I know this has been discussed, but...

[sarah_viola]

For those of you applying to both osteopathic and allopathic schools, how do you justify applying to both when asked about it? How are you supposed to convince the adcoms that you want to be a DO when you apply to 4 DO schools and XX allopathic schools? I just have a hard time thinking of how I would handle this question. It must come up, does it not? Is location/interest in school/program enough? If I were on a DO adcom, I would only seriously look at people who applied only to DO schools, but that's just me...

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[choppa]

I had the same issue since my situation is similar. I emailed a lady at the career center from my undergrad institution (u of m) who is the lady to talk to when it comes to applying to medical school. I thought of taking the approach that above and beyond anything else, I want to be a physician. Getting into medical school isn't easy (at least for some of us) and that I applied to the schools that interested me. On top of that, I'm sure I will talk about how I discovered the DO philosophy later in the game but have since come to believe that it is truly the field that would suit me best (which is the honest truth). She said that that would be a good approach. Anyone else have any suggestions? I agree that it's a fine line to walk. Yeah, so you REALLY want to be a DO but you applied to 4x as many MD schools. Who are you kidding???

I think that just being honest (without saying "well, you need lower numbers, or it's easier, or whatever") will be the best route to take. Think to yourself, why did you apply to DO schools? If your answer is that you need lower numbers, or you think it's easier to get in, then rethink your reasons for wanting to go there. I think you should sincerely want to be a DO to apply. I know that if I get into my state DO school I will withdraw most of my other apps. Hope that helps.

 

[Doctor Peloncito]

According to one ADCOM officer with whom I've spoken, they are not supposed to ask you this. Unless you have disclosed it in your application or interview, they cannot ask you about whether you've applied to both DO and MD. Does that mean it doesn't happen? No. I personally only applied to DO schools. My answer to the question, if it applied to me, would be that I applied to each different school because of the merits of the individual schools, not because of the MD/DO degree that is offered. I would say that I really want to be a doctor, and the initials after my name don't really matter to me (as long as they aren't DC or ND )

WannabeDO

 

[Doc Oc]

I applied to 4 D.O. schools and I think about 10 MD schools, reason being there were only 4 DO schools in locations that my husband and I both wanted to go. Even if I got into one of the others, I wouldn't have went there, so it didn't make any sense to apply to any other than those 4. However, I was uncomfortable with the idea of only applying to 4 schools period and not casting a wide enough net. So I applied to 10 MD schools as well. When asked about it at my interviews, I said exactly that. Two of the schools didn't have a problem with it, one did and we got into an MD school vs DO school debate for 45 minutes (that interview lasted an hour and a half). I ended up telling her that she obviously has a preconceived notion about my intentions in her head, and that although I am trying to explain myself to her, she is not listening and is instead twisting my words to add justification to her idea. (That's how spirited our debate got). I still got in, and I would consider that an almost worst-case scenario if the MD-DO applications are brought up in the interview. So anyway, just explain yourself.