DO-MD

[JF_chi_1]

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Currently accepted to many DO schools for fall 2015(all of which I applied to), but am sort of regretting my decision. I applied late because I took my MCAT in September, and didn't even fill out AMCAS. I scored well on the MCAT(31), and have a good undergraduate GPA, along with my current Master's GPA(affiliated with a DO school) at a 3.7. After talking to students at the school that I am planning on attending(same as I am at currently), they discouraged me to attend and suggested I consider applying for MD next cycle. This has been burning in the back of my mind for a while anyways, and I am torn between just sticking it out here or waiting a year to possibly attend an MD school.
During undergraduate years, I spent countless hours with a DO (whom is an electrophysiologist), and cardiology has become my main interest. Obviously this can change during medical school, and I will keep an open mind, but either way I really think I'd prefer to be at a university hospital as a resident and as an attending. I also want to make sure I get quality clinical years during medical school. Entrance to this school is pretty equivalent to lower-mid tier MD schools. My school claims to have great clinical years, and the residencies look about 50/50 DO/MD. However, my state school is half the tuition, and I really feel like I have more connections, and the school seems more like a community as opposed to here-everyone says that you don't really talk to that many classmates beginning 3rd year, and you are sort of isolated. Many also feel OMM is a waste of time, and cuts into time they could be spending to do research or simply to study.
Another thing I am considering is doing early decision program to see if I get accepted quickly, while simultaneously staying at the school I am now until I know for sure I am in the MD school(if this is possible). If I turned in the application June 1, how soon would I know my decision?
Also, would I have to decline the acceptance for current school to apply for EDP at all?
So, wait a year and apply or stay at the school? EDP?
Any advice would be great. Thanks again.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Moving to Pre-Osteo

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

.

 

[allantois]

Or risk not getting anywhere at all next time. Applying to multiple schools with no intentions of attending is poor decision making at its worse.

 

[deleted423719]

Wow this hits really close to home for me so I'm going to give you my 2 cents OP.

I was in a position similar to yours just about 2 year back (so that would be for the fall 2013 class). I applied on the later side and failed to get into any MDs (not a single interview) but got into all of the DOs I applied to save for PCOM. FYI my stats back then was cGPA: 3.14 sGPA: 3.28 MCAT: 37, non-trad engineer with couple of years of work experience. I was initially hyped about going to a DO school but during the interviews I met a guy who told me that I was an outlier among my peers. He made me realize that my MCAT score was literally 10 points higher than the avg for most DO programs. He also told me about these programs called SMPs and that I should try them out and attend a MD school instead. So I decided to do an SMP to boost my GPA and reapply to MDs. I ran into some personal issues during that year and my GPA for the program was less than what I hoped for (~3.4). I retook my MCAT and got a 38 and with those stats I was STILL unable to get a single interview from MD schools.

I've talked to many, many people and other than my GPA no one sees a red flag in my application so I'm not entirely sure why I couldn't even get a single interview but there it is.

Now I am getting ready to go to an interview at a school that accepted me previously... awkward~

If I could do it all over again, I would just stick with the DO program. Though the SMP did teach me much, it ended up costing me 80k and two years. I would be doing my clerkships atm if I wasn't so proud back then. Don't kid yourself into thinking that you're not doing this out of pride. You can graduate from a DO school and become a great and accomplished doctor or you could graduate from an MD school and become a ****ty doctor who prescribes antibiotics like candy. Will there be some discrimination for being a DO? Sure. Will it be significant enough for it to really matter if you're actually trying to become a great doctor? Not the slightest.

The way things are going, it's only looking up for DOs in general. I just really wish that there wasn't such a huge gap between the "best" DO schools and the "worst" MDs. Hopefully the constant huge influx of applications will overflow to DOs and make the schools a lot more competitive.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

Why torture yourself and be at an institution you don't like?

It's a PITA when I hear fellow students whine about DO schools. Work your butt off and get what you want. Go the allopathic route. You sound like you wouldn't be happy in a DO school.

When I hit the submit application button I knew I wanted to be at KCUMB.

Would those EDP applications ask if you have matriculated at another school? You would be required to say yes if you decide to go to the DO school.

It really depends on the school. You have to look in the student handbook to see when the latest date for dropping out is.

 

[costales]

Meh. Cancel out and hit restart. A world of fame and fortune awaits. Good luck.

