Do I absolutely need a letter from a DO?

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There's not that many DO schools that don't require a DO letter. If you're not picky about the school you want to go to, by all means try your luck.
 
KobeshouldbeaMD said:
Hey guys, I'm sorry if this topic is beat to death, but if I'm applying to DO schools do I have to have at least one LOR from a DO physician?

Thanks for your time.
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No you don't need a DO LOR.. I only had an MD LOR.. Just make sure not to apply to certain schools like LECOM and OSU. But majority of the schools only require a physician LOR (MD or DO)
 
Most schools just want a physician letter. There's only a few that explicitly require it be from a DO. That being said some schools do prefer a DO letter over an MD one. There are many people on SDN who've been accepted to DO schools with only an MD letter.


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It seems like several people post this question. Is it really that hard to find a DO to shadow or was I just lucky?
 
In some parts of the country it can be pretty difficult. I live in a pretty DO scarce region of the country and getting a DO letter (particularly a GOOD DO letter) wasn't easy and required pulling some strings and using connections - something a lot of applicants may not have.


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DoctorKrieger said:
It seems like several people post this question. Is it really that hard to find a DO to shadow or was I just lucky?
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It took me so long before I found a DO that allowed me to shadow him for 1 day...he agreed to write me a letter but ultimately I decided that I rather use a strong a LOR from an MD that I worked with and who knows me very well.
 
Even if it's not explicitly required, you'll be taken a lot less seriously without it. If you've shadowed a D.O., just ask, they're generally pretty nice about it and are willing to help out. If you haven't, then you should shadow one before your application because otherwise it looks like you're not really into the field.
 
I had 3 MD letters and no DO letters and I got II fro every school I applied to, albeit one of them was in palliative care
 
No, you don't need one. I didn't have one and everything worked out fine. It's much more important to have strong personal letters of rec. just because someone has DO after their name doesn't mean they write a strong letter of rec. It would definitely help though.

Edit: some schools do ask explicitly for a DO letter and in that case, yes you absolutely need one
 
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My part of the country isn't really DO deficient, I just really wanted to know because my stronger letters will probably be from my two MDs, rather than 1 MD and 1 DO. My stats are decently competitive for DO. (3.8/29) idk if that absolutely makes a difference or not.
 
This is my experience but I did not have a DO letter. Nor did I have an MD letter and of the 3 schools I applied to I got an interview at 2 of them and the third I withdrew from.
 
from my research of last year, only a few, no more than 5 of the 30 schools require a DO letter.
However, more than half of them say something to the effect of "strongly recommend" or "look favorably" on a DO letter.
 
Lost Vagus said:
No, you don't need one. I didn't have one and everything worked out fine. It's much more important to have strong personal letters of rec. just because someone has DO after their name doesn't mean they write a strong letter of rec. It would definitely help though.

Edit: some schools do ask explicitly for a DO letter and in that case, yes you absolutely need one
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Do you mind specifying which schools explicitly need one? And which schools don't really mind? Like which schools you applied too?

Does anyone know how PCOM, NYCOM or RowanSOM feel about letters?
 
KobeshouldbeaMD said:
Do you mind specifying which schools explicitly need one? And which schools don't really mind? Like which schools you applied too?

Does anyone know how PCOM, NYCOM or RowanSOM feel about letters?
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PCOM doesn't really care either way. I did not have a DO letter, but had several very strong MD letters. That's where I'm holding my current acceptance. However, a size able portion of my interview was discussing my experience shadowing a DO who does OMM exclusively. They were very interested, and I think really helped. I didn't end up getting a letter from him because I started shadowing him about the time I sent my application in last summer, and while he offered to write one, I was already completing secondaries and didn't think I NEEDEd it!
 
Thank you everyone so much. You guys are honestly some of the kindest people I've come across on this website, no snarky or satirical comments. You guys actually helped me out, like true physicians are supposed to do.

Thank you all, good luck.
 
You don't, but if you don't have one you better have a good reason to be going to DO school.
 
It is best to have a DO letter if you can, if it will be well written and a true representation of you. I would say, pick the MD letter over the DO letter if that doc knows you better and will write a better letter for you. Don't just have a DO letter just to have it from a DO.
 
Shadowing a physician is hard. Most doctors don't take premeds seriously and only save shadowing for med students or residents. I was lucky because my high school friend's dad is a DO. I also shadowed an MD who was my grandmas physician for 30'years..
So she hooked it up lol.
 
Chillywilly said:
Shadowing a physician is hard. Most doctors don't take premeds seriously and only save shadowing for med students or residents. I was lucky because my high school friend's dad is a DO. I also shadowed an MD who was my grandmas physician for 30'years..
So she hooked it up lol.
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That's not exactly accurate....
 
Chillywilly said:
Shadowing a physician is hard. Most doctors don't take premeds seriously and only save shadowing for med students or residents.
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1. A lot of it depends on hospital/clinic policy, how you approach the physician and present yourself (which is highly dependent on your maturity and professionalism), and where you are in the pre-med/application process. Regarding the latter statement, that "shadowing" is kinda required for clerkships and residency...
 
If you look at Osteopathic College admission book, many universities 'strongly recommend' DO letter... this means you Do not have to possess a DO letter but it helps.
 
No you do not. I had no physician LoR's and got interview invites from 3 well regarded DO schools.
 
I had both a DO and MD letter, only used the DO letter for two schools, received IIs from 5 schools with my MD letter. I used the MD because I knew him better and felt it would be a stronger recommendation, it really didn't hold me back at all.

That being said, some schools absolutely REQUIRE a DO letter. Some (the LECOMs) will actually give you a chance to sit down with a DO who will talk with you for a few minutes post-interview and offer you a LoR if you schedule it in advance.

Roughly 1 in 3 DO schools absolutely requires a DO letter, if my memory serves me correctly.
 
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