hello everyone!

[willen101383]

Hey! My name is Aaron, I am going into my junior year at a small state school in Cortland NY. I hate my school, it is definately not the place for premeds to be but i had no idea i wanted medicine when i began going there. My GPA is way lower then it needs to be, and I am hopefully going to pull it up a lot this year. I was thinking about DO school, mostly because its a little easier to get into, but I am worried about the prestige issues, and patients not knowing what a DO is. Yes i know that DO=MD essentially. I am active on campus,and I am working as a phlebotomist at 2 hospitals in the Albany NY area right now...so i have patient contact...almost too much to handle! My father is an hemotologist/oncologist. If i applied to his medical school would that even have a bearing on things? I had a patient today that was telling me her son went to MD in Ireland. Do schools over there accept American students pretty easily compared with here in the states? How about obtaining a residency in the US after goin to a foreign school? Of course i would much rather go to a medical school here in the states, but I will go where i need to. Medicine is my calling, I love coming to work every day, and dealing with the patients!! I know these are newbie questions, but as MCAT time grows near I am starting to worry and think more about the future!!! Thanks guys!

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[crazy250]

get to the caribbean

 

[skypilot]

First of all the Albany area has lots of DOs, many of them are professors at Albany Medical College, and I wouldn't worry too much about any prestige issue. I don't think people will even know you are a DO once you are board certified in your specialty. Most doctors practice in groups with a mix of DOs and MDs.

If you decide to go the foreign route, here are two decent options:

Ireland
http://atlanticbridge.com

Grenada
http://www.sgu.edu

 

[stinkycheese]

Give us your GPA so we can advise you better.

 

[BklynWill]

You hate your school, you're dissatisfied with your GPA, and now you're worried about a prestige issue?? My advice would be to stop worrying about the value that other people place on your decisions in life, you will be a lot happier.
Do some homework and figure out what it is about medicine that really appeals to you. This is your career choice, and it doesn't really matter what other people think (except admissions committees).
Once you get that out of your system, learn more about your chances at MD schools, osteopathic medical schools, and Caribbean schools. Figure out how to get into them, instead of fearing what your patients will think nearly a decade from now.

 

[willen101383]

i have around a 3.1gpa right now....this is my first semester in bio stuff...i was a history major before. This GPA is obviously low even by DO school standards. I have mostly Bs and B+ with one or two bad grades lowering it. I plan on taking calculus over, as well as gen chem 1. I have no problem with DO school honestly, I would rather just have an MD. I agree with the osteopathic principles, but feel that i would just abandon them if i secured an MD residency.

 

[willen101383]

You hate your school, you're dissatisfied with your GPA, and now you're worried about a prestige issue?? My advice would be to stop worrying about the value that other people place on your decisions in life, you will be a lot happier.
Do some homework and figure out what it is about medicine that really appeals to you. This is your career choice, and it doesn't really matter what other people think (except admissions committees).
Once you get that out of your system, learn more about your chances at MD schools, osteopathic medical schools, and Caribbean schools. Figure out how to get into them, instead of fearing what your patients will think nearly a decade from now.

I guess i don really hate my school, its just not the best place for premed. I think the bio department is teriffic, but the school is known for education.

 

[willen101383]

I just took a look at that carribbean medical school, and the 04 match results. Not too shabby. What type of numbers are these carribbean schools generally looking for for admission??

 

[jpro]

Give me your stats, ECs, LORs, and intimate details of your childhood and I will tell you exactly what to do.

Dude, just kill the MCAT, and apply to yo daddy's school. There is nothing wrong with getting a DO, but I think you have a better chance at the school your dad went to.

Personnally I would go the DO route before considering oversees.

 

[willen101383]

yeah ill definately apply there as well as some other md schools, then just do the rest DO.