DO undergrad Timeline Help

[HollisticAppeal]

Hey all,

T/F: DO schools prefer older students who have taken a year between undergrad and grad school.
T/F: DO schools require you send your application a year before entering school.

I just recently decided to go DO in January of this year. I was pre-PT for all of undergrad and I'm now finishing up my 2nd semester of Junior year.

I'm taking all my physics credits this summer and getting my OCHM credits senior year. My real predicament is that I am NO WHERE near ready to take the MCAT. I'm an Athletic Training Major so a lot of my prereqs for grad school coincide with my required classes to graduate and the recommended classes for BOC certification.

I hear that schools
Tell me what you think of this timeline
Summer 2014 - take physics, study for MCAT
Fall 2014 - take OCHM1, study for BOC, study for MCAT
Spring 2015 - take OCHM2, take BOC in Feb, take MCAT in May (When i would have taken BOC)
Summer 2015 - work as ATC, AmeriCorps?!


PLEASE HELP ME.

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[Mr Roboto]

You apply a year before the school year starts. So if you're going to start med school in 8/16, you need to take the MCAT and apply in 6/15.

Also be aware that the MCAT is changing in 2015. You'll need biochemistry, sociology, and a few other classes to be well-prepared for it.

 

[DoctorKrieger]

DO schools don't 'prefer' older students per se, but tend to be more welcoming of non-trads than MD schools. This is likely largely due to the grade replacement policy and those who have had prior careers that decide the want to go into medicine. The traditional DO student is still a recent college grad.

Whether applying MD or DO, the app process begins the summer before matriculation (i.e., apply this summer to be in school Fall '15). MD app cycle ends sooner than the DO cycle (I think around September?), and most DO schools have app cycles that last into Jan and Feb (each school sets their own deadline). Don't pay attention to when the cycle ends, though, because early application is key to give you the best chance as schools have rolling admissions. MSU is an exception, as their deadline is very early for DO schools. TCOM has an entirely different application, but very difficult for a non-Texas resident to get into, anyway.

If you plan to do two semester's worth of physics in one summer, I hope you don't have much else planned. Don't study for the MCAT this summer since you won't have taken physics or ochem, it would be largely pointless. Concentrate on understanding your physics classes. Have you taken upper level bio courses? If you haven't had any that might be something you need to think about.

 

[WhyDoWeFall]

To be honest, it feels like you're shoving everything into your senior year and that could end very very poorly. Studying for your BOC, orgo AND MCATs seems like a bit too much although I am not sure how your Orgo is in your school. As ommnomm said, there is Biochem on the 2015 MCATs and since you are taking Orgo in the spring, I assume you have not taken any Biochem. You could learn the material on your own if you wish, but that would def require you to push back the MCATs. I think your best bet is spend an extra year out of school if possible to study and really cover everything you need. It would probably benefit your BOC, Orgo Chem Grade, and future MCAT score.

 

[StarFall]

Hey all,

T/F: DO schools prefer older students who have taken a year between undergrad and grad school.
T/F: DO schools require you send your application a year before entering school.

I just recently decided to go DO in January of this year. I was pre-PT for all of undergrad and I'm now finishing up my 2nd semester of Junior year.

I'm taking all my physics credits this summer and getting my OCHM credits senior year. My real predicament is that I am NO WHERE near ready to take the MCAT. I'm an Athletic Training Major so a lot of my prereqs for grad school coincide with my required classes to graduate and the recommended classes for BOC certification.

I hear that schools
Tell me what you think of this timeline
Summer 2014 - take physics, study for MCAT
Fall 2014 - take OCHM1, study for BOC, study for MCAT
Spring 2015 - take OCHM2, take BOC in Feb, take MCAT in May (When i would have taken BOC)
Summer 2015 - work as ATC, AmeriCorps?!


PLEASE HELP ME.

