I disagree with that. Osteopathic medicine has definitely grown in the last decade and will continue to do so. The fact that the Mcat average for osteopathic schools is 23 or 24 does not set a low bechmark, a bechmark that is only mediocore. And I dont think that anyone aims to get a 23, we all aim to get a 45 but nonetheless, we get a 23 which still allows us to be accepted to DO schools. And then during our time in school, we learn to become doctors, and I think that's where you need to make your comparison. A lot of DO students who had similar scores performed well in both the comlex and usmle (if you want to compare DOs to MDs). They are now leaders in the community, they work side by side with MDs, PhDs, JDs and other leaders of the community. In the end, this is the comparison that matters.
Agreed, but why set a standard of mediocrity right from the beginning?
Why be content with a 23 MCAT because "you can probably get in".
When I was studying for COMLEX and USMLE I knew what I wanted to accomplish. I wasnt content with simply studying to get in the 50th percentile. If I had ended up there and there was an option to retake it, I would certainly try to improve my score.
Over the past 5 years I have answered dozen upon dozens of PMs and seen thread after thread with people with mediocre grades saying "probably OK for DO school" or "you should be fine with your 3.2 & 24 MCAT as long as you have good letters."
I now know that was wrong to think like that. We need to push ourselves to be better.
You can talk all you want about the comparisons, I know the comparisons. I work with both MDs and DOs all day. And guess what. The harder you work the better doctor you will become.
If a 23 MCAT is all you are capable of, then thats fine. But to sit on that score because you are hoping it is "good enough" is ridiculous and sad.
I dont want to be a "good enough doctor". I want to be the best, and that means pushing myself to be the best.
This is the same forum where people whine about not being treated equal as our MD counterparts in one thread and in the next we say "oh yeah, that MCAT should be fine". Then we sit back and make excuses about the fact that DO programs are "looking for something besides MCATs."
Well, guess what, thats not true. You show me one DO school that is looking at more than the numbers when an application first rolls across the desk.
I can only speak for certain on one school, but even the most osteopathic of critics will look at low numbers and say "if only they had better scores."
Lots of people are kept out of great programs because of low scores and lots of people end up in DO school because of low scores, but until we start treating our schools like institutes of higher education instead of a backup with an easier-opening door, no one else is going to change their opinion either.
To strive for mediocrity is to admit defeat.