4th year DO student answering questions

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Fargofargo said:
@MiaMia14

How hard is it actually just to "get by" in med school? I mean for example if someone just wanted to do FM or general internal medicine at a mediocre residency site, can the med school experience be more lax than the way you put in to be "work hard and fight for chance to prove yourself"?


Thank you in advance!
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PLEASE DO NOT BECOME A DOCTOR.

If you want to half-ass something, go sell shoes or flip hamburgers. You're taking care of people's lives, you can't half-ass that.
 
MiaMia14 said:
They chose for me...haha it was the only one I wasn't wait listed at.

Merry Christmas to you too!
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That just means it was meant to be. 😀

Anything that you were surprised by in medical school?
 
Conflagration said:
That just means it was meant to be. 😀

Anything that you were surprised by in medical school?
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Ummm I got caught pretty off guard first semester in general. I never really had to study and didn't really know how (hence my MCAT score). You really have to do a trial and error with different study strategies you might not have done in undergrad. I learned I did infinitely better by watching lectures online on double speed than by going to lecture physically. It's much easier for me to pay attention for 25 min than 50 min and when I get lost I can stop it, replay it, and look stuff up without missing anything. It took me almost failing anatomy to figure that out...so that sucked.

On a good note..,every part of med school, because of what you hear, you think is going to be "the worst ever". When I started med school I was like "oh man I'm never going to have any fun I'm just gonna study all the time and it's going to be horrrrrrible" and it wasn't as horrible as it seemed. We had dinner parties and house parties and went to see movies and went hiking...there was plenty of time to do fun things. Then studying for step 1 it was like "oh my god this is going to determine the rest of my life and I'm gonna study 15 hours a day and it's going to be so horrrrrrible" and it sucked but it wasn't as bad as I thought (probably because we had a constant supply of twizzlers in our cubicle), and then on rotations I was like "ughhhh I'm gonna get yelled and screamed at and I'm gonna feel like an idiot and I'm gonna have to work 125 hours a week and it's going to be horrrrrible" and then I actually had much more free time and a life than I thought...and all my preceptors have been pleasant and I only feel like an idiot a little bit of the time. and then on audition rotations it was like "yepp, here it comes, it's really going to be like I thought rotations were going to be last time and it's going to be horrrrrible" and it wasn't that bad...it was actually kinda fun because you know what you are doing a little bit. I'm hoping the doom and gloom I have been hearing about residency will be the same way and it won't be as bad as it is in my head.
 
This is an offshoot of your response to Conflagration. Is medical school actually more than a 9-5 job (so, 40 hours a week just with varied hours?)
In the real world, people commute, spend 40 hours of face-time at work and have crazy weeks when deadlines are looming. I'm wondering how medical school compares to the feeling of a full-time job.
 
beluga_whale said:
This is an offshoot of your response to Conflagration. Is medical school actually more than a 9-5 job (so, 40 hours a week just with varied hours?)
In the real world, people commute, spend 40 hours of face-time at work and have crazy weeks when deadlines are looming. I'm wondering how medical school compares to the feeling of a full-time job.
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So I'm a bad person to ask about this because I am horribly ADD and so I'm therefore not super efficient when it comes to studying. The first 2 years are nice because you can effectively make your own schedule (if you have recorded lectures which I would say is a definite necessity...or at least it was for me). I was a night owl and so I would wake up around 9:30-10, take my time getting ready, get to school around 11 and then study until 7-8. But those hours of studying consisted of studying for an hour (maybe) and then going and bothering everyone around me, getting coffee, checking email, checking Facebook, etc. if you are better than me at focusing I would say you could treat it like a full time job and be just fine. The weeks before tests are going to obviously be more hectic. It is also going to depend on you and how many times you need to see material before it sticks.

