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Nein, nein, nein!

I mean, it's your money and you can fill out MD secondaries to your hearts desire, but you've put yourself at such a huge disadvantage submitting this late that I don't think it's worth it. May I ask why you waited this long?
 
TwoHighways said:
Nein, nein, nein!

I mean, it's your money and you can fill out MD secondaries to your hearts desire, but you've put yourself at such a huge disadvantage submitting this late that I don't think it's worth it. May I ask why you waited this long?
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TwoHighways said:
Nein, nein, nein!

I mean, it's your money and you can fill out MD secondaries to your hearts desire, but you've put yourself at such a huge disadvantage submitting this late that I don't think it's worth it. May I ask why you waited this long?
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blueberry4104 said:
It's because my original plan after I got my MCAT score back in July was to wait another cycle and re-take it, but I was convinced to take a shot at DO this cycle because I really don't want to take another gap year and am just ready to start med school. So by the time I decided I was going to apply this cycle, and the time it took to write my personal statement, November happened lol
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If you don't mind the secondary fees and can manage expectations, shoot your shot. As a non-trad, I don't blame you for not wanting to wait around another year.
 
This is a total no go. But! You would be well ahead of the game for next cycle.
Dont rush it
 
blueberry4104 said:
It's because my original plan after I got my MCAT score back in July was to wait another cycle and re-take it, but I was convinced to take a shot at DO this cycle because I really don't want to take another gap year and am just ready to start med school. So by the time I decided I was going to apply this cycle, and the time it took to write my personal statement, November happened lol
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If you really don't wanna take another gap year, do not envision yourself in a competitive speciality (like Neuro Surg, derm, ortho, ophto, IR, ENT, Surgical subspecialty ect...), and really research and understand the baggage that comes with the DO degree then go ahead and apply, your stats are very competitive for all DO schools, and it's not too late for DO yet. If you complete all your secondaries by Thanksgiving you'll be ok for this cycle. Otherwise, it's really worth it to wait and apply MD early next cycle, and see what you get out of it. An MD school will open a lot more doors for you.

Source: A 2nd year DO student.

Sent from my SM-G973U using SDN mobile
 
Did you already submit primaries to the schools? Not 100% sure but that might be a problem for some schools since I recall that some had deadlines in October.
 
Zen Arcade said:
I’m pretty sure the due date for submitting your primary to AMCAS for most schools has passed so unless you’ve done that already you are too late unfortunately.
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Not all of them have passed. Drexel accepts primaries until 12/1, but Harvard’s as long passed, for example.
 
blueberry4104 said:
Has anyone heard any success stories of people sending in their application to MD schools in late November or later?

I was planning on doing a DO only cycle and will submit AACOMAS by next week. But I was thinking about whether I should also just submit to a few MD schools as well just to shoot my shot. My stats are 3.5/509 with strong ECs, personal statement, and letters. I am a CA resident, ORM (Iranian American)
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Save your money. The schools don't need the donations.
 
gonnif said:
As far I am concerned its too late for Do as well
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If he literally submits within the next week he could be on time for DO.Early Nov is still fine I think? My last DO school was last week of Oct.
 
dude no one can say for sure that is impossible.. but it is close enough to impossible to make it not worth it. Go check out the no II thread, there are plenty of applicants with higher stats who submitted much earlier who have still not heard back yet.

I get not wanting to take another gap year but you’ll have to anyway if this doesn’t work out AND you’ll be a reapplicant.
 
You are very, very late for MD and will be rushed if applying DO. Wait and apply next year.
 
blueberry4104 said:
Has anyone heard any success stories of people sending in their application to MD schools in late November or later?

I was planning on doing a DO only cycle and will submit AACOMAS by next week. But I was thinking about whether I should also just submit to a few MD schools as well just to shoot my shot. My stats are 3.5/509 with strong ECs, personal statement, and letters. I am a CA resident, ORM (Iranian American)
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Your stats are fairly average so you won't stand out for the limited number of interview slots left. It is best to apply early. Some schools stigmatize reapplicants. Another strike is that you are a California resident and most Cali kids end up going out of state anyway. Out of state admissions will already be more competitive than would applying to a state school. I'd wait until next cycle.
 
DrStephenStrange said:
If you really don't wanna take another gap year, do not envision yourself in a competitive speciality (like Neuro Surg, derm, ortho, ophto, IR, ENT, Surgical subspecialty ect...), and really research and understand the baggage that comes with the DO degree then go ahead and apply, your stats are very competitive for all DO schools, and it's not too late for DO yet. If you complete all your secondaries by Thanksgiving you'll be ok for this cycle. Otherwise, it's really worth it to wait and apply MD early next cycle, and see what you get out of it. An MD school will open a lot more doors for you.

