who applied to the most schools!

[Chunk-ee]

Heh heh, here's an interesting idea...

I'm wondering who applied to the most schools? I'm pretty sure that I applied to the upper end of the spectrum and I'm wondering if anyone (or anyone's parents in my case) is even more crazy than I am .

I'm applying to 26 schools this year. Can anyone top that? (I mean that in the most self-deprecating, non-competitive way, of course!)

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[spacecadet]

Well, I might have applied to the least schools. I'm applying to three schools. Can anyone get under that?

 

[DoctorOneDay]

I've got you beat!!! I applied to 2 schools. But of course my story is a little more complicated than most.

 

[BlackPuma]

Originally posted by DoctorOneDay:
•I've got you beat!!! I applied to 2 schools. But of course my story is a little more complicated than most.•

go ahead please tell me your story

 

[md2be06]

I believe I remember ScoobyDoo saying he applied to around 38 schools or something. Ah, I wish I had such deep pockets....

 

[Georgey]

I applied to 24 schools. I should point out though that I am a Texas resident and we have seven allopathic med schools down here so that 24 may be a little skewed.

 

[serpiente]

I applied to 30--yeah it's crazy I know but I really want to get in somewhere, anywhere. My state school is really competitive, (much more than most state schools for resident applicants) and nothing seemed to be a sure thing. So that's why I'm going to be broke before I even start school!(My parents are not paying for any of this and I make about 20K a year)Seriously, if I get any acceptances early on, I'll probably bail out on the others so I could save a few secondary fees and airfares.

 

[Hopkins2010]

I'm applying to 31 total, 26 AMCAS and 5 Texas schools.

Someone else posted on SDN awhile back stating they were applying to 40 something schools. Thats the most that I'm aware of.

 

[Loki]

Ok...I admit it! I applied/will apply to 42 schools...This was pretty much, with the exception of my state school and Oregon and Washington, all the schools that accept out of state applicants.

I don't have a prayer at half of them, I guess I've got nothing else to do with my money.

I think it would be interesting to compare the # of interviews I get with the winner of the least # of schools applied to. I betcha our interview invites will be pretty close to identical.

I am an old guy (34), high GPA and average MCAT, and very aware that age discrimination is lurking behind those "we don't discriminate against race, sex, age..yadda yadda.." disclaimers.

On the bright side, I have an opportunity to become a legend as the guy who applied to the most schools...A good story for my ditch diggin buddies later on down the road.

 

[SMW]

22 AMCAS schools, 2 non-AMCAS. I'm not even in the running.

 

[Chunk-ee]

42?!

I am not worthy, I am not worthy

best of luck!
Chunk-ee

 

[Scooby Doo]

Hmmm....Damn!
I was beat out by the OLD GUY!!!!
So close too

 

[Amy]

Originally posted by Loki:
•I don't have a prayer at half of them, I guess I've got nothing else to do with my money.•

Why apply if you know you "don't have a prayer?" It's a waste of time and money, and schools are generally wary of people who apply to THAT many schools. Make sure you convince some of the schools that they really are one of your top choices, and you didn't just pick them all out of a hat.

 

[DoctorOneDay]

Wanna hear the story here it is:
Originally applied to med school for the entering class of 1996. Applied to 12 schools, got in to UIC and Northwestern, pulled all other apps. Went to Northwestern, didn't do well, didn't like the nontraditional curriculum, left in 1998. Was a HPSP (military), did 3 years in the Army, reapplying now. Applied to 2 schools (UIC, Chicago Med). Got a secondary from UIC. Gonna get in (or so I'd like to think because the alternative is bad

 

[BlackPuma]

why didnt you like northwestern?

can you please elaborate?

thanks

 

[DoctorOneDay]

had too much free time on my hands.
I prefer the traditional curriculum. Most of my classmates liked it but I didn't. It really depends on the amount of structure you like. The integrated thing would have been fine for second year but I just didn't feel that I got a solid foundation. Most of what I didn't like was the lack of student support (i.e. quizzes, tutoring, etc). Not a horror story but just think about how you learn best.

 

[Loki]

Originally posted by Amitha726:
•

Why apply if you know you "don't have a prayer?" It's a waste of time and money, and schools are generally wary of people who apply to THAT many schools. Make sure you convince some of the schools that they really are one of your top choices, and you didn't just pick them all out of a hat•

Well, that is a good question. I wish I could lay down some cold hard logic on you but the fact of the matter is, I do not want to walk away from this opportunity without thinking that I did everything I could to become a physician. As far as convincing schools that they are my top choice, the reality is they are all excellent schools and I am convinced that I could obtain a quality education at any of them. I have heard/read that applying to medical school is like voting in Chicago, apply early and aplly often. If a school wants me and is convinced that I can be successful in their program, I highly doubt that they would care where else I applied. I have been known to be wrong in the past, and I could be wrong 42 more times before it this is all over.

