Hey, everyone! I hope you are all doing well during this uncertain time. I decided to take a break from MCAT studying to show you all how I chose what medical schools to apply. Throughout the cycle, my choices may change, and I may end up applying to more schools, but for now, I think I'm set on these.
How Many Schools?
First, I tried to figure out how many schools should receive my application. With every school, come a fee, so money played a huge role in this. I also asked my pre-med friends and medical students/doctors how many they applied to, and I came up with a range of 15-30. I made a goal of choosing 25 schools and ended up settling on 20-21 schools. This total includes both AAMCAS and AACOMAS applications.
Know Your Stats
Secondly, I had to find what schools would fit my statistics. To do this, I used 3 main sources.
MSAR - a database of stats for AAMCAS (allopathic) medical schools
Choose DO Explorer - a database of stats for AACOMAS (osteopathic) medical schools
LizzyM Application Assistant - a database of statistics that calculates chance of admission (includes all medical schools)
MSAR (Medical School Admissions Requirements) is the only resource for which you have to pay; the other two resources are completely free. You can purchase a 2-year subscription to MSAR for $36 or a 1-year subscription for $28. It is free with the Fee Assistance Program, which you can learn more about here. I utilized all 3 to compare my stats and figure out my chance of getting into each school. I chose the schools I would have the best chance of admission. I also selected a few "reach" schools, which are schools where I have a lower chance of admission. I recommend picking only a few of these schools and choosing more medical schools where you have a higher chance of admission.
What's Important to You?
After compiling a list of schools that were around my stats, I had to figure out what aspects were important to me in medical schools. These factors included the following:
Location
Presence of underrepresented minorities
Sense of community
Residency matriculation
Pass/fail curriculum
Outreach programs
These are just some things that are important to me. I know I want to be close to my family, so I didn't select any west coast schools. Giving back to the community is extremely important to me, so I looked for how medical schools reach out to their surrounding communities and outside the United States. Of course, getting a job after school is significant, which is why I looked into the residency matriculation of each school. I suggest you come up with some aspects that are important to you, since your contentment is vital for your success as a medical student.
And that's it! That's all I did. If you need help coming up with your list, I would love to help! Send me a message or email! Remember....
Thanks for visiting my blog! Be sure to check out my other posts. There is more to come soon! Until then be kind and remember tomorrow depends on what you do today. Hope you enjoyed reading! — Taylor ❤