What are the 15 easiest Schools to get into

[babalaco2]

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So my grades are pretty low for med school, but I know Id be an excellent candidate and have greats ECs and work experience, and will be preparing for the MCAT over the next year. I am going to try to retake some of my prereqs to boost my GPA a little. Needless to so I know I have no chance of go to a top school, but that doesnt bother me as long as I am a doctor. Im thinking ill apply to about 30 schools total, both MD and DO. I was wondering, what are the lesser competitive allopathic schools. I could claim IL or PA residency, if that helps.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

You really ought to order US News Graduate school Premium edition. Among other things, it ranks the hardest and easiest U.S. medical schools to get into, based on numbers. I find it more useful than the MSAR in helping me to decide what schools to apply to.

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/rankings/med/medindex.php

 

[crys20]

I was debating buying that even though I'm 90% sure where I'm applying. I'm so not cheap...but is it worth the 15 bucks?

Oh, and to the OP...Some of the PA schools to apply to: Temple, Drexel, Jefferson.

Oh, and for applying DO. You're doing ALL the right things to ensure you get in.

 

[jscarpachio]

I was debating buying that even though I'm 90% sure where I'm applying. I'm so not cheap...but is it worth the 15 bucks?

Some people here must know what the easiest schools are. Mind sharing?

I am a resident of California, but that probably doesn't do me any good.

 

[crys20]

You just gotta look at mcat's and gpas...The 'easiest' ones really aren't that easy because basically like 70% of schools have the same rough averages; around a 30 mcat and around a 3.5 GPA. Here are some of those lower-end schools, I think:

Howard
Meharry
Albany
Univ Vermont
Tulane
Tufts
Temple
SLU
NYMC
MCW
Jeff
Finch
Drexel

And of course whatever state schools you have you must apply to. If you REALLY want some safeties, apply DO; there average stats tend to be a bit lower.

 

[sunUCB]

that's a good list, although i don't think tulane is easy to get in to (or at least in my experience and the people i know who applied there). and howard/meharry from what i've seen prefer URMs, and i don't know what the chances are of getting in if you are not a URM.

and one more thing - Finch is now called Rosalind Franklin, if you're looking for it on the application.

You just gotta look at mcat's and gpas...The 'easiest' ones really aren't that easy because basically like 70% of schools have the same rough averages; around a 30 mcat and around a 3.5 GPA. Here are some of those lower-end schools, I think:

Howard
Meharry
Albany
Univ Vermont
Tulane
Tufts
Temple
SLU
NYMC
MCW
Jeff
Finch
Drexel

And of course whatever state schools you have you must apply to. If you REALLY want some safeties, apply DO; there average stats tend to be a bit lower.

 

[myodana]

I was debating buying that even though I'm 90% sure where I'm applying. I'm so not cheap...but is it worth the 15 bucks?

15 bucks? in the long run, you'll have spent so much money during this process that another 15 bucks won't make a bit of difference 🙂

 

[PBR727]

I spent over $5,000 applying to just 15 schools so I wouldn't worry about $15

I was debating buying that even though I'm 90% sure where I'm applying. I'm so not cheap...but is it worth the 15 bucks?

 

[crys20]

lol, oh i know. i was just curious as to whether it was at helpful at all. i mean, i have an msar, the usnews thing did look conveinent though. didn't all that info used to be free? what kind of info does it provide?

oh and muchos gracias for the heads up on Finch-->RF. And yes, Howard/Meharry prefer URMs but I know they do accept some non-URMS, esp Meharry. But I'm not applying to either for that very reason.

Tulane's avg GPA is a 3.54, and MCAT is a 10 (VR), 10.5, 10.5 per their website.So yeah a bit high MCAT-wise than some may like.

 

[crys20]

Wow, 5 grand is a lot. And I am going hog-wild as far as # of schools go. For 15 schools wouldn't your prim be ~600, secondaries $1500 at most...Did you get a ton of interviews?

