECs (research, clinical and humanitarian volunteering, shadowing, the works basically) but I have an MD letter and no DO experience.

Luckily I have 2 MD IIs so I'm not losing my mind, but as I want to do internal medicine I'm fine with MD or DO.

 

[Seth Joo]

What schools would you recommend I add? For clarification, I was complete at those schools in August, have above average ECs (research, clinical and humanitarian volunteering, shadowing, the works basically) but I have an MD letter and no DO experience.

Luckily I have 2 MD IIs so I'm not losing my mind, but as I want to do internal medicine I'm fine with MD or DO.

Apply to schools in your geographic region or areas of the country you would like to be. As I said before you should apply to at least 10 schools probably more. Those three programs you applied to, CCOM, PCOM, and KCOM are probably the top 3 DO programs. PCOM is particularly difficult to get into these days.

 

[bionerd89]

Apply to schools in your geographic region or areas of the country you would like to be. As I said before you should apply to at least 10 schools probably more. Those three programs you applied to, CCOM, PCOM, and KCOM are probably the top 3 DO programs. PCOM is particularly difficult to get into these days.

I know that CCOM and PCOM are more difficult to get into..but I didn't know the same was true for KCOM..is there anything in particular about KCOM that makes them a "top" DO program?

 

[Seth Joo]

I know that CCOM and PCOM are more difficult to get into..but I didn't know the same was true for KCOM..is there anything in particular about KCOM that makes them a "top" DO program?

KCOM is the first DO school. There is a lot of history associated with it.

 

[user3]

KCOM is middle of the road in terms of competitiveness. I know that a 3.09/3.12/27 and 3.4/3.3/24 were accepted there last year. can't comment on their EC's though.

 

[darkmb101]

What schools would you recommend I add? For clarification, I was complete at those schools in August, have above average ECs (research, clinical and humanitarian volunteering, shadowing, the works basically) but I have an MD letter and no DO experience.

Luckily I have 2 MD IIs so I'm not losing my mind, but as I want to do internal medicine I'm fine with MD or DO.

Don't apply to schools that require a DO LOR. :LOL: But you have MD IIs so you should be ok without adding more schools.

 

[coolingglasses]

KCOM is the first DO school. There is a lot of history associated with it.

Bingo.

But yeah, numeric competitiveness varies. I know our class is filled with people from, it seems, every walk of life. So I can only assume ECs are a big player.

 

[Buckeye(OH)]

Stats wise, I considered myself a pretty solid applicant for DO schools (29/3.65), so I only submitted primaries to schools I had a serious interest in attending - PCOM, CCOM, KCOM and TouroNY (I ended up not filling out TouroNYs secondary because it was too expensive).

I've been complete since August, however, and haven't heard a thing from any schools - am I a huge idiot, or do schools sometimes take over 3 months to give you an answer?

No. I applied to two.

 

[FirefighterDoc]

As stated before in this thread, it's not just about the GPA/MCAT, all your extracurriculars come into play as well. Even then its still a crapshoot. That being said, you can check out my MDApps, I got into CCOM with lower "Stats" than yours last year, but I had a lot of extracurriculars and am from Illinois. I only applied to 4 schools (CCOM, KCOM, DMU, and Marian). I got interview invites at all of them and I got my CCOM acceptance before any of my other interviews came so i immediately withdrew them. Did you submit early?

 

[baboxxyun]

I had a friend who submitted 20 primary applications before her mcat score came out. And once they were released and she saw how bad she did, she only submitted one secondary to the only school she REALLY REALLY wanted to go to. She couldnt retake the mcat cause it was the last exam of the year, so she was fully set on taking a year off, retaking the mcat and applying again.
Luckily, she got into that one school she applied to when the odds were completely stacked against her. But she applied to that one school ready to not be accepted and just try again next year.

Your situation is the reverse....
You should never just assume things. Take the chance now to apply to more schools before its too late!

