Hi guys! New Member! Chances of getting into a DO program??

[DirectorP32C]

Hi Guys!

I'm new on SDN, but I've been reading up on he forums here for a few weeks. I've learned a lot!! But I kind of wanted to get some feedback from you guys on my own personal chances of getting into a DO school. I took the April 16th 2011 MCAT and got a 29R. My AACOMAS science GPA is 3.78 and cumulative GPA is 3.88. My extracurriculars are as follows:

1) 5 years of Ocean Lifeguarding experience - CPR/AED/oxygen certified
2) College Student Ambassador
3) Summer-long shadowing in the ER at my local hospital, where I shadowed a DO most nights I was there (getting a LoR from her!)
4) Spanish Conversation Hour Student Leader
5) Sigma Delta Pi - National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society
6) Dean's list every semester so far (I'm a rising senior undergrad)
7) Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity - some leadership positions here
8) college Club Swim Team Captain for 3 semesters
9) will be doing faculty-mentored research in my college's biology department next year, both semesters

This is basically my profile. I'm a NJ resident. I'm applying to mostly DO schools (about 11 or so? all over the country), and a few MD schools with MCAT scores on the lower averages (such as UMDNJ - NJMS and RWJ, temple, drexel, and george washington). What do you guys think?? any suggestions as to which DO schools should be on my list? I'm really aiming for DO, I very much would rather be a DO and just threw a few MDs in there for good measure. Thanks in advance, guys!

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[TriagePreMed]

You are good anywhere you apply. If you're URM, you're good for MD almost anywhere too.

 

[akaVonk]

Should be good for most DO schools.

Out of curiosity, why would you rather be a DO and yet still apply for MD schools "for good measure"? If you receive offers at both institution types, would you choose DO over MD or vice-versa? I don't think I've heard too many people applying for med schools with this sort of outlook.

 

[DirectorP32C]

Thanks guys! That's great to hear! and in response to why I'm applying to a few MDs as well, I guess it's just so that I can leave all options open? (aka my parents suggested it, so I figured it couldn't hurt haha). But I think if I was to get an offer from both an MD and a DO school, I would still choose DO. Love the philosophy of osteopathic medicine, so I'm pretty set on that.

 

[PeepsLove]

Dude is philosophy of osteopathic medicine is a joke, (I'm a DO). The DO world is great for a few reasons though. You can do either DO or MD residency so that broadens up the field, and you can crack backs which is fun but all the stuff is garbage. The philosophy of DO medicine in the real world is still evidence based medicine. I was in an interview once (on the panel) and my co-interviewer asked why DO schools. The applicant answered with the generic holistic approach to medicine. What the applicant failed to realize is the interviewer is an MD who then said, "I'm an MD, so I don't look at the patient as a whole?" Threw the applicant off his rocker.

 

[Ursa]

My cousin is a DO and says the same thing. The DO "philosophy" is partly an admissions ploy, and something more of the past.

If you have good EC's, you could be competitive at MD schools. To me, the biggest DO vs MD factor to consider is residency. It's common knowledge that DO's focus more on primary care than MD does. So, if you like primary care, do either MD or DO. If you have your heart on specializing, MD might have the edge.

However, take it with a grain of salt. I'm no expert...just a 23 yowm that is bored at work.

 

[DirectorP32C]

Thanks a lot guys! All I know is that I want to be a doctor more than anything else in the world, and Osteopathic Medicine has really grabbed my interest ever since I saw a presentation by some DO students... I'm just hoping my stats are up to par/competitive for the schools I'm applying to!