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

I was debating buying that even though I'm 90% sure where I'm applying. I'm so not cheap...but is it worth the 15 bucks?

Oh, and to the OP...Some of the PA schools to apply to: Temple, Drexel, Jefferson.

Oh, and for applying DO. You're doing ALL the right things to ensure you get in.

Well, I am a cheap guy, and I would say that it is worth far more than $15 to anyone who is applying this cycle. For me, US News has been crucial in deciding what schools I will apply to. Not only does it give the average GPA and MCAT for each school, it also gives the in-state and out-of-state acceptance rates, address/email/phone number of each admissions office, tuition and fees, cost of secondary, male/female ratio, etc... This info is all very important (ok, maybe not the male/female ratio 😉), and it can help you save a lot of money in the long run. As a personal example, I had planned on applying to UNC this year until I found they only accept 2% out of state applicants; this info saved me at least $30, maybe even $95 (primary app plus secondary). It has also helped me decide what backups I will apply to, primarily based on out-of-state acceptance rates, which is very important to a Californian applicant. I'm sure it will prove worthy to you as well. 👍

 

[crys20]

Right on. That male to female ratio is my key deciding factor, what are ya talking about 😉

 

[drslc134]

Just outta curiousity...are the detailed graduate rankings only available online w/ US News Premium or are they also published in some magainze like the college rankings?

 

[newhavenjake]

Just outta curiousity...are the detailed graduate rankings only available online w/ US News Premium or are they also published in some magainze like the college rankings?

both

 

[PBR727]

Wow, 5 grand is a lot. And I am going hog-wild as far as # of schools go. For 15 schools wouldn't your prim be ~600, secondaries $1500 at most...Did you get a ton of interviews?

I went to eight interviews...as much as flights and hotels can cost, the little expenses like cabs, food, etc. can really drive costs up. (I also included the cost of a new suit)

 

[crys20]

Ahh, I can see how you'd rack up 5 g's.

 

[rjb]

I went to eight interviews...as much as flights and hotels can cost, the little expenses like cabs, food, etc. can really drive costs up. (I also included the cost of a new suit)

in the end, where u headed?

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Just outta curiousity...are the detailed graduate rankings only available online w/ US News Premium or are they also published in some magainze like the college rankings?

More information is given online through the premium edition. It has extras beyond the numbers (such as, the hardest and easiest schools to get into), as well as customizable lists of schools that you are interested in and a quick comparison tool. It's my best friend 😀

 

[CanuckRazorback]

Just a word of wisdom to the OP- there is a silly assumption that because UVM's published 'acceptance numbers' are lower, that the school is easier to get into or is of lower caliber. In reality, there are people with super high numbers who have been rejected (very easy to see with a simple search), simply because UVM is clearly highly selective in the type of applicant it wants. If you want, talk to the admissions counselors and read the MSAR description really carefully to see if you might be a good 'fit' for the school before you apply- there are some very friendly people in the office who would probably be more than happy to help. In the end, you never know unless you try, but be careful not to make the assumption that it is 'easy' or even 'easier'.

That's great advice. I interviewed at some schools that I would have not applied to had I known that there was no way I would fit in there. Doing some research will help you same some $$$.

 

[PhD2MD]

I spent over $5,000 applying to just 15 schools so I wouldn't worry about $15

Holy $%@#, is this normal??? $5000, so if I wanted to apply to 30 would I be looking at $10Gs, Something doesnt seem right here. 333 per school???

 

[sunUCB]

no, it depends on how many secondaries you fill out and how many interviews you go on.

for example, i applied to 30 schools and went to 7 interviews, and it cost me around 5-6 grand. interviews tend to change the cost by a lot, as in if you apply to the same number of schools but go to 10 interviews vs. 1 interview, that could be a difference of around $2500-3000....so number of schools you applied to doesn't always predict the cost. transportation can be expensive, especially for a west coast person like me who had pretty much every interview at least 2,000 miles away.