Thanks for the insight regarding making the schools feel special, excellent advice.

 

[simpleton]

I think applying to 20+ schools is absolutely absurd. But this is just my personal opinion. Those of you who did apply to that many schools already admit that you aren't going to pursue some of them by not filling out their secondary applications. I don't think the medical schools see or will ever know how many schools you applied to but if they did they probably laugh their heads off and throw away your application. Think about it.... logistically you are just trying to play the odds at getting accepted and the medical schools are going to sniff you out. Just ask yourself how would you even interview at that many schools, albeit you might not get an interview at all those schools but if you did it would be nearly physically impossible not to mention taking that much time away from school and or a job. And if you say well if I get accepted to a school then I won't interview anywhere else. The thing with that is what if you don't know for awhile if you get accepted to a particular school after an interview. It can take awhile to get that acceptance letter and if you do get accepted say to a school you just applied to for the heck of it then you will have to keep interviewing. What I'm trying to say is that if you know you aren't competitive or don't want to go to a particular school then don't apply. And if you have money to burn try to save some of it.

 

[sandflea]

23 schools....and i'm filling out every single secondary i get and going to every single interview i'm offered.

simpleton, it's really not that unusual to apply to so many schools. i know people who were actually *advised* by their pre-med advisors to apply to that many schools, even with great stats. the fact is, applying to med school is a crap shoot. there are always stories of people who are rejected by their state schools but manage to be accepted by a top-ten. while it may be unusual, it certainly happens. i had a friend in college with strong stats who applied to 35 schools...and didn't get into a single one. the moral is, you just never know.

i would rather spend the money and apply to a lot of schools now and increase my odds of acceptance, than to only apply to a few schools and have to do the process all over again, which is actually exactly the situation i'm in. it's my second time applying, and the first time around i only applied to 5 schools. no acceptances (obviously), and i firmly believe that the low number of schools i applied to was certainly a factor in this.

and how exactly will med schools 'sniff out' the number of schools you're applying to? they are not provided with this information and it shouldn't matter anyway: any adcom with a half-decent knowledge of their job realizes how competitive admission to med school is these days. i chose my 23 schools carefully and, believe it or not, i have distinct reasons for applying to all of them.

 

[SMW]

Well, I applied to 20+ schools and view it as giving myself decent odds, because the schools themselves say they don't have enough space to admit all the qualified applicants they get. I don't see a thing wrong with that, and doubt that the schools are going to either laugh their heads off or sniff me out. I researched the schools carefully and didn't apply unless I really liked the school and thought I'd be competitive, even for my "reach" schools. I am returning all the secondaries I get, because I would really prefer never, ever to have to deal with AMCAS again.

 

[Jalby]

Let's see. I applyed to 40 schools, and so far have completed 25 of the secondaries. I have 5 more schools that I havn't heard from yet but I am sure I will complete there secondaries if asked to (UC schools).
I'm applying to so many because my mommy wants me to. I applied 2 years ago and didn't get a single interview. So she told me to apply everywhere that accepts out of staters. I probably overdid the backup schools (about 10).

 

[johnthestreak]

24 schools, i'm filling out every secondary and i'm going to every interview offered! i dunno about ya'll but i'm sure that i want to be a doctor and i'm covering all the bases and not just applying to 5 or 6 schools. I'm not saying that everyone does this but i know alot of premeds that if they don't get into their first choice theyaren't going anywhere. i don't know about ya'll but i'm going anywhere i get in!

 

[CanIJustPayForMyMD?]

OK...I think I've got you all beat...
56 schools!! But that's probably got to do with my really crappy GPA. Maximize my options...but minimize my funds. It cost me $1800 for the primary alone, and they still haven't gotten around to verify it.

 

[sandflea]

don't take this the wrong way, but from someone who's having to go through this process for the second time, if your GPA is really so crappy for you to justify applying to 56 schools, then it would really be in your best interest to improve your GPA *before* you apply. take more undergrad courses as a post-bacc or go get a masters--your GPA is arguably the most important part to your app and it needs to be reasonably competitive. while applying to a higher number of schools can improve the odds for someone whose stats are borderline, if your GPA is truly not competitive, then your chances for acceptance *anywhere* are extremely slim and that's $1800 down the drain.

56 schools is really the extreme. i'm just speculating but i'm guessing that a lot of these schools are places where you won't stand much of a chance regardless of what your numbers are--state schools as an out of state resident, private schools that still prefer in-state resident--simply because i don't think there ARE that many schools that someone can stand a reasonable shot at.

i'm not trying to offend you, so please don't take this all the wrong way. but i think you're either really underconfident about your chances (i.e. your GPA is better than you think it is) or you're taking the wrong approach to getting into med school (i.e. your GPA needs to be raised before you stand any kind of chance ANYWHERE).