 

[keevwu]

if you reapply DO, don't you have to let the DO schools know if you have been accepted to a DO school in previous years? or would they know you're a previously accepted reapplicant through AACOMAS? I'd think that if they knew you turned down a DO acceptance, it would look really bad. And if you don't get into any MD or DO schools when you reapply, then you'd be stuck with going to the Caribbean.

 

[user3]

if you reapply DO, don't you have to let the DO schools know if you have been accepted to a DO school in previous years? or would they know you're a previously accepted reapplicant through AACOMAS? I'd think that if they knew you turned down a DO acceptance, it would look really bad. And if you don't get into any MD or DO schools when you reapply, then you'd be stuck with going to the Caribbean.

it asks if you have matriculated, not if you've been accepted. You haven't "matriculated" until the school formally enrolls you and finalizes its class, I believe.

 

[Lord Boko]

it asks if you have matriculated, not if you've been accepted. You haven't "matriculated" until the school formally enrolls you and finalizes its class, I believe.

I was under the impression that there is a box for reapplicant and another for previously accepted into medical school. Also if you are a reapplicant wouldn't the reason for reapplying come up during the interview? It seems a little strange to me that if you are reapplying they wouldn't be able to tell if you had been accepted before. Granted, I am just a lowly premed and have yet to finish my prereqs let alone take the MCAT and apply to med schools, so chances are high that I have been misinformed.

 

[Stagg737]

I've talked to many, many people and other than my GPA no one sees a red flag in my application so I'm not entirely sure why I couldn't even get a single interview but there it is.

To be blunt, your undergrad GPA is far below the consideration of most MD schools and a 3.4 from an SMP won't cut it. I asked a few schools what I needed from my SMP, and for MD most said that if I couldn't hit a 3.6-3.7 I shouldn't bother applying. I hit around 3.8 and still got limited love from MD schools (though your MCAT is much better than mine was) with a 3.2 undergrad GPA. The bottom line is that the SMP is to prove you can excel in graduate level classes. A 3.4 doesn't meet that standard.

it asks if you have matriculated, not if you've been accepted. You haven't "matriculated" until the school formally enrolls you and finalizes its class, I believe.

I feel like there is someplace that asks if you've been accepted though. Maybe it's just a box in certain schools' secondaries, but I feel like I had to answer that question at some point. I could be mistaken though. Maybe @Goro would be willing to share his knowledge about this, as I do feel like schools do have a way of finding out if you declined previous acceptances...

 

[spyke570]

Take what you have and run. Imagine what would happen if you reapply and don't get into an MD school and possibly no DO schools since you got accepted by so many, they would see it if you decided to reapply.

You can do academics and become an attending at a university hospital as a DO. Don't be prideful and greedy and chase something you perceive to be better. You have the chance to become a physician that you might regret passing up later. The risk of saying damn I could've been in medical school is not worth the possibility of thinking "I wish I were an md and not a DO. the latter of the two is a pretty good problem to have while the former could haunt you for years

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I was under the impression that there is a box for reapplicant and another for previously accepted into medical school. Also if you are a reapplicant wouldn't the reason for reapplying come up during the interview? It seems a little strange to me that if you are reapplying they wouldn't be able to tell if you had been accepted before. Granted, I am just a lowly premed and have yet to finish my prereqs let alone take the MCAT and apply to med schools, so chances are high that I have been misinformed.

They can't. It's one of the lovely SDN myths that you get accepted to one and should never re-try because no school will ever accept you. I've known people that have let go from acceptances on hand and re-applied DO and gotten in without a problem.

OP, while I do think MD opens more doors and keeps you from some headaches, once you have an acceptance on hand, it's stupid to let it go. You should have thought about this before applying.

 

[Malcolm X]

you can attend the DO while you submit your Amcas lol

 

[cliquesh]

About 2/3 of DOs that apply for acgme cardiology match. I don't know if that makes you feel any better or worse.

 

[IslandStyle808]

Wow this hits really close to home for me so I'm going to give you my 2 cents OP.

I was in a position similar to yours just about 2 year back (so that would be for the fall 2013 class). I applied on the later side and failed to get into any MDs (not a single interview) but got into all of the DOs I applied to save for PCOM. FYI my stats back then was cGPA: 3.14 sGPA: 3.28 MCAT: 37, non-trad engineer with couple of years of work experience. I was initially hyped about going to a DO school but during the interviews I met a guy who told me that I was an outlier among my peers. He made me realize that my MCAT score was literally 10 points higher than the avg for most DO programs. He also told me about these programs called SMPs and that I should try them out and attend a MD school instead. So I decided to do an SMP to boost my GPA and reapply to MDs. I ran into some personal issues during that year and my GPA for the program was less than what I hoped for (~3.4). I retook my MCAT and got a 38 and with those stats I was STILL unable to get a single interview from MD schools.

