Like it says, I'm wondering if this has happened to anyone here. I've applied late for pod school for this fall and am beginning to shadow a pod tomorrow. Trying to gauge the possibility of getting an interview In case I can't get a letter sent from him in time though...
Has anyone gotten into podiatry school without a pod rec letter?
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I got interviews at all my choices prior to letters coming in. Accepted to one before they got the letters even.
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Ehhhhhhh it really isn't though...
How do you even know you want to be a Pod when you haven't even shadowed one before submitting your application?
In a lot of schools, 4-5 people end up dropping out the FIRST 2 weeks of classes because they applied to Podiatry school on a mad rush because they got rejected at MD, DO, dental, etc programs. Then they enter school and realize it is 7 years of hardcore studying and 200k of debt for something they don't even know if they truly love.... It would suck to be one of them.
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You have a point, but I went to shadow today and found it really interesting, going back next week. Tbh more interesting than shadowing an MD and DO in the past. It seemed like any other doctor with I guess the main difference in schooling being that you go in knowing your specialty. I'm currently waitlisted at a couple of DO schools, but if I get into a pod school and pulled off a waitlist it'll be a tough decision. DO is also more expensive with higher seat deposits..
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Yes, no letter from a pod. Accepted at all the schools with some solid scholarships.
It is much more difficult to get into MD,DO,PA,RN,DPT,OD,Pharm D.. etc.
If you apply the invites will come.
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Stats if you don't mind my asking...
It is harder getting into MD and Dental but you so off on the other ones.
Pharmacy schools have increased by 1/3 in the last 10 years. They are accepting applicants that wouldn't even be looked at 10 years ago. I know a friend who got accepted into a new pharm school with only classes from a community college. Not just one or two pre-req classes, i'm talking ALL her classes from a CC. She only did average on the PCAT.
DO school- Average mcat is around a 24 and gpa of 3.3. That is average mind you and there are several post-bacs with automatic acceptances. For example, the one at Erie PA, as long as you have a 24 mcat and finish the year with a 3.0 gpa, you are guaranteed a seat in the next class of DO. Plus, more and more DO programs are popping up every year or more regional campuses are opening so more seats.
RN- are you serious? There are several community colleges that have RN programs.
PA- similar to RN. Pretty easy to get in for someone who is pre-med.
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DO mcat averages are around 26-27. PA schools require thousands of hours of healthcare experience and have higher average gpa than DO schools(3.6+)
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Wrong. A lot of schools require some HCE hours but VERY few require "thousands of hours." When I was in college I was wait listed at several PA schools before I had a degree and with 20-30 hours HCE other than shadowing 1 PA-C for one day.
Thank you for replying to this. Like you said, there is no way you need thousands of hours to apply for PA school. I have friends who just decided 3-4 month ago that they wanted to go to PA and they already got accepted. There was no way they shadowed thousands of hours in that time frame.
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PA school is much more competitive than Podiatry School. They have 16,000 applicants for 4,000 spots. We have 900 applicants for 700 spots.
Look at a school like Western with a PA and DPM program
PA GPA - http://prospective.westernu.edu/physician-assistant/competitive-12/
Average Overall GPA 3.55
Average Prerequisite GPA 3.66
Average Science GPA 3.54
DPM GPA - http://prospective.westernu.edu/podiatry/competitive-13/
Average Overall GPA 3.24
Average Science GPA 3.14
Its the same for any school that has both programs. The GPA's are significantly higher in PA applicants.
Also the DO MCAT average is around 27 these days, DPM is something like a 21-22. Which is well below the 50 percentile.
Don't get me wrong, Podiatry is a great profession. It's just not the least bit competitive to get into. If you don't get into Podiatry school you ****ed up.
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Another factor to consider, and this is JUST from what I've seen from my undergraduate campus. There is a large population that have a great awareness and desire for becoming PAs. Majority still are not aware that Podiatric Medicine exists.
In due time, it will get competitive. I applied with a 30 MCAT, sGPA 3.7 and cGPA 3.2.
There are lies, damned lies and then there are statistics.
I try not to get too wrapped into statistics. If you read a little deeper you will start to see half truths, omissions, stat inflation...
E.g.
DO schools allow grade replacement
Some midwest MD schools average highest MCAT by section
2 PA programs (1 45 min drive my house) will:
Allow grade replacement
Only count the last 90 credit hours of courses
Convert Pass/Fails into A's (that one I couldn't believe until I heard it directly from admissions)
As for the hours (typically 200+ hours of direct care is needed, but you can EARN hours on a conditional acceptance while attending PA school)
(you get the idea)
P.S. no matter what profession you choose. I guarantee you that my friend who works as a legal secretary makes/will continue to make more money than any of you will ever see in your life time. The best part is, she never went to college.
P.S.S I am the sole reason for bringing down podiatry school stats:
25 mcat 3.1 cgpa, 3.1 sgpa. Sorry guys ><
I try not to get too wrapped into statistics. If you read a little deeper you will start to see half truths, omissions, stat inflation...
E.g.
DO schools allow grade replacement
Some midwest MD schools average highest MCAT by section
2 PA programs (1 45 min drive my house) will:
Allow grade replacement
Only count the last 90 credit hours of courses
Convert Pass/Fails into A's (that one I couldn't believe until I heard it directly from admissions)
As for the hours (typically 200+ hours of direct care is needed, but you can EARN hours on a conditional acceptance while attending PA school)
(you get the idea)
P.S. no matter what profession you choose. I guarantee you that my friend who works as a legal secretary makes/will continue to make more money than any of you will ever see in your life time. The best part is, she never went to college.
P.S.S I am the sole reason for bringing down podiatry school stats:
25 mcat 3.1 cgpa, 3.1 sgpa. Sorry guys ><
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I didn't send my rec letters. In fact I still havent. Applied late February. Got accepted without letters. Granted I only applied to two schools (Western and DMU) so I cannot say for the rest. But I have volunteer experience with podiatrist in foot clinics and shadowed them. It might be difficult if they see on your application limited exposure to podiatry.
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Back then you only need two year of undergrad to get into pharm schools and a lot of people did these two years at a CC, so this is not new. But you are correct that admission to pharm school is not hard anymore... You just only need 3.0 c/sGPA and a 55+ PCAT and you will find many schools that will accept you.
As far as for DO, they do have grade replacement. Therefore, I am guessing if It was not for the grade replacement, the c/sGPAs would have been 3.3/3.2 as opposed to 3.47/3.37. The average MCAT for DO is almost 27-- not the 24 that you mention. I think the MCAT is where DO beat pod school in term of competitiveness, but as for GPAs, it's a washed
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I think that over 75% of applicants who got into pod school could have gotten into DO schools with a little bit of more effort... Most people go to pod because that is what they want to do--not because they can't get into med school...
900 applicants for 700 seats? Are these numbers correct? If so, the acceptance rate for pod school is almost 80%...
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I
itsallgood19
How does one indicate that a letter of recommendation will be coming to schools AFTER submitting the electronic application awhile before? I plan to submit my app in early august, and i will then send two individual interfolio letters (one from DPM and one from another healthcare professional), but I will be getting a committee letter written for me probably in late september (they have to wait to see MCAT scores that will probably be released in late August). Will my app just sit at each school until they receive the committee letter (some require three total letters)? I kinda wanna indicate that a prehealth letter is being written on my behalf so they can be patient waiting for it. How should i go about this?
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I got into pod school with an undergraduate pre-med committee packet that included an M.D. surgeon's recommendation letter, but none from any D.P.M.s