Holy $%@#, is this normal??? $5000, so if I wanted to apply to 30 would I be looking at $10Gs, Something doesnt seem right here. 333 per school???

 

[masterMood]

why is tufts considered a bad med. school?

all i've heard was that Tufts University was a beautiful place with extremely intelligent people. Wouldn't it be comparable to like Emory or NYU, or WUSL?

 

[FloridaMadame]

why is tufts considered a bad med. school?

all i've heard was that Tufts University was a beautiful place with extremely intelligent people. Wouldn't it be comparable to like Emory or NYU, or WUSL?

Tufts is a beautiful place with some extremely intelligent people, especially at the undergraduate campus which is in the suburbs of Boston. The Tufts medical school however, is in downtown Boston and does not share the beauty of the undergraduate haven. Also, as a place for obtaining a medical education, while exceptionally good, it is not Emory, NYU, and certainly not WUSL, at least not for medical school. Emory this year is ranked in a 3-way tie for #20 and is considered top tier, NYU is ranked #32 (closest to Tufts' ranking at #43 of the schools you mentioned), and Wash U DROPPED down to #3 this year, right behind Harvard and Hopkins. While still an excellent school where a medical student will have a great experience and become a great doctor, Tufts may be seen as not being quite as competitive, albeit, still quite good. Also, as you can see, my answer to your question relied on the US News rankings while others may utilize different criteria for their own personal determinations.

 

[scrappysurfer]

Holy $%@#, is this normal??? $5000, so if I wanted to apply to 30 would I be looking at $10Gs, Something doesnt seem right here. 333 per school???

I sent in 19 secondaries and had 6 interviews. After 4 plane tickets, 5gees sounds about right. This includes the MCAT costs which were around $900 for books and two sittings.

And that is the budget plan which includes making use of student hosts, grandparents, etc for putting me up. I only paid for one night in a hotel ($50, not worth a penny. Shower flooded and I was allergic to something in the room. When I woke up in the morning my eyes were nearly swollen shut until the antihistamine took effect.)

 

[boyz of 4d]

Can someone who has the online edition just paste the info here? Thanks

 

[erock]

I was debating buying that even though I'm 90% sure where I'm applying. I'm so not cheap...but is it worth the 15 bucks?

Don't forget to patronize your local libraries! A paper version of USNews can be found in most reference sections. $0.15 to copy a couple pages sure beats $15 for 200 pages of mostly inutile material. If you really need the online extras, go for it. It is your $15 afterall. My $15 is paying the beer tab.

As for the argument about quality of medical education at lesser ranked schools by the non-omniscient USNews ... Famous cardio guy Michael DeBakey graduated from unranked Tulane and went on to invent and employ (among many other innovations) the Dacron graft to treat aneurysms and vascular obstructions.

 

[MWillie]

why is tufts considered a bad med. school?

all i've heard was that Tufts University was a beautiful place with extremely intelligent people. Wouldn't it be comparable to like Emory or NYU, or WUSL?

Whoa whoa, if you say Tufts is comparable to WUSTL, I'm going to be very angry. 😀

 

[diosa428]

Tufts is a beautiful place with some extremely intelligent people, especially at the undergraduate campus which is in the suburbs of Boston. The Tufts medical school however, is in downtown Boston and does not share the beauty of the undergraduate haven. Also, as a place for obtaining a medical education, while exceptionally good, it is not Emory, NYU, and certainly not WUSL, at least not for medical school. Emory this year is ranked in a 3-way tie for #20 and is considered top tier, NYU is ranked #32 (closest to Tufts' ranking at #43 of the schools you mentioned), and Wash U DROPPED down to #3 this year, right behind Harvard and Hopkins. While still an excellent school where a medical student will have a great experience and become a great doctor, Tufts may be seen as not being quite as competitive, albeit, still quite good. Also, as you can see, my answer to your question relied on the US News rankings while others may utilize different criteria for their own personal determinations.