During the clinical years my schedule ranged from working 9-1 during easy rotations to 5:30am-7 at night. I mostly had weekends off (or had to work 2-3 weekend days a month). I would definitely say on the whole it's AT LEAST equivalent to a full time job but most of the time it's much more. Especially because after working such long hours you are supposed to go home and study. Depending on the rotation I would get a lot of studying done there and not have to do as much at night, and others I was just too tired to do anything even though I really should have, and others I actually did get to study for a few hours when I got home. It really depends on you and the rotation.
 
Thanks for the previous reply! By no means I meant to not try my best because I know that other people lives depend on me.

Another quick question. what's your take on OMM? Do you see yourself applying some OMM stuff to your residency or to your future practice?


Thanks again!
 
Fargofargo said:
Thanks for the previous reply! By no means I meant to not try my best because I know that other people lives depend on me.

Another quick question. what's your take on OMM? Do you see yourself applying some OMM stuff to your residency or to your future practice?


Thanks again!
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Honestly, OMM was not my cup of tea. I think there are people that are good at the certain parts of OMM that are useful...but I'm not one of them. I think most of the benefit of OMM tends to be placebo (which isn't a bad method of treatment if it works) or you fix it and it comes right back.
 
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user3 said:
so why is it OK for COCA to allow half-assing DO students' clinical educations?
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It shouldn't be. It also shouldn't be ok for the AOA to allow subpar residencies. I'm glad the ACGME is taking over as accrediting body so that the quality will go up. Hopefully DO schools will follow suit by standardizing their clinical education although I don't see it happening anytime soon. I think doing those 2 things would go a long way to really creating equality between the two degrees while still maintaining our "DOness" which is what it seems like the AOA is concerned about.
 
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asdf123g said:
@meliora27 : "My advice would be to go to a school that has very strong and established clinical rotations in an inpatient setting, with residents." How do we find this info out besides word of mouth??
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The established schools (original five) for the most part will have a good deal of ward based rotations. But also just because you go to one of those schools doesn't necessarily mean you will only get the good ones. You'll likely get a mix of the good and bad. But honestly you will probably get that at any DO school, so don't worry too too much. Just apply broadly and go where you feel happiest.
 
3.4cgpa/3.35sgpa... for DO schools only, what would be an ideal MCAT score I should aim for?
 
I would make a thread in the "what are my chances forum". The answer to what should I shoot for is always a 45. You should always shoot for the highest possible. I think realistically with your grades you would need a 27+. But you aren't really giving us the whole story....ECs, what schools you are looking at, etc.
 
MiaMia14 said:
I would make a thread in the "what are my chances forum". The answer to what should I shoot for is always a 45. You should always shoot for the highest possible. I think realistically with your grades you would need a 27+. But you aren't really giving us the whole story....ECs, what schools you are looking at, etc.
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True. My ECs are solid and as of now, I do not have a school list. I have talked to a few adcoms and all recommend a 28 or so to be competitive and to apply in June if possible. Thank you!
 
Dreamstoo said:
3.4cgpa/3.35sgpa... for DO schools only, what would be an ideal MCAT score I should aim for?
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I would feel comfortable with a 27. But with 24-25, I would still feel confident of getting an acceptance somewhere provided you applied early/broadly.
 
My main question is I see several clubs/ECs that I'm interested in joining at the school I'm currently planning on attending: Peds club, Latin American students club for learning medical spanish (I'm not Hispanic but was a Spanish major, too) and playing on the club soccer team which would practice twice a week and have games on Sundays. Doing all three would be too much, right? Should I wait til after 1st year or at least first semester until I have my study habits and timing more figured out? Or do 1 or 2 and add another if I feel like I can fit it in?
 
JW2020 said:
My main question is I see several clubs/ECs that I'm interested in joining at the school I'm currently planning on attending: Peds club, Latin American students club for learning medical spanish (I'm not Hispanic but was a Spanish major, too) and playing on the club soccer team which would practice twice a week and have games on Sundays. Doing all three would be too much, right? Should I wait til after 1st year or at least first semester until I have my study habits and timing more figured out? Or do 1 or 2 and add another if I feel like I can fit it in?
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I would start out slow but I don't see why you can't do all of the above. It's really gonna depend on you though. No one EXPECTS to struggle in med school but many do (I certainly did first semester). Also just joining a club (aside from maybe the soccer) doesn't mean you have to go to every meeting/game. Especially the clubs...our clubs were very sporadically attended...although people always showed up for the free good. Haha. The reason to go to the club meetings would be if they have a speaker you are interested in or something which you should know ahead of time.
 