I've talked to many, many people and other than my GPA no one sees a red flag in my application so I'm not entirely sure why I couldn't even get a single interview but there it is.

Now I am getting ready to go to an interview at a school that accepted me previously... awkward~

If I could do it all over again, I would just stick with the DO program. Though the SMP did teach me much, it ended up costing me 80k and two years. I would be doing my clerkships atm if I wasn't so proud back then. Don't kid yourself into thinking that you're not doing this out of pride. You can graduate from a DO school and become a great and accomplished doctor or you could graduate from an MD school and become a ****ty doctor who prescribes antibiotics like candy. Will there be some discrimination for being a DO? Sure. Will it be significant enough for it to really matter if you're actually trying to become a great doctor? Not the slightest.

The way things are going, it's only looking up for DOs in general. I just really wish that there wasn't such a huge gap between the "best" DO schools and the "worst" MDs. Hopefully the constant huge influx of applications will overflow to DOs and make the schools a lot more competitive.

Listen to this guy OP, he's right. I had a friend who choose a post-bacc (med school type courses) over a couple of DO acceptances. He made it through the post-bacc, got into the MD school linked to the program, and has match his top choice program. However, he told me it was the dumbest move he ever made. Why? Because the program was so brutal and he nearly failed twice (no grades just Pass/Fail). MS 1 and MS 2 were a breeze in comparison. He not only was so close to failing, but lost an extra 200K of potential salary because of that one extra year. The acceptance is a guarantee, don't lose that.

 

[Goro]

100% agree with my young colleague.

My schools only asks for matriculation status; we never know if someone has been accepted somewhere else.

To be blunt, your undergrad GPA is far below the consideration of most MD schools and a 3.4 from an SMP won't cut it. I asked a few schools what I needed from my SMP, and for MD most said that if I couldn't hit a 3.6-3.7 I shouldn't bother applying. I hit around 3.8 and still got limited love from MD schools (though your MCAT is much better than mine was) with a 3.2 undergrad GPA. The bottom line is that the SMP is to prove you can excel in graduate level classes. A 3.4 doesn't meet that standard.



I feel like there is someplace that asks if you've been accepted though. Maybe it's just a box in certain schools' secondaries, but I feel like I had to answer that question at some point. I could be mistaken though. Maybe @Goro would be willing to share his knowledge about this, as I do feel like schools do have a way of finding out if you declined previous acceptances...

 

[allantois]

100% agree with my young colleague.

My schools only asks for matriculation status; we never know if someone has been accepted somewhere else.

Is it different at MD schools?

 

[AM508]

It depends on whether you want to be a physician, or if you are obsessed with two letters behind your name. If you are dead set on MD, there are plenty of folks on the wait list who would take your DO seat in a heartbeat. I personally think giving up the seat you have for maybe getting into MD next year would be a bit foolish. I had a 3.7 and a 31 and a 10 year career in healthcare, applied equally to MD and DO in July, got interviews at all but 2 DO schools and was accepted at every place I interviewed. I got only 2 MD interviews very very late, one school would have been stupidly expensive 60k+ for base tuition, and the other was so late it would have been just a wait list interview. In short, it is far from a given that you would get into an MD school. I suppose this goes back to the old 'bird in hand vs two in the bush' sort of thing...

 

[Roxas]

Fwiw I was in a similar conundrum, as I had a good gpa and an MCAT 1 point below yours. I took my DO acceptance and I've been very surprised at how little I care about MD v DO after starting school, but it seemed so much more important as a pre-med. Yeah OMM isn't my favorite, and there are a few PDs who will discriminate because you're a DO, but chances are slim you'd be good enough for those programs anyway.

By all means, if the risk is worth it for you then wait and reapply. A part of me is kicking myself that I didn't take more summer classes to get this show on the road 1 year sooner, but that's just me.

 

[Goro]

MD schools do share info with each other.

Is it different at MD schools?

 

[cabinbuilder]

Don't be dumb. You have been accepted. Be the doctor you want to be. The only thing holding you back is yourself.

