caribbean vs. low-tier MD vs. DO

[n618ft]

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HAHA! that is hilarious...

But seriously, if you have a good MCAT you def have a shot for MD. I would apply MD and DO if i were you. You will most likely get accepted to a DO school with your stats (again, assuming a good MCAT) and regardless to what everybody says on the pre-allo forum MD = DO end of story. Furthermore, caribbean schools arent THAT bad..it's just a bit risky.

so just apply MD/DO and you should be fine. You will get in somewhere, as long as you aren't absolutely worthless at the interview and dont get a 20 on the mcat!

OP: The DO vs MD debate is mostly due to misunderstanding by uptight/anal premeds. DO = MD and there's some DO schools that outperform the average MD school on the USMLE's even. LECOM-B is one (100% pass rate on COMLEX too)... how many MD schools have 100% USMLE pass rates? By the time you graduate med school, DO stats should be much closer to MD stats if 2 numbers will really make you happy, a better physician, and successful in life. Grow up young'ens. Over the past week I've met two guys that matched into great orthopedic residencies from Florida DO schools. And just in case you're wondering, I'm applying to both right now and I've got 2 interviews so far... I'll be equally happy in either MD or DO... my only regret will be how much money I spent on primary/secondary applications.

 

[cgull2288]

As I understand, this situation wouldn't happen. The DO match happens before the MD match. If a DO matches into a Alabama DO residency they are removed from the MD match.

I don't know what would happen if the DO were to match into a DO residency in Alabama and then receive an offer from Harvard outside the MD match. Hopefully someone can offer an answer for this situation.

So I guess after you take both the COMLEX and USMLE, you will pick the one you did best in and evaluate your chances at whichever residency you want and choose that one. So you would only end up applying to either a DO residency OR an MD residency, and not both. Right?

 

[n618ft]

So I guess after you take both the COMLEX and USMLE, you will pick the one you did best in and evaluate your chances at whichever residency you want and choose that one. So you would only end up applying to either a DO residency OR an MD residency, and not both. Right?

You can apply to both but if you get DO you must take it... and I believe the DO residencies get to see your USMLE scores too so you can't screw them up.

Regardless, there's great DO residencies out there. Maybe you should go meet a DO in your area. I've seen many in my life from the ER I volunteer at to the military to the ENT that operated on me to the doctor I'm shadowing now. Look at it this way... let's say you can rate your academic/clinical abilities on a scale of 0-10. Let's say you're at a 7 out of 10... going to an MD school vs a DO school won't change that. You might graduate SLIGHTLY higher in your class at a DO school (not because it's easier but because the bottom 20% of the class might not be as academically "proven") than at an MD school. You'll still be at a 7 out of 10. YOU, buddy, and how hard you work is the most important variable here, not the school. How you prepare for the COMLEX/USMLE's is what will count in the long run. The letters on your name won't matter after you match into your residency - just like your high school doesn't matter any more now. If you end up in primary care from a DO school, I guarantee you would have done the same at an MD school and vice versa.

 

[Blesbok]

Wow, I didn't realize that about the match. That sucks.

 

[MossPoh]

DO residencies don't care about your USMLE from what I've heard.

Also, it is important to realize that LECOM-B is the pass rate and not the average score. That pass rate only becomes applicable when it is in the 80s. Most of these schools are small enough that if one or two people fail, even if by 1 point, the percentiles can drop quite fast. Board pass and board scores, while most likely correlated, are not the same. It would be possible to have schools with a higher overall board score average and have a lower pass percentage simply because 1 or 2 people more had a bad day.

 

[Thomas Hearns]

Do most DO students who want MD residencies not apply for the DO match or what?

 

[nlax30]

Do most DO students who want MD residencies not apply for the DO match or what?

It's just going to totally depend on the personand what programs there are looking into. Like the others have said, the DO match is first and so if you match there you are committed to that program and taken out of the allo match. So there's a bit of strategy to it...... I know some folks who are applying to both osteo and allo programs but they only applied to a few osteo programs that they would really like to attend instead of ton of osteo programs and risk matching to a program low on their list and missing out on the allo match. And then I know others who just dong one match or the other.

So don't worry what others do as there are SOO many factors that you'll consider when applying that there's no way that one person's strategy will work for someone else.

 

[Van Chowder]

hmm I always thought Caribbean WAS the lowest tear MD..

I would for sure go DO before carib.
Its a shame the carib schools arent as great of schools as their US counter parts, because going to medical school on an island sounds awesome.. I guess the next best thing is hawaii ( if you wanna pay 60k/yr or miami)😀

 

[jvesco22]

your plan of attack should be

US MD, DO, another profession, Caribbean school

I admit, I bursted out laughing and almost peed!