You said you went to LMU, it's currently my only acceptance. How would you rate the 3rd/4th years there
 
Shinobiz11 said:
You said you went to LMU, it's currently my only acceptance. How would you rate the 3rd/4th years there
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If you go to the osteopathic student forum I did a pretty thorough review in the "pros and cons of your DO school" thread. Let me know if you have any specific questions I didn't address.
 
Thanks for answering my previous post.

I would like to ask is how were the placement of your core rotations? Were they in one area that you can get to in an okay amount of time? Or did you need to move to another location for certain ones? If so, did LMU help you with accommodations (place to stay) during those short periods?
 
are you from Tennessee? if not, what was your 'connection' to the region or reason(s) for being interested in that school?
 
IslandStyle808 said:
Thanks for answering my previous post.

I would like to ask is how were the placement of your core rotations? Were they in one area that you can get to in an okay amount of time? Or did you need to move to another location for certain ones? If so, did LMU help you with accommodations (place to stay) during those short periods?
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Hahaha no LMU doesn't help with any living or relocating expenses. I don't think that's abnormal. Most of the core sites are in TN or the surrounding states but not really within commuting distance of Harrogate. Almost all people have to relocate for they cores as well as the moving around during each away rotation 4th year. Honestly, after I finished my cores I've been in a new state almost every month (mostly by choice so I could do as many sub-i's as possible). I sold all my stuff and have essentially been living out of my car. Some places that get a lot of4th years have housing for cheap but that wasn't common in my experience.
 
asdf123g said:
are you from Tennessee? if not, what was your 'connection' to the region or reason(s) for being interested in that school?
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I went to high school in Nashville. My parents still live there. But by the make up of my class we don't have a super strong regional bias...we have students from everywhere.
 
MiaMia14 said:
Hahaha no LMU doesn't help with any living or relocating expenses. I don't think that's abnormal. Most of the core sites are in TN or the surrounding states but not really within commuting distance of Harrogate. Almost all people have to relocate for they cores as well as the moving around during each away rotation 4th year. Honestly, after I finished my cores I've been in a new state almost every month (mostly by choice so I could do as many sub-i's as possible). I sold all my stuff and have essentially been living out of my car. Some places that get a lot of4th years have housing for cheap but that wasn't common in my experience.
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Sorry, what I meant was for the core rotations can students stay in one area (ex. Nashville) for the whole 3rd year or do they need to move out of area or out of state for a few of the core rotations?

Thank you for answering the other questions.
 
IslandStyle808 said:
Sorry, what I meant was for the core rotations do students stay in that area (ex. Nashville) for the whole 3rd year or do they need to move out of area or out of state for a few of the core rotations?

Thank you for answering the other questions.
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Oh sorry. No, all your cores will be at your core site. There are a few like Memphis and Knoxville where they are at different hospitals in the city, but none where you'd have to find somewhere else to live. Although I have heard some of the hospitals with traffic can be quite a commute depending on where you live.
 
Fargofargo said:
@MiaMia14

How hard is it actually just to "get by" in med school? I mean for example if someone just wanted to do FM or general internal medicine at a mediocre residency site, can the med school experience be more lax than the way you put in to be "work hard and fight for chance to prove yourself"?

Thank you in advance!
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"Get by" is a very pre-med concept. I've seen people study themselves out of their mind just to fail a test. Trust me, you have never been challenged this way before. The best it gets is the ability to say "yeah, I think I can take this Sunday off if I put another 4 hours on Saturday" or be able to feel you can go to the movies on Friday without feeling that'll be the tipping point between pass and fail. Every test you come out of you'll see 40% of your classmates saying "I don't know if I'll pass," 40% saying "I think I passed," 10% saying "I think I did okay" and 10% tripping out sure they failed it. Not one person comes out thinking "yeah, I totally owned that test." "Get by" is a fantasy you need to abandon.
 
