Dismissed from DO school..what now?

[inquiry101]

Hi everyone,

maybe someone could be kind enough to help me out with my situation. I was just dismissed from a DO school due to poor grades. I was diagnosed with having a severe depression earlier this month and brought it to the attention of the school, however, it was not enough for them to keep me enrolled to repeat the year.

I have a inclination that my depression may been with me for a long time in the past however, it was not as severe as it was in medical school. My concentration declined drastically and was the major wake up call for me to get help. No matter how much I studied, I could not pass my exams.

I don't know what to do right now. If I want to do medicine, ill have to take the mcat again and reapply again. To be honest, i want to give up and change professions right now. I was thinking of doing something in business or maybe a masters in healthcare administration/public health. Any help would be much appreciated. Lord knows I could use it

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[projectlogic]

Sorry to hear about your depression.

Have you tried appealing your case? Have you shown them documentation of your depression?

 

[Oo Cipher oO]

Hi everyone,

maybe someone could be kind enough to help me out with my situation. I was just dismissed from a DO school due to poor grades. I was diagnosed with having a severe depression earlier this month and brought it to the attention of the school, however, it was not enough for them to keep me enrolled to repeat the year.

I have a inclination that my depression may been with me for a long time in the past however, it was not as severe as it was in medical school. My concentration declined drastically and was the major wake up call for me to get help. No matter how much I studied, I could not pass my exams.

I don't know what to do right now. If I want to do medicine, ill have to take the mcat again and reapply again. To be honest, i want to give up and change professions right now. I was thinking of doing something in business or maybe a masters in healthcare administration/public health. Any help would be much appreciated. Lord knows I could use it

 

[inquiry101]

i appealed and the decision was final. the DO school Dean told me straight up that my failures would prevent me from getting residencies and that was a chance that the school was not willing to take

 

[Slowpoke]

i appealed and the decision was final. the DO school Dean told me straight up that my failures would prevent me from getting residencies and that was a chance that the school was not willing to take

Very sorry to hear what happened to you. Hopefully some SDN members who are well versed in the politically system of medical school admissions may be able to weigh in. I was curious about whether or not the Dean was able to help you with what your options were at this point. Maybe he can give you an idea of what you can do - if being in the healthcare field is still what you want to do.

 

[sinuous sausage]

Guess we were shuffled over to the Osteopathic board. Dunno if you saw my spiel:

Originally Posted by inquiry101

Hi everyone,



maybe someone could be kind enough to help me out with my situation. I was just dismissed from a DO school due to poor grades. I was diagnosed with having a severe depression earlier this month and brought it to the attention of the school, however, it was not enough for them to keep me enrolled to repeat the year.



I have a inclination that my depression may been with me for a long time in the past however, it was not as severe as it was in medical school. My concentration declined drastically and was the major wake up call for me to get help. No matter how much I studied, I could not pass my exams.



I don't know what to do right now. If I want to do medicine, ill have to take the mcat again and reapply again. To be honest, i want to give up and change professions right now. I was thinking of doing something in business or maybe a masters in healthcare administration/public health. Any help would be much appreciated. Lord knows I could use it

Sorry to hear this. I've teetered on the edge of depression before, and I'm generally a melancholy kind of chap anyway. I always found it easy to despair about my life, or the world, or the future of both. Like ached-to-exist kind of despair. Remember that the dark thoughts engulfing you are real and that they matter, but also that their mattering in reality suggests a coherence to the world that you might not see at the moment. Getting booted from med school isn't the worst thing. Losing your sanity is, tho, so bide your time in the dark until you understand it.



Godspeed! You're gonna be alright!

 

[SyrianHero]

How many tests did you fail for the DO school to dismiss you?

 

[IamnotFreud]

i appealed and the decision was final. the DO school Dean told me straight up that my failures would prevent me from getting residencies and that was a chance that the school was not willing to take

Sorry to hear about the situation. What year were you in DO school? Is it possible for you to appeal it again or not? If not possible at all, I would suggest perhaps since you mention that you really love medicine, to pursue something like PA or nurse practitioner, perhaps CRNA. Easier route, faster, etc. If not, either MBA or MHA would be an option if not interested in pursuing medicine.