1. Neither true nor false, but for the most part, most medical schools (MD/DO) like it if you do take a year off. At an open house I went to for an MD school, they said they like it because it helps the applicant to mature more and to just relax or do other things that make them a better applicant. If you want or need to take a year off, then do it. Med schools won't care. They'll care if you rush things and don't make yourself the best applicant that you can be.
2. All medical schools (MD/DO) require applications to start a year before. Thus, the whole application process takes one year to complete. Applications start in June which means you have to make sure everything's ready (Letters of Rec, transcripts, etc..) by May or June at the earliest. Secondaries come after you send in your application (July-ish). It's like an application specific to that school. Interviews and acceptances (Oct-May?) come after all the way until May-ish? Maybe earlier like March-April but you finalize by May/June of the following year you first sent in your application.

Sounds to me like you want to rush things which isn't good..but it can be done. Leave room for some wiggle room if possible. Always have a plan B!

Timeline works but I don't know about studying for 2 tests in such a short time span while taking classes.

Since you won't be taking the MCAT from today until Jan 2015 which is when the new MCAT rolls in, you also have to think about psychology, sociology, maybe biochem courses since the new MCAT will have this.


If you need more help or someone to bounce ideas off of, feel free to PM me. I also have a pretty organized excel sheet you might like that I used to help me stay on track.

 

[HollisticAppeal]

To be honest, it feels like you're shoving everything into your senior year and that could end very very poorly. Studying for your BOC, orgo AND MCATs seems like a bit too much although I am not sure how your Orgo is in your school. As ommnomm said, there is Biochem on the 2015 MCATs and since you are taking Orgo in the spring, I assume you have not taken any Biochem. You could learn the material on your own if you wish, but that would def require you to push back the MCATs. I think your best bet is spend an extra year out of school if possible to study and really cover everything you need. It would probably benefit your BOC, Orgo Chem Grade, and future MCAT score.

Thank you for your honesty!! I really needed to hear that I was going too fast. I've been listening to my own voice for too long.
do you think biochem and sociology are really necessary for the MCAT?

What if I took the MCAT summer 2015 and applied Fall 2015? Would I be able to start school Fall 2016? Apply after I'm done with the BOC and undergrad. Is that a feasible timeline?

 

[HollisticAppeal]

DO schools don't 'prefer' older students per se, but tend to be more welcoming of non-trads than MD schools. This is likely largely due to the grade replacement policy and those who have had prior careers that decide the want to go into medicine. The traditional DO student is still a recent college grad.

Whether applying MD or DO, the app process begins the summer before matriculation (i.e., apply this summer to be in school Fall '15). MD app cycle ends sooner than the DO cycle (I think around September?), and most DO schools have app cycles that last into Jan and Feb (each school sets their own deadline). Don't pay attention to when the cycle ends, though, because early application is key to give you the best chance as schools have rolling admissions. MSU is an exception, as their deadline is very early for DO schools. TCOM has an entirely different application, but very difficult for a non-Texas resident to get into, anyway.

If you plan to do two semester's worth of physics in one summer, I hope you don't have much else planned. Don't study for the MCAT this summer since you won't have taken physics or ochem, it would be largely pointless. Concentrate on understanding your physics classes. Have you taken upper level bio courses? If you haven't had any that might be something you need to think about.

I've taken many upper level biology classes, I'm part of the biology honors fraternity and I have a biology minor. I'm mostly worried about OCHM and physics.
I'll ask you too, as i've already asked several people, but what do you think of taking the MCAT at the end of the summer post-graduation and applying to schools that fall. Would that mean I would start matriculation Fall 2016?

Thank you so much!

 

[iWillOneDay]

I've taken many upper level biology classes, I'm part of the biology honors fraternity and I have a biology minor. I'm mostly worried about OCHM and physics.
I'll ask you too, as i've already asked several people, but what do you think of taking the MCAT at the end of the summer post-graduation and applying to schools that fall. Would that mean I would start matriculation Fall 2016?

Thank you so much!

You are a guy??
hard to tell from pic...
i think americorp requires longer commitment than a summer but I maybe wrong since there are many programs within.