AlbinoHawk DO said:
"Get by" is a very pre-med concept. I've seen people study themselves out of their mind just to fail a test. Trust me, you have never been challenged this way before. The best it gets is the ability to say "yeah, I think I can take this Sunday off if I put another 4 hours on Saturday" or be able to feel you can go to the movies on Friday without feeling that'll be the tipping point between pass and fail. Every test you come out of you'll see 40% of your classmates saying "I don't know if I'll pass," 40% saying "I think I passed," 10% saying "I think I did okay" and 10% tripping out sure they failed it. Not one person comes out thinking "yeah, I totally owned that test." "Get by" is a fantasy you need to abandon.
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._. I'm scared now.
 
Hey,
Thanks a lot for doing this! I am learning a lot!
I wanted to ask you if you think or if you know of osteopathic doctors who work for non profit organizations specifically non profit organizations that specializes in international aide
For example like doctors without borders..
I was also thinking regarding the money.....do first years and second years tutor? like can they hold a part time job while in class? During the summer?
Thanks again!
 
Jay2910 said:
Hey,
Thanks a lot for doing this! I am learning a lot!
I wanted to ask you if you think or if you know of osteopathic doctors who work for non profit organizations specifically non profit organizations that specializes in international aide
For example like doctors without borders..
I was also thinking regarding the money.....do first years and second years tutor? like can they hold a part time job while in class? During the summer?
Thanks again!
Click to expand...

I don't personally know anyone in doctors without borders but I'm sure there are plenty. As far as I know they don't distinguish between DOs and MDs.

I tutored micro to 1st years when I was a second year but it's really not a thing you do to make money. I made like $10 an hour and did it for 2-4 hours a week. I do know some nurses and paramedics that would sometimes take a nightshift here or there but again, I think it was more to break up the monotony than for the money. Obviously you couldn't have a regular full or part time job even because your free time will be few and far between.

I did have a summer job at a restaurant on a lake between first and second year more for spending money and to have fun than anything else. You don't really have any other real summers besides that one though. After 2nd year you take boards and then once you start rotations you just work straight through summer.
 
Thanks for that miamia14!

I also wanted to ask you questions on the STEP 1 and 2.
I know like for the MCAT . . .there was a good part of the test that wasn't really taught( like you had to "apply" the knowledge" or "get your timing straight" etc) . .. are the boards anything like that?
Also, for the MCAT, there are many threads that debate over which resources to use and why and how to use them. There's also like a price breakdown for each resource.

1)In your opinion, how much should a med school student set aside for such preparation? $1000?
2) Did the performance in your classes reflect your score? Do you feel that the test itself, is about being a good test taker as opposed to a good student? or is it more of a knowledge test as opposed to the MCAT?
3) Is verbal going to come back and haunt me?

You also mentioned that, you were practically living out of your car I think during residency? ( massively commended for that).
How did you make that possible? Like what kind of mindset is needed to make a drastic move like that? What kind of things did you sacrifice? How did you get stuff like cooking, laundry, studying, personal hygiene stuff done?
So far, the D.O schools that I interviewed at don't have any of the "supportive stuff"( ex: gyms, meal plans etc). Its purely a place for professionals.
 
asdf123g said:
@meliora27 : "My advice would be to go to a school that has very strong and established clinical rotations in an inpatient setting, with residents." How do we find this info out besides word of mouth??
Click to expand...

Check out the websites of schools that you're looking at. See what hospitals they have clinical rotations at, and then see if there are residency programs there.
 
Jay2910 said:
Thanks for that miamia14!