 

[Smurfette]

Honestly, your chances of getting into med school again are very slim after getting dismissed. Take some time and decide what you want to do...if this decision just happened, you probably need some time to reflect and figure things out. Hopefully, you have supportive friends/family to help you get through this.

Moving to Osteo forum since this was related to DO school...

 

[inquiry101]

it was my first year...

 

[inquiry101]

i actually was advised from the dean to withdraw from the university. instead of having dismissed on my transcript, it will say withdrew. but my grades will still be on the transcript. what are my chances of getting back into medical school in the future?

 

[Denatured]

Sorry to hear about the situation. What year were you in DO school? Is it possible for you to appeal it again or not? If not possible at all, I would suggest perhaps since you mention that you really love medicine, to pursue something like PA or nurse practitioner, perhaps CRNA. Easier route, faster, etc. If not, either MBA or MHA would be an option if not interested in pursuing medicine.

I can guarantee that PA nor CRNA would not accept this person without significant time and demonstration of better performance. PA may never because they have a thing about not taking med students. NP may be possible.

 

[MrNovember]

Hi everyone,

maybe someone could be kind enough to help me out with my situation. I was just dismissed from a DO school due to poor grades. I was diagnosed with having a severe depression earlier this month and brought it to the attention of the school, however, it was not enough for them to keep me enrolled to repeat the year.

I have a inclination that my depression may been with me for a long time in the past however, it was not as severe as it was in medical school. My concentration declined drastically and was the major wake up call for me to get help. No matter how much I studied, I could not pass my exams.

I don't know what to do right now. If I want to do medicine, ill have to take the mcat again and reapply again. To be honest, i want to give up and change professions right now. I was thinking of doing something in business or maybe a masters in healthcare administration/public health. Any help would be much appreciated. Lord knows I could use it

Have you sought any kind of treatment for depression? Antidepressant medications and psychotherapy are quite effective in combination. Even if you switch professions, this is still something you should be seeking treatment for.

 

[inquiry101]

i am seeking treatment. its just that im not sure what to do with my career

 

[rc4ch]

i am seeking treatment. its just that im not sure what to do with my career

I am glad to hear you are seeking treatment. I think it takes a lot out of someone to be able to do that. Now look into your own interests and think about what you would like to do.

There are other things out there. Just keep your chin up.

 

[beBrave]

Hi everyone,

maybe someone could be kind enough to help me out with my situation. I was just dismissed from a DO school due to poor grades. I was diagnosed with having a severe depression earlier this month and brought it to the attention of the school, however, it was not enough for them to keep me enrolled to repeat the year.

I have a inclination that my depression may been with me for a long time in the past however, it was not as severe as it was in medical school. My concentration declined drastically and was the major wake up call for me to get help. No matter how much I studied, I could not pass my exams.

I don't know what to do right now. If I want to do medicine, ill have to take the mcat again and reapply again. To be honest, i want to give up and change professions right now. I was thinking of doing something in business or maybe a masters in healthcare administration/public health. Any help would be much appreciated. Lord knows I could use it

I went the business school route and now I am focused on going DO. I would suggest considering offshore med schools if you can afford it. If medicine isn't right for you then take time to think about what will truly make you happy before rushing into anything. Get to the root cause of your depression. There is always a root; it could be childhood, parents; find out what it is and then move forward. i have tried Anti-Depressants, among other things and it has only being through address the route cause that I have seen progress.

Good luck

 

[Gauss44]

Hi everyone,

maybe someone could be kind enough to help me out with my situation. I was just dismissed from a DO school due to poor grades. I was diagnosed with having a severe depression earlier this month and brought it to the attention of the school, however, it was not enough for them to keep me enrolled to repeat the year.

