east doc
Eric and I are probably the two best people to address your concerns and questions on this forum. He's decidedly pro-podiatry and I'm pretty much negative-podiatry. Mind you, I'm not negative-PODIATRIST, I just have a lot of gripes with the process and the end-product.
Eric brought up a lot of good points. Age should NEVER be a concern. Only achieving your goals. And you MOST DEFINITELY need to do your research before you embark on any of these quests. Do not listen to any of the schools (MD, DO, DPM, DDS, etc.) because they are all in the business of recruitment. They will never tell you any of the pitfalls and will always play up the positives even to the point where they'll fudge on the truth. The best thing to do is hit the pavement. Talk to a good number of docs representing all of the specialties. Know what your goals are. If anything is a 2nd or 3rd choice I would strongly suggest avoiding it.
From what I read, you seem to be a good candidate for DO school. Like Eric said, they are less concerned with age and raw scores. MD schools are pretty much ONLY concerned with these criteria. I have my DPM, had a 3.6 in pod school, graduated from UCLA with a 3.2 and have a huge amount of relevant experience, yet I have not heard one peep from an MD school that I applied to. I did hear from a DO school and interviewed last week. My MCAT was very average (23S) and I know that this wouldn't make the cut in almost any MD school despite the fact that I would most certainly be in the top 10 of applicants in terms of experience and maturity. The real purpose of any medical school is to choose the student who will best complete the program. Unfortunately, MD schools are lazy and assume that this is always the students with the best GPAs and MCATs.
If you're seriously considering pod school, you must be absolutely certain that you want to be a podiatrist for the rest of your life. These loans will never go away. You will most likely take out around 170k and payback's a bitch. Finding work is also a bitch. And post-graduate training is kind of a crap shoot, though they SAY that it's improving. You will also have virtually no way to get your loans forgiven through the Govt. or any other private enterprise.
Foreign MD school is a better option than podiatry, in my opinion, but only 3. I would only suggest Ross, AUC and St. George's. But, I think that DO school is better than either of those.
Now, to answer your question, Eric. I went to CRIP's in Los Angeles and Philly. Both experiences were nothing but BS pimping and even some ridicule (I interviewed for a spot at an RPR/PSR in L.A. and when I couldn't come up with the obscure answer for some jerk DPM's obscure question about podopeds, he openly chastised me in front of a dozen interviewers. That experience pretty much sealed my dislike for podiatry and the entire, pointless process). I thought CRIP's was a dog and pony show and that many of the residency directors already had who they wanted in mind (nice boobs, jock, quiet Asian, Validectorian, etc.). I knew one of the directors personally and he said that it's pretty common that the selections are based on nothing much more than these type of criteria. Thankfully, since I knew him, I got one of the 12 spots in his residency. If nepotism didn't exist, I would have ended up with nothing. The number 6 person in my class ended up with nothing. The class President ended up with nothing and he had to take an UNFUNDED position in AZ (and he has 2 kids in L.A.). Lots of meritorious students either ended up with crap or nothing. Many undeserving students ended up with relatively choice residencies (I know of one guy who clearly should never have been admitted to any sort of post-graduate program, but matched with a PSR-24 in L.A. because his daddy is a DPM and was very good friends with the director. He finished in 2001 and had yet to pass his surgery boards).
My selection criteria was a lot like my method of choosing med schools. I picked some outside shots, some in-betweens and some safes. I was realistic as to how much travel I could afford and how likely I was to earn a spot in a competitive residency. I chose most of the programs that had at least one year of surgery included. I only picked two one-year programs. I made sure that the program wasn't new or didn't have a bad rep. I referenced a residency info manual (can't remember the name, but you probably know which one I'm talking about) to make sure there weren't any restrictions for applications. I checked out the past trends (like do they accept any CCPM students, etc.). Basically, it was a mixture of the places I thought I wanted to go together with reality....can I actually get a spot. I interviewed with A LOT of programs. I spent a LOT of money on travel, etc. This is also a reason that I have problems with the process. I ended up with a PPMR in L.A. (L.A. County) which was great for real medicine, but sucked for podiatry. It also only paid 10k a year, which necessitated me working weekends as a waiter. One more reason to hate podiatry.
My advice for the CRIP's is to RELAX. If you're nervous, it won't do you any good at all. Don't appear too cocky because they'll hate that. So much of the interview has to do with whether or not they LIKE you and not so much on what your answers are. Remember, they're looking at you like "can I spend the next 2 years with this guy"??? Ask for the position at the end of the interview. Tell them how you're the perfect match. Tell them that you're planning to devote every waking hour to the program. And, lastly, make sure you slip them a $100 bill as you're leaving.
Good luck!
