PA ADCOMS CAN SNIFF OUT AN MD WANNA- BE IN A HEARTBEAT. TRUST ME, I AM ONE OF THEM...
IF YOU WANT TO BE AN MD, GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL. IF YOU GO TO PA SCHOOL AND LATER DECIDE YOU WANT MD/DO(LIKE ME) IT TAKES MUCH LONGER TO GET BACK IN THE GAME. IT ALSO MAKES IT MUCH HARDER TO GET ANY KIND OF GRANT/LOAN/SCHOLARSHIP BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN WHY YOUR 100K INCOME IS NOT ENOUGH TO PAY FOR SCHOOL AND HAVE A LIFE AT THE SAME TIME. THEY(THE FINANCIAL AID FOLKS) DON'T UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPTS OF FAMILY/MORTGAGE/CAR LOANS, ETC. PA SCHOOL IS AN INTENSE EXPERIENCE AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED "MD LITE" FOR PURPOSES OF LIFESTYLE, ETC. AS A 1ST YEAR PA STUDENT I SPENT MANY MORE HOURS IN CLASS THAN MY 1ST YEAR MD FRIENDS, ALTHOUGH I WAS MAKING A LIVING YEARS EARLIER, SO THERE IS A TRADE OFF, BUT NONETHELESS, APPLY FOR THE PROGRAM YOU REALLY WANT FIRST. IF YOU WANT A BACKUP IN CASE YOU DON'T GET YOUR 1ST CHOICE OF SCHOOL, APPLY TO SOME LOWER TIER AND/OR STATE SCHOOLS THAT YOU KNOW YOU CAN GET INTO. IF YOUR APPLICATION IS BAD ENOUGH THAT THERE ARE NO SURE THINGS, RETAKE YOUR MCAT OR BOOST YOUR GPA.