DO or MD...???

[ERDOtobe11]

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A question for the experienced... I read in a DO journal that it is frowned upon to apply to both DO and MD schools because the DO schools think that you are using them as your backup...what does everyone think about that??? I am applying in a month after I get my MCAT scores and I really want to go to NOVA 100% completely so I am not even sure if it is necessary to apply to a bunch of MD schools anyways...

THOUGHTS and COMMENTARY PLEASE🙂

 

[chudat]

it is frowned upon.

if you are absolutely sure of going DO, then apply only to DO schools then.

 

[bioteach]

Apply anywhere you think you might like to go. I applied to about 50/50 MD/DO and got into every DO school to which I attended an interview, and all the others gave me interview that I declined. Not one gave a hoot about where I applied. If you are not interested in attending MD, then don't bother. But don't worry about it "looking bad" to DO programs.

 

[LateBl00meR]

How would they know unless you tell them...

 

[Chocolate Bear]

it is frowned upon.

if you are absolutely sure of going DO, then apply only to DO schools then.

False.

Apply anywhere you think you might like to go. I applied to about 50/50 MD/DO and got into every DO school to which I attended an interview, and all the others gave me interview that I declined. Not one gave a hoot about where I applied. If you are not interested in attending MD, then don't bother. But don't worry about it "looking bad" to DO programs.

Exactly. Most DO applicants apply to MD schools too (for a multitude of reasons), and they don't have any problems.

How would they know unless you tell them...

Exactly. A few schools will ask, but they won't care.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

That's ******ed. Why would it be frowned upon? Everyone applies to both.

 

[ShyRem]

False. Apply where you want to apply. MD, DO, both. Whatever.

 

[MossPoh]

Evidently the schools I interviewed at didn't get the memo about it being frowned upon. I applied to over 30 schools and only half were MD.

 

[Siggy]

Repeate after me, "Medical school, osteopathic or allopathic, is difficult to get into, so I applied to many schools to maximinze my chance of getting in."

 

[swamprat]

Repeate after me, "Medical school, osteopathic or allopathic, is difficult to get into, so I applied to many schools to maximinze my chance of getting in."

qft 👍

 

[Thriller]

The only way that I could see it hurting you at all is if you go into a DO interview and know nothing about OMM or "DO philosophy". Then they might think that you're only there as a backup. If you show them that you know what a DO is then they won't care at all if you've applied to both MD/DO. They know that most applicants' primary goal is to become a physician, either way they can attain it.

 

[coffeeeandtea]

it is frowned upon.

if you are absolutely sure of going DO, then apply only to DO schools then.

where did you get this information? i would think the only reason why DO schools may frown upon applying MD+DO would be if, as Thriller said, you went into the DO application process without knowing anything about the degree/OMM in general

 

[JaggerPlate]

As someone already wisely stated ... your goal should be simple 'get into medical school and become a physician.' Though the goal is simplistic, it is NOT easy to achieve. Ergo, to maximize your overall chances, you should apply to a large, but reasonable amount of medical schools (which you would potentially attend). This includes MD and DO. Interviewers/ADCOMs will respect your maturity and grasp on the situation.

 

[schussboarder]

A question for the experienced... I read in a DO journal that it is frowned upon to apply to both DO and MD schools because the DO schools think that you are using them as your backup...what does everyone think about that??? I am applying in a month after I get my MCAT scores and I really want to go to NOVA 100% completely so I am not even sure if it is necessary to apply to a bunch of MD schools anyways...

THOUGHTS and COMMENTARY PLEASE🙂

It certainly doesn't matter if you apply to MD and DO schools at the same time. As of nova, on their secondary application it asks you to list all of the schools you applied to....I listed around 15 schools if I remember...surely I don't think they believed I was using them as a backup to other schools. All schools can't possibly think that you will only be applying to their school exclusively regardless of MD or DO. If you also apply DO, make sure you know some of the philosophy behind OMM and the history. As stated before, if you don't know what OMM is or any osteopathic history a DO school would be a lot more apprehensive to accepting you...just don't be ignorant to the minor differences that differentiate between an MD and DO education

 

[JeetKuneDo]

The only way that I could see it hurting you at all is if you go into a DO interview and know nothing about OMM or "DO philosophy". Then they might think that you're only there as a backup. If you show them that you know what a DO is then they won't care at all if you've applied to both MD/DO. They know that most applicants' primary goal is to become a physician, either way they can attain it.

How much do you have to know about OMM and the "DO philosophy?" I just know right now that I'm not really well versed in the DO philosophy, I am just gonna apply so I can be a doc.

 

[bioman2006]

.

 

[Thriller]

How much do you have to know about OMM and the "DO philosophy?" I just know right now that I'm not really well versed in the DO philosophy, I am just gonna apply so I can be a doc.

