A strategy for applying to medical school

Now that I am a medical student, and have gone through the application process I look back at the process of getting into medical school. So I would like to offer a strategy to pre-meds out there based on my experience.

[1] Apply to 15+ schools

The idea behind this is to spread your risk, and increase your chances of getting in. I know that each primary costs ~$50 and each secondary another $50-70. You have to look into the long term results; its better to pay that extra $1000.00 and get in rather than having to incur costs of re-application.

My general rule of thumb is that for every 5-6 applications you should get at least 1 interview.

[2] Choose schools wisely

My biggest mistake was that most of my schools were in the North East (OH, PA, NY, MD). These states are just crazy competitive b/c it has the most density of medical schools, and traditionally people apply here more. So even the less competitive schools get tons of applications.

I suggest applying to 50% schools in North East & 50% in Mid West/South.

[3] Apply to Osteopathic Schools (D.O.)

Osteopathic schools have lower MCAT/GPA requirements and are easier to get into. Don't let the D.O. designation dissuade you. D.O.s and M.D.s work side by side and get the same salary.

The only part that is different if you want to apply to a D.O. school is that (1) application is done through a different service (2) You need to shadow a D.O. physician and get a letter of recommendation.

[4] Go to the cheapest school if accepted
Medical school tuition is extremely expensive these days. Some schools I got into send me a finanical package of $73,000.00 per year in tuition + living. Think about this number, you will be graduating with $292k in medical school dept alone. Also keep in mind that interest rates on Stafford & Grad PLUS are very high right now (6.8% and 8.5% respectively). So when you are in residency for 4-8 years the interest on this 292k will be unbearable.