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I have good stats and I applied to 20 schools. Too many you say? I was rejected pre-interview from a couple schools that I thought I would be accepted to and I was accepted to a school I thought I was a long-shot for.

You never know how this process will play out. If you are the type of personality that you can say all the right things that the ADCOM wants to hear...3 schools might be okay. I am definitely NOT that guy, so I had to cast a wide net.

Best of luck OP!

I second this. I got ii's from the two schools I thought would be my the longest shot and received a flat out rejection from two schools I thought of as "safety net". Although I have been accepted to two of the schools I interviewed at, and consequently withdrew from the rest, I don't wish I have applied to less schools (I applied to 12 schools).

You have come a long way already. Your stats are very good. Why come short now? Cough up the extra few hundred bucks and be safe. Spend a little more money and effort and have a peace of mind.

 

[coolingglasses]

I have good stats and I applied to 20 schools. Too many you say? I was rejected pre-interview from a couple schools that I thought I would be accepted to and I was accepted to a school I thought I was a long-shot for.

You never know how this process will play out. If you are the type of personality that you can say all the right things that the ADCOM wants to hear...3 schools might be okay. I am definitely NOT that guy, so I had to cast a wide net.

Best of luck OP!

+1

 

[Straw Hat]

I feel like everyone is always so obsessed with stats on this site. Medical schools DO consider other things! Just because you have a decent MCAT & GPA doesn't mean you have good volunteer, clinical, and life experience. They look for well-rounded applications. I'm not saying that you don't have these things, but they were not mentioned. There are other things to consider about your application. Do you have many shadowing hours? Spent time with D.O.s? Volunteer? Involvement in other organizations? I would also maybe consider applying to some additional schools. Was your primary complete in August or is that when you submitted secondaries?

I would like to second this. My friend applied to two DO schools with a 22 after 3 retakes and a 3.3 and got into pcom. Obviously this is just +1 anecdotal evidence but I really think solid ECs and life experience can make up for a lot. Buuuut, I would definitely consider applying to more than 2 schools.

 

[Elevencents]

I would like to second this. My friend applied to two DO schools with a 22 after 3 retakes and a 3.3 and got into pcom. Obviously this is just +1 anecdotal evidence but I really think solid ECs and life experience can make up for a lot. Buuuut, I would definitely consider applying to more than 2 schools.

PCOM-GA I hope. If not, I may cry.

 

[Straw Hat]

PCOM-GA I hope. If not, I may cry.

Yep GA, but who cares, he's going to be a physician.

 

[Elevencents]

Yep GA, but who cares, he's going to be a physician.

Er, I didn't mean anything by it. Just not seeing any love from PCOM this cycle.

 

[Goro]

Yes

 

[Beargryllz]

Probably not as stupid as applying to every one of them and then only filling out secondaries for a handful

I did that

 

[hallowmann]

Wait, did I miss something? OP says they applied to only 3 schools, but then said they also have 2 MD ii's, so obviously they applied to more than 3 schools. If you're unsure I'd throw in a couple more DO schools just in case, unless you don't mind the possibility that you'll have to reapply next cycle. The app process is a crapshoot, so never assume you know how it will turn out. That said, you will probably get in somewhere.

 

[jankymutt]

As stated above, applying to only 3 schools in this very competitive market is a bit on the low side. Even though new schools are opening all over the place and class sizes are increasing, there seems to be no shortage on applicants....I would add more, if you can.

 

[FutureGlobalDoc]

Hey OP, I only submitted to three schools; NY schools, and SOMA (in Arizona). In reality, four, since Touro added a new branch. It may not be the best for increasing your CHANCES of getting accepted. However, if you're like me, and chose to be at schools that would work best for you and your situation (whatever that is), future goals, etc., then do not worry too much. I'm not worried, but I have prepared myself in the possibility of waiting another cycle to reapply, especially since I feel I applied later in the cycle (I finished secondaries a few weeks ago).