10 Affordable Public Medical Schools for In-State Students

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While most prospective students might be focused on the overall price tag of attending medical school, the cost to apply can often amount to thousands of dollars.

"An applicant to 15 medical schools can easily spend over $10,000 in the application process," says Dr. McGreggor Crowley, a med school admissions expert and premier counselor at IvyWise, a New York-based admissions consulting company.

For prospective students interested in applying to med school, here are a few expenses to expect.

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While the cost of the MCAT is a few hundred dollars, prospective students can spend much more preparing for the exam.

"Many students benefit from test-prep services – those can range from a couple of hundred dollars for practice tests and questions to several thousand dollars for in-person, extended prep courses," says Dr. Sylvie Stacy, a board-certified physician who graduated from the medical school at the University of Massachusetts—Worcester several years ago.

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Prospective students can save money by registering early. The MCAT costs at least $315. For those who register within eight days before the test date, the cost is $370.

MCAT test-takers outside the U.S., Canada, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico pay an additional international registration fee of $105.

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Admissions experts recommend using the online Medical School Admission Requirements database, compiled by the Association of American Medical Colleges. The MSAR database is a resource on U.S. and Canadian medical schools that lists information provided by admissions offices.

The cost to access the database, which is published each spring, is $28.

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The American Medical College Application Service, known as AMCAS, is a centralized medical school application clearinghouse, and this primary application fee is $160 for sending materials to one school. Applicants will need to fork over $39 for each additional medical school.

If a school doesn't accept the AMCAS app, then the applicant will have to pay an individual application fee.

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After students apply, schools may respond by asking them to submit a secondary application. These vary from school to school – and most require students to pay an additional application fee.

"These, of course, have fees associated with them ranging from $75 to over $100," says Dr. Crowley from IvyWise. Harvard Medical School, for instance, billed its applicants $100 for this fee.

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Most colleges will charge a former student a fee for sending transcripts to medical schools. This service might cost around $10 for each school, according to Artem Volos, chief financial officer and chief operating officer at ClutchPrep.com, a test-prep service based in Florida.

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Medical school interviews can be the most expensive part of the application process, Dr. Crowley says.

"Depending on how many schools a student interviews at, it can cost upwards of $500 to $1,000 per school, and interviews at the schools in the same city can be difficult to coordinate for the same trip."

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Another expense associated with in-person interviews is clothing, which usually has to be business attire.

Justin Hahn, a second-year medical student at Nova Southeastern University in Florida said via email: "Buying a suit and paying for alterations also incurred a large one-time expense. However, I was able to reuse the suit for multiple interviews, which helps make up for the expensive cost."

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Students who receive admissions offers are usually invited to campus to take a second look. For example, the medical school at the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor holds a two-day second-look weekend for admitted students in the spring.

"If a student is admitted to a medical school, they may want to travel back to that school for an admitted student experience, again footing the bill themselves for transportation, food and lodging," Dr. Crowley says, comparing the costs of a second-look experience with traveling for school interviews.

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Some medical schools require a deposit, often nonrefundable, to hold a spot. Usually, this fee will keep an acceptance in place until May while an applicant decides where to attend. The medical school at Georgetown University, for instance, charges $500 for a deposit.

Hahn, the Nova Southeastern student, said after receiving letters a prospective student "can spend anywhere from $500 to $3,000 for deposit fees."

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Learn whether you are ready to pay for medical school and access our complete rankings of the 2019 Best Medical Schools.

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