DO School List

[egyptianboy1]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hello,

I am a new member of SDN so please forgive me if this thread is in the wrong location. I am graduating UCI this June and planning on applying to solely osteopathic schools. My cumulative GPA is a 3.601, science GPA is a 3.476. MCAT score is a 502 (currently studying to retake). I just wanted some input regarding a potential school list. I am a CA ORM applicant. GPA has an upwards trend beginning from junior year. My EC's are listed below.

Research:
Clinical Research (Emergency Medicine Research Program)- Liaison for wrist fracture overprescription (Increased my passion for osteopathic medicine): Started 1.5 years ago

Bench Research (Breast Cancer): Started 2 years ago
Bench Research (HIV Lab): 2017-2018

Volunteering:
COPE Health Scholars Program: Started 1.5 years ago


Shadowing:
Internal Medicine Physician (MD): 100 hours
Family Medicine Physician (DO): 120 hours

Publications:
- Recently published in UCI Journal for Biological Science

Leadership:
-President of a Middle Eastern Charity (Started two years ago)
- Doctors Without Borders Social Media Chair (Started 1 year ago)

Experience+ other EC's:
- Bio Peer Tutor (1 year long)
- AMSA member (2 years)
- Scribe at free church clinic (1 year)

- Working on getting scribe/MA job for gap year. Also considering EMT certification.

Am I competitive for any DO schools? If so, which schools? Please let me know if I left out any important information! Thank you all for your help.

 

[egyptianboy1]

@Goro

 

[Mkif586]

it seems that you have a research heavy app yet no service to others. It looks more like you want to be a scientist not a doctor. You don’t need MA/EMT, you need to get out of the lab and help those who need it not in medical way. Homeless shelter or soap kitchens will be good places to start.

 

[Basil_Bond]

it seems that you have a research heavy app yet no service to others. It looks more like you want to be a scientist not a doctor. You don’t need MA/EMT, you need to get out of the lab and help those who need it not in medical way. Homeless shelter or soap kitchens will be good places to start.

I don't see where your remarks are coming from. The OP seems to have strong research but a lot of other ECs that demonstrate service and clinical exposure.

 

[Mkif586]

I don't see where your remarks are coming from. The OP seems to have strong research but a lot of other ECs that demonstrate service and clinical exposure.

I see only scribing which great but clinical. I don’t see anything non clinical.

 

[Basil_Bond]

I see only scribing which great but clinical. I don’t see anything non clinical.

Would the charity not count? I know many people with worse non-clinical who got into MD or DO schools. I got several MD and DO interviews and got accepted to all DO I interviewed at with a similar GPA. Non-clinical was just OK on my app with no formal leadership positions. I had much stronger MCAT and clinical+research though.

I do have to say those shadowing hours seem like stretch though.

 

[Mkif586]

Would the charity not count? I know many people with worse non-clinical get into schools. I got several DO interviews and got accepted to all I interviewed at with a similar GPA. Non-clinical was just OK on my app with no formal leadership positions. I had much stronger MCAT and clinical+research though.

I do have to say those shadowing hours seem like stretch though.

I don’t think administrative position counts as non clinical volunteering. It is too easy to serve others when you don’t have to leave your nice office.

 

[8YearsLate]

Hello,

I am a new member of SDN so please forgive me if this thread is in the wrong location. I am graduating UCI this June and planning on applying to solely osteopathic schools. My cumulative GPA is a 3.601, science GPA is a 3.476. MCAT score is a 502 (currently studying to retake). I just wanted some input regarding a potential school list. I am a CA ORM applicant. GPA has an upwards trend beginning from junior year. My EC's are listed below.

