MD, DO, Masters, Carriben, and Post-Bacc Oh My!

[tshollowmen]

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I have read some of the other threads and people to have such a good knowledge of the ins and outs I was hoping I could get some assistance:

I hace a lowely 3.0 GPA and a 28 on the MCAT's and was heavily involved in extracirricular activites (RA, Student gov't, community service, etc. adding up to 30-50 hours a week as an undergrad).
I am really interested in the DO programs, but have applied once and due to the difficulty in finding a DO to write a letter of req haven't been able to get in anywhere, so:
1) If I were able to get a DO to give me a letter of rec are these stats good enough to even try again?
2) If I wanted to improved my chances would a masters in public health help or would a post bacc program be much more helpful?
3) Do I have a shot at carriben schools with these stats because I can't seem to find the average scores?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[pmpndaflip]

I have read some of the other threads and people to have such a good knowledge of the ins and outs I was hoping I could get some assistance:

I hace a lowely 3.0 GPA and a 28 on the MCAT's and was heavily involved in extracirricular activites (RA, Student gov't, community service, etc. adding up to 30-50 hours a week as an undergrad).
I am really interested in the DO programs, but have applied once and due to the difficulty in finding a DO to write a letter of req haven't been able to get in anywhere, so:
1) If I were able to get a DO to give me a letter of rec are these stats good enough to even try again?
2) If I wanted to improved my chances would a masters in public health help or would a post bacc program be much more helpful?
3) Do I have a shot at carriben schools with these stats because I can't seem to find the average scores?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Yes your stats are good enough for DO....apply early! Seems like a masters would be more helpful but post bacc would be also allowing you to do more research. So either or is a plus. Then agian DO really do not look at research that extensively but it's still nice to have. Finally, yes you have a shot at carrib..I think they accept pretty much anyone. The only some-what selective carrib school is SGU and Ross and even they take people with a lot lower stats than yours. i.e high 2's- low 3's and avg MCAT 24... Good luck
oh...BTW not all DO schools require a LOR from a DO 😎

 

[dr.z]

If you goto a post-bac program, you can raise your undergrad GPA. MPH may not always help. I would try to get into DO school again before you apply to Carribean schools.

 

[FungManX]

Yes your stats are good enough for DO....apply early! Seems like a masters would be more helpful but post bacc would be also allowing you to do more research. So either or is a plus. Then agian DO really do not look at research that extensively but it's still nice to have. Finally, yes you have a shot at carrib..I think they accept pretty much anyone. The only some-what selective carrib school is SGU and Ross and even they take people with a lot lower stats than yours. i.e high 2's- low 3's and avg MCAT 24... Good luck
oh...BTW not all DO schools require a LOR from a DO 😎

Hey pmpndaflip, can you private message me with a list of the DO schools?
It's very likely I'll leave this post here and forget about it later on hahah

but yeah, i'm pretty interested in knowing because I've become sorta interested in the DO degree from the stuff I've read here. The problem for me though, is that I'm a Canadian citizen and there are a total of ZERO ( or maybe a few) DO's in British Columbia.. so I'm pretty screwed in terms of shadowing a DO...

so if you can leme in on some info that'd be great!
Thanks

 

[dr.z]

Western/COMP, CCOM, NYCOM, KCOM, MSUCOM, and PCOM does not require letter from DO.

 

[FungManX]

Western/COMP, CCOM, NYCOM, KCOM, MSUCOM, and PCOM does not require letter from DO.

does no letter also mean no shadowing required?
and just the typical academic stuff.. non-academic stuff and interview?

 

[TekkenDanser]

If those schools do not require a letter from a D.O., then do they require a letter from an M.D.? I already have my package of letters set for AMCAS, and all those letters are from professors with Ph.D.'s. Although I've been asking around for potential shadowing opportunities with M.D.'s, it is a lot harder to come by than I thought. And now it seems a little late and unlikely to just tag someone for shadowing when I've been having difficulty all along. Will any of those D.O. schools that you mentioned accept a package of letters without an M.D. or D.O. recommendation?

 

[nvshelat]

Western/COMP, CCOM, NYCOM, KCOM, MSUCOM, and PCOM does not require letter from DO.

UMDNJ-SOM doesn't require a letter from a DO either

 

[ShyRem]

OUCOM, NECOM, and DMU also don't require DO letters. I thought CCOM did require? I have it on my "needs DO letter" list - did I misfile?

 

[EastCoaster78]

I have read some of the other threads and people to have such a good knowledge of the ins and outs I was hoping I could get some assistance:

I hace a lowely 3.0 GPA and a 28 on the MCAT's and was heavily involved in extracirricular activites (RA, Student gov't, community service, etc. adding up to 30-50 hours a week as an undergrad).
I am really interested in the DO programs, but have applied once and due to the difficulty in finding a DO to write a letter of req haven't been able to get in anywhere, so:
1) If I were able to get a DO to give me a letter of rec are these stats good enough to even try again?
2) If I wanted to improved my chances would a masters in public health help or would a post bacc program be much more helpful?
3) Do I have a shot at carriben schools with these stats because I can't seem to find the average scores?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Another good option would be doing a post-bac/ special masters AT a DO institution. For example PCOM and UMDNJ offer such programs.

http://www.pcom.edu/Academic_Programs/aca_biomed/aca_biomed.html

http://www3.umdnj.edu/gsbstrat/mbs/mbs-prg.htm

I don't know about the UMDNJ program, but PCOM uses their biomed program as a direct feeder into the next years DO class. It worked for me, and many others. You would also have access to many DO's to shadow (school faculty) and write you recomendations. PM me if you have any questions. Good luck.

 

[dr.z]

If those schools do not require a letter from a D.O., then do they require a letter from an M.D.? I already have my package of letters set for AMCAS, and all those letters are from professors with Ph.D.'s. Although I've been asking around for potential shadowing opportunities with M.D.'s, it is a lot harder to come by than I thought. And now it seems a little late and unlikely to just tag someone for shadowing when I've been having difficulty all along. Will any of those D.O. schools that you mentioned accept a package of letters without an M.D. or D.O. recommendation?

I think all the schools would like to have at least one letter of recommendation from a physician regardless of M.D./D.O. I am sure you can be accepted without one too. They want to know how the doctors feel about you becoming a physician.

 

[dr.z]

OUCOM, NECOM, and DMU also don't require DO letters. I thought CCOM did require? I have it on my "needs DO letter" list - did I misfile?

I got accepted to CCOM without D.O. letter. They recommend on from D.O. physician, but I got one from M.D. They didn't question me much during the interview about it.

 

[dr.z]

does no letter also mean no shadowing required?
and just the typical academic stuff.. non-academic stuff and interview?

D.O. school will focus on clinical experience during your interview. They weren't interested in my research, but more on how much and what type of clinical experience I had. I did have a letter from M.D., and I had done some shadowing as well.