Cheap DO vs Expensive MD

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fball22

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I have a scholarship to a DO school that would make tuition about 18,000/yr, and so far I have been accepted to one MD program that is OOS and my tuition would be about 60,000/yr. Financial packages have yet to be sent out for the MD school. Let's assume come june these are my only two options, and I don't receive any significant scholarship to the MD program. What should I do?

I have zero idea what I want to practice specifically.

Edit: schools are TCOM and WVU

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MD.

I was in a similar predicament, I chose MD. Would choose it again
 
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I have a scholarship to a DO school that would make tuition about 18,000/yr, and so far I have been accepted to one MD program that is OOS and my tuition would be about 60,000/yr. Financial packages have yet to be sent out for the MD school. Let's assume come june these are my only two options, and I don't receive any significant scholarship to the MD program. What should I do?

I have zero idea what I want to practice specifically.
 
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Cheaper school - DO. Your future financially independent self with thank you later.

Unfortunately, you'll get nothing but MD bias from a bunch of pre-med students here; but I'm guessing you already made your decision and just want a bunch of people to agree with you.
 
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I would say go MD - more options for you since you don't know what you want to do.

But if you were dead set on Primary care, I would say go DO


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Cheaper school - DO. Your future financially independent self with thank you later.

Unfortunately, you'll get nothing but MD bias from a bunch of pre-med students here; but I'm guessing you already made your decision and just want a bunch of people to agree with you.
I honestly haven't made a decision. I received the email about the scholarship today. I was debating between the two even when the tuition gap was closer to 20,000.
 
Cheaper school - DO. Your future financially independent self with thank you later.

Unfortunately, you'll get nothing but MD bias from a bunch of pre-med students here; but I'm guessing you already made your decision and just want a bunch of people to agree with you.

No bias. It's a fact that US MD is always a better option than US DO, even in primary care. The US MD degree simply opens up more doors. This could be due to better clinical education under more stringent ACGME/LCME regulations or that US MD schools provide better opportunities than US DO. And of course, there's some lingering anti-DO biases by older residency PDs but I'd think that's minor.

I would say go MD - more options for you since you don't know what you want to do.

But if you were dead set on Primary care, I would say go DO


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But US MD still provides more advantages for matching in primary care than US DO.

I think the issue has been discussed repeatedly in the past, and the residents/fellows/attendings/PDs/faculty here overwhelmingly agree that if given a choice between US MD and US DO regardless of specialty in mind, go US MD. Even with a significant cost difference as presented here.
 
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Not really, as a DO you can easily match a good FM/IM/Peds if you put in some effort. It's not worth paying extra 42000/year for next 4 years.

Other specialties not so much


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Since we are on the topic of money, I have a similar predicament. I got accepted to 3 schools so far (1MD, 2DO). I chose the OOS MD already, but my annual tuition is going to be around $55k (not including housing or living expenses). I am a white male from a lower-middle class family, so there aren't many scholarships that I can apply for. Also this school does not give huge financial aid packages and my family's contribution will be minimal. I know that I'll have to take loans to pay for these expenses, but aren't there lifetime limits on federal loans? In total, I estimate that I'll be somewhere near $300k in debt by the time I graduate. How can I afford everything?
 
Since we are on the topic of money, I have a similar predicament. I got accepted to 3 schools so far (1MD, 2DO). I chose the OOS MD already, but my annual tuition is going to be around $55k (not including housing or living expenses). I am a white male from a lower-middle class family, so there aren't many scholarships that I can apply for. Also this school does not give huge financial aid packages and my family's contribution will be minimal. I know that I'll have to take loans to pay for these expenses, but aren't there lifetime limits on federal loans? In total, I estimate that I'll be somewhere near $300k in debt by the time I graduate. How can I afford everything?

Read into loan limits.

Look up Unsubsidized Federal loans and Grad Plus loans.

Email financial aid at your undergrad or med school. They will explain to you everything you need to know and more.
 
Read into loan limits.

