Chiro student to DO school?

OCHO · May 4, 2008

slash473 said:
Hi everyone,
I've been doing alot of research on this site, its great, but I could still use a little insight. I went to Palmer, a chiropractic school, for 2 trimesters, got all A's and B's, but later realized I didnt agree with the philosophy, seemed like BS to me, lol

Anyways I dont have a BS degree but I have 3.45 overall GPA along with a 3.1 science gpa. I plan on taking the MCAT this August. After I take the MCAT I will be applying to DO schools for fall 2009, with DPT being my back up plan. I have all the prereqs for both DO and DPT schools.

My question is do I even have a chance of getting into a DO school, will they look down upon me leaving chiropractic school? What MCAT score will i need to even be competitive. Also will it hurt me since i dont have a BS degree.

Sorry for the long post, just feeling confused. I'm 23 so I just really want to get my life started. I hope I'm not wasting time/$$$ trying to get into DO school, Thanks everyone for the help.

First of all, I believe you need a bachelors. Second, life happens. Meaning when you talk about leaving Chiro, I wouldnt say its BS, just say you found that you wanted to pursue an opportunity as a DO and felt it best to leave before you were to involved financially to leave. MCAT scores range all over the board. It all depends on YOU. Who YOU are. DOs look at the whole person not just your score.
I hope that helps, plus its just an opinion on my part.
Best of luck

DocJulez · May 4, 2008

slash473 said:
Hi everyone,
I've been doing alot of research on this site, its great, but I could still use a little insight. I went to Palmer, a chiropractic school, for 2 trimesters, got all A's and B's, but later realized I didnt agree with the philosophy, seemed like BS to me, lol

Anyways I dont have a BS degree but I have 3.45 overall GPA along with a 3.1 science gpa. I plan on taking the MCAT this August. After I take the MCAT I will be applying to DO schools for fall 2009, with DPT being my back up plan. I have all the prereqs for both DO and DPT schools.

My question is do I even have a chance of getting into a DO school, will they look down upon me leaving chiropractic school? What MCAT score will i need to even be competitive. Also will it hurt me since i dont have a BS degree.

Sorry for the long post, just feeling confused. I'm 23 so I just really want to get my life started. I hope I'm not wasting time/$$$ trying to get into DO school, Thanks everyone for the help.

honestly, i think you'll be ok. not having a BS degree isnt the end of the world at all. med schools like taking students that are well-rounded, it shows u have other interests. as long as u''ve got all the science pre-req's, ur golden (NOTE: this is assuming you have some sort of bachlor's degree.....just not one in science right?). does ur gpa have an upward trend? ur science one is a bit low IMO but i also had to have higher marks since i was applying from outta the country, so i'm not sure if this is just fine for u. i would aim for the absolute highest you can get on the MCAT, but as long as you land above a 25 or 26, i'm betting u'll be ok. thats with the presumption that u've got a lot of ECs and some good profs to write u great LORs.
i'm 23 as well, so i know what ur saying about just wanting to find ur career path. just dont rush urself thou. apply early and broadly. even if ur MCAT is in august (so was mine) try to have ur primary apps sent out before then, that way as soon as they get ur scores, they'll be able to process it. yes you'll be applying "blind" but as long as u think you didnt completely bomb the test, i'd do that. i had to send in my primaries after i did my canadian apps, and that brought me all the way to the end of sept. i had to write my secondaries from KENYA......now THAT was hard. lol. but i got lucky, and like i said, my marks and my ECs made me a good candidate for the schools i applied to. if ur slightly more "average" (which is totally ok!) then apply early!!!!!!!!!!!
umm, i dont think the chiro thing will deter u too much. i'd mention why u left briefly in ur PS and explain why u KNOW you wont do the same with Med school. also, be prepared to be asked about it in interviews. have good reasons for why u left. and dont place blame on anyone....no body likes a cry baby.....

all in all, good luck. as long as u've got the guts to go thru with this - the application process is a nightmare - then i think u'll do fine

TexasTriathlete · May 4, 2008

I'm still pissed that you didn't invite me to Kenya with you. I would love to go there. You hoser.

Colbert · May 4, 2008

What med schools, MD or DO, don't require a BS/BA degree before matriculation?

prionsRbad · May 4, 2008

You might need a bachelors for some schools. You will need to call the schools you're interested in and check with them.

Here are some threads on the topic:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=282605&highlight=bachelors+required
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=453451&highlight=bachelors+required

Quote from the AACOM college information book: "Nearly all students who apply to osteopathic medical
school have a bachelor's degree. There are a few exceptions
for students in special programs that have prior
arrangements with osteopathic medical schools. Many
applicants have earned a master's degree or doctorate
in another subject area before applying to osteopathic
medical school."

