Hello,
My goal is to become a doctor of osteopathic medicine. I plan to complete my undergrad degree, which is Health Science- pre PT, and then take the necessary pre reqs, MCAT, etc. I’ve been reading on forums that people apply to many different schools but Michigan only has one DO school. Even if Michigan had more, I always wanted to go to MSU.
Has anybody ever applied to just one school? Does it look bad or put me at a disadvantage? I don’t know if moving my family out of state is an option.
Thank you!
If the DO schools are the same as the schools applied to on AMCAS then the schools don’t know how many schools you applied to. The only thing it does is narrows your options if for some reason you don’t get an interview.
I get that moving your family out of state may not be an option. If you are ok applying to the one school and then waiting to see and then if you don’t get in broadening your search the next year, I might do that.
In my case I applied broadly to many schools and what was strange is how it all is panning out. I received an interview offer from LSU New Orleans and got accepted. I then received an interview and acceptance at AUC. Last week I received an interview offer from LSU Shreveport. In the meantime I got rejection letters from OU, Meharry, and was told that I am still under consideration at 4 more. We never know where we might get an interview.
I’m currently awaiting results, but I applied to just one school. Similar to you, I don’t want to move my family out of state, and it helps that the state med school is less than 10 miles away from my house. Plus, with focusing on one school, I was able to tailor my plan for completing the pre-requisitites, and able to take advantage of some of the unique ways they approach the application process (they don’t do rolling admissions, for example).
In my discussions with other students at the school, many of them only applied to one school and they didn’t feel it impacted their application or not. I was asked in my interview why I would select this school over other ones. I answered that I only applied to their school, and that didn’t seem to be an issue with the interviewers.
That said, I should know in about a month whether I’m in or not (results are sent out Feb 20).
It’s a risk/reward decision that only you can make in the end. The very good advice commonly given is “apply early, apply broadly”.
It may be tougher for us older premeds, with lives that bind us geographically. I feel what you are saying. If I don’t get into my state school, it will be a huge family issue, if I can’t get into one of the 4 or 5 that are 1.5 hours away, then I probably won’t go.
And that’s the question you have to ask . . . if MSU doesn’t take you then are you okay not going to medical school (at least this year). If so, then applying to one school is fine. If you will regret that then expand your horizons, at least a little bit . . .
Good luck,
Crepitus
Thanks guys. I found a link on MSU’s website that gives tips for non-traditional students and students that are reapplying. I realized that my best bet is to do the best I can to get in and if I don’t get accepted the first time around that doesn’t mean that its over. I can always fix what was wrong and reapply the following year.
I understand the focus on one school due to constraining factors such as a family. But I would encourage you to apply to an array of schools just to maximize your chances and give yourself (hopefully) some options from which to choose when all is said and done. It’s always better to have lots of options than none; if you limit yourself you may have no options. It also helps you compare financial commitments at one school vs. another if you apply to a range of schools. And you never know–if you apply to many schools you might discover that there’s one you like more than the one you were originally interested in. I have seen that happen many times. Good luck!
Liza
- TAPenrod Said:
Thanks guys. I found a link on MSU's website that gives tips for non-traditional students and students that are reapplying. I realized that my best bet is to do the best I can to get in and if I don't get accepted the first time around that doesn't mean that its over. I can always fix what was wrong and reapply the following year.
I totally understand limiting yourself to one school because the next time I apply, I'm probably only going to apply to 2 myself.
IMHO, the thing to do in this situation is to start networking NOW with people at MSUSOM so that they'll be able to put a face with the name.
In the past, MSU had a post bacc program for rejected applicants that would allow them to take some/all(?) of the first year med school courses with med students. But I think you may have needed to be a URM to qualify.
- Quote:
"IMHO, the thing to do in this situation is to start networking NOW with people at MSUSOM so that they'll be able to put a face with the name."
Thanks for replying and I definitely plan to start trying to make connections. I have an advising appointment at the end of February so I hope to make some connections there and get more information.