 

[Stagg737]

MD schools do share info with each other.

So is this simply a difference between MD and DO schools or are the some DO schools that also share info? Other than place like LECOM or the Tuoros where they have multiple locations of course. Also, when you say MD schools "share info", is this some unofficial word of mouth thing or is there some system in place where they can look up if an applicant has been previously accepted (at an MD or DO school)?

 

[Mjolner]

Don't be dumb. You have been accepted. Be the doctor you want to be. The only thing holding you back is yourself.

THIS. A million times this.

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

Maybe this guy COULD be a trollololololol.... jus puttin that out there..

 

[Goro]

The MD schools have a system where in Apr or May, they see where people are holding accepts, then about a month later, they see where all of their waitlisted people have accepts, or something like that. I forget the exact order, but basically, if you've been accepted by an MD school, by the time they start going to their wait lists, they know if their people are in somewhere else or not. This makes it easier for them to recruit wanted candidates by offering scholarships, etc, and to by perhaps bypass the weaker waitlisted people.

The DO schools do nothing like this. I just emailed a colleague at one of the Touros and he told me that they know nothing about what their other campuses are up to. In reality Touro-CA, TUNCOM and Touro-NY are as much competitors to each other as they are to, say AT Still and CCOM. I don't know if this applies to the LECOMs, VCOMs, the PCOMs, AT Still and SOMA, or CCOM and AZCOM.

So is this simply a difference between MD and DO schools or are the some DO schools that also share info? Other than place like LECOM or the Tuoros where they have multiple locations of course. Also, when you say MD schools "share info", is this some unofficial word of mouth thing or is there some system in place where they can look up if an applicant has been previously accepted (at an MD or DO school)?

 

[JF_chi_1]

It depends on whether you want to be a physician, or if you are obsessed with two letters behind your name. If you are dead set on MD, there are plenty of folks on the wait list who would take your DO seat in a heartbeat. I personally think giving up the seat you have for maybe getting into MD next year would be a bit foolish. I had a 3.7 and a 31 and a 10 year career in healthcare, applied equally to MD and DO in July, got interviews at all but 2 DO schools and was accepted at every place I interviewed. I got only 2 MD interviews very very late, one school would have been stupidly expensive 60k+ for base tuition, and the other was so late it would have been just a wait list interview. In short, it is far from a given that you would get into an MD school. I suppose this goes back to the old 'bird in hand vs two in the bush' sort of thing...

Not obsessed with letters, but rather concerned with opportunities later in my career. Additionally, the MD school I'd apply to is half the tuition(my state) if this particular DO school. Also, I moved pretty far from home - about a 24 hour drive.
Either way, I want to be a physician. I've never cared abut he two letters, but directors of residencies may.

 

[deleted423719]

Not obsessed with letters, but rather concerned with opportunities later in my career. Additionally, the MD school I'd apply to is half the tuition(my state) if this particular DO school. Also, I moved pretty far from home - about a 24 hour drive.
Either way, I want to be a physician. I've never cared abut he two letters, but directors of residencies may.

If you're actually being true to yourself and you really don't care about the two letters, take the DO and just go. The school I hope to be attending is expensive as well. My state school would cut my tuition in half easily. Yet I didn't get an accepted to it for a reason. Competition only rises with each passing year. There's a very real chance you might not be able to get acceptances anywhere and be dead in the water.

Most PDs won't discriminate because of your DO vs MD title (though there definitely are few who will) so using that excuse to throw away a year and a sure thing seems pretty weak to me. This coming from the guy who threw away a year and a lot of money for a lot of nothing.

No offense to my colleagues but for me, I legitimately thought that I would be surrounded by subpar classmates after looking at the stats back in 2013. Literally the only reason my GPA was so bad was because of my major allowed me to get a job even with a 3.0 and I thought I would pursue that field for the rest of my life. Hell I had a 3.89 on my organic/biological sciences all the way from basic bio to genetics and orgo. So I had a "legitimate" reason to try this again back then. However, I still think that I was being too prideful even though I told myself it was to make sure I would be surrounded by people who would spur me on to do better in school. I personally wish that I never met that kid who convinced me to apply to SMPs and try out for MDs. I was very much set on attending a good DO school and was excited for it beforehand...

Ultimately, it's up to you OP. Waste maybe 1-2 years of your life for a slim chance at MD (or no medicine at all) or attend a DO school? Which will it be? Can you really say that pride has nothing to do with it??