Look up Unsubsidized Federal loans and Grad Plus loans.

Email financial aid at your undergrad or med school. They will explain to you everything you need to know and more.
Aren't all graduate school loans unsubsidized? I called the financial aid office and they told me to relax for now and wait for my acceptance package.
 
If I were in your situation, I would probably take the MD school. You have said yourself that you don't know what you want to go into. If you knew that you wanted to do primary care, then the DO option might make sense. However, you will be limiting your career options if you choose to go DO here.

That being said, 40k is a lot of money. The best choice here is probably to wait until the end of the cycle and then decide. Who knows - you might get cheaper MD acceptances or your school might give you some money. This isn't a decision you have to make right now.
 
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If I were in your situation, I would probably take the MD school. You have said yourself that you don't know what you want to go into. If you knew that you wanted to do primary care, then the DO option might make sense. However, you will be limiting your career options if you choose to go DO here.

That being said, 40k is a lot of money. The best choice here is probably to wait until the end of the cycle and then decide. Who knows - you might get cheaper MD acceptances or your school might give you some money. This isn't a decision you have to make right now.

I'm pretty sure the DO school will require a deposit pretty soon -or by December at the latest. And they usually don't give refunds. So unfortunately time is ticking, if they don't want to make a deposit. OP, I would go MD though.
 
I'm pretty sure the DO school will require a deposit pretty soon -or by December at the latest. And they usually don't give refunds. So unfortunately time is ticking, if they don't want to make a deposit. OP, I would go MD though.
There is no deposit actually. Definitely not the normal DO school.
 
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I wouldn't close any doors just for $160,000 + interest. Yes, that is a huge amount of money, but what if you wanted to do a competitive residency? going DO route will most likely close that door for you unless you're an exceptional student. Plus, the difference in salary between ortho, derm, and ENT vs. primary care over the span of 30+ years of working will definitely pay off in the long run.
 
if you want to keep your specialty options open, go MD, no question
 
I have a scholarship to a DO school that would make tuition about 18,000/yr, and so far I have been accepted to one MD program that is OOS and my tuition would be about 60,000/yr. Financial packages have yet to be sent out for the MD school. Let's assume come june these are my only two options, and I don't receive any significant scholarship to the MD program. What should I do?

I have zero idea what I want to practice specifically.
Practically speaking, if there's no deposit for the DO school, why are you deciding now?

Your signature has 4 acceptances, so I'm not sure how that comes into play with the two mentioned here, but the question of 'is X SOM worth 160k more than Y SOM' could be really nuanced. Sadly, the schools are unknown so all we're working with is tuition and MD vs DO... So this turns into a very basic (and very common) MD vs DO thread. What about COL, family/support, quality/flexibility of clinical rotations, mandatory vs optional lectures, surrounding area (you're going to be there for 4 years, right?), etc. If all you're looking at is MD vs DO and the difference in tuition, I'd look deeper.
 
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Practically speaking, if there's no deposit for the DO school, why are you deciding now?

Your signature has 4 acceptances, so I'm not sure how that comes into play with the two mentioned here, but the question of 'is X SOM worth 160k more than Y SOM' could be really nuanced. Sadly, the schools are unknown so all we're working with is tuition and MD vs DO... So this turns into a very basic (and very common) MD vs DO thread. What about COL, family/support, quality/flexibility of clinical rotations, mandatory vs optional lectures, surrounding area (you're going to be there for 4 years, right?), etc. If all you're looking at is MD vs DO and the difference in tuition, I'd look deeper.

I'm not deciding now, I will most likely not know for sure where I'm going until April or June. That doesn't mean I can't start thinking about it or trying to get advice now. This is why in my original post I gave a hypothetical situation with these two schools... which currently are my only real options. The other two acceptances are both DO schools with tuition above the MD school, and are not options at all at this point.

All of your other points are pretty even for both the schools, which is why I'm asking the question that I am.

