Accepted to DO, yet considering reapplying

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RogueUnicorn said:
OP, the pollyannas won't be the one to pick up the pieces if you fail. juss sayin..



many times the attendings/residents there are more enthused to teach because they don't interact with med students as frequently. also, community sites have more bread and butter cases as opposed to supermegaultra rare variants of Jones-Kiff-Ramsey-Hayabusa-Gregoriev whatevers, so your time is spent with the stuff you'll actually encounter in your future career. one of my buds just had a patient in peds who has a genetic disease identified in 40 people. ever. so while that's super cool, he's spending time learning about this and getting pimped (gently) in rounds while another buddy in a community site is honing is skill in working up a differential for kids with abdominal pain. on the other hand, the rare/complicated stuff ARE cool so there's a balancing act.
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Plus I've heard students have more of an opportunity to do things at community sites because there are fewer residents around?

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MedPR said:
Plus I've heard students have more of an opportunity to do things at community sites because there are fewer residents around?

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile
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depends on the site and particular rotation, but truer in more procedural clerkships like surgery or ob/gyn i've heard
 
dang. now we have 2 "u wot m8s"

misc is taking over sdn. i fear for the health of our future patients. good luck with your malpractice goals of 2018...
 
My advice is for you to reapply. If you don't think you'll be happy with an Osteopathic degree or believe it'll hinder your ultimate career goals, don't just compromise. Do what it is you actually want to do.
 
Or don't go off of what you simply think. Do your research, very in depth, and decide whether or not you can reasonably accomplish your particular goals that way. If you're not satisfied with what you've got, then the retake (MCAT) suggestion might (big might) be a decent option. Just remember: an acceptance (MD or DO) is an honor. People seem to forget that often.

Sorry for all the parentheses..
 
TriagePreMed

If/when/since (status presently unknown) you are accepted, what are ya gonna do about your SDN name?
 
Did I miss it? What DO school did you get accepted to and are there research opportunities there? LizzyM mentioned DOs do do research. Could you do more research in the summer to reach your goals? Are you willing to study now and take the MCAT in late May so then you will have your answer, at least as far as your MCAT. How many DO schools did you apply to and why did you only get accepted to one with those stats?
 
113 said:
More like Civic EX vs. Civic DX.
One with a moonroof and alloy wheels. The other without.
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I see it more as 2 Toyota Sienna minivans, one with little pockets on the back of the seats for holding your caprisuns, and one without...
 
My stats were a little lower and I got accepted to an MD school and had a few MD interviews and the one competitive DO school I applied to. I only applied to 8 schools. If you had an otherwise solid app, I think gaining acceptance to an MD school is possible with a 28 especially with a solid GPA like yours. If you didn't gain admission this cycle with decent stats, it's hard for me to believe that you will be guaranteed anything next cycle. Did you have any red flags?
 
bollywoodlover said:
My stats were a little lower and I got accepted to an MD school and had a few MD interviews and the one competitive DO school I applied to. I only applied to 8 schools. If you had an otherwise solid app, I think gaining acceptance to an MD school is possible with a 28 especially with a solid GPA like yours. If you didn't gain admission this cycle with decent stats, it's hard for me to believe that you will be guaranteed anything next cycle. Did you have any red flags?
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I really don't think so. I plan to contact some schools that rejected me.
 
For anonymity's sake, I'd rather not share which DO school, but its not well known, and relatively new.

I plan to do the following. I hope to gain some insight from some of the schools that rejected me. I will take the DO acceptance and hold on to it. In the meantime, I will study for the MCAT again. If by early May, I feel like am performing much better, I'll consider reapplying.

But this is really contingent on me not having any irreparable red flags.
 
NeuroCello said:
For anonymity's sake, I'd rather not share which DO school, but its not well known, and relatively new.

I plan to do the following. I hope to gain some insight from some of the schools that rejected me. I will take the DO acceptance and hold on to it. In the meantime, I will study for the MCAT again. If by early May, I feel like am performing much better, I'll consider reapplying.

