Hello,
My name is Camille, and I am a non-traditional premed student in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. I have been listening to the podcast for a long time, and it has given me so much guidance on my journey so far! I left my successful career as a web developer to go back to school to become a doctor. Being in Canada, there are very few med schools here compared to the US. The closest one happens to be in the next city, and only has 32 seats per year (the next school being roughly 4 hours away). My question is this - how safe is it to apply to just one med school the first time around, if it’s what you really truly want? The school looks amazing, and all the graduates which I have talk to rave about the quality of education they received, the atmosphere, passion of the professors, and so on. If I do not get accepted to this school, my family and I would likely have to sell our house, raising our children away from the rest of our friends and family. Any guidance on the subject would be greatly appreciated!
I can’t speak to how it is in Canada, but I applied to a single school US MD school and got accepted. So, it can happen.
However, if you’re going to go that route I would suggest speaking to the school that you’re interested in and learning what they’re looking for in an applicant and doing your best to tailor your application to that school.
Camille - I’d ask yourself if you WOULD sell your house, move your family, etc, if that was what it took for you to get into medical school. If so, then there is no down side to applying to multiple schools beyond the financial cost of the applications, of course. That way, if you DO get into the school you want, no problem, ignore the others. If you do NOT and DO get accepted into the next closest school, or some other alternative, you have not lost a year before starting medical school. Generally your first round of applications is your strongest. Food for thought.
Kate