Apply to MD first, then DO a couple months later to save money???

[kg062007]

I noticed that the deposit to hold your place in a DO class is often 1000-3000 dollars. While for MD it is usually 100-500. So, If I applied to both types of schools at the same time, and got accepted into a DO first, I would have to shell out thousands, and a MD acceptance could still be on the way. So would it be smart just to apply to MD schools in June or July, and apply to DO schools around September? Hopefully the MD interviews and acceptances would come first. This is all hypothetical people, im not that cocky.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Being early is pretty important, and chances that you'll be accepted by September at an MD school are by no ways guaranteed. Depending on your GPA/MCAT/EC, this might or might not be a gamble that you can take. In either case, I would discourage it. $1,000 is chump change in comparison to what you'll spend on your entire medical education.

 

[kg062007]

Being early is pretty important, and chances that you'll be accepted by September at an MD school are by no ways guaranteed. Depending on your GPA/MCAT/EC, this might or might not be a gamble that you can take. In either case, I would discourage it. $1,000 is chump change in comparison to what you'll spend on your entire medical education.

But I don't have that chump change right now

 

[DennisdaMenace]

Being early is pretty important, and chances that you'll be accepted by September at an MD school are by no ways guaranteed. Depending on your GPA/MCAT/EC, this might or might not be a gamble that you can take. In either case, I would discourage it. $1,000 is chump change in comparison to what you'll spend on your entire medical education.

Totally agree with this ^^ . Acceptances are hard enough to come by, let alone as early as September. The majority of people - even those with good stats who apply "early" don't get accepted until November. Most schools have approx. 1 month turnaround from interview date to notification of acceptance. In other words, you'd have to interview in August to fit your timeline.

 

[kg062007]

Totally agree with this ^^ . Acceptances are hard enough to come by, let alone as early as September. The majority of people - even those with good stats who apply "early" don't get accepted until November. Most schools have approx. 1 month turnaround from interview date to notification of acceptance. In other words, you'd have to interview in August to fit your timeline.

Im not looking to be accepted in September, I just want to be further along in the MD process in September, than I am in the DO process. I assume both move at a similar pace.

 

[TriagePreMed]

But I don't have that chump change right now

I know that feeling. I have income problems as well, but if it really comes down to it, just put in on a credit card. There's little you can do. Or at the very least apply to a couple of schools that have the lowest deposits.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

apply day one for both. then, as interviews do or don't roll in, you can schedule them accordingly and push back your DO ones, but if MD ones don't come in, you are golden. KABLAM! MIND BLOWN! I'll give you a second to catch your breath.

 

[Slack3r]

^That.

DO schools also have quicker turnaround from the interviews (generally).

 

[Mazdave]

There is actually a zero percent chance of MD acceptances by September (unless you're applying EDP which you're not) since MD schools can't hand out acceptances until October 15.

 

[235009]

i'm actually going to disagree with everyone who has replied to this thread....

i think it's a pretty good idea to stagger the applications depending on your stats. If you are a borderline or better candidate for MD then it's not a bad idea to apply early to MD schools, see what kind of response you get to your app and then decide on whether you need to apply DO. If by september/october you have 6 MD interview invites then you can probably pass on applying DO. If you have 1-2 interviews then you can apply DO and it will be less likely that you'll be forced to forfeit a ridiculous non-refundable deposit to a DO school.

Bottom line is, depending on your numbers, applying early to DO schools is not necessarily as important as doing so for MD schools. Your chance at being successful isn't going to change to much if you apply in october if you have MD-caliber numbers.

 

[ppfizenm]

Totally agree with this ^^ . Acceptances are hard enough to come by, let alone as early as September. The majority of people - even those with good stats who apply "early" don't get accepted until November. Most schools have approx. 1 month turnaround from interview date to notification of acceptance. In other words, you'd have to interview in August to fit your timeline.

October*

 

[ppfizenm]

i'm actually going to disagree with everyone who has replied to this thread....

i think it's a pretty good idea to stagger the applications depending on your stats. If you are a borderline or better candidate for MD then it's not a bad idea to apply early to MD schools, see what kind of response you get to your app and then decide on whether you need to apply DO. If by september/october you have 6 MD interview invites then you can probably pass on applying DO. If you have 1-2 interviews then you can apply DO and it will be less likely that you'll be forced to forfeit a ridiculous non-refundable deposit to a DO school.