I have a inclination that my depression may been with me for a long time in the past however, it was not as severe as it was in medical school. My concentration declined drastically and was the major wake up call for me to get help. No matter how much I studied, I could not pass my exams.

I don't know what to do right now. If I want to do medicine, ill have to take the mcat again and reapply again. To be honest, i want to give up and change professions right now. I was thinking of doing something in business or maybe a masters in healthcare administration/public health. Any help would be much appreciated. Lord knows I could use it

Not the main point of your question, but IF you choose to retake MCAT you might want to do so before 2015. AAMC will be adding more topics to test in 2015.

Better to know ahead of time...

 

[Goro]

This really is a message that it's time to do something else. You gave it your best shot, and it wasn't enough. Medical school can be a crucible.

There's always PA, PT or nursing. The MPH/administration sounds good too.

This is the same advice I'd give my own kids if they were in your boat. Good luck!

Hi everyone,


I don't know what to do right now. If I want to do medicine, ill have to take the mcat again and reapply again. To be honest, i want to give up and change professions right now. I was thinking of doing something in business or maybe a masters in healthcare administration/public health. Any help would be much appreciated. Lord knows I could use it

 

[laricb]

i actually was advised from the dean to withdraw from the university. instead of having dismissed on my transcript, it will say withdrew. but my grades will still be on the transcript. what are my chances of getting back into medical school in the future?

I would wait until you're feeling well again then as a last resort apply to a good carib school like SGU or ROSS Good luck in whatever you choose.

 

[IamnotFreud]

I went the business school route and now I am focused on going DO. I would suggest considering offshore med schools if you can afford it. If medicine isn't right for you then take time to think about what will truly make you happy before rushing into anything. Get to the root cause of your depression. There is always a root; it could be childhood, parents; find out what it is and then move forward. i have tried Anti-Depressants, among other things and it has only being through address the route cause that I have seen progress.

Good luck

Offshore medical schools are a terrible terrible terrible suggestion. The OP should not go to a foreign/offshore medical school at all. OP already had issues with DO school, and offshore medical schools are a trap that many times leads to no residency.

 

[laricb]

i actually was advised from the dean to withdraw from the university. instead of having dismissed on my transcript, it will say withdrew. but my grades will still be on the transcript. what are my chances of getting back into medical school in the future?

Offshore medical schools are a terrible terrible terrible suggestion. The OP should not go to a foreign/offshore medical school at all. OP already had issues with DO school, and offshore medical schools are a trap that many times leads to no residency.

So he should just give up his dream because he got sick. No other US Med school will accept him at this point.

 

[thepoopologist]

So he should just give up his dream because he got sick. No other US Med school will accept him at this point.

If he thinks he can score well on the Steps and pass everything with flying colors then by all means he should go.

If he starts ****ing up again and then spiraling into the blackness with an even larger debt load then before, then no.

He is lucky. Dismissed with only 1 year of debt under their belt. If he heads back into it again, it should be after a couple years have passed.

 

[Jas1360]

Now is the perfect time to heal and to explore other interests. I would suggest trying things unrelated to healthcare and see where you end up. You might end back in healthcare and you might end up in some other great place.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

So he should just give up his dream because he got sick. No other US Med school will accept him at this point.

Yes. Or at least put it on hiatus at this moment.

 

[bajastapler]

have u guys noticed how every week at least one "dismissed DO student" thread miraculously appears from thin air? . . . It could be possible that these are legitimate cases, in which case i feel for you, or it could be "people" trying to discredit the reputation of the DO curriculum. "People" with something to lose. "People" that might be unable to match come 2015. Hmmmm.

Should I take the blue pill or the red pill . . .

 

[534455]

I do not believe the original poster. Sorry. The info is thin and the depth shallow. Whatever their motive, medical schools (DO or MD) are not that callous. LCME has a policy that medical schools support their students academically via remediation periods especially their first year. Dismissing someone for poor grades before completing their first year flies against remediation.