But this is really contingent on me not having any irreparable red flags.
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Definitely reapply. No doubt about it. At worst, you get into an even better DO school. Anyone that thinks he at least won't get into another DO school next cycle is lying to themselves. I'd rather give it another go and get rejected at all the MD schools, rather than let one year determine the potential for my career.
 
uw0tm8 said:
Definitely reapply. No doubt about it. At worst, you get into an even better DO school. Anyone that thinks he at least won't get into another DO school next cycle is lying to themselves. I'd rather give it another go and get rejected at all the MD schools, rather than let one year determine the potential for my career.
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Somehow it's always easier to risk other persons' acceptances...
 
mcloaf said:
Somehow it's always easier to risk other persons' acceptances...
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lol. I'd understand if the OP had below avg stats or it was obvious that he barely got an acceptance (well he kind of did), but the guy has a 4.0 and 28mcat. Barring a huge red flag (which if this is the case, then no, he shouldn't reapply), there's a 99.9% chance that he'd get another DO acceptance if he applied again next year. If the OP is young, what does he lose by waiting a year in order to make sure he goes after what he wants? I know people will talk about 1 year of physician salary and what not, but at the same time, those same people recommend people take gap years all the time. So with that said, if I were OP and I was seriously questioning my choices, I'd find out if there was a red flag (murder, cocaine use, etc.) and if there wasn't I'd either take the mcat (or not, depending on how I felt about it) and apply again on the first day. He's pretty much short of guaranteed of getting a DO acceptance next year, but will have an even better chance of landing an MD acceptance, which is exactly what the OP wants.

tldr; with his stats, another DO acceptance is in the bag. Might as well take a year to make becoming an MD a realization 👍
 
Hi I am of the opinion to take the acceptance. Research opportunities are surprisingly only somewhat more difficult to come by. I anticipate this changing even more in the near future with the merger and the move towards a combined match. I'd jump at a DO acceptance and not ever look back.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
 
Yea. So long as you've never killed people or been caught with coke, and as long as you have good numbers, you're in, Bro. Take your pick next year! 🙄
 
uw0tm8 said:
lol. I'd understand if the OP had below avg stats or it was obvious that he barely got an acceptance (well he kind of did), but the guy has a 4.0 and 28mcat. Barring a huge red flag (which if this is the case, then no, he shouldn't reapply), there's a 99.9% chance that he'd get another DO acceptance if he applied again next year. If the OP is young, what does he lose by waiting a year in order to make sure he goes after what he wants? I know people will talk about 1 year of physician salary and what not, but at the same time, those same people recommend people take gap years all the time. So with that said, if I were OP and I was seriously questioning my choices, I'd find out if there was a red flag (murder, cocaine use, etc.) and if there wasn't I'd either take the mcat (or not, depending on how I felt about it) and apply again on the first day. He's pretty much short of guaranteed of getting a DO acceptance next year, but will have an even better chance of landing an MD acceptance, which is exactly what the OP wants.

tldr; with his stats, another DO acceptance is in the bag. Might as well take a year to make becoming an MD a realization 👍
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Lysilegluleu said:
Yea. So long as you've never killed people or been caught with coke, and as long as you have good numbers, you're in, Bro. Take your pick next year! 🙄
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Although you have to think, a near 4.0 and 28 and OP didn't get any love from top DO schools?

Something smells fishy...
 
darklabel said:
Although you have to think, a near 4.0 and 28 and OP didn't get any love from top DO schools?

Something smells fishy...
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Ya OP I think the major piece missing here (and perhaps I just missed it) is how many DO schools did you apply to, and if the answer is only 1, why did you only apply to one of the newer lesser known DO schools? If you applied to more than 1 and got rejected pre-interview, then obviously getting an acceptance at a DO school next year is far from a lock....
 
docboom said:
Ya OP I think the major piece missing here (and perhaps I just missed it) is how many DO schools did you apply to, and if the answer is only 1, why did you only apply to one of the newer lesser known DO schools? If you applied to more than 1 and got rejected pre-interview, then obviously getting an acceptance at a DO school next year is far from a lock....
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I only applied to 4 DO schools. That too, I chose based on location and handed in my application in the middle of the pack. I could still hear from 1 more. I guess I just wasn't well informed about DO. There seems to be a dearth of information on osteopathy in premed advisory committees.
 
Dear OP:

I think this depends on what your goals are. Know that many people would kill for a DO spot at a DO school because their passion is medicine. You will get lots of flames from people like this.

I asked myself the same question when I was accepted to my first medical school (a DO school). Do I want to be spending upwards of 250+ a year for a degree where I will be fighting tooth and nail with MD students for a good residency position? I agree with the DO philosophy. There is nothing about DO that I look down on. I respect DOs, and I look forward to having them as colleagues in my future. There are many DOs that are leaders in their field. The director of anesthesiology at my hospital is a DO from PCOM.