And stop asking "would that mean I would start matriculation Fall 2016?"
1. Do research yourself on the internet and SDN. These kinds of information are easily available.
2. As DoctorK said, you apply the summer before matriculation year. So no duh you will be matriculating in 2016 if you get accepted with the application you submitted in 2015 summer/fall. (unless you are one of those people who get the ASA - look that up if you don't know)
3. Applying in summer of 2015 doesn't mean you would be matriculating in 2016. You better get accepted first (but i'm sure you know that. I'm just being a d!ck.)
4. You can apply to med schools BEFORE taking your MCAT. You can send the scores in later after you apply. For example, you can submit your application on june 1st and submit your score on july 25th. But it will keep your application basically on "hold" because it isn't really complete.
5. submitting application in the graduation year means you will have a gap year - look that up also if you don't know what that means.
6. Some stuff are completely fine to ask. Especially some of the acronyms because it's hard to find what they mean even after googling them. However, the questions you ask are flooding the internet and SDN.

Sorry for being a d!ck.

 

[DoctorKrieger]

I've taken many upper level biology classes, I'm part of the biology honors fraternity and I have a biology minor. I'm mostly worried about OCHM and physics.
I'll ask you too, as i've already asked several people, but what do you think of taking the MCAT at the end of the summer post-graduation and applying to schools that fall. Would that mean I would start matriculation Fall 2016?

Thank you so much!

You were able to enroll in upper-level bio classes and get a bio minor without ochem? Anyway, good that you have those as they'll help for the MCAT. You can take it at the end of summer, but I would shoot for mid-July at latest b/c it takes 3-4 weeks to get your score back. It's possible to prepare for it in the time between graduation and mid-summer if you dedicate most of your free time to studying for it.

You can send in your application (AACOMAS, for DO schools) before you have an MCAT score, and update it when you receive the results. Application cycle is a year prior to matriculation (apply June 2015 to be MS-I in August 2016). No matter how good you think your stats are, apply broadly. No one is guaranteed an acceptance and it can be a pretty big crap shoot where you end up. Also, brush up on the changes to the MCAT starting in 2015 (there's an MCAT forum on SDN). You're taking it at an unfortunate time because there won't really be any study guides written for the changes yet. Having said that, I have paid no attention to what or how substantial the changes are. That test is behind me and I'm not looking back.

The next thing you should do to research how this process works is read this: http://www.aacom.org/Documents/AACOMASInstructions.pdf. It includes things like how grade replacement works and school deadlines. This is the DO application service, you'll have to go to a completely different site if you plan on applying MD as well.

One piece of advice: start saving now for all the fees incurred in the application process. MCAT, AACOMAS, secondaries, travel expenses for interviews...it all adds up very quickly.

 

[WhyDoWeFall]

Thank you for your honesty!! I really needed to hear that I was going too fast. I've been listening to my own voice for too long.
do you think biochem and sociology are really necessary for the MCAT?

What if I took the MCAT summer 2015 and applied Fall 2015? Would I be able to start school Fall 2016? Apply after I'm done with the BOC and undergrad. Is that a feasible timeline?

I'm not too sure as I haven't seen the practice exams for the MCATs for biochem/sociology but if I had to guess, yes you should probably take some form of it. I would see if you can find any practice questions they release or, take a course and see if you can learn it from them.

I think your new timeline is still pushing it. My main concern is that you are taking classes (OCHEM), BOC and studying for MCATs all at the same time. It's going to suck and I personally don't suggest it. Taking the time to do it right the first time will save you a lot of aggravation and money. I would say, MCAT spring of 2016, apply Summer of 2016, interviews, and start Fall 2017. That would give you enough time to concentrate and study so you can be well prepped for the MCATs.

 

[touchpause13]

OP: for your own sake you should not have your picture be your face. It is best to keep yourself as anonymous as possible on these boards

 

[Dreamstoo]

OP: for your own sake you should not have your picture be your face. It is best to keep yourself as anonymous as possible on these boards

Agreed, even if you are an appropriate member to this society, it is best to keep yourself anonymous. For example, I listed my location as within a three state area.

 

[HollisticAppeal]

Agreed, even if you are an appropriate member to this society, it is best to keep yourself anonymous. For example, I listed my location as within a three state area.

duly noted, much appreciated