I also wanted to ask you questions on the STEP 1 and 2.
I know like for the MCAT . . .there was a good part of the test that wasn't really taught( like you had to "apply" the knowledge" or "get your timing straight" etc) . .. are the boards anything like that?
Also, for the MCAT, there are many threads that debate over which resources to use and why and how to use them. There's also like a price breakdown for each resource.

1)In your opinion, how much should a med school student set aside for such preparation? $1000?
2) Did the performance in your classes reflect your score? Do you feel that the test itself, is about being a good test taker as opposed to a good student? or is it more of a knowledge test as opposed to the MCAT?
3) Is verbal going to come back and haunt me?

You also mentioned that, you were practically living out of your car I think during residency? ( massively commended for that).
How did you make that possible? Like what kind of mindset is needed to make a drastic move like that? What kind of things did you sacrifice? How did you get stuff like cooking, laundry, studying, personal hygiene stuff done?
So far, the D.O schools that I interviewed at don't have any of the "supportive stuff"( ex: gyms, meal plans etc). Its purely a place for professionals.
Click to expand...

Ok. So I think there are a few areas of misunderstanding here.

First, step 1 is nothing like the MCAT. It is much more knowledge based. HOWEVER if you didn't do well in verbal I would just make sure that your language skills are ok when you take it because there are still vignettes you have to read and understand. But it's not like you can just read a passage and infer the answers from it like the MCAT...it's more reading the vignette and knowing the answers because of knowledge you've gained from the first 2 years of med school. It might be a 3rd order question...something like them giving you some symptoms and then you needing to give side effect of the most common drug to treat it or something...so you have to know even more than just here are the symptoms give the disease type of thing.

Honestly I would buy uworld (maybe $300-400 can't remember) and first aid. Those 2 things are like the bible of step 1 studying. Our school gave us combank (a comlex specific qbank) as well. There are copies of review videos that will be floating around your class (probably) for free...or at least that was my experience. Some people paid for the newer versions...but they really aren't that different.

After my dismal performance first year I was pretty solidly average on exams and legit did right at average on boards...so I guess my class performance did predict where I'd be. It's unlikely if you are a below average student that you will rock boards and vice versa but I'm sure it happens.

So the "living out my car" comment meant that I sold all my furniture and stuff and didn't have a "stable" home. I wasn't actually living out of my car haha. I have been to NY, Chicago, TX, and TN in the last few months and at each place I had an actual living space. It was either housing provided at a discount price (a bunk bed in an apartment) by the program or a place I've found on craigslist/by contacting programs. Last month I was at an extended stay. I always had places to eat, do laundry, etc. all of it is paid for by loans. It sucks, but it works. It was really hard being away from my boyfriend but we made it work and I tried to see him at least once a month. Other than the stability of not having my own home (which shouldn't be underscored it is much harder than you would think to not have a place you can say "this is my home" (my parents have also both moved to new houses in the last year so I couldn't even say their house). I am very excited to settle down somewhere for at least four years.

Our school has a gym, it's just not big and has weird hours. I think the apartments also have a gym that has been growing the last few years. Meal plans are a college thing...it's for when you need help budgeting your money out for your meals. I guess they just assume you can already do that at this point in your life. There were also tennis and basketball courts and stuff if you liked to play. We also had a pool table/ping pong table in our building as well as football, soccer, and softball leagues kinda pop up during the year. There will be plenty to do in your small amount of downtime wherever you go I'm sure.
 
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jb94mg said:
Bumping this question. 🙂
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So the question was "what made me choose this school, and what did I wish I knew as a premed".

1. The school picked me. It was the only one I was outright accepted to. I was put on a few wait lists, but nothing came of it. It worked out because my parents live in TN.

2. I wish I knew that the things that really matter when picking a school are the rotations. The curriculum and really anything else you can think of (aside from maybe if the school has mandatory lecture or not) literally don't matter at all. Every school is going to go through a variation of the same material and really the only important thing about it is that you've seen it once so it comes back quickly when you are studying for boards. It's easy to get caught up in the bells and whistles of a school and miss out on the important things.

