How Many Medical Schools Should I Apply To?

I’ve seen countless students miss out on acceptances simply because they applied to only 10 medical schools. Applying to only 20 or fewer schools drastically lowers your chances of acceptance since the medical school admissions landscape has never been more competitive.

After speaking with hundreds of our medical admissions counselors, I know this to be true: Apply to at least 25 and at most 30 medical schools to increase your chances of acceptance to most of them.

Sure, each additional school will cost $48 in primary application fees, but it’s still much cheaper than wasting that money and waiting a full year to reapply from scratch. Not to mention all the lost income from delaying your education.

Below, I’ll explain the science behind applying to 25-30 schools and how it’ll actually save you money, time, and stress in the long run.

Why You Should Apply to 25-30 Medical Schools

Apply to 25-30 medical schools. That target gives you the strongest statistical shot at landing at least one acceptance in a cycle where only 42.85% of applicants get in.

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) reports that the average applicant applies to 20 schools (19.5, rounded up). But that number is still too low.

Applying to only 20 or fewer schools doesn’t maximize your chances of standing out, especially if your MCAT or GPA falls below a program's median. Every additional application increases your margin for error in such a competitive admissions landscape.

If you strategically build a list of 25-30 schools, applying to more won’t increase your odds even further. It might actually do the opposite.

For primary apps, the first school you apply to costs $180, and each additional school costs $48. Secondary application fees can range from $30 to $200, according to the Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR). The average secondary application fee for all U.S. medical schools is $93 ($92.89, rounded up).

So, let’s do the math. Say you apply to 30 schools. That means you’ll end up paying $1,572 in American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) primary application fees and $2,790 in secondary application fees, for a total of $4,362.

Now, let’s say you only applied to 20 schools. That means you would’ve only had to pay $1,020 in primary application fees and $1,860 in secondary application fees, for a total of $2,880. That’s a saving of $1,482!

Looks good, right? Wrong.

You’re not factoring in that you lower your chances of hearing back from at least one school when you only apply to 20 schools. That means you would’ve spent $2,880, plus an additional $4,362 for 30 primary and secondary applications the following application year, since you never heard back. And I’m not even factoring in the loss of income since you would’ve had to delay your application by a full year.

Spend the money now. Build a strategic list. Protect your cycle (and wallet).

Once you've narrowed down how many schools to target, the next step is learning how to choose a medical school that actually fits your goals. 

Take a look at the video below to learn how to build the perfect school list.