Research:
Clinical Research (Emergency Medicine Research Program)- Liaison for wrist fracture overprescription (Increased my passion for osteopathic medicine): Started 1.5 years ago

Bench Research (Breast Cancer): Started 2 years ago
Bench Research (HIV Lab): 2017-2018

Volunteering:
COPE Health Scholars Program: Started 1.5 years ago


Shadowing:
Internal Medicine Physician (MD): 100 hours
Family Medicine Physician (DO): 120 hours

Publications:
- Recently published in UCI Journal for Biological Science

Leadership:
-President of a Middle Eastern Charity (Started two years ago)
- Doctors Without Borders Social Media Chair (Started 1 year ago)

Experience+ other EC's:
- Bio Peer Tutor (1 year long)
- AMSA member (2 years)
- Scribe at free church clinic (1 year)

- Working on getting scribe/MA job for gap year. Also considering EMT certification.

Am I competitive for any DO schools? If so, which schools? Please let me know if I left out any important information! Thank you all for your help.

I'd say you are definitely competitive for DO and if you hit a 510+ competitive for MD without really having to do too much more. Do some more volunteering you enjoy, or a clinical job you enjoy. Don't just do it for the app - do something that actually speaks to you and it will naturally make your app (and personal statement, interview etc.) stand out.

 

[Goro]

Hello,

I am a new member of SDN so please forgive me if this thread is in the wrong location. I am graduating UCI this June and planning on applying to solely osteopathic schools. My cumulative GPA is a 3.601, science GPA is a 3.476. MCAT score is a 502 (currently studying to retake). I just wanted some input regarding a potential school list. I am a CA ORM applicant. GPA has an upwards trend beginning from junior year. My EC's are listed below.

Research:
Clinical Research (Emergency Medicine Research Program)- Liaison for wrist fracture overprescription (Increased my passion for osteopathic medicine): Started 1.5 years ago

Bench Research (Breast Cancer): Started 2 years ago
Bench Research (HIV Lab): 2017-2018

Volunteering:
COPE Health Scholars Program: Started 1.5 years ago


Shadowing:
Internal Medicine Physician (MD): 100 hours
Family Medicine Physician (DO): 120 hours

Publications:
- Recently published in UCI Journal for Biological Science

Leadership:
-President of a Middle Eastern Charity (Started two years ago)
- Doctors Without Borders Social Media Chair (Started 1 year ago)

Experience+ other EC's:
- Bio Peer Tutor (1 year long)
- AMSA member (2 years)
- Scribe at free church clinic (1 year)

- Working on getting scribe/MA job for gap year. Also considering EMT certification.

Am I competitive for any DO schools? If so, which schools? Please let me know if I left out any important information! Thank you all for your help.

Any DO program, except the Touros, AZCOM and CCOM, for whom your MCAT is too low. PCOM might be iffy. Include UNECOM if you’re from the NE, OSUCOM if you’re from the Plains states and PacNW if you’re from that region. I can't recommend ARCOM, RVU, Nova, BCOM, ICOM and LUCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide. LMU has an accreditation warning, which concerns me. CUHS is too new and appears to be too limited in rotations sites. Avoid those new schools that haven't graduated a class yet, if at all possible.

 

[Mkif586]

Any DO program, except the Touros, AZCOM and CCOM, for whom your MCAT is too low. PCOM might be iffy. Include UNECOM if you’re from the NE, OSUCOM if you’re from the Plains states and PacNW if you’re from that region. I can't recommend ARCOM, RVU, Nova, BCOM, ICOM and LUCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide. LMU has an accreditation warning, which concerns me. CUHS is too new and appears to be too limited in rotations sites. Avoid those new schools that haven't graduated a class yet, if at all possible.

What’s up with RVU?

 

[egyptianboy1]

it seems that you have a research heavy app yet no service to others. It looks more like you want to be a scientist not a doctor. You don’t need MA/EMT, you need to get out of the lab and help those who need it not in medical way. Homeless shelter or soap kitchens will be good places to start.

I am sorry I may have not put enough details. The charity I am involved with has been involved in feeding the homeless on Skid Row, raising funds to send to Syria in order to build an educational center for children in this region. I appreciate your input and will work on my non-clinical volunteering, however my position at the charity is not one I would consider administrative due to many fundraising and volunteering opportunities that did not occur in an office as mentioned. I will try to focus on getting more non-clinical volunteering! Thank you again for your feedback.