Don't stress out about it too much. The fact that you are aware that OMM exists and that DO's attempt to look at and heal the body as a whole, instead of as a specific symptom is usually sufficient. In my case it was more important that I had shadowed a DO and that I had some real-life experience interacting with DO's. They never really asked deeply probing questions into my knowledge of DO history. I would still recommend reading a book about the history of Osteopathic Medicine since the more you know, the more you can draw from in an interview.

 

[ODorDO]

it really sucks cos its almost impossible to weed out who is applying to D.O. as a backup; people can totally get pass the interview and get in... im starting to doubt that aacomas is tryin to share database with aamc =/

 

[DCDocGal]

Apply anywhere you think you might like to go. I applied to about 50/50 MD/DO and got into every DO school to which I attended an interview, and all the others gave me interview that I declined. Not one gave a hoot about where I applied. If you are not interested in attending MD, then don't bother. But don't worry about it "looking bad" to DO programs.

Did you end up going to a DO school? I'm considering DO school for the first time for a variety of reasons and might do something similar to you as far as applying to both.

 

[RySerr21]

Did you end up going to a DO school? I'm considering DO school for the first time for a variety of reasons and might do something similar to you as far as applying to both.

Lots of people I apply to both MD/DO, myself included. It doesnt matter whatsoever. Your goal should be to find the best school for you. Why eliminate 29 schools just because of the degree you'll get? It doesnt make sense. Thats why I applied to both and thats why many apply to both. At the end of the day, the decision shouldnt be DO or MD, it should be "which school will i be happiest at?" If you are miserable because of the location, the students, the faculty, the curriculum, or whatever, your grades and your future will suffer. Now on the flip side really looki into OMM and what its all about, if you think you would hate learning it then DONT apply to DO. You'll be miserable for 2 years and bitch about how you have to do it every week. But of course, if its your only option then you may just have to suck it up and do what you gotta do to become a doc.

 

[Anita817]

A question for the experienced... I read in a DO journal that it is frowned upon to apply to both DO and MD schools because the DO schools think that you are using them as your backup...what does everyone think about that??? I am applying in a month after I get my MCAT scores and I really want to go to NOVA 100% completely so I am not even sure if it is necessary to apply to a bunch of MD schools anyways...

THOUGHTS and COMMENTARY PLEASE🙂

What journal did you read this in? I'm interested to know... I can only assume your interpretation of what was said was taken out of context. There are too many variables going into a decision on where to apply--surely most DO schools don't assume they're a backup simply by nature of the fact that an applicant applied to MD schools too. What if the applicant just applied to all the schools in the state whether DO or MD? I don't understand the deductive reasoning that would lead a school to believe it's a backup just based on a list.

 

[Doctor Bob]

A question for the experienced... I read in a DO journal that it is frowned upon to apply to both DO and MD schools because the DO schools think that you are using them as your backup...what does everyone think about that???

It's frowned on... if you go to the interview and tell them that you're applying there as a backup.

But that would be the case at any school.

"Yes sir, I'd like to come here to Yale, but Harvard is my top choice. I wanted to apply here as a backup just in case."

 

[The Poet Sings]

I think it would be suspicious if you applied to MD schools the first day AMCAS opened, and then waited until like... January to apply to DO schools, and then mentioned this at DO interviews. Then it would look like you were waiting for news from the MD schools before bothering with DO schools. The only way it wouldn't look bad would be if you hadn't heard of DO schools until January, and so applied as soon as you found out about them. But of course, that would need to be expressed.

 

[Bacchus]

How much do you have to know about OMM and the "DO philosophy?" I just know right now that I'm not really well versed in the DO philosophy, I am just gonna apply so I can be a doc.

Regarding the fluency in DO philosophy:

I didn't talk about the philosophy in my interviews. I mainly focused on OMM but didn't spew "whole person, holistic, etc." I couldn't name even one of the 4 tenets of osteopathic medicine during VCOM's presentation on the field. It didn't hurt me. I did however have "osteopathic experiences": shadowing a DO and having OMM done on me.

 

[drmsm]

A question for the experienced... I read in a DO journal that it is frowned upon to apply to both DO and MD schools because the DO schools think that you are using them as your backup...what does everyone think about that??? I am applying in a month after I get my MCAT scores and I really want to go to NOVA 100% completely so I am not even sure if it is necessary to apply to a bunch of MD schools anyways...

THOUGHTS and COMMENTARY PLEASE🙂

The DO schools know people apply to MD programs (mostly). Of course, if you tell them "this is a backup" (and yes, it's been done by people, rather foolishly), then you're doing yourself a major disservice.

Apply where you want, depending on the program and location (which are often the two top reasons for attending a place, aside from "only one i got into"). I did this, mostly by location and applied DO only because I had fantastic mentors and succeeded in that application process.

Good luck.

M