how many med schools of each type should i apply to?
>>FAQ: How many med schools should I apply to? How do I decide?
a) ANDY:
ON AVERAGE, MOST PEOPLE DO 15-20.
MORE IF YOU THINK YOU'RE WEAKER.
1/4 ARE REACH SCHOOLS
1/2 ARE PROBABLY GONNA GET AN INTERVIEW SCHOOLS
1/4 ARE SAFETY SCHOOLS.
I APPLIED 40 PROGRAMS BECAUSE I WAS LIKE FUCK IT I'M NOT WORKING ANOTHER GAP YEAR ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. PROBABLY OVERKILL.
>>See the discussion @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/BerkeleyPreMed/666659136762296/?notif_t=group_activity
a) ANDY:
ON AVERAGE, MOST PEOPLE DO 15-20.
MORE IF YOU THINK YOU'RE WEAKER.
1/4 ARE REACH SCHOOLS
1/2 ARE PROBABLY GONNA GET AN INTERVIEW SCHOOLS
1/4 ARE SAFETY SCHOOLS.
I APPLIED 40 PROGRAMS BECAUSE I WAS LIKE FUCK IT I'M NOT WORKING ANOTHER GAP YEAR ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. PROBABLY OVERKILL.
>>See the discussion @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/BerkeleyPreMed/666659136762296/?notif_t=group_activity
b) K.Lam's version: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BerkeleyPreMed/667152140046329/?notif_t=group_activity
FAQ: HOW DO I SELECT WHAT SCHOOLS TO APPLY TO (KENG'S VERSION)?
First of all, I think MSAR is a great resource to use because it provided me great overviews about each school. I also visited individual school websites to learn more about the work they do and their admissions requirements/criteria. The second part takes a lot of work and effort, but there's no way around it. Make an Excel Sheet to help you take notes.
To select the 25-40 schools you are interested, you should first eliminate the schools that usually accept very few non-CA residents (e.g. University of Nebraska) because they most likely not worth your time and money unless you are applying to their MD-PhD programs.
Then, look at their MCAT/GPA range. I personally don't put much stock into any type of formulas derived from SDN because admissions officers really don't use a specific formula when they look over your applications. In my opinion, as long as your MCAT/GPA are above the schools 10-percentile, then you are good enough to be taken seriously (although I also have attended interview from a school in which my MCAT is below their 10-percentile). But do have a good mix of schools in which your GPA/MCAT are above and below their medians.
After that, you will need to look into individual schools more closely. That's when you will visit each school websites to look over their mission, their emphasis, their work, their admissions requirements, their tuition cost, etc. It's going to take some time, but it's also fun to read over their "labels."
Finally, consider the geographic areas. Is there a city or state you really don't want to be in? That criteria should allow you to get rid of a few schools, but be sure to keep an open minded as well because there were cities/towns that I didn't think I would like but I ended up loving them.
If necessary, rinse and repeat. Don't overapply. I personally think 45 schools is way too many, but somewhere around 30 plus or minus 5 is a good balanced. Yes, it is important to cast a wide net, but you don't want to have so many fishes (aka secondary applications) that they end up breaking your nets and escape, or worse: sinking your boat.
FAQ: HOW DO I SELECT WHAT SCHOOLS TO APPLY TO (KENG'S VERSION)?
First of all, I think MSAR is a great resource to use because it provided me great overviews about each school. I also visited individual school websites to learn more about the work they do and their admissions requirements/criteria. The second part takes a lot of work and effort, but there's no way around it. Make an Excel Sheet to help you take notes.
To select the 25-40 schools you are interested, you should first eliminate the schools that usually accept very few non-CA residents (e.g. University of Nebraska) because they most likely not worth your time and money unless you are applying to their MD-PhD programs.
Then, look at their MCAT/GPA range. I personally don't put much stock into any type of formulas derived from SDN because admissions officers really don't use a specific formula when they look over your applications. In my opinion, as long as your MCAT/GPA are above the schools 10-percentile, then you are good enough to be taken seriously (although I also have attended interview from a school in which my MCAT is below their 10-percentile). But do have a good mix of schools in which your GPA/MCAT are above and below their medians.
After that, you will need to look into individual schools more closely. That's when you will visit each school websites to look over their mission, their emphasis, their work, their admissions requirements, their tuition cost, etc. It's going to take some time, but it's also fun to read over their "labels."
Finally, consider the geographic areas. Is there a city or state you really don't want to be in? That criteria should allow you to get rid of a few schools, but be sure to keep an open minded as well because there were cities/towns that I didn't think I would like but I ended up loving them.
If necessary, rinse and repeat. Don't overapply. I personally think 45 schools is way too many, but somewhere around 30 plus or minus 5 is a good balanced. Yes, it is important to cast a wide net, but you don't want to have so many fishes (aka secondary applications) that they end up breaking your nets and escape, or worse: sinking your boat.