Another segment I think could be useful will be the Frequently Asked Questions. Basically, questions that we all ask ourselves when considering strategies of our path to medical school, but never really receive definitive answers to.
Well, now ya'll will get some! (yes, I was raised in Texas. Gig 'em Aggies!)
For years, I've been asking anyone from medical school admissions board people, to physicians, to teachers: how many schools should I be applying to? The diversity of answers I get is actually quite amazing.
I've gotten: "as many as you can afford"
"five or six"
"at least ten"
"be selective because it looks desperate if you apply to too many"
Um......what?
Since I wasn't getting any good answers, I decided to ask physicians how many they had applied to themselves. You know, since they actually GOT IN.
Here's the interesting thing. I've talked to physicians that only applied to two, and got into both, and I've spoken with some that applied to 30 and got into only one school. Based on the responses I got, I've come up with my own inferences on the proper amount of medical schools that we, the underdogs should be applying to. There's a few rules though.
Rule #1: Apply to your best fit!
As I mentioned in the previous post, you shouldn't be wasting your time applying to school based on metrics alone. Look at what they're all about! Their application process is centered around the type of students they want anyway. Once you find a school that fits your personality and values, add it to your list. Don't bother applying to schools you know you won't fit into anyway. Think about it like this: even if you did get in, would you actually want to go there? Would you enjoy the environment you're in? Would you appreciate the training they put you through?
Rule #2: Think about your resources.
Applying to medical school is expensive. REALLY expensive. Expect to shovel over about $150 a pop during this process. Can you afford to apply to the schools you've got on your list? If not, reevaluate each school's importance to you. If you can't eliminate any from your list, consider looking to that school to waive any fees they can. I'll be doing more research on this particular part to see if I can provide any more info for you guys.
Besides just the applications, look at the price of the school itself. However, don't look at it in terms of "can I afford that?", but think "is that price worth that particular education?". In the end, you could be going to the most expensive medical school that puts you under mountains of debt, but if the experience and education is worth it to you, go ahead!
Personal story regarding money: Back in high school, when I was deciding on what university I wanted to go to, I had a few priorities in mind. Did this school have the degree I was looking for? Is the environment conducive to learning? ***Is the cost of this school worth the education that I'm getting?*** I had it narrowed down to two schools: University of Arizona, and Boston University. Both schools had my degree, fantastic dance programs, good locations, and both had medical schools. Boston would have cost me 60k a year to attend, Arizona costed 10k. Same exact degree, $50,000 difference in cost. The decision wasn't that hard to make.
Same logic applies to medical schools, believe it or not.
Rule #3: Look at the stats related to the school's acceptance rate.
This part sucks, because as the underdogs, stats aren't our best attributes. We have "meh" grades, but great personalities and passions to show! However, when it comes to medical schools, this is something we can't help but focus on, since YES, THERE IS A CUT OFF for scores. That's what the primary applications are about: meeting the cutoff for that medical school.
Apparently, there's a pretty good rule called the Rule of Fours that helps determine whether you should be applying to that school or not. If your GPA is at least within .4 of the average accepted GPA, and your MCAT(although this doesn't apply to the new one) scores are within 4 points of the average accepted, you're golden. Apply. Otherwise, you probably shouldn't waste your time, efforts, and money applying, when you could have better chances elsewhere.
Considering those rules, it's pretty evident that there is no number, or even range of the number of medical schools you should apply to. It all depends on what you find, what your circumstances are, and where your stats are at. Using these rules, you very well could find 30 schools that you want to apply to! Or you might end up narrowing it down to three or four.
Most importantly, remember this: if you visit a medical school, and you literally fall in love with this school, and you KNOW you're meant to be there and that this is where you want to be studying harder than you ever have before for the next four years, screw the three rules! Apply to it! You'll regret it if you don't, just because statistics and money might scare you. Doctors don't become doctors by getting scared. They get stuff done.
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