In addition, Tufts is one of the most expensive medical schools in the country, which makes it unattractive to some.

 

[blingblah]

Maybe one should ask the person who is on waitlists to all the schools he/ she has applied to or hasnt heard back from any schools - WHAT ARE THE EASIEST MED SCHOOLS TO GET INTO?

 

[FloridaMadame]

In addition, Tufts is one of the most expensive medical schools in the country, which makes it unattractive to some.

Very true. I totally forgot about that "little" issue since I withdrew my acceptance shortly after I received it. As great as Boston is, it is not an inexpensive city to live in, and attending Tufts Med. makes it even harder. For some though, the fun of Boston and the experiences of east coast living may make the expenses worth it.

 

[Homer Doughnuts]

Maybe one should ask the person who is on waitlists to all the schools he/ she has applied to or hasnt heard back from any schools - WHAT ARE THE EASIEST MED SCHOOLS TO GET INTO?

I agree but keep in mind that SDN hates on anything that isn't Wash U, Hopkins or Ivy. Remember once your in med school the only equation that matters is P=M.D.

 

[tinnyfluffy]

15 easiest schools to get into according to 2004 us news (excluding DO schools):

Wright State University
University of Vermont
East Carolina University
Virginia Commonwealth University
University of North Dakota
East Tennessee State University
University of South Dakota
University of South Carolina
Southern Illinois University--Springfield
Northeastern Ohio Universities
Drexel
University of New Mexico
Uniformed Services U of Health Sciences
Medical University of South Carolina
West Virginia University

easier to get into doesn't mean it's not good. and i'd check whether these schools accept large # of out-of-staters before i apply.

 

[Phil Anthropist]

15 easiest schools to get into according to 2004 us news (excluding DO schools):

Wright State University
University of Vermont
East Carolina University
Virginia Commonwealth University
University of North Dakota
East Tennessee State University
University of South Dakota
University of South Carolina
Southern Illinois University--Springfield
Northeastern Ohio Universities
Drexel
University of New Mexico
Uniformed Services U of Health Sciences
Medical University of South Carolina
West Virginia University

easier to get into doesn't mean it's not good. and i'd check whether these schools accept large # of out-of-staters before i apply.

I agree on both of the bold statements. Some of these are public medical schools with very strong in-state preference

 

[crys20]

Also 'easier' is relative to what state you live in!!

 

[myodana]

true true true. basically... THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN "EASY-TO-GET-IN" MEDICAL SCHOOL! safety schools do not exist. i sort of thought i might be a competitive applicant, 3.6 GPA, 32 MCAT, research, non-trad, and out of 20 schools, i got 4 interviews (one of which i declined) and one acceptance and one waitlist. all of the rest (except for those i withdrew from after my acceptance) were straight up rejections. talk about a blow to the ego. stats at mdapplicants if you're curious.

 

[crys20]

Myodana...Yeah that sucks, eh? Must've been that damn science GPA; my problem too. Did you have any real low grades in anything? I have a 3.45 sci but w/ a D in calc II and 3 C's (2 in gchem, 1 in ochem). If you did, did they tend to come up at your interviews?

 

[drwlo]

Just a warning to those applying for 2006. Don't apply to too many safety schools. I applied to 4 and was rejected outright by all of them. Look at your stats and apply to a lot of schools in your range but if you're significantly above their range, don't apply, you're throwing your money away.

Also, I spent around $10,000. I went on 13 interviews but it is sooooooo expensive. I met a girl who did something very smart. She scheduled her interviews at schools she was really interested in early in the fall and left interviews for the other schools until the winter. That way, when she was accepted to a great school in Nov, she was able to cancel those other interviews. She saved a ton of money. I wished I had done that.