 

[egyptianboy1]

Any DO program, except the Touros, AZCOM and CCOM, for whom your MCAT is too low. PCOM might be iffy. Include UNECOM if you’re from the NE, OSUCOM if you’re from the Plains states and PacNW if you’re from that region. I can't recommend ARCOM, RVU, Nova, BCOM, ICOM and LUCOM, for different reasons. MSUCOM? Read up on Larry Nasser and you decide. LMU has an accreditation warning, which concerns me. CUHS is too new and appears to be too limited in rotations sites. Avoid those new schools that haven't graduated a class yet, if at all possible.

Thank you so much for your feedback. Do you think It is wise to retake my MCAT if I am applying to solely osteopathic schools?

 

[egyptianboy1]

I'd say you are definitely competitive for DO and if you hit a 510+ competitive for MD without really having to do too much more. Do some more volunteering you enjoy, or a clinical job you enjoy. Don't just do it for the app - do something that actually speaks to you and it will naturally make your app (and personal statement, interview etc.) stand out.

Thank you very much for your feedback. I am planning to retake the MCAT this summer to be more competitive for MD schools. I appreciate your advice and will definitely try to find a clinical opportunity that I truly enjoy and can speak extensively about!

 

[Basil_Bond]

I am sorry I may have not put enough details. The charity I am involved with has been involved in feeding the homeless on Skid Row, raising funds to send to Syria in order to build an educational center for children in this region. I appreciate your input and will work on my non-clinical volunteering, however my position at the charity is not one I would consider administrative due to many fundraising and volunteering opportunities that did not occur in an office as mentioned. I will try to focus on getting more non-clinical volunteering! Thank you again for your feedback.

Based on what you're saying here, I highly highly doubt that you are deficient in non-clinical EC. Your biggest weakness is the MCAT. Outside of that, you should prob just meaningfully grow in whatever area feels natural (clinical or research) and *maintain* some commitment to community service . Be careful with your school list though if you apply MD even if you get a high MCAT. Don't apply to reaches and complete early.

 

[drstranger]

I'll put my .02 since I was an over-represented applicant from CA with a little higher MCAT but a similar GPA. I think you need to apply broad and don't bother applying CA-MD unless you get 510 on your retake. Below is a list, I personally would avoid any school that has not matched a class yet. I removed most of the schools goro suggested, most of them would be a waste to apply to.
Here is a list with some notes about DO schools,
ATSU-Kirksville
ATSU-SOMA AZ
ACOM
ARCOM
Campbell
Cal health com- have not matched a class yet
DMU
VCOM-V
VCOM-Auburn
VCOM- Monroe
VCOM-LA- have not matched a class yet
KCUCOM- stretch
KCUCOM-Joplin
LECOM-Bradenton (with LECOM keep in mind learning style of each campus)
LECOM-PA
LECOM-Elmira- have not matched a class yet
LECOM-Seton Hill
DCOM
DCOM-Knoxville - have not matched a class yet
MUCOM
NYITCOM
Noorda- AVOID
NOVA- Some say avoid
Nova-Clearwater- have not matched a class yet
PNW- I interviewed here but I had some connections
PCOM-P- stretch with your current stats
PCOM-G
PCOM-SG have not matched a class yet
Rowan
Sam Huston- has not matched a class yet
K-COM- Pikeville
Incarnate Word
WVCOM
Western-CA- stretch with your current stats
Western-O
WCU

What’s up with RVU?

It's a good school but the problems with RVU are mostly with the parent organization doing shady stuff, not reporting full stats on matches, and not showing individual campus matches. Also, RVU is owned by SGU a Caribbean medical school which seems to be a conflict of interest because when they reject applicants they send an ad to apply to SGU. I think RVU-CO is still a good school, I would avoid SU though.

 

[Goro]

Thank you so much for your feedback. Do you think It is wise to retake my MCAT if I am applying to solely osteopathic schools?

Nope. I also agree in hindsight that PCOM will be more difficult.