As for going to Chiropractic school, I don't think it will hurt you if you have a good reason for it. Be prepared to verbally explain WHY you decided to pursue osteopathic medicine and how you came to that decision.

Good Luck on the MCAT. Make sure you fill out your primary application now and submit before you take the MCAT. That way you will be all set to go once your score comes in.

Good Luck :luck:

OCHO · May 4, 2008

TexasTriathlete said:
I'm still pissed that you didn't invite me to Kenya with you. I would love to go there. You hoser.

Correction...its, YOU HOSER, EH

hehehe

scpod · May 4, 2008

While most of us can point out someone who didn't get a batchelor's degree and got into medical school, it's extremely unusual. Why? There are so many incredible applicants that DO have a degree. You generally have to be a pretty incredible applicant (or be sleeping with the dean) to get in without one. You're 23 and have already dropped out of a professional program???.....doesn't look good, IMO. Sounds like you don't really know what you want to do in life to me. I'm sure an admissions committee would feel similarly. Work on the degree and then think about med school.

DocJulez · May 4, 2008

TexasTriathlete said:
I'm still pissed that you didn't invite me to Kenya with you. I would love to go there. You hoser.

my sincerest appologies. i'm not sure wat a hoser is, but i'll accept that i was one.
i'm going back within the next 5 years. wanna come? we can tame wild lion cubs and ride elephants into the sunset. seriously, they let u do that there.

TexasTriathlete · May 4, 2008

That sounds like the coolest thing ever. And altitude training.

Doesn't everyone in Canada call each other hoser? Everything I know about Canada, I learned from watching Strange Brew and South Park.

TexasTriathlete · May 4, 2008

From Wikipedia...

Hoser is both a slang term and a stereotype, originating from and used primarily in Canada.[1]

Like the very similar term hosehead, it originally referred to farmers of the Canadian prairies, who would siphon gas from farming vehicles with a hose during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The expression has since been converted to the verb 'to hose' as in to trick, deceive, or steal - for example: "That card-shark sure hosed me." Hosed has an additional meaning of becoming drunk - for example: "Let's go out and get hosed."
The term "hoser" refers to an era in hockey before the ice resurfacing machine came into use. The losing team had to hose off the ice. The term "hoser" can then be construed to mean loser.[citation needed]

Another possibility is that it might be related to the term hoosier.

Today, the word hoser evokes - sometimes sympathetically, with gentle ribbing, and sometimes negatively - a stereotypical Canadian male, typically lower to middle class, white and English Canadian. He is especially concerned with drinking beer and watching hockey or curling. The hoser is understood as a product of a poor and white upbringing, but never from a more cosmopolitan lifestyle he is more likely to come from a small town or a rural farm community than a big city, although hosers may also exist in the suburbs of major cities. He is generally assumed to be unemployed, although he may also be a farmer, a labourer working in primary industry (manufacturing, mining, forestry, etc.), a tradesman or a manual labourer. He is typically not university-educated: if he has any education past high school, it's a college trade program. If he does go on to university, or moves to a city, he will still have preferences for "hoser" food, clothing, music, and sports, and will retain the language inflections of his upbringing.

He's often imagined wearing heavy winter clothing, usually a flannel lumberjack shirt, Kodiak boots and a tuque. He is generally a young adult to middle age, and may be somewhat aggressive given the beer and hockey, but may conversely be passive and amiable, given the beer. In musical culture, he is correlated with classic and mainstream rock music, particularly with Rush, April Wine, Trooper, Nickelback and the earlier, rowdier works of The Tragically Hip. If he goes out socially, it's usually to a doughnut shop.

A hoser's flannel shirt may also be referred to as a "Kenora dinner jacket". (Some regional variations of this term also exist, usually substituting a hoser-stereotyped local community's name in place of Kenora.)[2]

A woman who dresses and acts similarly may also be referred to as a hoser, although this is much more rare.

Perhaps the iconic representations of this definition of hoser in Canadian culture are Bob & Doug McKenzie of SCTV and Strange Brew. This model also profoundly informs The Red Green Show, Trailer Park Boys, Kevin Spencer, FUBAR: The Movie, Chilly Beach, and some sketch characters on Royal Canadian Air Farce (e.g., "Mike, from Canmore", "A Canadian Moment"), and This Hour Has 22 Minutes (e.g., Connie Bloor, the Quinlan Quints). Although set in the United States, Wayne's World which was created by a Canadian, Mike Myers also shares some common elements with the hoser archetype.

