Are you ready to start applying to med school and aren’t quite sure what you should do? Well, you’re definitely not alone because there are plenty of people who don’t know how to apply or what they should be doing in order to pick out the best med schools.
Maybe you’re not quite sure where you should apply to medical school or what to do about creating your medical school list. If that’s the case, then you should take a look at the information we have here to help you decide what you need to do, answer the question of ‘should I apply to medical school’ and even help you decide when should you apply to medical school.
What Percentage of Med School Applicants Get Accepted?
What Percentage of Med School Applicants Get Accepted?When it comes to actually applying to medical school, you want to make sure that you’re going to get in. But that means looking at some pretty grim statistics. The vast majority of students who apply to medical school will not be accepted. The overall percentage of students who get accepted to med school is approximately 46%, which means well over half of all students who apply will not get in.
When we break down the two different types of medical school, you can see a slight difference. For example, while 2019 saw 54% of students rejected from all medical schools they applied to, 59% of students who applied to allopathic medical schools were rejected. As many as 94% of osteopathic applicants are rejected, however, as there are far fewer programs available for these students.
What is the Hardest Medical School to Get Into?
When you first start looking at medical school, you want to get into one that’s going to give you an excellent education and prepare you for the field. You want to make sure you’re going to a school that will prepare you fully and also make sure that you get the additional training you need, such as residencies and shadowing.
New York University Long Island in Mineola, NY
This school offers high-quality education but also has the lowest acceptance rate in the country. In fact, the acceptance rate is approximately 1.3%, which means that almost 99% of students who apply will not be accepted.
Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL
The second school on the list is in Florida and boasts an acceptance rate of only 2.2%. This is quite a bit higher than the top school, but still, a very high standard to try and meet. It’s a relatively small program with a very low student-to-faculty ratio.
University of Arizona Tucson in Tucson, AZ
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in Roanoke, VA
Stanford University in Stanford, CA
All three of these schools come in at the number three spot, with an acceptance rate of only 2.3%. You will get a quality education and low student-to-faculty ratios with each of these schools as well.
When Should I Apply to Medical School?
When you start thinking about attending medical school, you will likely start seeing a lot of timelines that tell you what to do and when to do it. The truth is, you should begin the process of choosing a medical school as soon as you start your undergraduate program. You want to know the basic requirements to apply, and you want to start looking at potential options.
As you get into your second year, you want to start developing a better list of which schools you’re most interested in and even talking with teachers and other faculty that you might want to write you letters of recommendation. They’ll be essential once you actually apply to your chosen schools.
In your third year of undergraduate, you should be taking the MCAT. Make sure that you take it early enough to get your results by June. This will give you enough time to retake the test if you need to. You should also use this year to get your applications together, finalize the list of schools you’re going to apply to, prepare your personal statement and get letters of recommendation together.
In your senior year, you’ll want to finalize your school list, take the AMCAs, and start submitting applications and preparing for interviews. It’s going to be a long year with finishing out your courses and completing all of these steps, but it’s essential to get it done so you can get interviews in and get accepted for the next school year.
How Many Times Should I Apply to Medical School?
In general, you can apply to most medical schools as many times as you choose. But that doesn’t mean you should just keep applying, again and again, to try and get in. Instead, think carefully about where you’re applying and whether you’re a good fit for that particular school.
Some schools will set their own limits on how many times you can apply, which is usually two (if there is a limit). Schools that don’t have a limit will let you apply as many times as you like, but it’s generally advised not to apply to any school more than three times. After that, your chances of getting in are extremely low.
11 Tips When Applying to Medical Schools
When it comes to applying to medical school, there are a number of things that you should be keeping in mind. We’re going to go over some of the most essential tips to know. These will help you in the application process as well as actually getting into the school that you want (by making your application the best it can be).
Start preparing early
One of the first things you need to know is to get started on the entire process as early as possible. You want to start getting your list together early on in your undergraduate program and then start putting together things like your letters of recommendation, essays, and personal statement right away. This gives you as much time as possible to revise and improve before you send in your applications.
Make sure you’re qualified
Some medical schools may have stringent qualifications to get in, and if you don’t meet their qualifications, you’re not going to make it. Applying to medical schools is not cheap, so don’t apply to schools where you do not meet their minimum requirements. Instead, make sure you apply to the schools you have a good shot at.
Get the best recommendation letters
Talk with your teachers and other faculty to find the best people to write letters of recommendation for you. You want to choose those who have the best understanding of your skills and who will have great things to say to recommend you to the program of your choice.
Give everyone time
If you’re expecting your teachers to write letters of recommendation for you, make sure that you give them plenty of time to do it. Remember, they may have several requests from students, and giving them more time means they’re more likely to agree to write your letter. Also, it means you’ll get a better quality letter because they have more time to spend on it.
Get everything together
Each school that you apply to will have its own requirements for your application packet. Make sure that you stay on top of things, so you get everything together for each of the schools you want to apply to and turn them all in by the required deadlines. If you don’t, you could end up missing out on your chance for that school even if you are qualified.
Take the MCAT early
You want to have time to retake the MCAT if you need to, so make sure that you take it as early as you reasonably can. This will help you get into better schools because a higher MCAT score (especially paired with a higher GPA) will show that you’re one of the best candidates for the program.
Get medical experience
You’re not going to have a ton of medical experience, and med schools know that, but you do want to get some type of medical experience on your resume to show that you have some knowledge of the field. It also helps show your dedication to the field. And it doesn’t matter if that experience is actual work experience or volunteer experience, so get out there and see what’s available.
Review your materials
Make sure you review everything that you submit in your application packet. Far too many students will turn in applications or statements that have errors. Proofread everything to correct errors, and make sure you turn in your final version of all required documents. This will ensure you provide your absolute best.
Apply early
Don’t put your medical applications off until the last minute. Instead, make sure that you apply early but with a complete application packet. The earlier you start putting everything together, the earlier you’re going to be ready to submit. That’s going to bode well for you because most schools tend to be less critical at the beginning than they are at the end when they’re running out of space for their program.
Know your why
Everyone who wants to be a doctor has a reason. What’s yours? When you’re completing your application (and especially your personal statement), you need to be able to detail your why. And when you go into your interviews, you should know your why as well. So, spend some time figuring out just what it is about medical school and becoming a doctor that’s so important to you and how you want to articulate it.
Don’t limit yourself too much
Limiting yourself to one or even two schools is generally not the way to go. Instead, make sure that you have at least a few schools on your list and that you’re applying to each of them. The more schools you apply to, the better your chances of getting accepted, but that doesn’t mean you should apply to every medical school around. In general, most students apply to approximately 15 schools.
Wrapping Things Up: How Many Medical Schools Should I Apply To?
When you’re ready to start applying to medical school, it can definitely feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. If you start early and make sure that you are applying to plenty of schools, you’re going to find that it’s easier than you might have thought. And you’ll find yourself feeling better about it too. You just need to make sure you are fully prepared as early as possible and then make sure that you’re creating your application packet in a way that will really boost your chances of getting accepted to the school of your choice.
Looking for more medical school application-related tips? Check them out below:
> Does Undergrad Matter for Medical School?
> How Many Volunteer Hours for Medical School is Enough?