 

[kalat]

Not obsessed with letters, but rather concerned with opportunities later in my career. Additionally, the MD school I'd apply to is half the tuition(my state) if this particular DO school. Also, I moved pretty far from home - about a 24 hour drive.
Either way, I want to be a physician. I've never cared abut he two letters, but directors of residencies may.

I think tuition and location are two very important factors that you should definitely be thinking about carefully, but worrying so far ahead is counter-productive. School-specific considerations aside, by the time you've graduated medical school the entire healthcare landscape could change. Four years is a long time even if it doesn't feel like it. You'll also most likely be a significantly different person. I had absolutely no clue how I'd feel or where I'd be today four years ago.

Do what you feel like is the right thing to do based on the information you have right now, not what you expect in the future. Things change just as much as they stay the same.

 

[pattr]

OP, your stats are below average for most MD schools. It is getting more and more competitive to get into medical school each year. Take your DO acceptance and work hard, match into a university or well-known community ACGME internal medicine program and then work on getting into cardiology fellowship.

 

[Osteopath999]

Just my opinion, I think the OP can still apply to MD schools this coming cycle without having to decline acceptance at his DO school. Because by the time he submits his MD app in June, he may not officially matriculate or attend at any medical school. The AMCAS only asks if the applicant have matriculated or attended any medical school before. So I personally think it is possible for the OP to try MD application without a problem. However, he has to continue to attend DO school starting in July or August at the same time, this may take up his time with secondaries and cause time conflicts for the OP if interview is offered but it is all on the days the OP has exams or something related to school work. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[JF_chi_1]

Just my opinion, I think the OP can still apply to MD schools this coming cycle without having to decline acceptance at his DO school. Because by the time he submits his MD app in June, he may not officially matriculate or attend at any medical school. The AMCAS only asks if the applicant have matriculated or attended any medical school before. So I personally think it is possible for the OP to try MD application without a problem. However, he has to continue to attend DO school starting in July or August at the same time, this may take up his time with secondaries and cause time conflicts for the OP if interview is offered but it is all on the days the OP has exams or something related to school work. Correct me if I am wrong.

The above is what I've decided to do after speaking with the 3 medical schools in my state that I would attend. Applying won't hurt me, and I will decide later. FYI, my numbers are at the average or above for the schools for the person who decided to act like he knew my application/schools.

 

[Osteopath999]

So I personally think that you can try all the chances you have by applying to MD schools this coming cycle. I know you value your acceptance at the DO school you are holding. Since you haven't applied to MD schools, so you don't know how it goes with your stat for MD route. This keeps you curious all the time and makes you ask yourself what if.. What if..??? So I encourage you to try all the possible chances you have if you haven't wasted to see how it goes so that you won't regret and know your true potential !

The above is what I've decided to do after speaking with the 3 medical schools in my state that I would attend. Applying won't hurt me, and I will decide later. FYI, my numbers are at the average or above for the schools for the person who decided to act like he knew my application/schools.

 

[The_Sunny_Doc]

It sounds as if the OP made his decision. Just wanted to share that I wish I'd taken my DO apps seriously the first cycle I applied. Would already be finishing my first year now as opposed to starting this fall. My burning desire for an MD acceptance was baseless and cost me a year of potential earnings. There will be plenty of other students with 30+ MCATs who didn't get an MD acceptance to keep you company.

 

[JF_chi_1]

It sounds as if the OP made his decision. Just wanted to share that I wish I'd taken my DO apps seriously the first cycle I applied. Would already be finishing my first year now as opposed to starting this fall. My burning desire for an MD acceptance was baseless and cost me a year of potential earnings. There will be plenty of other student's with 30+ MCATs who didn't get an MD acceptance to keep you company.

Missing a year of potential earning for me is not completely true. Current school 60k and state school is about 33k. That's basically half the tuition, and half of the tuition that would accrue interest. Missing out on year of say 250/300k is not a concern considering I would be in about 320k debt plus all the interest as opposed to about 200k( roughly including all other expenses). The difference looks small, but interest is a huge factor. Also, there are many other factors than a year's earning potential, and I am very happy with my acceptance to DO. I just like to weigh options.

 

[keevwu]

The above is what I've decided to do after speaking with the 3 medical schools in my state that I would attend. Applying won't hurt me, and I will decide later. FYI, my numbers are at the average or above for the schools for the person who decided to act like he knew my application/schools.

that's going to cost you $40-80k, depending on when/if you get an acceptance. Acceptances don't go out til Oct 15th at the earliest, and you would have already paid for a semester of DO school tuition + room and board.

