General timeline of when to expect a decision from a DO school?

[arc5005]

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Hi there. I couldn't find a good (recent) thread about when to expect a decision. I'm not in the current application cycle, but I plan on applying (finally) next cycle.

I plan on applying first week or two of the application cycle, and hopeful secondaries by late summer, early fall. I've heard that people generally start getting interviews in the fall, but I was curious how soon do people start getting acceptances (and rejections)? I've talked to plenty of people who didn't get acceptances until January and some into March, and those who were waitlisted, hearing back in April/May.

Can anyone give me their personal experience with their application timeline, please?

 

[acbakshi]

I think it really varies, but I applied late July, got secondaries in August, interviewed in September, and I have received acceptance to 1 school thus far.

 

[SLU Student]

It varies quite a bit from school to school.

The newer D.O. schools start interviewing as early as late August and some will even give you a decision within a few days (BCOM is an example).

I think LECOM even starts in July.

The more established schools usually start interviewing in October; an example would be KCUMB. They also take longer to give you a decision. Usually 4-6 weeks, so you'll probably have a decision in November.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Depends on the school and on your application. Certain schools have certain priorities, and will interview students who match what they're looking for earlier; this will lead to an earlier decision.

KCU actually starts interviewing in mid-September, and they do take 4-6 weeks to give a decision.

RVU also starts in September, and they tend to give you a decision in 7-10 days.

LECOM does start interviewing super early, but they make you wait until mid-November to get a decision unless you sign up for their early decision notification, which is in October. Downside of doing that is they require a $1k (may be $2k, I don't recall 100%) non-refundable deposit within 30 days of acceptance. Since they start interviewing so early, you probably won't hear from most schools by then, and then you're kinda forced to lose the deposit or risk your only acceptance.

 

[Harvest Moon]

It varies from school to school and from applicant to applicant. For PCOM, for example, I submitted my primary application in August, and by early October, I was accepted. But there are other applicants who submitted theirs in early June, and haven't heard anything back yet, so it really depends.

 

[TheWolfOfMainStreet]

I applied in June to 21 programs and have only heard back from 7 schools definitively.