CHOOSING SCHOOLS

When it comes to choosing medical schools, first, seriously consider the ones in your own state. This is for two reasons. First, state schools show definite preference for their own residents. Second, though…….it's interesting. Schools tend to believe that you will be more successful in medical school if you have a strong emotional support system around you…….friends and family that can be there for you when the going gets tough. If you leave your home state to attend medical school, they figure, you might be isolated and not have that same support system. This is another reason why even schools that are not state schools generally like to accept people from their own state.

One additional reason why schools might favor people from their own state is that they hope to furnish physicians TO THAT STATE. They figure you are most likely to stay there and practice there if you are from there.

If you are applying to out-of-state schools, I suggest that you use the space in their supplementary applications to really play up your personal connection to that state. Talk about close friends and family that you have there, and discuss your commitment to practice there after you graduate. It's still going to be hard for you to get into an out-of-state school (they tend to take only the most stupendously well-qualified applicants) but doing this can help.

Let's say that you've decided to apply to all or most of the schools in your state. What now? Should you apply to more?

The average medical school applicant applies to 10 to 12 schools. Now this is AVERAGE, so that means that some apply to 3 schools and some apply to 40!

Let's talk about the concept of applying to lots of schools. Does that really help you? Does it, as some people think, "increase your chances"?

There are some very REAL drawbacks to applying to lots and lots of schools. First, every extra school you apply to costs you extra application fee money. Those fees can really add up! Second, and perhaps most importantly though………..if you apply to many, many schools you DILUTE your efforts in the supplementary application process.

Here's what I mean.

The process of applying to medical school consists of submitting one initial application form. Most United States schools require that you use the AMCAS form for this. AMCAS stands for American Medical College Application Service. You essentially fill out one form, add a compelling personal statement, and send it in to one central clearinghouse. That clearinghouse COPIES it and sends it out to every school you would like to apply to. The AMCAS application looks very much like a manila file folder. The front of it is where you fill in boxes reporting your name, address, a little bit about your family background, your honors, awards, and achievements, your extracurricular and avocational (hobby) activities, and your volunteer and work history. Page two contains a one page essay (the personal statement) where you must explain why you, and not ten other people equally as well qualified as you, should be allowed into medical school.

The third and fourth pages are for reporting your grades.

Now…..not every school in the country likes the AMCAS application. A very short list of schools prefer to use their own application form. (This preference not to use the AMCAS application is no reflection of the quality of the school. It's just a matter of the school's personal taste.)

Anyway, I said all that to say this. That once a school receives your initial application form, whether AMCAS or non-AMCAS, they will consider you carefully and decide whether you get the opportunity to progress in the process.

For every school where you are chosen to progress in the progress, you will be sent a supplementary application which will very likely have a very quick deadline. You have to get these supplementaries (sometimes called "secondaries") done fairly quickly, and some of them may include 1 to 10 EXTRA essays beyond the one you wrote in your initial application!

If you apply to an excessive number of schools, you may be flooded with requests for supplementary applications and essays, and they may all be due within the same few week period. This can lead to just hastily throwing together supplementary essays……which can greatly damage the quality of your overall application package.

To be sure that you can do the highest quality work possible on your supplementary applications, apply AS EARLY AS YOU CAN to a reasonable number of schools. This will avoid your suffocating under a landslide of supplementaries that are all due the same week.

Let's talk about how you might choose a reasonable number of schools.

First, look at the schools in your own state. Now, if one or two of the schools in your state have some sort of criteria that you just DO NOT meet (like…… they publicize emphatically that they exist only to produce family practice doctors, and you want to be a surgeon) DO NOT APPLY THERE. It will be a waste of your time and your application fee. Don't try to lie to them; don't try to put one over on them and pretend you are something you are not. They will see through you. If there's a clearly stated criteria that you simply don't meet, turn your attention elsewhere.

Once you've selected the reasonable schools in your state, some students turn their attention to out-of-state schools.

When looking at out-of-state schools, use these criteria:

1. Which schools in the country have exceptionally strong programs in the very field that I want to enter?
3. Which schools are located in cities where I already have some ties…..some friends or family, for instance, that I can look to for emotional support while I'm in medical school?
5. Which schools are located in places where I could stand to live? Remember, if you attend medical school in New York City, you will face higher living expenses than if you attend in Iowa. Duluth, Minnesota, gets very cold in the wintertime. Consider these things when deciding whether to apply to a certain school.
7. What is the teaching philosophy like at the school? Is there an emphasis on building problem-solving skills, on collaborative work, or on early contact with patients? Read all you can about different schools, discover which philosophies seem important to you, and look for schools that have those philosophies and values. When you apply to them, then, in your supplementary essays, tell them in detail WHY you carefully researched and selected their school. They will be impressed that you put so much thought into it, rather than just choosing a school based on what name looks good on a sweatshirt.

Once you have accumulated a good list of possible schools, NARROW down the list in this way:

Select one to three "dream" schools, schools with high standards that you would LOVE to go to if you could only get in there.

Select one to three "safer" schools, schools that seem to have a little lower admissions standards and so might seem to be more of a sure bet for you.

Select one to three "other" schools that land somewhere in the middle. They're not exactly safe schools, but they're not completely dream schools either.

I suggest that you select AT LEAST one school in each category, but - now this is just my suggestion - no more than three in a category. When you go beyond three in a category you are not really increasing your chances much; you may be duplicating your efforts and costing yourself a LOT of application fee money.

If you use this process, you will generally end up with three to nine schools that seem like exceptionally good fits for you.

A NOTE ABOUT ORGANIZING THE ALL THE PAPERWORK INVOLVED

Once you decide which schools you are most interested in and start requesting information from them, you may find yourself overwhelmed with printed information on various schools. I suggest that you create a separate file for each school you're considering (even just grocery bags standing up in a cardboard box will do the trick). When you receive any information at all pertaining to a certain school, add it to that school's file. If you decide not to apply to a certain school, throw its file away and ask to be removed from its mailing list.

Best of luck to you! If you need any help with this process, click on GET HELP NOW.

Note: Because application advisors cannot control your grades, your MCAT scores, your amount and quality of volunteer experience, or how thoroughly you follow the advice offered on these pages, please understand that we cannot guarantee any individual's acceptance to medical school.