But I was scared. What if I don't get that great step 1 score? What if taking the COMLEX and the USMLE is too much? What if I get stuck doing a residency I absolutely hate? I REALLY REALLY REALLY am not interested in certain specialties. What if? What if? What if?

There is just so much unknown for people who are interested in very selective specialties. Don't let anyone fool you in thinking that going the DO route will be on an equal playing level with MDs. No one is telling you that you CANNOT do DO then do something cool like dermatology or plastics, but no one is going to say that it won't be a hard fight.

I came to this conclusion.

I do not want to do plastic surgery. I don't want to do dermatology. Yes, there's an uphill battle but I'm getting old and I'm not waiting another year to apply to medical school. I would be worried I wouldn't be able to improve my application ENOUGH to make a decent shot the second time around.

And P.S. ? I'm getting old. I need to move on with my life.

So I decided that no matter what the cost, I'd go to a DO school if that were my only option, and I'd be darned happy about it. I could still do the things I wanted to.... Unless it was plastics.

Don't do DO if you wanna do plastics.

Seriously.

Haha jk. There's like 1 or 2 DOs in the nation who do plastics.
 
CrimsonKing said:
You applied to 24 schools and only got two interviews and ONE acceptance.

Do you honestly think that the 22 schools who didn't offer you an interview did so simply because your MCAT score was too low? Definitely not, especially if these are not top-20 schools.

There is something else wrong with your application, none of us here know what it is, but your shot at getting in next round is a joke. First, you're assuming you will actually get your MCAT score higher, and second, you're assuming that there isn't something else in your app that turned schools off.

Take your acceptance and run with it. To do otherwise is a wonderful way to crush your own dreams.
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agreed. OP, you will be taking a huge risk. A friend of mine was accepted MD this cycle with a 28 MCAT and 3.6 GPA (and no she isn't URM).

you said: "I have a 3.85 undergrad science GPA, and a 4.0 graduate GPA. I also have plenty of volunteering experience, both local and international, as well as some diverse shadowing experience. As I mentioned, my research experience is extensive."

According to AAMC data (assuming you are white), with a 3.8-4.0 GPA and 27-29 MCAT, one has a 67.1% chance of being accepted to an MD school. you need to consider that it may not have been your MCAT that prevented you from being accepted
 
NeuroCello said:
Let me just say, I believe DO and MD physicians to be equally capable.
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If you really believed that you would go to the medical school that accepted you, regardless of the letters after your name.
 
DejaNeuro said:
If you really believed that you would go to the medical school that accepted you, regardless of the letters after your name.
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Not necessarily. DO and MD are equivalent, but getting to certain places as a DO can be more difficult.

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swimmer125 said:
agreed. OP, you will be taking a huge risk. A friend of mine was accepted MD this cycle with a 28 MCAT and 3.6 GPA (and no she isn't URM).

you said: "I have a 3.85 undergrad science GPA, and a 4.0 graduate GPA. I also have plenty of volunteering experience, both local and international, as well as some diverse shadowing experience. As I mentioned, my research experience is extensive."

According to AAMC data (assuming you are white), with a 3.8-4.0 GPA and 27-29 MCAT, one has a 67.1% chance of being accepted to an MD school. you need to consider that it may not have been your MCAT that prevented you from being accepted
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agreed 100 percent! I got accepted to a couple MD schools with slightly lower MCAT than yours this cycle. I really don't think your MCAT is the issue. My gpa was quite a bit lower than yours but acceptable.
 
Oogieboogie said:
Dear OP:

I think this depends on what your goals are. Know that many people would kill for a DO spot at a DO school because their passion is medicine. You will get lots of flames from people like this.

I asked myself the same question when I was accepted to my first medical school (a DO school). Do I want to be spending upwards of 250+ a year for a degree where I will be fighting tooth and nail with MD students for a good residency position? I agree with the DO philosophy. There is nothing about DO that I look down on. I respect DOs, and I look forward to having them as colleagues in my future. There are many DOs that are leaders in their field. The director of anesthesiology at my hospital is a DO from PCOM.

But I was scared. What if I don't get that great step 1 score? What if taking the COMLEX and the USMLE is too much? What if I get stuck doing a residency I absolutely hate? I REALLY REALLY REALLY am not interested in certain specialties. What if? What if? What if?

There is just so much unknown for people who are interested in very selective specialties. Don't let anyone fool you in thinking that going the DO route will be on an equal playing level with MDs. No one is telling you that you CANNOT do DO then do something cool like dermatology or plastics, but no one is going to say that it won't be a hard fight.