 

[Calizboosted76]

I'll put my .02 since I was an over-represented applicant from CA with a little higher MCAT but a similar GPA. I think you need to apply broad and don't bother applying CA-MD unless you get 510 on your retake. Below is a list, I personally would avoid any school that has not matched a class yet. I removed most of the schools goro suggested, most of them would be a waste to apply to.
Here is a list with some notes about DO schools,
ATSU-Kirksville
ATSU-SOMA AZ
ACOM
ARCOM
Campbell
Cal health com- have not matched a class yet
DMU
VCOM-V
VCOM-Auburn
VCOM- Monroe
VCOM-LA- have not matched a class yet
KCUCOM- stretch
KCUCOM-Joplin
LECOM-Bradenton (with LECOM keep in mind learning style of each campus)
LECOM-PA
LECOM-Elmira- have not matched a class yet
LECOM-Seton Hill
DCOM
DCOM-Knoxville - have not matched a class yet
MUCOM
NYITCOM
Noorda- AVOID
NOVA- Some say avoid
Nova-Clearwater- have not matched a class yet
PNW- I interviewed here but I had some connections
PCOM-P- stretch with your current stats
PCOM-G
PCOM-SG have not matched a class yet
Rowan
Sam Huston- has not matched a class yet
K-COM- Pikeville
Incarnate Word
WVCOM
Western-CA- stretch with your current stats
Western-O
WCU


It's a good school but the problems with RVU are mostly with the parent organization doing shady stuff, not reporting full stats on matches, and not showing individual campus matches. Also, RVU is owned by SGU a Caribbean medical school which seems to be a conflict of interest because when they reject applicants they send an ad to apply to SGU. I think RVU-CO is still a good school, I would avoid SU though.

You wouldn’t suggest ICOM? I know they are newer and I don’t think that this individual necessarily needs it. However it may be a good idea to include.

 

[drstranger]

You wouldn’t suggest ICOM? I know they are newer and I don’t think that this individual necessarily needs it. However it may be a good idea to include.

I would not, I know a few students and with what I have heard it's just my opinion that there are better schools. A big red flag for me is they should be able to offer federal loans now, but they are not able to yet.

 

[deleted1066189]

I would not, I know a few students and with what I have heard it's just my opinion that there are better schools. A big red flag for me is they should be able to offer federal loans now, but they are not able to yet.

this...just because an SDN user with 16 DO interviews chose ICOM, doesn't mean anyone else should.

List looks good, but I would take off WCU (they have similar issues to LMU-DCOM, and the sudden class size expansion doesn't help. That said, YMMV?)

 

[ymmvdo]

Sharing my experience as a CA ORM as well. 3.6~ 501. Pretty similar app, II at Western and KCU + several other newer schools. Definitely just go for it! Apply broadly and early and you'll be fine. Retake if you want to try MD imo.

Personally I felt my essays and my interview saved my low MCAT. But if they interview you your stats are likely fine even tho I had a 501.

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

What’s up with RVU?

From what I’ve read here, Goro doesn’t like for-profit schools. They’re owned by SGU, a Caribbean diploma mill. Their branch in Utah had to SOAP an absurdly high proportion of its graduating class although I concede that their main campus consistently has an impressive match.

 

[8YearsLate]

I would not, I know a few students and with what I have heard it's just my opinion that there are better schools. A big red flag for me is they should be able to offer federal loans now, but they are not able to yet.

Woah wtf? How does anyone afford to go? They are forced to apply for private loans? Obviously that weeds out anyone with a less than perfect credit score. I'd be horrified to find that out too late in the game. Should be a disclaimer before you submit a secondary.

 

[Calizboosted76]

this...just because an SDN user with 16 DO interviews chose ICOM, doesn't mean anyone else should.

List looks good, but I would take off WCU (they have similar issues to LMU-DCOM, and the sudden class size expansion doesn't help. That said, YMMV?)

That has nothing to do with my reasoning. I was accepted there and loved everyone/everything there. While yes its a new school, someone who is uneventful in a cycle and gets an acceptance to ICOM can be successful. However @drstranger the loan issue was a turn off for me and I am glad I was accepted else where.