Additionally, a higher percentage of medical school students are depressed compared to the average population. Being depressed does not mean you must fail medical school. Schools are extremely supportive of their students, especially after one semester

Thirdly: poor GPA for first year can be balanced by second year.

Fourthly, poor GPA for frist two years can be balanced by grades in Rotations Third and Fourth years which are much easier to get A's and B's than first two years. The argument that one semester of poor grades is going to prevent someone from matching Residency Programs is total BS. The post reads like it was written by a 12 year old author....hmmm, like many other SDN posts.

Out of four years, someone does not get dismissed at an American accredited school for poor grades their first semester.

While I recognize that SDN is like many other internet forums in that they are popular b/c anybody can post, comment and opine, I put the onus back on the OP for providing better facts on being dismissed from a medical school after one semester (be it DO or MD).

One semester? I don't buy it.

 

[thepoopologist]

Look at his post history. Possible. Frankly it happened at my school 1st year, but you have to self-destruct to the point where it gets ridiculous.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

I do not believe the original poster. Sorry. The info is thin and the depth shallow. Whatever their motive, medical schools (DO or MD) are not that callous. LCME has a policy that medical schools support their students academically via remediation periods especially their first year. Dismissing someone for poor grades before completing their first year flies against remediation.

Additionally, a higher percentage of medical school students are depressed compared to the average population. Being depressed does not mean you must fail medical school. Schools are extremely supportive of their students, especially after one semester

Thirdly: poor GPA for first year can be balanced by second year.

Fourthly, poor GPA for frist two years can be balanced by grades in Rotations Third and Fourth years which are much easier to get A's and B's than first two years. The argument that one semester of poor grades is going to prevent someone from matching Residency Programs is total BS. The post reads like it was written by a 12 year old author....hmmm, like many other SDN posts.

Out of four years, someone does not get dismissed at an American accredited school for poor grades their first semester.

While I recognize that SDN is like many other internet forums in that they are popular b/c anybody can post, comment and opine, I put the onus back on the OP for providing better facts on being dismissed from a medical school after one semester (be it DO or MD).

One semester? I don't buy it.

Honestly, this varies not only by school but also on a case by case basis etc...rest assured that if you blow it badly enough 1st semester, there are certainly DO schools that will send you packing. At my school, this would have probably taken some combination of very poor performance and not demonstrating any effort to improve your situation (i.e., no tutoring etc).

 

[534455]

I sense a real animus on SDN by some users towards DO schools. What gives? It is petty and very small of members to besmirch DO anything.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I'm just going to say what we're all thinking:









NYCOM

 

[beBrave]

I think him doing anything job or academic wise at this point is wrong. I suffered from depression for years. It affected my grades terribly. Only until I began addressing the root cause was I able to fix the other area's of my life. Nursing is not an easy profession; he can just as easily fail out. No matter what he does at this point, something is preventing him from focusing. If he tries looking for other jobs at this point he will end up in a downward spiral. He needs therapy, time to heal; reflection and then a plan on proceeding.

There are others who have failed out of the first year in med school and still successfully went back; I have seen other post regarding this on the forums. The worst thing he can do right now is jump from field to field. He will start on a never ending cycle that ultimately leads nowhere. Address the root issue and then pick up the pieces from there. He had what it took to get into Medical School the first time around so that counts for something. Also he has a withdrawal which is different than being dismissed; depression always has a root. He needs to break the cycle. I believe he can get into another DO school or even readmitted at the same one once he receives a proper psychological evaluation and shows the steps he has taken to fix it. A year off and hard work can do a lot; Medical schools are not in the business of flunking students. DO schools also tend to be more open to non traditional students (or rather students with special needs and those from different cultures/socio-economic backgrounds). I think he just needs to find where the problem lies in his life and then everything else will begin to work out. Just having the courage and determination to become a Physician sets him aside from something like 90% of the population who wouldn't even try.

 

[sinuous sausage]

lulz at any SDN poster reccing Caribbean schools. you know better

 

[calvinhobbes]

I do not believe the original poster. Sorry. The info is thin and the depth shallow. Whatever their motive, medical schools (DO or MD) are not that callous. LCME has a policy that medical schools support their students academically via remediation periods especially their first year. Dismissing someone for poor grades before completing their first year flies against remediation.