However I do suggest going to a school with recorded lectures because you might find out that works best for you (doesn't even have to be for every class but your quality of life is going to be much better if you aren't sitting in a lecture hall when you don't want to be from 9-5. I actually think I would have been miserable if I was forced to go to class all the time.
 
Disregard...saw my answer in a later reply
 
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MiaMia14 said:
Ok. So I think there are a few areas of misunderstanding here.

First, step 1 is nothing like the MCAT. It is much more knowledge based. HOWEVER if you didn't do well in verbal I would just make sure that your language skills are ok when you take it because there are still vignettes you have to read and understand. But it's not like you can just read a passage and infer the answers from it like the MCAT...it's more reading the vignette and knowing the answers because of knowledge you've gained from the first 2 years of med school. It might be a 3rd order question...something like them giving you some symptoms and then you needing to give side effect of the most common drug to treat it or something...so you have to know even more than just here are the symptoms give the disease type of thing.

Honestly I would buy uworld (maybe $300-400 can't remember) and first aid. Those 2 things are like the bible of step 1 studying. Our school gave us combank (a comlex specific qbank) as well. There are copies of review videos that will be floating around your class (probably) for free...or at least that was my experience. Some people paid for the newer versions...but they really aren't that different.

After my dismal performance first year I was pretty solidly average on exams and legit did right at average on boards...so I guess my class performance did predict where I'd be. It's unlikely if you are a below average student that you will rock boards and vice versa but I'm sure it happens.

So the "living out my car" comment meant that I sold all my furniture and stuff and didn't have a "stable" home. I wasn't actually living out of my car haha. I have been to NY, Chicago, TX, and TN in the last few months and at each place I had an actual living space. It was either housing provided at a discount price (a bunk bed in an apartment) by the program or a place I've found on craigslist/by contacting programs. Last month I was at an extended stay. I always had places to eat, do laundry, etc. all of it is paid for by loans. It sucks, but it works. It was really hard being away from my boyfriend but we made it work and I tried to see him at least once a month. Other than the stability of not having my own home (which shouldn't be underscored it is much harder than you would think to not have a place you can say "this is my home" (my parents have also both moved to new houses in the last year so I couldn't even say their house). I am very excited to settle down somewhere for at least four years.

Our school has a gym, it's just not big and has weird hours. I think the apartments also have a gym that has been growing the last few years. Meal plans are a college thing...it's for when you need help budgeting your money out for your meals. I guess they just assume you can already do that at this point in your life. There were also tennis and basketball courts and stuff if you liked to play. We also had a pool table/ping pong table in our building as well as football, soccer, and softball leagues kinda pop up during the year. There will be plenty to do in your small amount of downtime wherever you go I'm sure.
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I do not understand why students must pay so much tuition their 3rd and 4th year, only to have to additionally, fully self fund their away rotations and all associated expenses. Don't you think the schools could afford to help out a little?

Not to target your school specifically, but regarding the 3rd and 4th year, a recent grad of your school flat out said here- "I wonder where my money went".
 
MiaMia14 said:
So the question was "what made me choose this school, and what did I wish I knew as a premed".

1. The school picked me. It was the only one I was outright accepted to. I was put on a few wait lists, but nothing came of it. It worked out because my parents live in TN.

2. I wish I knew that the things that really matter when picking a school are the rotations. The curriculum and really anything else you can think of (aside from maybe if the school has mandatory lecture or not) literally don't matter at all. Every school is going to go through a variation of the same material and really the only important thing about it is that you've seen it once so it comes back quickly when you are studying for boards. It's easy to get caught up in the bells and whistles of a school and miss out on the important things.

However I do suggest going to a school with recorded lectures because you might find out that works best for you (doesn't even have to be for every class but your quality of life is going to be much better if you aren't sitting in a lecture hall when you don't want to be from 9-5. I actually think I would have been miserable if I was forced to go to class all the time.
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100% agree.
 
user3 said:
I do not understand why students must pay so much tuition their 3rd and 4th year, only to have to additionally, fully self fund their away rotations and all associated expenses. Don't you think the schools could afford to help out a little?