Hoser may also refer more generically to a rude and unkempt person, similar to the more universal terms boor, slob, and lout. However, like other such terms (e.g. jerk) it can also be used in a much more general sense as an all-purpose mild insult. The term is also sometimes used outside of Canada as a mocking term for any Canadian, although this usage may be perceived as offensive because of the word's more particular meaning within Canada. (See Anti-Canadianism)

Bob & Doug McKenzie defined the term as "What you call your little brother when your mother is in the room."

DocJulez · May 4, 2008

TexasTriathlete said:
That sounds like the coolest thing ever. And altitude training.

Doesn't everyone in Canada call each other hoser? Everything I know about Canada, I learned from watching Strange Brew and South Park.

yes, of course altitude training as well. and white water rafting. all very good things.

i think by Canada you actually mean Newfoundland. lol the east coast is more "eh" oriented then us folks from southern ontario (seeing as we're right on the border). i'm sure they prolly say "hoser" there..... i've never watched strange brew....save for the clip you posted on the canadian forum.....

and south park.....well, the characters dont even have knee caps.......

TexasTriathlete · May 4, 2008

You're going to need to watch strange brew

DocJulez · May 4, 2008

TexasTriathlete said:
From Wikipedia...

Hoser is both a slang term and a stereotype, originating from and used primarily in Canada.[1]

Like the very similar term hosehead, it originally referred to farmers of the Canadian prairies, who would siphon gas from farming vehicles with a hose during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The expression has since been converted to the verb 'to hose' as in to trick, deceive, or steal - for example: "That card-shark sure hosed me." Hosed has an additional meaning of becoming drunk - for example: "Let's go out and get hosed."
The term "hoser" refers to an era in hockey before the ice resurfacing machine came into use. The losing team had to hose off the ice. The term "hoser" can then be construed to mean loser.[citation needed]

Another possibility is that it might be related to the term hoosier.

Today, the word hoser evokes - sometimes sympathetically, with gentle ribbing, and sometimes negatively - a stereotypical Canadian male, typically lower to middle class, white and English Canadian. He is especially concerned with drinking beer and watching hockey or curling. The hoser is understood as a product of a poor and white upbringing, but never from a more cosmopolitan lifestyle he is more likely to come from a small town or a rural farm community than a big city, although hosers may also exist in the suburbs of major cities. He is generally assumed to be unemployed, although he may also be a farmer, a labourer working in primary industry (manufacturing, mining, forestry, etc.), a tradesman or a manual labourer. He is typically not university-educated: if he has any education past high school, it's a college trade program. If he does go on to university, or moves to a city, he will still have preferences for "hoser" food, clothing, music, and sports, and will retain the language inflections of his upbringing.

He's often imagined wearing heavy winter clothing, usually a flannel lumberjack shirt, Kodiak boots and a tuque. He is generally a young adult to middle age, and may be somewhat aggressive given the beer and hockey, but may conversely be passive and amiable, given the beer. In musical culture, he is correlated with classic and mainstream rock music, particularly with Rush, April Wine, Trooper, Nickelback and the earlier, rowdier works of The Tragically Hip. If he goes out socially, it's usually to a doughnut shop.

A hoser's flannel shirt may also be referred to as a "Kenora dinner jacket". (Some regional variations of this term also exist, usually substituting a hoser-stereotyped local community's name in place of Kenora.)[2]

A woman who dresses and acts similarly may also be referred to as a hoser, although this is much more rare.

Perhaps the iconic representations of this definition of hoser in Canadian culture are Bob & Doug McKenzie of SCTV and Strange Brew. This model also profoundly informs The Red Green Show, Trailer Park Boys, Kevin Spencer, FUBAR: The Movie, Chilly Beach, and some sketch characters on Royal Canadian Air Farce (e.g., "Mike, from Canmore", "A Canadian Moment"), and This Hour Has 22 Minutes (e.g., Connie Bloor, the Quinlan Quints). Although set in the United States, Wayne's World which was created by a Canadian, Mike Myers also shares some common elements with the hoser archetype.

Hoser may also refer more generically to a rude and unkempt person, similar to the more universal terms boor, slob, and lout. However, like other such terms (e.g. jerk) it can also be used in a much more general sense as an all-purpose mild insult. The term is also sometimes used outside of Canada as a mocking term for any Canadian, although this usage may be perceived as offensive because of the word's more particular meaning within Canada. (See Anti-Canadianism)

Bob & Doug McKenzie defined the term as "What you call your little brother when your mother is in the room."

hahahahahahhahahahhahahhahahhahahahhahahahaha.

for the record.......i know NOBODY like this

moldovanits · May 4, 2008

did you do your prereqs at palmer?

