Grad School then MD vs DO

[DoktorS]

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Hi everybody,

So I'm currently on my gap year and have gotten accepted to a couple of DO schools. However, I'm worried that going to a DO school may severely hinder my chances at certain residency programs. I am currently waitlisted at a US MD school, but I am not placing my bets on anything.

I'm hoping to get some advice so I can formulate my best course of action since I don't really have many people to ask. I was wondering if entering into a 1 year masters program instead of matriculating into DO school would increase my chances at acceptance into a US MD program. My guess is that the weak spots on my application are my scores (3.6 sGPA 3.64 overall GPA 27 MCAT 1st time, 29 MCAT 2nd time).

However, being that I am already on the second half of my gap year, if I were to reapply to MD schools this year, I would not have any record to show of increased scores until half way through the application season. Has anybody been in a similar boat where they were applying to MD schools while just beginning their graduate school education?

Any realistic, thought out, mature advice would help. Thanks.

 

[Goro]

When one has yet to set foot into med school, one should not be worrying about specialty.

Do you want to be a doctor in four years????? Go DO.

The BS about DOs not being able to get into residencies is becoming more and more BS. Yes, NYU residencies won't take DOs, but just because you have an MD, it doesn't mean that you can waltz into a competitive residency. They're competitive for a reason.

I've met DO nephrologists, cardiologists, rheumatologists (one is the Dean at TUNCOM), anesthesiologists, pathologists, orthopods, surgeons, neurologists, even neurosurgeons.

So quit buying into pre-med urban legends. Will you have to work harder? Yeah. Are you afraid of hard work? If yes, then don't go to med school.

Hi everybody,

So I'm currently on my gap year and have gotten accepted to a couple of DO schools. However, I'm worried that going to a DO school may severely hinder my chances at certain residency programs. I am currently waitlisted at a US MD school, but I am not placing my bets on anything.

I'm hoping to get some advice so I can formulate my best course of action since I don't really have many people to ask. I was wondering if entering into a 1 year masters program instead of matriculating into DO school would increase my chances at acceptance into a US MD program. My guess is that the weak spots on my application are my scores (3.6 sGPA 3.64 overall GPA 27 MCAT 1st time, 29 MCAT 2nd time).

However, being that I am already on the second half of my gap year, if I were to reapply to MD schools this year, I would not have any record to show of increased scores until half way through the application season. Has anybody been in a similar boat where they were applying to MD schools while just beginning their graduate school education?

Any realistic, thought out, mature advice would help. Thanks.

 

[DoktorS]

Thanks for your input, @gonnif ! I guess I should have been more clear by masters program, I was more so making a notion towards an SMP. My situation is that I'm not set on a very highly competitive specialty, but I don't want to bar it off or make it that much more nearly impossible.

My college's pre-health office also highly advised against taking the MCAT a third time as most schools look unfavorably upon it. I guess the best course of action at this point would be to take my DO spot since I've been granted the opportunity to become a doctor. I've also been accepted to Saint George's MD program in Granada, but I am concerned that FMG's are even more unfavorable candidates for residency programs.

 

[NonTrad16]

Your GPA is fine in my opinion, what's lacking is the MCAT. The SMP won't fix that, will cost tuition, result in at least a 1 year delay of earning a salary, and if you don't perform with stellar numbers you'd probably come out "even" in terms of applicant status... If you do poorly, it could even hurt.

The time, stress, and money seem better used elsewhere. Enjoy your offers!

 

[DrMidlife]

regardless of grad work you'll still face scrutiny at MD schools for that mcat score. it devalues your pretty gpa.

see the postbac forum down under "interdisciplinary" for a current discussion on what an SMP is vs what a terminal masters is, and what you are buying by doing one or the other.

yes, you generally need to wait to apply until after you finish the program. there are two exceptions that very nearly guarantee a spot in the host MD school, and i'll leave it as an exercise for you to find them. hint: both start with T.

having personally done what you're proposing, $ is the big fat reason not to, unless you have a reasonable chance to get into your home state's public med school(s). adding the cost of an SMP to the likely OOS/private MD school COA can easily pop you into the $300k+ debt range, which is a different kind of "OMG residency" problem. Of note, there are some outrageously expensive MD and DO schools which are absolutely not worth it. On the DO side, the LECOMs are a good value.

I could support a reapp that attempts to get you low COA but I would not support a reapp to otherwise get MD instead of DO. It just doesn't matter. No, you're probably not going to be that one epic DO Mayo Derm match or similar that happens every year. No, you're probably not getting an NYU or MGH or UCSF spot for a competitive specialty. But yes, as a DO, if you produce the assets to compete for a competitive specialty, you can make it happen.

Turns out it's really easy to find specific residency programs that have DOs: pick a specialty, find a directory of residencies such as FREIDA, and start looking at "current residents" pages on program websites. Look at faculty as well - there are DO program chairs at some residencies hosted at MD schools, for instance.

Best if luck to you.

 

[DoktorS]

Thanks for the great input, @gonnif ! I have heard about the FMG "sqeeze" that's to come over the next few years with the residency merger. I think SGU markets their match rate as something like 98%, but you are right that does not take into account the attrition of students. Again, thanks for the great information, it really helped.

@NonTrad16 and @DrMidlife thanks for the input! You all are right, doesn't seem worth it to go through all the stress, money and time to end up having pretty much exactly the same shot at practicing medicine as I do now. Thanks for all of the information!