The Cost of Applying to Med School | Twice
Applying to medical school has a lot of hidden costs that we don’t think about beforehand. These costs can add up and you’d be pretty surprised at the grand total in the end. Here, I wanted to share with you how much it ended up costing me in total after going through two application cycles of the AMCAS. Here we go.
- MCAT
- AMCAS Application
- Interviews
MCAT COSTS
We have to start by considering the costs that go into preparing for the MCAT and taking the exam. Of course you want to aim to take the MCAT only once and minimize your costs. Unfortunately, I took the MCAT three times and this is what my cost breakdown looked like.
MCAT 1 – I studied only using the Princeton Review Books and I found the entire set online through Facebook Marketplace. Someone at my university was selling them used for $80 (which is significantly cheaper than buying them brand new). Then the cost of taking the actual exam was $320. So the total for one MCAT was around $400 total.
MCAT 2 – Once I decided to retake the MCAT I still used the same Princeton Review Books, but I did purchase an official AAMC MCAT Prep Bundle that had several full-length practice exams. I don’t remember the exact cost at that time but I estimate it was around $50. Then, again we have the full cost of taking the exam at $320. So my total for MCAT 2 was around $370.
MCAT 3 – I took my third MCAT about a year after my second MCAT. This time I decided to sign up for an MCAT Prep Course. You can see the course cost in total was $2,525.16, which included the course itself, online access, a brand new set of Princeton Review Books, and shipping costs for the books. Again we have the $320 exam fee which brings us to a total of $2,845.16 for MCAT 3.
If I had taken the MCAT only once then my cost would have only been $400. But here are the total costs that I ended up with.
TOTAL MCAT COSTS
MCAT 1 = $400
MCAT 2 = $370
MCAT 3 = $2,845.16
TOTAL = $3,615.16
AMCAS Application Costs
First Application Cycle
I went through two application cycles of AMCAS. For my first cycle, I sent in Primary Applications to 19 schools. The initial cost of submitting the AMCAS application to one school is $160 and then for every additional school, you pay $38. For 19 schools, I paid a total of $844.
Out of 19 Primary Applications, I then submitted 15 Secondary Applications. I don’t have the exact amounts that I paid for each school but they typically range from $50 to $120. So if we use $100 as the typical pricing for 15 schools, then I paid $1500 for my secondaries.
Second Application Cycle
For my second AMCAS cycle, I only sent in 12 Primary Applications. The price again was $160 for the initial submission of one school plus $38 for each additional school. This brought me to a total of $578 for primaries.
Out of 12 primaries I then submitted 10 Secondary Applications. Again if we estimate $100 per secondary then that leads me to a total of $1,000 for secondary applications.
TOTAL AMCAS APPLICATION COSTS
Cycle 1 = $2,344
Cycle 2 = $1,578
TOTAL = $3,922
Interview Costs
First Application Cycle
Out of 15 Secondary Applications I ended up receiving three interview invites. Just for some context, I am a resident of the state of Missouri.
Interview 1 – This was an in-state interview. I had to drive 110 miles (2 hours) to get there. I estimate that my roundtrip gas cost was $30. I also stayed at an Airbnb which cost $68. My total cost here is $98.
Interview 2 – This was an out-of-state interview but it was a neighboring state. I had to drive 237 miles (4 hours) to get there. I estimate my roundtrip gas cost was $60 and my Airbnb was $48. My total cost was $108.
Interview 3 – This was an out-of-state interview that was very far away. I had to fly from Missouri to Seattle, Washington. I estimate that my flight roundtrip was roughly $300 and my Airbnb was $170. My dad came with me on this trip, that’s why the Airbnb cost is higher and another cost that I’m excluding is a rental car that we had to get in order to move around the city. So, accounting for my flight and housing, the total is $470.
Second Application Cycle
Out of 10 Secondary Applications I received three interview invites. During this time I was living and working in Poland so this had a big impact on my costs and decisions. I was hoping to be able to group my interviews so I can knock them out one after the other, but the timing did not work out.
Interview 1 – This interview was out-of-state. First I had to book a roundtrip flight from Poland to Missouri which was roughly $600. Then I had to book another roundtrip flight from Missouri to Phoenix, Arizona which was about $250. I was able to obtain free housing because I stayed with a close friend who lives in Phoenix. My mom came with me on this trip so we had to rent a car to get around the city, but I will exclude this cost because it was covered by my mom. So, the total cost for my flights was $850.
Interview 2 & 3 – Both of these interviews were out-of-state. Unfortunately, I received these invites once I had already returned to Poland after my first interview. In order to cut my financial losses, I made a risky move and declined both of these interviews. I assume if I had accepted them, I would have added at least another $1000-$2000 dollars to interview costs.
TOTAL INTERVIEW COSTS
Cycle 1 = $676
Cycle 2 = $850
TOTAL = $1526
Note 1: Some schools have a program where current med students will offer you to stay with them for free, which is a good way to reduce your costs. I personally chose to stay at an Airbnb because I knew I was stressed at that time and needed my own space to focus.
Note 2: I did not account for food costs during my interviews because I don’t recall what I spent and it also depends on your own eating habits. But don’t forget to take those costs into account when planning.
Note 3: Don’t forget to account for the costs of your attire. Maybe you already have interview clothes, but if you don’t you may need to invest in a nice suit or dress plus shoes and accessories. This can add up as well. I think my attire ended up around $200-300. Of course, it’s a long term investment as you will be using these clothes on future occasions.
Note 4: For my first application cycle I used the AMCAS Fee Assistance Program. The AAMC Fee Assistance Program assists those who, without financial assistance, would be unable to take the MCAT, apply to medical schools that use the AMCAS, and more. I highly recommend you look into this because you may qualify for assistance.
Total Cost of Applying to Medical School Twice
Here you can see the breakdown of all my costs. If I only account for the MCAT, AMCAS applications, and interview of applying once, my total cost was around $3,790. If I only account for the costs for my second cycle then it’s $5,273.16. The second cycle costs go up significantly mainly because of the MCAT prep course that I took.
The total cost of applying to medical school twice was $9,063.16. Almost $10,000 spent on applying. We’ll get into the cost of medical school in another post.
If you want to start tracking your expenses and budgeting for your application cycle –> click here to download my Budget Template