Additionally, a higher percentage of medical school students are depressed compared to the average population. Being depressed does not mean you must fail medical school. Schools are extremely supportive of their students, especially after one semester

Thirdly: poor GPA for first year can be balanced by second year.

Fourthly, poor GPA for frist two years can be balanced by grades in Rotations Third and Fourth years which are much easier to get A's and B's than first two years. The argument that one semester of poor grades is going to prevent someone from matching Residency Programs is total BS. The post reads like it was written by a 12 year old author....hmmm, like many other SDN posts.

Out of four years, someone does not get dismissed at an American accredited school for poor grades their first semester.

While I recognize that SDN is like many other internet forums in that they are popular b/c anybody can post, comment and opine, I put the onus back on the OP for providing better facts on being dismissed from a medical school after one semester (be it DO or MD).

One semester? I don't buy it.

Then you haven't heard of NYCOM. They will kick you out, they don't care.

 

[peppy]

Maybe once you get your depression under control you can try to get back in. Check out the long thread that Bones DO started about getting kicked out and then working on getting back in:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=665422

 

[Bones DO]

I do not believe the original poster. Sorry. The info is thin and the depth shallow. Whatever their motive, medical schools (DO or MD) are not that callous. LCME has a policy that medical schools support their students academically via remediation periods especially their first year. Dismissing someone for poor grades before completing their first year flies against remediation.

Additionally, a higher percentage of medical school students are depressed compared to the average population. Being depressed does not mean you must fail medical school. Schools are extremely supportive of their students, especially after one semester

Thirdly: poor GPA for first year can be balanced by second year.

Fourthly, poor GPA for frist two years can be balanced by grades in Rotations Third and Fourth years which are much easier to get A's and B's than first two years. The argument that one semester of poor grades is going to prevent someone from matching Residency Programs is total BS. The post reads like it was written by a 12 year old author....hmmm, like many other SDN posts.

Out of four years, someone does not get dismissed at an American accredited school for poor grades their first semester.

While I recognize that SDN is like many other internet forums in that they are popular b/c anybody can post, comment and opine, I put the onus back on the OP for providing better facts on being dismissed from a medical school after one semester (be it DO or MD).

One semester? I don't buy it.

I can say from personal experience that your statements fail to hold water at several DO schools. If things are as you described at your school, I applaud them. If my original DO school gave a crap about its students I would almost be PGYII now instead of almost OMSIV with an extra 26k in debt.

The poor syntax of the OP could be due to English not being his/her first language. Some schools offer emigre physician programs, and I have heard of people failing out of those as well.

I wish I could post the 2-3 full boxes of personal messages I've had from people in this situation. I 100% agree that 1 semester of poor grades is not sufficient to damn someone to dismissal but it occurs at several DO schools that I know of. Another interesting anecdote is that 94% of the people I have been contacted by were dismissed from Osteopathic medical schools. A reasonable inference is that COCA does not have these student-protective provisions/rules that LCME supposedly has.

I've talked about this before but attrition at DO schools is higher than anyone would ever expect. This is because the schools report the numbers in terms of the total student body lost per year, and not the individual classes. For example if each class starts with 200, drops to 170 by 3rd year and 165 by graduation anyone on here would expect that to be reported as 17.5% for that class. This is NOT the case. Instead the school will give its annual report like this (using hypothetical numbers; for argument's sake assume each class starts with 200 students):

OMS I class starts with 200, loses 20 in 2013
OMSII class starts with 180, loses 15 in 2013
OMS III class starts with 165, loses 2 in 2013
OMS IV class starts with 163, loses 1 in 2013

this will be reported as total students lost divided by total students the school began across all four classes for that year:

(20+15+2+1) / (200+180+165+163) = 5.36% total attrition for 2013. Which is technically true since the total students in this imaginary school at the start of 2013 was indeed 708. But wait, the graduating class is down to 163, and they started with 200 4 years ago! So if you were to report attrition for this particular class it would be 37/200 = 18.5%!?! This number is not ever reported to COCA. They can get away with this since most attrition occurs in the first 2 years, and comparatively very little occurs in year 3 and 4.

