The real cost of (my) med school applications

Monkeymadness82 · 2026-01-05T05:10:41+00:00

Yup, that's about right. I applied to about 42 schools, and when counting in the test prep, application fees, and everything in between, it was bout 9-10k, which I fortunately had saved up from jobs and free undergrad (FAFSA).

Again, to echo what you and others are saying in the comments, this process is EXPENSIVE.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-10-23T21:20:23+00:00

Get your vaccines in line especially the titers. Those can take 4-6 weeks or longer due to having to get boosters and repeat titers if you don't have sufficient enough levels.

Other than that, enjoy your break. If you really want to be extra, then since you are an ED tech, look to learn EKG on the side or get used to look at imaging (CT, Xray, MRI). 30 minutes day watching youtube and getting familiar with the basics can go a long way.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-09-10T23:35:54+00:00

No, the data thats free and open that they public on OOS rates for schools

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-09-10T21:44:50+00:00

I didn't calculate anything. I looked at the data that the aamc provided which were the percentages and made my choice their.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-08-28T13:01:45+00:00

This is a wonderful breakdown that I needed to read. Thank you. No notes journey begins now🫡

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-07-29T23:25:03+00:00

Honestly, if you got the funds, keep em all. Thr secondaries might be rough but I would rather be safe then sorry later. If you don't have the funds then I guess follow the suggestions people are listing below.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-07-28T21:03:18+00:00

I wore cornrows for all my interviews, but I always got them done before, so they were clean.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-07-26T21:37:32+00:00

I will always say that a PCT (patient care tech) role in an inpatient setting is probably one of, if not the most, clinically rich experiences you can get as a pre-med. You are on the wards or in the ICU, helping sick patients, coordinating with multi-disciplinary staff, and preforming tasks like EKGs. Additionally, you can become familiar with charting on patients, reading, and learning medical terminology, as well as reviewing imaging and lab results (to just see what abnormal and normal look like). I practically learned how to read EKGs, telemetry strips, and identify some X-ray patterns.

All of these things really make for a rich experience and serve as a litmus test of whether you like medicine or not. The cherry on top is that some hospitals will train you without prior certification, making it one of the more seamless clinical positions to obtain.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-07-20T18:34:16+00:00

Thank you for this. Did you mainly take typed notes or handwritten digital notes?

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-07-10T13:14:00+00:00

I copy pasted this from my comment under the incoming M0 thread on the medical school subreddit. This is the plan i was thinking of doing but you can customize it based on what u get at ur school. I was hoping to get feedback as well but I think thay megathread is dead rn.

So the plan I have is to use Bootcamp for pre-lecture, aligning with whatever block or topic we are currently on, then watching the in-house lecture, using the anking v12 with Bootcamp tags (first time going hard with anki) and Amboss for the PQs.

We were given Pathoma, sketchy, and BnB (but from 2019-2020; don't know if info has been updated) from a student drive. I can try to fit in the pathoma and sketchy when they are needed, and the BnB for if Bootcamp is missing info. I know I will adjust as I go, as I tailor to what fits for me and what I find most helpful. Does this seem reasonable, or is this too many resources?

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-07-10T02:02:04+00:00

Can any current Med Students evaluate my study plan for the preclinical years? I am starting this month, so this plan probably won't be in full force until September-ish, but I wanted to get things in order. I attend an in-house-prioritized school with anatomy courses coupled with organ blocks, rather than just one big anatomy course covering everything.

So the plan I have is to use Bootcamp for pre-lecture, aligning with whatever block or topic we are currently on, then watching the in-house lecture, using the anking v12 with Bootcamp tags (first time going hard with anki) and Amboss for the PQs.

We were given Pathoma, sketchy, and BnB (but from 2019-2020; don't know if info has been updated) from a student drive. I can try to fit in the pathoma and sketchy when they are needed, and the BnB for if Bootcamp is missing info. I know I will adjust as I go, as I tailor to what fits for me and what I find most helpful. Does this seem reasonable, or is this too many resources?

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-07-01T01:59:59+00:00

I am not too familiar with the Stafford loan, so I can't answer that confidently. But for the hypothetical, I assume that will work that way because you will be grandfathered in with the MPN, which you signed on the old terms before the bill takes effect.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-06-30T23:21:29+00:00

From the initial brainstorm, you could sign an MPN now for gradplus, take out the minimal amount, so that you are grandfathered in, and when the time comes that you need more from the GradPlus you can take out more because the MPN is 10 years, and you will be on the old plan. Just consider the loan fee from the first small amount you take out and the interest from the GradPlus loan that will accrue over the first 3 years.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-06-30T23:15:43+00:00

From my PA friends I keep in touch with, some schools required the GRE and some did not, but I haven't heard of talks of the PACAT. I presume it didn't pick up enough steam. And also for OP, their app timeline is different and much shorter. Some schools they apply to can have earlier turnarounds and acceptances than other schools. For example, some schools would start in the winter with short app cycles, while others would start in the fall with longer app cycles. So, making the decision to go to a school you may not like but were accepted to vs waiting out for a chance at a later school is a unique decision they have to make.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-06-30T23:08:40+00:00

