[Answered] - DO with a Bachelor's in psych and interest in psychiatry?

[hemipepsis5p]

Hi there,

So I'm thinking of majoring in psychology, but I'm worried that it would make my interest in psychiatry blatantly obvious and I am currently operating under the (possibly ignorant) assumption that psychiatry is the specialty that benefits the least from OMM.

Does anyone know if it looks bad to have majored in psych before applying to DO schools? Understand that I am also of a somewhat anxious make and I feel like I'm going to get 50 posts saying "It doesn't matter!", but before you do that I ask that you make sure you aren't answering to your natural urge to make MD and DO programs seem "exactly the same", as that is the general consensus in terms of bestowed practice ability but not necessarily admission requirements.

Best regards.

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[Tgfu34]

Hi there,

So I'm thinking of majoring in psychology, but I'm worried that it would make my interest in psychiatry blatantly obvious and I am currently operating under the (possibly ignorant) assumption that psychiatry is the specialty that benefits the least from OMM.

Does anyone know if it looks bad to have majored in psych before applying to DO schools? Understand that I am also of a somewhat anxious make and I feel like I'm going to get 50 posts saying "It doesn't matter!", but before you do that I ask that you make sure you aren't answering to your natural urge to make MD and DO programs seem "exactly the same", as that is the general consensus in terms of bestowed practice ability but not necessarily admission requirements.

Best regards.

Doesn’t look bad at all. Major in whatever interests you, perform well in those classes along with required classes for medical school admission. Although you want psych now, you’ll be exposed to a little bit of every field in medical school so definitely keep your options open. Psych is becoming more and more competitive but it is definitely attainable as a DO.

 

[Pstar9]

I got a B.S. in Psychology and currently have 6 II and 1 acceptance. You'll be fine.

 

[Rogue42]

No, it 100% does not matter.

Secondly, the admissions differences between MD and DOs is almost abysmal as statistic wise the average GPA difference is all of 0.1 or 0.2 depending on the schools compared and the MCAT average at the top DO schools beat those of the low tied MD schools.

Thirdly, psychiatry is considered primary care, which is what DO schools pride themselves to pump out into the world.

Lastly, focus on finding out if this is truly what you want to do. You're either in high school or very early in undergrad. Live life first, see if you can make the grades that you need, then worry about your specialty.

 

[hemipepsis5p]

No, it 100% does not matter.

Secondly, the admissions differences between MD and DOs is almost abysmal as statistic wise the average GPA difference is all of 0.1 or 0.2 depending on the schools compared and the MCAT average at the top DO schools beat those of the low tied MD schools.

Thirdly, psychiatry is considered primary care, which is what DO schools pride themselves to pump out into the world.

Lastly, focus on finding out if this is truly what you want to do. You're either in high school or very early in undergrad. Live life first, see if you can make the grades that you need, then worry about your specialty.

Wow, so psychiatry is primary care, huh? Crazy! Well thanks a bunch!

 

[hemipepsis5p]

I got a B.S. in Psychology and currently have 6 II and 1 acceptance. You'll be fine.

Thanks a bunch!

 

[Ell19]

I have a B.S. in psychology and have 2 II and 1 acceptance! You will be fine, honestly your undergrad major does not really matter, just completing your pre-reqs

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Does anyone know if it looks bad to have majored in psych before applying to DO schools? Understand that I am also of a somewhat anxious make and I feel like I'm going to get 50 posts saying "It doesn't matter!", but before you do that I ask that you make sure you aren't answering to your natural urge to make MD and DO programs seem "exactly the same", as that is the general consensus in terms of bestowed practice ability but not necessarily admission requirements.

That's because it literally doesn't matter. Schools don't care what your major is. I'm not even sure what the bolded means with regards to your question.

Wow, so psychiatry is primary care, huh? Crazy! Well thanks a bunch!

Some of the resident psychiatry residents/students on these forums get their feathers ruffled at that and will try to argue that psych is a specialty, but yes, most states and schools consider psych to be a form of primary care.

 

[DO_or_Die]

I don't think it really matters, my undergrad was in nursing and I have 3 II's so far. I think what you should pick is a major that will make sure you will do well on the MCAT. I think an undergrad in biochem or even just biology would give you a strong enough foundations in the sciences that are most heavily covered. The psych/social part of the MCAT can be easily covered with an under grad intro to psych.

 

[Ho0v-man]

I majored in psych and minored in chemistry. It perfectly covered all of the pre reqs everywhere I applied so it was nice. Super doesn’t matter what you major in. The mcat will be on the pre reqs. The rest is filler. You can major in anything.

 

[hungrydoc710]

People major in english and attend top 20 MD schools. It makes no difference.
What matters is MCAT.

508+ MCAT for MD, otherwise you stand little chance.
North of 500 with a solid GPA will land you DO acceptance.