See what they did there?

 

[534455]

Then you haven't heard of NYCOM. They will kick you out, they don't care.

You are right . I have never heard of NYCOM. So much so that I had to look up NYCOM on Google. And I found a DO school in NY......and I wrote them about your post.

comadm at nyit dot edu

let's see what they have to say about themselves.

 

[Bones DO]

Then you haven't heard of NYCOM. They will kick you out, they don't care.

I wish this wasn't true, but it is.

 

[Bones DO]

You are right . I have never heard of NYCOM. So much so that I had to look up NYCOM on Google. And I found a DO school in NY......and I wrote them about your post.

comadm at nyit dot edu

let's see what they have to say about themselves.

just look at their student handbook. If you fail two systems in a single year you're done.

http://www.nyit.edu/images/uploads/nycom/NYCOM_STUDENT_HANDBOOK_2012-13_JUNE14-2012.pdf

Page 29, under dismissal. I couldn't believe it the first time I read it either...trust me.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Not to derail, but why hasn't NYCOM been threatened or put on probation for its hardcore mistreatment of students? I mean for Christ sakes, GWU was put on probation for not having a student space. NYCOM treats its students like absolute crap and is obviously flunking masses of them in far greater number than the average school.

 

[Bones DO]

Not to derail, but why hasn't NYCOM been threatened or put on probation for its hardcore mistreatment of students? I mean for Christ sakes, GWU was put on probation for not having a student space. NYCOM treats its students like absolute crap and is obviously flunking masses of them in far greater number than the average school.

GWU is MD, LCME cares, COCA does not appear to. The 2 strikes and you're out deal is not unique to NYCOM in the DO world. Several others practice it, LMU, and Nova to name a couple.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

GWU is MD, LCME cares, COCA does not appear to. The 2 strikes and you're out deal is not unique to NYCOM in the DO world. Several others practice it, LMU, and Nova to name a couple.

I imagine that NSU & LMU are more receptive and considerate to issues that might come up and give a student another chance though? I mean NSU did have an issue with one student a while ago, but seemed like they gave them options.
But yah, that's a shame that COCA doesn't really step in and defend students.

 

[Bones DO]

I imagine that NSU & LMU are more receptive and considerate to issues that might come up and give a student another chance though? I mean NSU did have an issue with one student a while ago, but seemed like they gave them options.
But yah, that's a shame that COCA doesn't really step in and defend students.

Heard of more attrition at LMU than Nova but that's anecdotal. I can't comment on how their student progress committees operate as I have no personal experience with them. I agree, it sucks.

 

[ILikeFood]

GWU is MD, LCME cares, COCA does not appear to. The 2 strikes and you're out deal is not unique to NYCOM in the DO world. Several others practice it, LMU, and Nova to name a couple.

They could've tightened things up for all I know but when I was in pre-clinical they were on the other end of the spectrum from NYCOM. They gave endless leeway to the point where people were spending 4 years for pre-clinicals. All these extreme examples were eventually dismissed hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. Most of the 5 year students do okay once they've hit clinical year.

If they've changed that practice then my theory is that it is due to them implementing an actual remedial counseling deal for struggling students, whereas before they were left drifting in the wind without any assistance whatsoever. Back in those days administration would meet with you but were at a loss as to what to do

 

[Bones DO]

They could've tightened things up for all I know but when I was in pre-clinical they were on the other end of the spectrum from NYCOM. They gave endless leeway to the point where people were spending 4 years for pre-clinicals. All these extreme examples were eventually dismissed hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. Most of the 5 year students do okay once they've hit clinical year.