 

[Mjolner]

that's going to cost you $40-80k, depending on when/if you get an acceptance. Acceptances don't go out til Oct 15th at the earliest, and you would have already paid for a semester of DO school tuition + room and board.

Also, I don't know how dropping out of school would affect your repayment? Would you have to repay immediately. Would it affect your ability to get new loans?

 

[deleted423719]

So you're going to attend the DO school but apply to couple of MDs? Is this even allowed? Genuinely curious here. Also wouldn't you end up burning about 30k anyways at the very minimum? Compounding interest is a thing you know.

Also how will you answer the what will you be doing during the "gap year" questions???

 

[JimmyB123]

OP, your stats are below average for most MD schools. It is getting more and more competitive to get into medical school each year. Take your DO acceptance and work hard, match into a university or well-known community ACGME internal medicine program and then work on getting into cardiology fellowship.

A 3.7/31 is not below the average of most MD schools. Stop spewing nonsense.

 

[pattr]

A 3.7/31 is not below the average of most MD schools. Stop spewing nonsense.

I don't know if OP actually stated his undergrad sGPA/cGPA. The way he stated it in the original post was unclear to me, wasn't sure if he meant his masters GPA was 3.7 or his overall. And yeah, actually MCAT of 31 is slightly below the MD matriculant average from 2014. Either way, matriculating into a DO school then applying to MD isn't a very good plan. LizzyM has addressed this in a prior similar thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...school-while-attending-another-school.796991/.

You probably need to let go of the DO admission, ie. don't start your coursework there, so you can apply again.

 

[allantois]

A 3.7/31 is not below the average of most MD schools. Stop spewing nonsense.

Right at the average. But 3.7 was not cited as his undergrad GPA.

 

[Old&InTheWay]

The thing about averages though is that they include Mississippi.

 

[deleted423719]

The thing about averages though is that they include Mississippi.

I... what.

Anyhow the more I think about it, the more I feel like attending DO and applying to MDs is a really terrible idea. Even if you got the interview... damn you'd better hope they don't ask what you're up to these days...

 

[user3]

Wow this hits really close to home for me so I'm going to give you my 2 cents OP.

I was in a position similar to yours just about 2 year back (so that would be for the fall 2013 class). I applied on the later side and failed to get into any MDs (not a single interview) but got into all of the DOs I applied to save for PCOM. FYI my stats back then was cGPA: 3.14 sGPA: 3.28 MCAT: 37, non-trad engineer with couple of years of work experience. I was initially hyped about going to a DO school but during the interviews I met a guy who told me that I was an outlier among my peers. He made me realize that my MCAT score was literally 10 points higher than the avg for most DO programs. He also told me about these programs called SMPs and that I should try them out and attend a MD school instead. So I decided to do an SMP to boost my GPA and reapply to MDs. I ran into some personal issues during that year and my GPA for the program was less than what I hoped for (~3.4). I retook my MCAT and got a 38 and with those stats I was STILL unable to get a single interview from MD schools.

I've talked to many, many people and other than my GPA no one sees a red flag in my application so I'm not entirely sure why I couldn't even get a single interview but there it is.

Now I am getting ready to go to an interview at a school that accepted me previously... awkward~

If I could do it all over again, I would just stick with the DO program. Though the SMP did teach me much, it ended up costing me 80k and two years. I would be doing my clerkships atm if I wasn't so proud back then. Don't kid yourself into thinking that you're not doing this out of pride. You can graduate from a DO school and become a great and accomplished doctor or you could graduate from an MD school and become a ****ty doctor who prescribes antibiotics like candy. Will there be some discrimination for being a DO? Sure. Will it be significant enough for it to really matter if you're actually trying to become a great doctor? Not the slightest.

The way things are going, it's only looking up for DOs in general. I just really wish that there wasn't such a huge gap between the "best" DO schools and the "worst" MDs. Hopefully the constant huge influx of applications will overflow to DOs and make the schools a lot more competitive.

people looking into SMP's should read posts like this. There are some decent programs out there for those set on an MD acceptance, but people really need to be very careful, do their research on them and go in with eyes wide open, or they could end up with a ton of debt and nothing to show for it. Even the best SMP's are expensive gambles and offer no guarantees.