Source: A 2nd year DO student.

Sent from my SM-G973U using SDN mobile
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blueberry4104 said:
I'm okay with having doors closed for competitive specialties because I am really passionate about primary care, I've always wanted to go into either Family Medicine or Internal Med/possibly sub-specialize in cardio. May I ask what you mean by "baggage" that comes with the DO degree? I know there's a stigma of course, but have you personally experienced any stigma as a second year so far?
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Exactly; cardiology is competitive and there will be a MD advantage when it comes time to apply to residency programs. A competitive IM residency can also make a difference as to whether you make it to the cardiology fellowship.
 
blueberry4104 said:
@Goro I read on other posts that you thought thanksgiving was the deadline for DO submissions to be considered "late" correct? Are my chances really that iffy at this point?
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I think he meant being complete at schools. Not just beginning the process.

What is the rush? Your chances are great next year.
 
DNAJB6 said:
Exactly; cardiology is competitive and there will be a MD advantage when it comes time to apply to residency programs. A competitive IM residency can also make a difference as to whether you make it to the cardiology fellowship.
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blueberry4104 said:
That makes sense. No rush but I just turned 24 and waiting will mean a 3rd gap year for me, while everyone I know will be off to med school this upcoming fall. Just getting a bit antsy
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I took three gap years and started at 25. I get your friends are starting school, but we all have our own timelines. Your first application should ideally be your only one and not done in haste. If you wait, you have six months to improve what you already have but also get everything you need together.
 
There are some success stories with submitting both applications this late.

However, those are the exceptions, not the rules.

I agree with Gonnif. I think you're too late for both applications.
 
Poor judgement sinks good applicants. If you are indeed a strong candidate submit early next cycle. Submitting now to either MD or DO weakens your overall application
 
gonnif said:
As far I am concerned its too late for DO as well
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Def not true. I submitted my DO apps in mid-November and immediately got secondaries at schools that screened and then got interviews within a week or two at almost every school I applied to. I know anecdotes aren’t data, but I know quite a few people who applied DO in November and were fine.

That said, I think MD is a lost cause at this point. Just wait a year and apply to both.
 
blueberry4104 said:
That would be the smartest decision I agree, but I feel that I am a really solid candidate for DO schools and my personal statement is very geared towards that. I am just thinking if on the off chance I do get accepted into a DO school later this year, I want to know that I gave MD a shot as well. So just wondering if anyone's had success with that, even if it's just interviews
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Your original plan was the best - I think you should stick to it.
Why not make your first cycle MD only and submit your applications in June!
 
I think this point has already been beaten to the ground, but you're a middle of the road applicant. Nothing stellar, nothing bad. This average-ness does not afford you the luxury to apply on the fly now that you've only just thought of applying MD in November. If you really are rooting for your best interest and think MD is the route - finish off the cycle with the DO apps you already have in and come to a decision once/if you get acceptances there for applying MD next round.
 
You should apply next cycle, your stats are average, and your death sentence is that you are California resident. There are too many barriers for you to apply this late in the cycle, and I sense that you prefer MD schools only. Considering that there are many outstanding applicants with superb stats out there who applied early and still got rejected or waitlisted, you are at significant disadvantage. Of course there are stories out there of applicants that got in, but isolated data do not represent true statistics. My friend is from California and applied late last cycle as well around middle/late November with MCAT 517 and GPA in the 3.9x and he got rejected with not a single invitation. He learned from his mistake and applied super early, but still had to explain why he was reapplicant. He got several IIs already, and I think the only difference this time is that he applies early.
 
blueberry4104 said:
That makes sense. No rush but I just turned 24 and waiting will mean a 3rd gap year for me, while everyone I know will be off to med school this upcoming fall. Just getting a bit antsy
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Most of my friends from college that were premed are already in residency... You are young.
 
blueberry4104 said:
That makes sense. No rush but I just turned 24 and waiting will mean a 3rd gap year for me, while everyone I know will be off to med school this upcoming fall. Just getting a bit antsy
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Dude 24 is still plenty young. Most people applying these days are around 24-27 anyway. Don’t compare yourself to anyone because everyone is different. Your endgame is getting into medical school and become a doctor so just focus on that. It doesn’t matter how long it takes as long as you get there. I am turning 26 this year and I still think I am younger than most 20 folks. It all depends on your mindset and how you take care of yourself. Age is just a number anyway.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Def not true. I submitted my DO apps in mid-November and immediately got secondaries at schools that screened and then got interviews within a week or two at almost every school I applied to. I know anecdotes aren’t data, but I know quite a few people who applied DO in November and were fine.

