Need advice!

[DaveTraf14]

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Hi guys,
Here is my situation...I was accepted to SGU and I am scheduled to start this January. I am starting to second guess whether or not I want to go there. I retook my MCAT and did a little better this summer and now feel like I have a pretty good chance at getting into D.O. schools (mid twenty mcat score, 3.7 gpa, 3 years research including one year research at harvard medical school w/ published paper, plenty of volunteer work). I asked SGU if I could defer until August but they said I would have to re-enter the application pool for the August class. This means there is a chance that I get denied by D.O. schools and then lose my spot for SGU also. Should I just suck it up and go to SGU or take the chance and see if I get into a D.O. school??? (Nova, PCOM, MSUCOM, WVCOM, CCOM)

Thanks for any advice!

 

[J ROD]

I would take all my chances at US MD or DO before I went to SGU. SGU will probably take you again or one of the other "good" schools down there: Ross, AUC.

I think you would have a good shot at a DO school. DO is a MUCH safer route than offshore MD.

 

[Stratego]

Go DO, as you have a very good chance of an acceptance.

 

[faith2]

Your stats are great for DO but you need to hurry and add a few more DO schools. Don't go off shore until all options are filled

 

[bellakk]

Go american! Your GPA is very good and I know multiple students with slightly lower gpa and similar MCAT scores who are sucessful matriculants this year. To me, the caribbean is a last resort after you have been rejected for 2 or 3 cycles. You might even be able to still get your AACOMAS stuff in right now for DO school in the fall since their deadlines are around feb. I know that you probably dont want to put off matriculating for another year. But my premed advisor's husband is a physician in charge of a family residency program where I live and after match, he gets FLOODED with foreign grad applicants. Plus you dont have to worry about shipping your crap to some island in a barrel or whatever they call it.

 

[DaveTraf14]

THANK YOU GUYS SOOOO MUCH!!! I am going to send in my apps ASAP for DO and defer SGU. I talked to a lot of people today and pretty much everyone gave me that same advice. Wish me luck!

 

[Stratego]

G' Luck, and let us know how it goes.

 

[Food]

So...seriously guys? Better to go DO than to go foreign MD? =( Blargh...I'm so double-minded.

 

[gman33]

Any US school will give you a much better shot at matching.
Carib should be saved until you try to get into US for at least 1-2 years.

You can always reapply to foreign schools if it doesn't work out.

 

[J ROD]

THANK YOU GUYS SOOOO MUCH!!! I am going to send in my apps ASAP for DO and defer SGU. I talked to a lot of people today and pretty much everyone gave me that same advice. Wish me luck!

It's nice when they listen!! 😀

 

[dingyibvs]

THANK YOU GUYS SOOOO MUCH!!! I am going to send in my apps ASAP for DO and defer SGU. I talked to a lot of people today and pretty much everyone gave me that same advice. Wish me luck!

Good luck, man.

 

[dragonfly99]

I would apply to schools in the US first. Don't listen to SGU right now...they will take you next semester, or next year. They will still be there in 1 year from now, if you need to go there. You can either wait until next summer and apply US MD and DO together, or I guess just apply DO now...if you didn't miss the deadline, could still try US MD schools, particularly your state schools. You probably won't get in with a mid 20's MCAT, but there are people who do, particularly in certain states. Don't panic and bail for the Caribbean yet...I think it would be a not great move at this point.

 

[pietachok]

Apply to D.O. schools before you take an acceptance at SGU.

Why:
The # of M.D. student positions in the US is currently being increased (e.g. new schools and generally increasing class sizes). The # of U.S. residencies is not increasing as rapidly. Accordingly, competition for allopathic residencies is increasing.

Although it is likely the # of D.O. applicants getting allopathic residencies will also decrease:
1) D.O. grads are already more successful at obtaining residencies than Caribbean grads. Based on trends in residency acceptances, it is likely that the group who will most likely bear the brunt of the increased competition is that of foreign-educated applicants.
2) D.O. graduates can also obtain osteopathic residencies that aren't open to graduates of M.D. programs.

The division between M.D. and D.O. is a lot less significant than some people on this site will lead you to believe. Long after graduation, it is far more important how good of a physician you are and how well you interact with your patients than it is which type of physician you are. My mother instructs OB/GYN residents and fellows in a good program, and contrary to what some people on this forum would ever think possible, the best two she can recall were both D.O.'s, and the worst few have been M.D.'s.