I came to this conclusion.

I do not want to do plastic surgery. I don't want to do dermatology. Yes, there's an uphill battle but I'm getting old and I'm not waiting another year to apply to medical school. I would be worried I wouldn't be able to improve my application ENOUGH to make a decent shot the second time around.

And P.S. ? I'm getting old. I need to move on with my life.

So I decided that no matter what the cost, I'd go to a DO school if that were my only option, and I'd be darned happy about it. I could still do the things I wanted to.... Unless it was plastics.

Don't do DO if you wanna do plastics.

Seriously.

Haha jk. There's like 1 or 2 DOs in the nation who do plastics.
Click to expand...

I personally know a DO who was an extremely talented burn surgeon (a true artist in the OR) who is in his last year of plastics fellowship. He was an attending at a major MD school before moving on.
 
Oogieboogie said:
Dear OP:

I think this depends on what your goals are. Know that many people would kill for a DO spot at a DO school because their passion is medicine. You will get lots of flames from people like this.

I asked myself the same question when I was accepted to my first medical school (a DO school). Do I want to be spending upwards of 250+ a year for a degree where I will be fighting tooth and nail with MD students for a good residency position? I agree with the DO philosophy. There is nothing about DO that I look down on. I respect DOs, and I look forward to having them as colleagues in my future. There are many DOs that are leaders in their field. The director of anesthesiology at my hospital is a DO from PCOM.

But I was scared. What if I don't get that great step 1 score? What if taking the COMLEX and the USMLE is too much? What if I get stuck doing a residency I absolutely hate? I REALLY REALLY REALLY am not interested in certain specialties. What if? What if? What if?

There is just so much unknown for people who are interested in very selective specialties. Don't let anyone fool you in thinking that going the DO route will be on an equal playing level with MDs. No one is telling you that you CANNOT do DO then do something cool like dermatology or plastics, but no one is going to say that it won't be a hard fight.

I came to this conclusion.

I do not want to do plastic surgery. I don't want to do dermatology. Yes, there's an uphill battle but I'm getting old and I'm not waiting another year to apply to medical school. I would be worried I wouldn't be able to improve my application ENOUGH to make a decent shot the second time around.

And P.S. ? I'm getting old. I need to move on with my life.

So I decided that no matter what the cost, I'd go to a DO school if that were my only option, and I'd be darned happy about it. I could still do the things I wanted to.... Unless it was plastics.

Don't do DO if you wanna do plastics.

Seriously.

Haha jk. There's like 1 or 2 DOs in the nation who do plastics.
Click to expand...

I felt like you read my mind with this post.
 
Lysilegluleu said:
TriagePreMed

If/when/since (status presently unknown) you are accepted, what are ya gonna do about your SDN name?
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It would be funny if I made multiple accounts like triageoms, triageintern, triageresident, etc. but the likely case is I'll keep the same due to the fact I'm big on nostalgia.


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darklabel said:
There are DOs that will sometimes pay for a degree from the Carrib just so that they can put MD behind their name.

The things people will do just to avoid 2 letters behind their name...
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Alright derp McGee. Show us your source for this one.
 
darklabel said:
There are DOs that will sometimes pay for a degree from the Carrib just so that they can put MD behind their name.

The things people will do just to avoid 2 letters behind their name...
Click to expand...

That would be illegal in the USA. They could still only put D.O. after their name when practicing in the United States, because they are practicing with their D.O. degree. This has been discussed many times on SDN, and that loophole does not exist.
 
Erakis said:
I personally know a DO who was an extremely talented burn surgeon (a true artist in the OR) who is in his last year of plastics fellowship. He was an attending at a major MD school before moving on.
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I don't personally feel this negates my point. I am not saying there are NO plastic DOs. I said they are rare. And I never said that a DO plastic surgeon makes a bad plastic surgeon. The fact is, that being a DO provides a disadvantage in the allopathic residency world.

On the OTHER hand, if you are an MD, you are NOT allowed to do DO residencies. Or so I am told.
 
sazerac said:
That would be illegal in the USA. They could still only put D.O. after their name when practicing in the United States, because they are practicing with their D.O. degree. This has been discussed many times on SDN, and that loophole does not exist.
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Some schools/hospitals/residencies will put MD on all white coats/name badges just for uniformity.
 