 

[beriberi]

Fifteen easiest schools to get into:

1. Your state school(s)
2-14. See number one.
15. A school where your stats are around average for the class.

For people with marginal stats, the state school is the most likely answer. Take a lot of time and very careful consideration about what you declare as your residency (I don't know enough about Penn vs. Ill to say which is better). Some state schools have acceptance rates >50% (for in-state applicants)--I would venture to say that there are NO private schools with that high a rate.

Otherwise, find a school where people look like you (statistically). I went to a top 5 school where people tend to have very high MCATS and somewhat high grades. I got rejected from a variety of "easy" schools--inc. Tufts, Creighton. I think that most schools won't waste their time on a student that they don't believe really wants to go there (stats are much higher than average for that school.) That is how people with great stats end up nowhere (except in the re-Applicants forum).

I think Myodana's MDapplicants profile is a great illustration of this....

 

[Law2Doc]

I met a girl who did something very smart. She scheduled her interviews at schools she was really interested in early in the fall and left interviews for the other schools until the winter. That way, when she was accepted to a great school in Nov, she was able to cancel those other interviews. She saved a ton of money. I wished I had done that.

Maybe I misunderstood, but it actually doesn't sound too smart to me. In a rolling admissions process, you want to have everything done and get your application (with interview results) back in front of the adcom at the next possible committee meeting at the earliest juncture. While she may have saved money, in the couple of months she put off those schools, they could have filled up, and she could have been forcing herself to interview for a waitlist spot.
You have to be extremely confident you are absolutely going to get into your preferred schools to take this tactic (which shouldn't be the case for 90% of the applicants out there), and there are certainly lots of places one can falter in the application/admissions process.

 

[tinkerbelle]

Maybe I misunderstood, but it actually doesn't sound too smart to me. In a rolling admissions process, you want to have everything done and get your application (with interview results) back in front of the adcom at the next possible committee meeting at the earliest juncture. While she may have saved money, in the couple of months she put off those schools, they could have filled up, and she could have been forcing herself to interview for a waitlist spot.
You have to be extremely confident you are absolutely going to get into your preferred schools to take this tactic (which shouldn't be the case for 90% of the applicants out there), and there are certainly lots of places one can falter in the application/admissions process.

I'd say the same thing as Law2Doc.

Also, don't forget that some schools will make you schedule your interview during a certain period.

 

[ShyRem]

Your state school being easy doesn't always work - Colorado isn't easy to get into even for in-staters. I hear Californians also have it tough.

 

[kelaskov]

I'd say the same thing as Law2Doc.

Also, don't forget that some schools will make you schedule your interview during a certain period.

Even though my stats weren't the best, I completed applications for only two schools and received one accept-UNECOM/ one waitlist-UVM. While filling out secondaries, my boyfriend and I really thought about where we wanted to live and focused only on schools which we loved.....and in doing so..saved a lot in application related fees (we didn't finish secondaries for 3 schools). Only applying to schools once also helped keep the costs down.

We also applied late (August MCAT) and received interview invites late. Before we interviewed, we happened to be traveling in Maine and were able to get an informal tour and meeting with some of the admissions people.
This meeting really helped us decide that UNECOM was the right school for us and was a great way to see the school (we had a much longer, in-depth tours/discussions). If possible, I highly recommend visiting the schools to which you are applying ..even before you interview.
We are excited about starting medical school and are thankfull that we never have to go through this expensive, nerveracking experience again.

 

[myodana]

Myodana...Yeah that sucks, eh? Must've been that damn science GPA; my problem too. Did you have any real low grades in anything? I have a 3.45 sci but w/ a D in calc II and 3 C's (2 in gchem, 1 in ochem). If you did, did they tend to come up at your interviews?

hey, nope, no super low grades, just a general tend towards B's... a couple of B-'s in Bio-Organic and Biochem i think... not even one C on my entire transcript. and no mention of any of it at my interviews. the interviewers were mostly very impressed by the diversity of experiences in my portfolio. (a "very complicated dossier" as they said...)