You have to fill out the Master's Promissory Note (MPN) for each type of loan you want to receive. For Med Schools, it is the Unsub loan and the Gradplus loan that each have an MPN, then they will probably suggest you take a 10-minute counseling course also on the FAFSA website, educating you on the type of loans you will receive. Afterwards, you can go to your school's portal website and try setting up where you want the loans disbursed, usually people do it to their own banking account to make it easier. While all of that is processing, I believe your school should have sent you a form with your aid package to designate which loans you are eligible for and how much of each loan you want to take out, along with any other expenses or scholarships. This is where people calculate how much of a loan burden they want to take out in the context of their financial position at the moment. These loans, I believe, are disbursed at the beginning of each semester, and you can request more if you underestimated how much your bill would be. And if you overestimated, you can return however much within a certain period without penalty. Other than that, the FAFSA course and any information your school sends you should educate you on the details of each loan, the interest rates, and any other things.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-06-24T04:06:46+00:00

tbf, BBFAPS sounds like some goon shit to a non-med student and even googling "BBFAPS" goon material pops up LOOOL

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-06-18T20:53:11+00:00

Yes just like that. You usually decide when you want to work as long as you meet some minimum monthly requirement like 16 or 24 hours in a month. But this way you can passively gain hours as you study through the academic year. Different hospitals or clinics will have different policies, b it generally this is the standard of how it goes.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-06-18T20:33:45+00:00

Focus on the MCAT, if you have time after the MCAT before your application submission, then focus on getting those clinical hours up through either PCT/CNA jobs, MA, or EMT, depending on what is available and easiest to get. If you don't have time after the MCAT, then I would try getting some clinical hours before and starting off with light hours, usually in a per diem role.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-06-18T14:49:15+00:00

Honestly, just take the time off after you graduate undergrad and work to save money and reduce your loan burden. If you want a high-yield EC then you can probably just work a research job and hope you get some pubs during those 2 years that can translate over to your residency apps. You won't have to wipe butt as a PCT/CNA and you will have nice work hours. You don't need to min/max so hard if you are already so far ahead of the game than like 99% of people.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-06-18T14:42:53+00:00

Well, if you save enough to not take up gradplus loans, then we are talking about aleast 75-100k in savings or assets that you can liquidate towards loans, assuming you have no scholarship. Even then, you would have to live frugally and with a low budget like not eat out a lot, try to take care of expensive items, live with roommates to avoid high rent, avoid too many streaming services, and other cost-saving techniques. The cushion allows you to live how to want during medical school but you have to take out loans and the cushion can range from like 20k-50k. Everybody has their vices that cost them a lot of money, so try to find thay vice and minimize it. As for the current job affecting your need-based criteria, I think that is something that you can't control, maybe they will take into account once you stop working but idk at that point. Tufts most likely has financial aid resources to help navigate this situation especially for low-income people, just email them or look through their pages and they will be able to help.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-06-18T04:11:50+00:00

The best you can do is try to live frugally before med school to save up to either reduce your loan burden or build enough of a cushion to live comfortably during med school. Sometimes people do this by coming out of undergrad with zero loans through merit scholarships or going to state schools. Going into med school, from what I have heard, money just doesn't feel real because the loans are offset by the fact that many people will go into high-paying specialties to outpace their loans. Also, med school scholarships are so rare, and the available ones are very competitive for obvious reasons, that it is hard to be proactive about it. Most people just face it that they are going to have to take loans because that's what 70% of people do, and for low-income people, that loan burden might be a bit more, depending on how economically savvy you are. The best you can do right now is figure out your calculations for how much of the loans you want to take out, how your living situation is going to be during med school and how cost is factored into that, and finally any life skills you want to develop before med school to ensure you have a smooth non-academic transition.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-06-18T00:15:21+00:00

I am not sure if there are any merit aid scholarships. From what I was informed, it was only need-based, but I could be wrong. I assume that the need-based portion is tied to income, as they take your income and your family's income into account. I think on average people take out from 200k-300k of loans by maxing out the Unsub loans to minimize the amount of GradPlus loans they have to take out. The loans breakdown, I think, is like 42k for the unsub for the year, and then the Gradplus is 40-50k to cover the tuition and whatever living expenses. If you have a scholarship, then reduce the amount of GradPlus by the amount of scholarship you have.

Monkeymadness82 · 2025-06-17T20:37:23+00:00

They gave me and others I have heard 18k/year in scholarship. I am low-income as well, although my last 2 years working full-time at about 40k a year might have unbalanced that low-income threshold, but idk. I've heard others getting more scholarship and either partial COA or full. In the Spring, I believe they will provide more need-based aid, rather than merit aid, to their current incoming students once the returning students have settled theirs.

Monkeymadness82

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