Edit: Also, I don't believe this is a super common issue, which is why I asked it. Most DO schools are the same price if not more expensive than OOS MD schools/private MD. I haven't seen anything with close to a 40,000$/yr tuition discrepancy.
 
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Haha spend a year on here on you'll see what this boils down to (at least in my mind). You're seeking opinions (fairly), but I think people have the camps they will speak from.

If you go MD and decide you want family medicine, the debt will be a bummer. But assuming you don't have an unmentioned 100k in debt, you would survive.
If you go DO and get super excited about dermatology, the competition will be a bummer. In fields where it's hard as an MD to match, I'd bet a lot that you'd take any advantage you could.

With certainty you can say one will leave you with more debt, and the other will leave you with more "doubt" for things that could get between you want where you want to go (somewhat less possible bias, no comlex/omm = more time for studying for usmle, no one knows for sure how the combined match will change things, etc).

I wonder what the folks in the osteopathic subforum would say (from the trenches so to speak)...
 
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Haha spend a year on here on you'll see what this boils down to (at least in my mind). You're seeking opinions (fairly), but I think people have the camps they will speak from.

If you go MD and decide you want family medicine, the debt will be a bummer. But assuming you don't have an unmentioned 100k in debt, you would survive.
If you go DO and get super excited about dermatology, the competition will be a bummer. In fields where it's hard as an MD to match, I'd bet a lot that you'd take any advantage you could.

With certainty you can say one will leave you with more debt, and the other will leave you with less "doubt" for things that could get between you want where you want to go (somewhat less possible bias, no comlex/omm = more time for studying for usmle, no one knows for sure how the combined match will change things, etc).

I wonder what the folks in the osteopathic subforum would say (from the trenches so to speak)...
I appreciate the comments.
 
Aren't all graduate school loans unsubsidized? I called the financial aid office and they told me to relax for now and wait for my acceptance package.

Yes.

Meant to differentiate between Stafford Unsubsidized and Graduate Plus loans.

Grad plus has higher interest rate and will cover up to full cost of tuition. Grad plus will also depend on credit score but can be bypassed with proof of extenuating circumstances or cosigner.

Stafford has aggregate limit, slightly lower interest rate (5.84% instead of 6.84%)
 
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I have a scholarship to a DO school that would make tuition about 18,000/yr, and so far I have been accepted to one MD program that is OOS and my tuition would be about 60,000/yr. Financial packages have yet to be sent out for the MD school. Let's assume come june these are my only two options, and I don't receive any significant scholarship to the MD program. What should I do?

I have zero idea what I want to practice specifically.

Pick whatever puts you in the best position overall.

The only specialties that DOs really and truly have little shot of matching into are surgical subs and derm, specialties which honestly the average MD student also has little shot of matching into. Unless you're a stellar student, you aren't missing out on much by going DO over MD.
 
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This type of decision is personal in a few ways.

1) Do you care about the lay-prestige of your degree. Both are prestigious, but MD carries a bit more amongst the lay-person and amongst academic snobs. Majority of clinicians and med students don't care from what I've experienced.

2) Are you aiming for ortho, derm, neurosurg type specialties? Do you want a career in research?

3) Obviously the finances are personal as well, Idk your financial situation.

Only you know the answer to those questions.
 
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MD easily. There is no such thing as prestige for DO. Most people don't even know that it exists even when their own doctor is a DO.

It's a difference of 160k which will probably end up being a repayment of maybe 300k max. Why go for DO when you can open up higher paying specialties and easily come out ahead within 5 years?
 
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Have you talked with the MD school financial aid office? If they know you got significant aid from another school but really want to go to the MD school but the cost is a barrier, they can sometimes make accommodations. Maybe it's just a one-year scholarship, maybe it's four years' worth, or maybe they can't offer you anything, but it never hurts to ask.

Personally I'd go to the DO school (assuming it's a good school of course). But I was interested in psych/FM when I started medical school and ended up applying/matching to PM&R, all of which are very DO-friendly specialties. $160k plus 7+ years of interest is a ton of money. If you really want to do a very competitive specialty like ortho, derm, etc., which will pay you more than enough to pay that difference off within 1-3 years, then the MD school would give you an edge. But if you're thinking primary care, it'll take a lot longer to pay what would then be be over $200-250k, and in my mind the DO route would be the better way to go.