Not to target your school specifically, but regarding the 3rd and 4th year, a recent grad of your school flat out said here- "I wonder where my money went".
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I totally agree. For the most part we set up all our own rotations and basically just send the school all the info. I have no idea what we are paying for 3rd and 4th year aside from our insurance.
 
So, I read what you wrote earlier about DO vs MD. And that absolutely helped me. I'm just still nervous. I have a 3.9 GPA and am getting 30+ on my practice MCATs. Basically, I am a competitive applicant. But mostly I get the impression that competitive applicants don't go DO. I know that is oversimplifying it, but I fear just being in the wrong place if I go DO. I think I have the personality and interest for DO, but I'm just hesitant to go to a school with an average incoming GPA of 2.8. Not that I think I'm so high and mighty, but that's a significant difference that draws different types of people.
I don't wanna get to LECOM or wherever and have it be immediately apparent that I don't belong there. Does that make sense?
 
bluetovah said:
So, I read what you wrote earlier about DO vs MD. And that absolutely helped me. I'm just still nervous. I have a 3.9 GPA and am getting 30+ on my practice MCATs. Basically, I am a competitive applicant. But mostly I get the impression that competitive applicants don't go DO. I know that is oversimplifying it, but I fear just being in the wrong place if I go DO. I think I have the personality and interest for DO, but I'm just hesitant to go to a school with an average incoming GPA of 2.8. Not that I think I'm so high and mighty, but that's a significant difference that draws different types of people.
I don't wanna get to LECOM or wherever and have it be immediately apparent that I don't belong there. Does that make sense?
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Which schools have a an average incoming GPA of 2.8?

What is the correct personality to have as a DO student that is distinct from an MD student if they will treat the same patients?

Idk but this post makes me believe that you need someone to reassure you that you are "smart enough/ good enough" to be MD and have zero interest or desire for DO. But then again I'm no one.
 
Aquinas said:
Which schools have a an average incoming GPA of 2.8?

What is the correct personality to have as a DO student that is distinct from an MD student if they will treat the same patients?

Idk but this post makes me believe that you need someone to reassure you that you are "smart enough/ good enough" to be MD and have zero interest or desire for DO. But then again I'm no one.
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None.
 
Aquinas said:
Which schools have a an average incoming GPA of 2.8?

What is the correct personality to have as a DO student that is distinct from an MD student if they will treat the same patients?

Idk but this post makes me believe that you need someone to reassure you that you are "smart enough/ good enough" to be MD and have zero interest or desire for DO. But then again I'm no one.
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No, not at all. I honestly think that the entire philosophy of osteopathic medicine just makes sense. I find it very appealing. For a while I was considering only applying to DO schools. But I just feel like I'm in love with the idea, but something isn't adding up for me. I don't see eye to eye with my peers who have a 2.7, so when I read online that that's the median incoming GPA, I'm just worried maybe I'm not actually a good fit for DO..?
This is really hard to articulate without sounding like I'm really conceited. I just feel like I don't know what I'm getting myself into.

And http://medical-schools.findthebest.com/ says LECOM is 2.7 median incoming. Maybe I'm misinformed.
 
bluetovah said:
No, not at all. I honestly think that the entire philosophy of osteopathic medicine just makes sense. I find it very appealing. For a while I was considering only applying to DO schools. But I just feel like I'm in love with the idea, but something isn't adding up for me. I don't see eye to eye with my peers who have a 2.7, so when I read online that that's the median incoming GPA, I'm just worried maybe I'm not actually a good fit for DO..?
This is really hard to articulate without sounding like I'm really conceited. I just feel like I don't know what I'm getting myself into.