MelonMan said:
If you think schools are going to waste their time calling DO schools asking whether someone was offered an accepance I dont know what to tell you. It is a waste of their time. Only if it was TCOM would there be trouble.
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When I interviewed at an MD school they somehow knew about my DO acceptances. It's a small world, don't bank on adcoms not talking to each other.
 
My honest advice would be that if you feel you may be going down the wrong path, then you are. You might not do better than a 28, but if you put in the effort theres a good chance you will. You worked hard and have a high GPA and good extracurriculars and if you "settle" for DO, you'll likely be making yourself crazy with the "what if" for the rest of your life when you might have been able to go MD.

Theres no guarantees for the future, but if you're unsure/unhappy now, why not wait.

Personally, I prefer DO over MD, so this isn't biased. I just feel like you're settling for something you truly don't want (and you have the credentials to get to where you want to be).

Good luck.
 
Why does SDN ban or probate every interesting user?
 
willen101383 said:
Oh look another "i have marginal stats and think I am better than DO" thread. There is essentially no difference anymore. If you dont have enough self confidence to realize a degree doesnt make or break you as a physician, reapply, risk your whole future, and go MD. Otherwise, go DO, become a physician (more than likely the same physician you would become if you went to that MD school) and never look back. Its really a no brainer....yet something that seems to come up quite often on SDN. Really speaks to the maturity and future planning skills of many SDNers. Unless you have some extenuating circumstances, or have enough experience in medicine to have a specialty (roads) pinned down before entering school, a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush. Thats really all there is to it.
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👍
 
darklabel said:
Read it on Pre-Osteo so I don't have the source. Also have seen people with MD, DO for both their names before so unless they went to medical school twice...
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Read my previous post. Some places give all the docs "MD" on their coats/ID badges.
 
Only way to get a DO, MD is if you graduated from a foreign medical school and then apply to a DO school. Many do this if they cannot match into residency/licensing issues from other countries.

As for the OP- my suggestion is to make the best decision for her/himself. If you want to reapply you can but its a gamble and could prove dangerous. I think the really important lesson I learned through this process is: don't apply somewhere that you wouldn't go. I was in a situation where I applied to many schools Very far from home and half way through my travels I realized that there is no way I would be happy being so far. I got accepted to a school that was very far but knew that I had no choice but to go- who was I to pass up medical school! Luckily I later got accepted to a school about an hour of drive from home 🙂. My point is : always apply to schools you see yourself going to !!
 
random1234 said:
Pretty simple solution that only one person alluded to. It's February 12, schools don't start until mid July/August. That gives you almost 4 months to take the MCAT and get a score. If you score whatever you think is enough, apply again and don't look back. If you don't, go to DO school. Also did you apply MD/PhD or only MD? If you applied MD only you can say you are applying again because you only want to apply MD/PhD or DO/PhD.
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Agreed!

If you do decide to reapply, get a good set of eyes to review your previous application. (You might have been weak on your essay and EC summaries.)
Let's imagine you do get a better score and get asked the question, "Why didn't you take that DO offer?" It sounds like you already have answers--you wanted to do research between 1st and 2nd year and the school didn't have many opportunities. (Check to see if they get NIH funding, and if so, at what level.) It really doesn't have to be an issue of MD vs. DO. If (in your mind) it is an issue of MD vs. DO and there were parts of the curriculum that did not appeal to you, that's legit, too! Most schools don't discuss their USMLE scores until you get to interview day. That might be yet another "why not."

At any rate, you are doubly fortunate. 1) You got an acceptance and 2) you've got time to try to bring up your MCAT.
 
Just out of curiosity, do MD schools see which DO schools you've been accepted to in February when the acceptance data is released?

OP, I'm in the same position as you: accepted to a great DO school, and no MD acceptances so far. I'm not reapplying for MD-- frankly, I think it's a waste of time. Why wait one extra year just because of two letters? Sure, I'm depressed when I think of how hard it will be to get a choice residency, but at least I'll be able to practice medicine.

Then I have interesting conversations with my friend, who has been trying to convince me to go into teaching.

Her: I don't think you should go DO, they aren't the same as MDs.

Me: why? Have you been to a DO doctor?

Her: no, but I dated one. I also dated an ENT and a urologist.

Me: okay.

For some reason, this made me feel much better.
 
if you think you want to spend an extra year of your life just for two letters behind your name, and increasing your chances of matching into some specialities, why not.

remember plastics, rad onc...etc spots are already hard to match, regardless of MD or DO, and chances are you won't match into one of those even if you become a MD.
 
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