GreenShirt · May 4, 2008

Check individual school websites. Most schools do explicitly require a BA or BS, there may be a few that require only 90 credits of UG work, but you would be limiting yourself.

The chiro thing is fine, just work into your personal statement the story of why you originally went that route and what's made you change your mind. The OMM faculty at my school love to point out how their manipulation is superior to that done by chiropractors b/c it was "medical knowledge" behind it. I'm sure the schools would eat it up if you played to that crowd.

Adohusk · May 5, 2008

Hey I am in somewhat same position however; I did finish my BS degree in Human Biology. I got the degree from logan college of chiro. but decided I would leave after finishing BS degree to go to DO school. I just thought It is a more interesting field with many more opportunities than chiro. So if you wanna chat some more my email is [email protected] and I can give you my cell number then and we can discuss some things if it will help you. I am also taking the MCAT July10th, I signed up for that KAPLAN course. Good Luck and dont give up!

JaggerPlate · May 5, 2008

Is chiro just a really saturated field to enter right now, or do people see it being phased out, or is the money gone err what?? It just seems like a lot of people are going through the motions with chiro, then pulling out at the last second. I'm just curious. I always heard it was an iffy field to go into, but I would like some input from people who really made the decision to not continue with it.

TexasTriathlete · May 5, 2008

I have a buddy with a DC who does not plan to enter the field. Not sure why. He worked as a personal trainer for a while, and now he has some desk job.

OCHO · May 5, 2008

slash473 said:
no moldovanits, I did them at a university. I just hope some of the classes i took at Palmer will transfer so i can get my BS this upcoming year. classes like biochem, gross anatomy, neuroanatomy, neurophys, embryology, CNS, cell physiology, all of these classes were A's and B's. What do you guys think?

Those classes should all transfer as long as the school you took them from is accredited. Find out if the school is, if it isnt then it wont transfer.

moldovanits · May 6, 2008

Adohusk said:
Hey I am in somewhat same position however; I did finish my BS degree in Human Biology. I got the degree from logan college of chiro. but decided I would leave after finishing BS degree to go to DO school. I just thought It is a more interesting field with many more opportunities than chiro. So if you wanna chat some more my email is [email protected] and I can give you my cell number then and we can discuss some things if it will help you. I am also taking the MCAT July10th, I signed up for that KAPLAN course. Good Luck and dont give up!

hey im in a similar position im finishing my bs in human biology at cleveland chiropractic. hoping it wont look bad to do programs. what do you think?

moldovanits · May 6, 2008

JaggerPlate said:
Is chiro just a really saturated field to enter right now, or do people see it being phased out, or is the money gone err what?? It just seems like a lot of people are going through the motions with chiro, then pulling out at the last second. I'm just curious. I always heard it was an iffy field to go into, but I would like some input from people who really made the decision to not continue with it.

yes its very saturated and unpredictable.i respect the field alot because of its hands on experience but, its a very iffy field right now. no money in it unless your a good business man.

moldovanits · May 6, 2008

This trimester there were more bs graduates than dc grads.

moldovanits · May 6, 2008

slash473 said:
Yeah, true. Ive heard of some upper tri students that are over 100K in debt and are going to be associate DCs for some chiros back in home town working for 30k salary with no benefits. The established DCs can do this cause they know that each chiro school is pumping out graduates 3 times a year and there are like 14 or so in US doing this. Plus the insurance is cutting back so people are reluctant to pay out of pocket. Thats another reason why i left, didnt want to be that in debt and have to fight to get an associate position making chump change.

True you might as well become a nursing assistant and make more money. dc's don't make scrap right now. i know this guy who's barely in 7th tri with 5 to go and hes up to 200k in debt!

moldovanits · May 6, 2008

slash473 said:
while surfing the web I came across this http://usatoday.feedroom.com/index.jsp?fr_story=a6a5775b50613a1d8e31c0bdab408b6cec54006e

A recent DC grad 165k in debt working two jobs just to only pay the minimum monthly payments along with no health insurance. Well, I think i made the right choice in leaving after all

geez what a sad video..

Chiro student to DO school?

Awesome Canadian

HTFU

Mooooo

Awesome Canadian

HTFU

HTFU

Awesome Canadian

HTFU

Awesome Canadian

HTFU