This comes from an MD who obviously doesn't know as much about the possible struggles DO applicants face in residency applications other than the generalizations/stereotypes you hear spouted here on SDN (which could be true--I just haven't ever looked at any data about it)
 
I mean I'm gonna deviate a bit here because no one seems to want to say it... congrats man that's a great position to be in haha you should be hella proud of yourself:thumbup::thumbup:

I think it depends where you're from as well. California = MD all the way. Michigan? Maybe consider taking that DO because Michigan is very DO friendly. I can't imagine going to school for 18k.
 
Since we are on the topic of money, I have a similar predicament. I got accepted to 3 schools so far (1MD, 2DO). I chose the OOS MD already, but my annual tuition is going to be around $55k (not including housing or living expenses). I am a white male from a lower-middle class family, so there aren't many scholarships that I can apply for. Also this school does not give huge financial aid packages and my family's contribution will be minimal. I know that I'll have to take loans to pay for these expenses, but aren't there lifetime limits on federal loans? In total, I estimate that I'll be somewhere near $300k in debt by the time I graduate. How can I afford everything?
No offense, but you've been planning on attending med school for at least the last two years. You should have educated yourself about the inherent costs involved, both high and low. Take some time to research all your options and come spring, if you attend any second look days, ask to set up a meeting with financial aid.

Is your MD acceptance a state school or private?
 
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MD easily. There is no such thing as prestige for DO. Most people don't even know that it exists even when their own doctor is a DO.

It's a difference of 160k which will probably end up being a repayment of maybe 300k max. Why go for DO when you can open up higher paying specialties and easily come out ahead within 5 years?

Agreed. The debt factor is being exaggerated here. This would be important if the schools involved are comparable and based on the same regulatory standards, but this is not the case here. There is no reason to significantly restrict your long-term career options and deal with likely subpar clinical education just because you can enjoy lower debt.
 
I have a scholarship to a DO school that would make tuition about 18,000/yr, and so far I have been accepted to one MD program that is OOS and my tuition would be about 60,000/yr. Financial packages have yet to be sent out for the MD school. Let's assume come june these are my only two options, and I don't receive any significant scholarship to the MD program. What should I do?

I have zero idea what I want to practice specifically.

It is extremely difficult to offer sound advice without knowing which schools, particularly the DO one.
 
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I would say think of it as an investement. Sure the 60k sounds a lot, but in the future if you like a specific speacialty (which could be the case) then you will have an easier time getting it since you have that MD. So my opinion is to invest in that school now for more opportunities down the road (if you think of it like that then it doesn't feel like you are wasting 60k). Later in life when you are practising what you want loans turn more into just "another bill", that you slowly pay off.

Pick the school that you feel comfortable at, and that will make your life easier and benefit you more down the road.
 
Agree 100% with the wise Med Ed.
It also depends upon what you want to do. If you're OK with primary care, I'd recommend the cheaper school, unless thier clinical rotations are mostly preceptorships. More doors will be open to you as a specialist via the MD school. You'll make back the extra tuition money in salary, once you enter practice.
 
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As a medical student and witnessing both DOs and MDs outside and inside the clinic setting, I will say DO bias is an actual thing in the real world.

The question isnt "Is there a bias?" It's "Will you let the bias get to you"
 
While i was a medical student on a subi, i heard a fellowship program director say to another attending that he just throws away all the DO applications he gets and does not even read them. The bias is real. No question. And its YUGEEE.

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Do you want to share what the schools are? At least tier-wise ;)

I would probably still go with MD, esp if you don't know what your interests are yet. Do you have any loans from undergrad?

Also, for OOS, you might be able to gain state residency and switch to IS tuition after the first year
 
Save the money and go DO. The hype is far overblown on SDN.
 