 

[JF_chi_1]

I... what.

Anyhow the more I think about it, the more I feel like attending DO and applying to MDs is a really terrible idea. Even if you got the interview... damn you'd better hope they don't ask what you're up to these days...

I didn't realize it was frowned upon.. My main reasons are the MD schools I would be applying to are all home for me (Chicago area). I really don't know how I feel about about omm, and the tuition is very expensive here.

 

[IslandStyle808]

So you're going to attend the DO school but apply to couple of MDs? Is this even allowed? Genuinely curious here. Also wouldn't you end up burning about 30k anyways at the very minimum? Compounding interest is a thing you know.

Also how will you answer the what will you be doing during the "gap year" questions???

EDIT: never mind thought you meant defer acceptance.

 

[IslandStyle808]

Just my opinion, I think the OP can still apply to MD schools this coming cycle without having to decline acceptance at his DO school. Because by the time he submits his MD app in June, he may not officially matriculate or attend at any medical school. The AMCAS only asks if the applicant have matriculated or attended any medical school before. So I personally think it is possible for the OP to try MD application without a problem. However, he has to continue to attend DO school starting in July or August at the same time, this may take up his time with secondaries and cause time conflicts for the OP if interview is offered but it is all on the days the OP has exams or something related to school work. Correct me if I am wrong.

Yes this is true for the most part. However, you don't want to be at the interview and have that one interviewer that asks "have you been accepted to other schools?"

 

[deleted423719]

I didn't realize it was frowned upon.. My main reasons are the MD schools I would be applying to are all home for me (Chicago area). I really don't know how I feel about about omm, and the tuition is very expensive here.

Well LizzyM didn't find it too pleasing to hear that someone else was trying to do the same thing. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...ng-another-school.796991/page-2#post-10587414

Even though everyone knows DOs will rank lower than MDs for competitive residencies, they will question your motives for applying to MDs while attending a DO school. I personally find MD adcoms being offended by students trying to maximize their chance at getting into good residencies a bit offending considering how they tend to treat us applicants but opinion doesn't matter. They hold all the cards in this game and if they find this kind of practice to be distasteful, it's not going to go well for you.

I will say that I don't see some sort of a huge personally liability in you doing this though. At worst you're down ~500 bucks, having awkward as f interviews and burning bridges to certain MD schools... but the last point doesn't even matter if you take this route. I won't lie, the tuition reduction is does sound really good...

In the real world this is exactly how a job search works. You get an okay job to hold you over while you look for a better one. Hell your "okay" job increases your chance of getting a better job. But here in old-fashioned medical world, medical schools and residencies programs try their best to hold the most amount of cards to the detriment of students and applicants. I wish they would use some of that time spent coming up with good algorithms to instead try and optimize their schools and lower tuition cost. But hey, they don't have to pay that, you do!

 

[tictac3]

sincerely sorry to re-ignite this thread but im honestly interested to see how this played out haha does anyone know what ended up happening?

 

[DrMikeP]

To be blunt, your undergrad GPA is far below the consideration of most MD schools and a 3.4 from an SMP won't cut it. I asked a few schools what I needed from my SMP, and for MD most said that if I couldn't hit a 3.6-3.7 I shouldn't bother applying. I hit around 3.8 and still got limited love from MD schools (though your MCAT is much better than mine was) with a 3.2 undergrad GPA. The bottom line is that the SMP is to prove you can excel in graduate level classes. A 3.4 doesn't meet that standard.



I feel like there is someplace that asks if you've been accepted though. Maybe it's just a box in certain schools' secondaries, but I feel like I had to answer that question at some point. I could be mistaken though. Maybe @Goro would be willing to share his knowledge about this, as I do feel like schools do have a way of finding out if you declined previous acceptances...

Depends on the med school as to what they specifically ask in secondaries. I remember one asking about previous acceptances and another about have you ever attended med school.

OP: You have to decide, but go into the decision knowing that if you give up a spot in a DO med school you might be giving up med school in general. So decide if that is worth the risk. You should have considered this sooner and maybe shot for early admissions at some MD programs this round. I know of at least one DO school that frowns heavily on those who turned down a previous DO acceptance, as your poor decision making wasted a lot of school's/adcom's time. That said, if you are set on an MD then go for it and give the DO slot to someone who would absolutely love to become a DO! I personally don't want to get stuck in class with someone who whines, "I could have been an MD."