If they've changed that practice then my theory is that it is due to them implementing an actual remedial counseling deal for struggling students, whereas before they were left drifting in the wind without any assistance whatsoever. Back in those days administration would meet with you but were at a loss as to what to do

I'll admit the 4 years for preclinicals is insane. The answer is somewhere between nova and nycom then.

Nova has a stated policy that you can be dismissed after 2 failures in one year but I guess they don't often enforce it.

 

[ILikeFood]

I'll admit the 4 years for preclinicals is insane. The answer is somewhere between nova and nycom then.

Nova has a stated policy that you can be dismissed after 2 failures in one year but I guess they don't often enforce it.

Well, its supposedly 13 units failed in one year goes to committee. I've only known one person who failed enough to go to committee and he was dismissed at the end of the 1st year. The others either gamed the system where they would "medically withdraw" from a semester or failed within that limit.

Bottom line is they do their best to retain students and will evaluate on a case-by-case basis, but sometimes it gets out of hand and these students become lost causes stuck in an abyss.

 

[Silent Cool]

have u guys noticed how every week at least one "dismissed DO student" thread miraculously appears from thin air? . . . It could be possible that these are legitimate cases, in which case i feel for you, or it could be "people" trying to discredit the reputation of the DO curriculum. "People" with something to lose. "People" that might be unable to match come 2015. Hmmmm.

Should I take the blue pill or the red pill . . .

I believe the reason is that DO students are on average weaker than MD students. There are people in DO school who would never have a chance in hell of being admitted to an MD program. At my school, there was a guy who was kicked out of another DO program, and then after the first semester here, he was kicked out AGAIN! MD programs would never take such a student. Sorry, but it's true.

 

[Bones DO]

I believe the reason is that DO students are on average weaker than MD students. There are people in DO school who would never have a chance in hell of being admitted to an MD program. At my school, there was a guy who was kicked out of another DO program, and then after the first semester here, he was kicked out AGAIN! MD programs would never take such a student. Sorry, but it's true.

That's undeniable based on entry stats but it is unrelated to the issue at hand. The point is it's generally easier to fail out of a DO school than an MD school. An MD student fails "y" number of classes and is given another chance, whereas a DO student fails "x" amount of classes where often "y" > "x" and is out on his/her ass before they realize wtf hit them.

The difference? When "life happens" to a student or first years have a false start or any other problem that causes academic trouble, MD schools work with him/her, many DO schools do not.

 

[Textbookversion]

Failing out of school would be about the worst thing ever.

As for people calling these people trolls, I'm not so sure. What is it like 5-10% of folks fail a year/get kicked out of DO school over the course of the first 2 years? That's 5-10% of 9-10k people right (the total enrollment in first and second year right now?) So 400+ people on the low end? That's a lot of people.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I believe the reason is that DO students are on average weaker than MD students. There are people in DO school who would never have a chance in hell of being admitted to an MD program. At my school, there was a guy who was kicked out of another DO program, and then after the first semester here, he was kicked out AGAIN! MD programs would never take such a student. Sorry, but it's true.

Unfortunately your argument is not really supported all that greatly by the stats. Charting outcomes don't really show much differences for pass rates and graduation rates between the average students at either.
However the OP obviously had a major issue that could easily have crippled him. And frankly in my opinion what his school committed can be seen as discriminatory as they did not even bother to acknowledge the fact that he was depressed and that could have impacted his performance, which in my opinion may be a violation of the Americans with disabilities act.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Failing out of school would be about the worst thing ever.

As for people calling these people trolls, I'm not so sure. What is it like 5-10% of folks fail a year/get kicked out of DO school over the course of the first 2 years? That's 5-10% of 9-10k people right (the total enrollment in first and second year right now?) So 400+ people on the low end? That's a lot of people.

But it's generally normal. People will drop out for a myriad of reasons, but 5% is acceptable. However when a school is pushing 15-20% in my opinion there should be probes done by higher ups to make sure that misconduct is not an issue. But again, COCA is too busy accrediting Liberty and United Health practitioners to be bothered with quality control of existing schools.