Save the money and go DO. The hype is far overblown on SDN.

Rofl
You don't know what you're talking about.
I already explained how going MD can actually earn you a ton of money.
 
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Rofl
You don't know what you're talking about.
I already explained how going MD can actually earn you a ton of money.

Which specialties would you say would NOT make it worth it?
 
Save the money and go DO. The hype is far overblown on SDN.

What hype are you referring to? Some DO schools have questionable clinical training and put their students at a significant disadvantage when it comes to matching. If the OP was accepted to such a school, the price difference should be the least of his concerns.
 
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What hype are you referring to? Some DO schools have questionable clinical training and put their students at a significant disadvantage when it comes to matching. If the OP was accepted to such a school, the price difference should be the least of his concerns.

When discussing MD and DO, it always comes down to "some" or "specific"

Yeah if you go to a specific, certain program you may be at a disadvantage for a certain, specific ENT/plastic/derm/rocketscience residency at NASA/Harvard/Oxford combined residency program.

Practically and in 90% of cases it does not make a difference where you go.
 
When discussing MD and DO, it always comes down to "some" or "specific"

Yeah if you go to a specific, certain program you may be at a disadvantage for a certain, specific ENT/plastic/derm/rocketscience residency at NASA/Harvard/Oxford combined residency program.

Practically and in 90% of cases it does not make a difference where you go.

Your 90% claim is way off. Some MD residency programs don't even look at DO applications, even if they come from the more reputable DO schools.
 
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Your 90% claim is way off. Some MD residency programs don't even look at DO applications, even if they come from the more reputable DO schools.
I talked to an attending at Stanford recently that was reviewing resident applications and told me that DO's were at a small (though significant) disadvantage. In contrast, those coming from offshore schools were at a huge disadvantage and required a "boatload" of research or something special to stand out.
I saw the interview list, and there were a handful of DOs.
I'm not arguing for either side. This was just a recent experience.
 
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I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that the DO school is TCOM. Great DO program, still go MD. Especially if you don't know what's you want to do.
 
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I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that the DO school is TCOM. Great DO program, still go MD. Especially if you don't know what's you want to do.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume that Westbrook will take at least 30 shots tonight.

That said, I agree that MD is the correct choice here.
 
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m

Yeah if you go to a specific, certain program you may be at a disadvantage for a certain, specific ENT/plastic/derm/rocketscience residency at NASA/Harvard/Oxford combined residency program.

Practically and in 90% of cases it does not make a difference where you go.

Going DO makes getting into ACGME ENT, plastics, derm, surgery, neurosurgery, CT, ortho, vascular surgery, radiology oncology, extremely hard and almost impossible. Let's not forget almost all top tier IM programs, a huge swath of mid tier IM programs are also locked out as a DO. The only specialties where you DOs have really landed some great locations (including ucsd, UCLA, Stanford, and the like) have been in FM, PM&R, Psych, Peds and Pathology.

Would have to disagree that 90% it doesn't make a difference where you want to go. If you want to do fellowship (and many do), where you go to residency matters and can help tremendously.


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Man... that is actually tough. If you truly have no idea what you want to do, MD might be the best route. Sad but true.

If you knew you wanted to do anything primary care like or less competitive you should take the DO program in a heartbeat. You'd be able to pay off your loans like one year out. That's ridiculous!!!! Loans really affect your quality of life after you graduate. Don't take them lightly. If I could go back in time I would have lived off free saltine crackers, peanut butter and random conference pizzas for 4 years.
 
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lol obviously on SDN almost everyone would tell you MD. I think I would personally consider the specialty I want to go into. If you think there's a good chance you want something very competitive or specialized, MD will likely be worth it. But if you're just aiming for a semi competitive field, i.e. IM, EM, FM, etc. you'll be fine with a DO if you work hard. Ultimately the degree you have might be a factor but residency programs will consider the whole applicant rather than just whether you're an MD or DO. I would also think about the schools and the atmosphere you will learn best in and enjoy.
 
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