[deleted]

[scarletking]

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[deleted]

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Are you allowed to apply out or will doing that revoke your guaranteed seat?

While the exercise program with Parkinson patients is cool, do you have any coming service that is not health adjacent? The other activities you listed are leadership or hobby (dance).

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

If you’re really thinking about dermatology then yes, you want to get into an MD school and preferably a top school but keep in mind that many people change specialty preferences

 

[LizzyM]

Do you feel lucky? Are you ready to start asking for letters of recommendation and drafting your application essay for submission in May/June 2023?

Will you accept the 15% chance that you don't get admitted for matriculation in 2024 and may have to take a gap year (or two) and reapply, perhaps retaking the MCAT if your score expires?

How have you tested your interest in derm? (Do not write about your interest in derm in your essay! That is far too risky.)

You are giving up a 99.9% likelihood of matriculating into DO school in 2024 for a 85% chance (approximately) that you'll matriculate into an MD school in 2024. You decide if you'd like to make that wager.

 

[EthylMethylMan]

Agree with the esteemed LizzyM. Also would add that matching derm is still a huge uphill vattle even for students at good MD schools. Your step score, research, and class rank will all play into the equation, and you really don't know how that will all turn out. Too big of a gamble to advise in my opinion.

 

[Med Ed]

I am interested in a competitive specialty, dermatology,

Of course you are.

medical/ science ecs: 150 hours as a clinical assistant in 2021 (currently trying to get a clinical job for more clinical experience before applying), 10 hours shadowing (aim to get at least 50 before applying) 2 ongoing research positions (one at undergrad lab about microbiology for 2 years with one published research announcement in a journal and 2 poster presentations presented at conferences; new researcher position in at a med school about cardiology)

non-healthcare: part of campus dance team (50 hours), president of female empowerment club (120 hours), on e-board of cultural club (30 hours), started volunteering last semester with an exercise program for Parkinson's patients.

I mentally break ECs into 40-hour work weeks. So you've done 1.25 weeks of campus dance team, 3 weeks of female empowerment club, and 0.75 weeks on e-board of cultural club.

If I were you I'd focus attention on something a bit more altruistic. Perhaps that's the exercise program, perhaps it's not, but you need a little more soup kitchen/homeless shelter and a little less clubs and teams.

 

[MDMechEngr]

I am only an M3 so I am no expert like LizzM. You have very good stats that will open up doors for you, but it requires you to give up a guarantee, and you have to boost your ECs, which requires a gap year. It sounds like you are a 21 yrs old who can afford to take a gap year. An 85% chance is not a guarantee, but it is an excellent chance for med school. If I were in your shoes, I would do everything I can to get into the best school that I can to better my chance with matching a competitive specialty at my preffered program/location. You can match Derm from a DO school, but it may not be where you want to go geographically speaking. Also, if you can attend an MD school at a lower cost, that is icing on the cake. BTW, many MD schools offer merit scholarships to students with your stats, especially your state schools. GL.

 

[Med Ed]

Thank you for your advice, but I have been in each club for longer. The dance team is new so it’s been 3 months. The female empowerment club I have been doing for 3 years since my freshman year. I am not sure if this counts as more altruistic but we raise money for education of adolescent girls in third world countries. The cultural club I hav been a part of for a year.

My heuristic is intended to translate the number of reported hours into something familiar. It has nothing to do with how many months or years the involvement has been ongoing.

I realized I do need more altruistic volunteering, so I will be sure to pursue that.

Good luck.

 

[DarkBluMage]

Why derm? You’re hedging your future as a doctor on wanting to do derm but you only have 10hrs of shadowing. You may not even be interested in derm once you go through clerkships. Also getting accepted to a state school isn’t a guarantee. An app/med school cycle is more than a good MCAT score. Plenty of people with strong apps don’t get accepted to MD schools and your lack of volunteer hours for service is already a red flag/hole in your app. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. If I were you then I’d just take the DO acceptance.

 

[inwantstobeadoctor]

You have great stats! But to reiterate what the narrative is, there is no guarentee acceptance if you apply out, no matter how your stats may look. My best advice is if you want to apply MD, make peace with the potential possibility that it may take you more than one application cycle to be admitted. If you're good with that, then do it! Definitely make sure to get more shadowing and service hours (give back to your community!!!!). Do research and make some connections with schools. Good luck!

 

[DarkBluMage]

I am interested in derm right now because of a personal medical condition. I know that I might not be interested in this specialty in the future, but I am worried that even if I do pick another specialty, I will have a harder time matching into it as a DO vs as an MD. I plan on looking for more service-oriented volunteer opportunities and am open to taking a gap year. However I am not sure if there is enough of a difference between DO vs MD to warrant the time and effort that will have to go into applying out.

It’s your decision but honestly giving up a guaranteed acceptance and a future as a doctor for a chance at other schools is just crazy to me. If I didn’t have to go through hoops and already had an acceptance to medical school I definitely wouldn’t be throwing that away. You could end up in a possible situation where you don’t get accepted anywhere after choosing to apply with everyone else. It takes multiple cycles for many people to get even a single acceptance, let alone trying to play the field. Just know stats don’t guarantee anything. Anything can happen from having bad interviews or poorly written essays to get overlooked. Best of luck to you.