Bottom line is, depending on your numbers, applying early to DO schools is not necessarily as important as doing so for MD schools. Your chance at being successful isn't going to change to much if you apply in october if you have MD-caliber numbers.

This. The deposit is often non-refundable. DO generally interview later than MD schools do (they generally start accepting earlier though).

Try MD first. Wait to see if you get interviews and then decide if you want to submit DO in like sept or oct.

 

[otggwmfs]

.

 

[ppfizenm]

I actually did this same thing this year, and it worked out for me. Of course, I'm just one person, so you know, take this with a grain of salt. I sent in all MD apps in the summer -August-ish. Then started on a few DO apps. I ended up never being complete at the DO schools because I had a couple early MD interviews and knew I would hear back from them soon. I ended up with a fairly early acceptance to an MD school. It's not that I would have minded going the DO route, I just wasn't ready to pluck down $1000 or more to hold my spot there, if I were fortunate enough to get into a school. But, I suppose it's also a numbers game. I would say my numbers were not absolutely stellar, but certainly competitive for MD, so maybe that's a call you have to make looking at your own stuff.

Just for the record this is if you want to go MD over DO. If you are set on DO apply as early as possible.

If you have a few interviews (attended or upcoming), like 3+, before sept/oct you could argue that it won't be necessary to fill out the DO application as well

 

[Bacchus]

Most osteopathic schools require the deposit by December 15 and after that date between 2-4 weeks after acceptance. You'll have to look at the AACOM bulletin to see the SUGGESTED (some schools do not follow it) fee schedule.

This is a hard decision. You won't have an MD acceptance until 10/15 because the AAMC doesn't allow them to be distributed before then except for EDP. That gives you approximately 2 months to receive an MD acceptance before a large deposit is due. Remember though, some schools (osteopathic) do not follow the fee schedule suggestion by AACOM.

PCOM (no bias ) requires a $250 non-refundable deposit by 12/15 if accepted before then and not another large deposit ($2000) until April. Of course, the admissions department is random/haphazard so if you're competitive that doesn't mean you'll be interviewed early. I wish more schools followed this fee staggering like PCOM.


***I applied in 2008. Things may have changed.***

 

[RedSox10]

I don't know much about DO schools but that actually sounds pretty reasonable to me, though as described above you really wont get accepted to an MD program until at least October 15th which is definitely NOT a guarantee. My guess is that if you're strong enough to get accepted into an MD program by October 15th, then you probably dont need to be applying DO at all.

 

[KinesStudent]

This is interesting, I never knew about this.

So do most DO schools require the ~1000$ deposit to hold your place after giving you an acceptance?

 

[Bacchus]

Its more like 1500 or 2000 dollars.

 

[kg062007]

Yes! the DO fee to hold your place in class is NON refundable. At my state DO school it's 3000 dollars! I think ill stagger the applications, MD in june-july. DO in Oct. Im just to poor to pay 3000 dollar non refundable fees.

 

[Bacchus]

Its a matter of realizing how strong an applicant you are. It all comes down to strength of your application and applying strategically.

 

[MT Headed]

Wow, I've never seen an MD school ask for more than $100 and it's always refundable.

I'm not sure what conclusions to draw from this data.

 

[Bacchus]

DO schools know they will lost students to MD schools more often than not. They charge the nonrefundables to prevent this. It is what it is. You're a doctor in the end. Its not a get-rich quick scheme.

 

[mipp0]

DO schools know they will lost students to MD schools more often than not. They charge the nonrefundables to prevent this. It is what it is. You're a doctor in the end. Its not a get-rich quick scheme.

This is exactly right. All the not-so-serious-MD-first kiddos will drop their acceptance, and the DO school avoids a mass exodus of students who weren't seriously considering the school in the first place. So the kids who pay = kids who really like the school and would attend

 

[Mazdave]

Wow, I've never seen an MD school ask for more than $100 and it's always refundable.

I'm not sure what conclusions to draw from this data.

There's some AAMC rule that limits how much the deposit can be and requires it to be refundable up until a certain date (although I think a couple MD schools like Drexel still have a non-refundable deposit).