And http://medical-schools.findthebest.com/ says LECOM is 2.7 median incoming. Maybe I'm misinformed.
Click to expand...
That's actually the minimal gpa required to even have your app looked at. Whoever updates that site apparently can't read:

http://lecom.edu/entrance-requirements.php
 
bluetovah said:
Aha, so I was missing something.
Thank you. Anyone know a reliable website for comparing stats...?
Click to expand...
I went straight to the source. Most schools post this info on their webpage; however, some, sadly, do not. I believe LECOM doesn't but dont quote me.
 
bluetovah said:
So, I read what you wrote earlier about DO vs MD. And that absolutely helped me. I'm just still nervous. I have a 3.9 GPA and am getting 30+ on my practice MCATs. Basically, I am a competitive applicant. But mostly I get the impression that competitive applicants don't go DO. I know that is oversimplifying it, but I fear just being in the wrong place if I go DO. I think I have the personality and interest for DO, but I'm just hesitant to go to a school with an average incoming GPA of 2.8. Not that I think I'm so high and mighty, but that's a significant difference that draws different types of people.
I don't wanna get to LECOM or wherever and have it be immediately apparent that I don't belong there. Does that make sense?
Click to expand...

I have many friends at school that got high 30's on their MCAT but had low 3.- gpas because they didn't know early on they wanted to go to med school. I also have friends (people like me) who just didn't do standardized tests well (or didn't know how to study for a huge exam like the MCAT) that had 3.7+ gpas and mid/high 20s MCAT score. I also know people that have stats exactly comparable to yours that just got unlucky with MD schools. Believe me you are no different than any of us. There are lots of different kinda of people in every school and you will find the people you click with....there is no magical bubble around people with "competitive" stats that automatically will differentiate you from anyone else in your class.

You don't get along with your UNDERGRAD peers that have a 2.7 but the people that get into med school with that kind of gpa (VERY few and far between and I would be reaaaally realllly surprised if any school in the country had an AVERAGE that low) have some other amazing thing about their app (likely an MCAT score MUCH higher than a 30) to get them in. The people that get in to med school or even want to go to med school in the first place are not the typical communication majors just trying to get by (no offense to communication majors, just trying to make a point and overgeneralizing). Obviously there may be a few slackers here and there but on the whole the class is absolutely not going to somehow see you as an outcast or "better" than them. I'm not sure if you are wanting to hear that you are better or that no one will care at all what your stats are (and how will they even know?), but the answer is no one is going to care what your stats are (and they won't know) and unless you act weird, you aren't going to immediately be an outcast. Now, if you go in thinking "I don't belong here I totally could've gone to an MD school, these people are below me, I don't get along with people that have 2.7 gpas", it will come off in your interactions with your classmates and yeah there will be tension. But it will be totally of your own making. Go in thinking "this is a great opportunity for me to become a doctor and I am now in a place academically where we are all on the same page and it will be nice to be around people who have the same goals as me" and everything will be fine.
 
bluetovah said:
Aha, so I was missing something.
Thank you. Anyone know a reliable website for comparing stats...?
Click to expand...

You are much too caught up in the stats of the school. Who cares? I promise you everyone is going to be professional and want to learn and become a doctor as much as you. There are so many other more important things than the average gpa of a school when it comes to picking one. It really seems like you might be better off trying again for an MD school. I have classmates who I can tell feel inferior (because they make themselves feel inferior if that makes sense). They start out as people like you who feel like they are "better" than a DO school. I'm not even saying that it's wrong to feel that way, some people just aren't ever going to feel happy enough with their own accomplishments. They are the ones that are the most unhappy med students. Although if you try again and still don't get into an MD school it's gonna suck when you have to delay being a physician even more because you feel like you would have been superior to your classmates at a med school you got into.

I understand that you are just nervous. I'm not saying that at some points (especially before I started but had been accepted) I didn't feel a little sad that I hadn't been accepted to an MD school and had felt a little inferior. But if you really can't get over it, it's best not to attend a DO school because a. You won't be happy and b. The other students in your class are going to sense how you feel and resent you for it (as you have kindve gotten a glimpse at in this thread).
 
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