That said, I think MD is a lost cause at this point. Just wait a year and apply to both.
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See, that's stressing me out. It makes me think I've already been looked at/passed over at the DO programs I applied to late Sept. for 3 and late Oct. for 2.
 
mwsapphire said:
See, that's stressing me out. It makes me think I've already been looked at/passed over at the DO programs I applied to late Sept. for 3 and late Oct. for 2.
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Your case is different. OP hasn't even verified his AACOMAS primary and there's no guarantee he'd receive secondaries prior to the holidays.
 
camoixu said:
Your case is different. OP hasn't even verified his AACOMAS primary and there's no guarantee he'd receive secondaries prior to the holidays.
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Getting your AACOMAS verified at this time doesn't take long. It took about 10 days for me, and I had like 10 transcripts. But again, I still think OP should wait a year.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Getting your AACOMAS verified at this time doesn't take long. It took about 10 days for me, and I had like 10 transcripts. But again, I still think OP should wait a year.
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Right, but receiving and sending secondaries after the holidays does not bode well for admission chances.
 
camoixu said:
Right, but receiving and sending secondaries after the holidays does not bode well for admission chances.
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Why would he have to have them out that late? It's 11/7. If he submitted DO now, he'd probably be verified by just past mid-November, then get secondaries pretty soon after that if he's got a good app, and the turnaround could literally be a day for each secondary. I submitted in November last year and had all of my secondaries back and IIs rolling in before the end of November.

OP should wait the year, but not because they're too late for DO. They should wait because it's too late for MD, and why would you want to automatically shut down any chance to get an MD acceptance?
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Why would he have to have them out that late? It's 11/7. If he submitted DO now, he'd probably be verified by just past mid-November, then get secondaries pretty soon after that if he's got a good app, and the turnaround could literally be a day for each secondary. I submitted in November last year and had all of my secondaries back and IIs rolling in before the end of November.

OP should wait the year, but not because they're too late for DO. They should wait because it's too late for MD, and why would you want to automatically shut down any chance to get an MD acceptance?
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Sounds like a bad time.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Why would he have to have them out that late? It's 11/7. If he submitted DO now, he'd probably be verified by just past mid-November, then get secondaries pretty soon after that if he's got a good app, and the turnaround could literally be a day for each secondary. I submitted in November last year and had all of my secondaries back and IIs rolling in before the end of November.

OP should wait the year, but not because they're too late for DO. They should wait because it's too late for MD, and why would you want to automatically shut down any chance to get an MD acceptance?
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blueberry4104 said:
I've always been curious and pretty sure I know the answer to this but want to confirm. Let's say I applied DO only right now and got an acceptance. What if June came around and I changed my mind about attending the DO school and decide to apply MD for the next cycle. Would it be a huge red flag to MD schools that I turned down a DO acceptance to reapply? I'm guessing I would have to explain my reasoning and that it wouldn't look too great right?
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Some schools ask on their secondaries if you've ever been accepted, others will ask that during interview. So you better have a good explanation for that.

Sent from my SM-G973U using SDN mobile
 
blueberry4104 said:
Would it be a huge red flag to MD schools that I turned down a DO acceptance to reapply? I'm guessing I would have to explain my reasoning and that it wouldn't look too great right?
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Yup and yup.

If you know deep down that you'll always have a "what if?" for MD, then wait until next year and shoot your shot for both MD and DO. Your chances are still better at DO schools with your stats and California residence, but it's not impossible for MD with an early application and strong essays/secondaries.

It seems like your heart really isn't in a DO cycle this year, so take the next few months to keep strengthening your application for both MD and DO schools and hit the ground running next June. That's my advice.
 
blueberry4104 said:
I've always been curious and pretty sure I know the answer to this but want to confirm. Let's say I applied DO only right now and got an acceptance. What if June came around and I changed my mind about attending the DO school and decide to apply MD for the next cycle. Would it be a huge red flag to MD schools that I turned down a DO acceptance to reapply? I'm guessing I would have to explain my reasoning and that it wouldn't look too great right?
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If the schools ask, then yes it most likely will be. At the least it shows poor judgement and lack of patience. Some schools might not ask but I wouldn’t want to take that chance.

Why not just wait? It’s almost halfway through the MD cycle anyway. You don’t have to wait too much longer.
 
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