 

[Scooby Doo]

Simpleton....ah yes....what a great name...

You obviously are NOT from california...
Here's how we calculate how to do things.
From California: Add 8 schools to your list
Have decent but not great stats: Add another 10 schools to your list.
Have friends who have applied before but didn't get in: Add 10 schools to your list
Have advisors who told you that you're a white male and they have a better chance of finding a penny on the grond when walking to the BART station than you ever getting into med school: Look at tally and see you HAVE to add 15 more schools!

That's kind of how I figured out my schools

Three of my good friends last year. All with decent stats (3.2 and a 39; 3.8 and a 31; 3.6 and a 33)....all applied to 25+ schools. Only the last one got in...He got into Finch.
One guy that I went to go see...had worked with med schools admissions boards said "Well, your GPA is good and your MCAT is decent...but you're white...and you're a guy...I see you having a very..very..very difficult time getting into med school..have you thought about other options???"
I personally do NOT wanna do this again...so add a couple more backups to my list...
Then, the whole california thing...add the other 8 schools to my list!

And there we go. The ONLY reason I am not returning all my secondaries is b/c I have already gotten some interviews at QUALITY medical schools that if I did get into I would never dream of giving up going to those over say some lower tier schools. So basically, all the lower tier secondaries I am filling out or letting sit before I go rushing them off to schools with 100 dollar checks.

Hope this clarifies some things..

 

[TwoSteveSquared]

Originally posted by ScoobyDoo:
•One guy that I went to go see...had worked with med schools admissions boards said "Well, your GPA is good and your MCAT is decent...but you're white...and you're a guy...I see you having a very..very..very difficult time getting into med school..have you thought about other options???"
•

Why would being white and male be any worse than say being asian and male or persian and male?

 

[kutastha]

Originally posted by TwoSteveSquared:
•Why would being white and male be any worse than say being asian and male or persian and male?•

Did he say it was?

Andrew

 

[Jalby]

He never said that a white male is worse than being a persian or asain male. He said he was a white male.

 

[Jalby]

Damn it. beat me by 3 minutes. Shouldn't have thaught as much as I did.

 

[kutastha]

Yeah, but you elaborated.

Andrew

 

[BlackPuma]

josh you are a second year applicant? wow, but your getting great interviews this year?

aren't you?

 

[audeo]

I have applied 24 schools even with great STATS. I am intending to fill out every secondary and attend every interview. My chances are still quirky though.

 

[Jalby]

Yes, I am a second timer. I wasn't a pre-med for my first 1.66 years at UCLa and hence got a 2.6. I decided to become a doctor (great story, too) and since then I got about a 3.6. I had a really good MCAT, but at the time of my first application I had no clinical, 6 months research, my essay was terrible compared to this one (8 drafts will do that), and I really only had one good letter of rec.
So I waited 2 years, got a masters in biochemistry, volunteered teaching innercity kids how to read, volunteered at an ER and applied again this year. I've been counting the months til I am in med school. Started at 22 and now I'm at 10 or so.

Josh

 

[Wasabi]

I'm applying to 36 allopathic medical schools, 11 osteopathic schools, and 5 dental schools.

I guess that leaves me with a grand total of 52 schools?

Luckily, my MCAT score turned out to be better than expected, so I don't have to consider applying to dental schools anymore! Woohoo!

 

[mdhopeful]

I have to agree with the California residents. Add 8 CA schools, add 10 big name east coast schools, add 10 schools mid-high range who accept out-of staters and you've already got nearly 30. The way I look at it is by region. If you are a CA resident non-URM with mediocre stats you have to apply to most every school that accepts out of staters in IL, MA, PA, NY, DC. I do not see what the big deal is. Rather than be "smart" about the number, it is better to apply to more than less. Plus you've got to consider age, some of us are older non-trads and we can't afford to "wait another year" to apply. we've got to get there before we are old and gray...

 

[johnthestreak]

hey wasabi-
what are your stats?
and how and where do you get the money to apply to so many schools?

 

[DesperatelySeekingMD]

Hey..what about DC residents who don't have any state schools...we really are in the worst boat. I decided to apply to 19...

 

[Wasabi]

Originally posted by johnthestreak:

hey wasabi- what are your stats?


my overall gpa at uic is fairly strong (4.87/5.00) and my mcats are decent (30 P), but my chances of getting into an allopathic schools are significantly lowered by the grades i achieved at uiuc. if you want more details about my stats, feel free to send me a personal message..


and how and where do you get the money to apply to so many schools?

well, i happen to be in a very lucky situation. since i'm the only child and both my parents are physicians, all the costs for allopathic schools are covered by them. as for the dental and osteopathic schools, i'm covering all the costs on my own. i recently received a scholarship from my school, so all the money that was rewarded to me goes to schools i'm applying to.

 

[justin_od]

42 allopathic schools man.........cha-ching