Need some realistic advice

[ilikecatstoo]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hey everyone. I'm in a weird position right now and would appreciate advice from someone other than my family members.

So some background info: I have a lower 500s MCAT and a 3.6 GPA. I went to community college and left with a 4.0 GPA. From there, my grades in university dropped (3.5 average) and I'm probably going to get my first C in Orgo 2. I have a really great application otherwise (LORs and extracurriculars are really strong).

Anyways, after getting my MCAT score, I decided to apply DO and MD. I expected to get rejected and was planned on retaking the MCAT to apply next cycle. As you can imagine, I have had little luck with MD (although I have been waitlisted for an ii at one school). Fortunately, I've had pretty good luck with DO schools. I had one interview where I was waitlisted and another coming up soon. I was also put on another pre-ii waitlist for a DO school that I would go to in a heartbeat, the only thing is they're waiting on my grades for this semester and my Orgo grade definitely won't help. Seeing my success with those two schools, I applied to a bunch more DO schools in October that I would love to go to as well.

Here's my dilemma. Although the schools I have interviews for are good programs and I really like them, they're definitely not my first choice. Both are far from home and in states I have no interest in living in. Also, my parents aren't too keen on me going to an OOS DO without having given MD a proper chance. I personally think I can do much better on the MCAT. I only had a month to study and the way in which I approached it was completely wrong. The thing is, I now will most likely have a C on my transcript whereas before I didn't. I also applied to some DO schools that I would love to go to really late and feel like if I had applied earlier I would have had a much higher chance. The thing is, I don't mind being a DO. I've always wanted to go into primary care (peds or psych) and don't really care about the judgment. I also don't mind going OOS since I feel like I would be able to focus on my studies better. Though I am a huge family person and am worried about getting homesick.

So, I've been thinking that I should skip this upcoming interview, retake the MCAT, and reapply for the 2021 cycle. On one hand, I would hate to lose a year of my life for a chance at getting in. I also know that being a reapplicant isn't great. Also, I don't actually know that I'll score better on the MCAT. On the other hand, I might have a better shot at getting into MD schools or at least DO schools closer to home. I'm just worried that my family is influencing me too much because they don't want me to go OOS and say that I'm wasting my potential, so I would appreciate some outside input.

 

[deleted1001426]

Just my opinion but there's no guarantee that you'll receive an admissions offer (or even interviews) next cycle so if you are offered interviews this year you'd be remiss to skip them.

that being said, in the end it comes down to what you value. If you really want the MD/specific geographic location and dont think youll be content without knowing you gave it an additional shot then by all means plan to reapply next year.

 

[KnightDoc]

Whatever you decide, try to figure it out before you go on more interviews, since it might cause issues later on if you turn down DO acceptances now in order to be an MD reapplicant later. For the same reason, you should consider withdrawing from the WL before you receive an A if you have your heart set on applying to MD in the future. I know turning down an MD acceptance would definitely cause issues in the future; I'm not sure whether the same would apply for DO, but I think it might. Hopefully, the adcoms will share their thoughts.

There's nothing quite like taking a trip in the go-back machine, but it sounds like it might have been a mistake applying while expecting to be rejected and planning an MCAT retake, especially given your doubts, family pressure, closeness to family, etc.

Given what it sounds like your goals are, however, it sounds like DO would be perfectly acceptable to allow you to achieve them (in which case wasting potential is not a consideration, since you will actually be achieving your goal of becoming a primary care physician), so my advice would be to let the current cycle play out, see what happens, and trust that whatever happens is what was meant to be.

Good luck!!! 🙂

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Just recognize that any DO school that accepts you is not going to re accept you next year if you turn them down. Be careful not to burn any bridges

 

[Mad Jack]

So if you don't interview at or decline these DO schools, you have effectively burned those bridges forever. Recognize that they are henceforth and forevermore off the table when making your decision. If you are okay with never attending these places at all, then you're losing nothing. If you'd rather go there than nowhere, you might hurt your chances of ever being a doctor.

 

[deleted480308]

There are only so many chances in life, are you willing to maybe never be a doctor over going to those schools?

 

[Seihai]

The real question would have been: if you didn't want to go to these schools, why did you apply there?

If you can't see yourself succeeding or being happy there, I'd encourage you to withdraw before you're accepted so that you can build a better list.

 

[ilikecatstoo]

There are only so many chances in life, are you willing to maybe never be a doctor over going to those schools?

No, and I guess that answers my question.

 

[ilikecatstoo]

The real question would have been: if you didn't want to go to these schools, why did you apply there?

If you can't see yourself succeeding or being happy there, I'd encourage you to withdraw before you're accepted so that you can build a better list.

Let me clarify. I actually like the school I'm waitlisted at, but I've been waitlisted. As for this upcoming interview, I hadn't expected to be assigned to this specific campus. In the end, its only 4 years so I'm not that attached to geographical location.

 

[ilikecatstoo]

Whatever you decide, try to figure it out before you go on more interviews, since it might cause issues later on if you turn down DO acceptances now in order to be an MD reapplicant later. For the same reason, you should consider withdrawing from the WL before you receive an A if you have your heart set on applying to MD in the future. I know turning down an MD acceptance would definitely cause issues in the future; I'm not sure whether the same would apply for DO, but I think it might. Hopefully, the adcoms will share their thoughts.

There's nothing quite like taking a trip in the go-back machine, but it sounds like it might have been a mistake applying while expecting to be rejected and planning an MCAT retake, especially given your doubts, family pressure, closeness to family, etc.

Given what it sounds like your goals are, however, it sounds like DO would be perfectly acceptable to allow you to achieve them (in which case wasting potential is not a consideration, since you will actually be achieving your goal of becoming a primary care physician), so my advice would be to let the current cycle play out, see what happens, and trust that whatever happens is what was meant to be.

Good luck!!! 🙂

I guess I'm suddenly hesitant because a lot of people are telling me that I'm setting myself up for failure if I go down the DO path, and with the upcoming merger I'm worried about matching. Plus my family is making me feel guilty for (in their eyes) not putting enough effort into going MD or staying in-state, and it feels as though I've taken the easy way out. Quite honestly though, the only thing I would change about this cycle would have been applying to those other DO schools earlier.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Goro]

Hey everyone. I'm in a weird position right now and would appreciate advice from someone other than my family members.

So some background info: I have a lower 500s MCAT and a 3.6 GPA. I went to community college and left with a 4.0 GPA. From there, my grades in university dropped (3.5 average) and I'm probably going to get my first C in Orgo 2. I have a really great application otherwise (LORs and extracurriculars are really strong).

Anyways, after getting my MCAT score, I decided to apply DO and MD. I expected to get rejected and was planned on retaking the MCAT to apply next cycle. As you can imagine, I have had little luck with MD (although I have been waitlisted for an ii at one school). Fortunately, I've had pretty good luck with DO schools. I had one interview where I was waitlisted and another coming up soon. I was also put on another pre-ii waitlist for a DO school that I would go to in a heartbeat, the only thing is they're waiting on my grades for this semester and my Orgo grade definitely won't help. Seeing my success with those two schools, I applied to a bunch more DO schools in October that I would love to go to as well.

Here's my dilemma. Although the schools I have interviews for are good programs and I really like them, they're definitely not my first choice. Both are far from home and in states I have no interest in living in. Also, my parents aren't too keen on me going to an OOS DO without having given MD a proper chance. I personally think I can do much better on the MCAT. I only had a month to study and the way in which I approached it was completely wrong. The thing is, I now will most likely have a C on my transcript whereas before I didn't. I also applied to some DO schools that I would love to go to really late and feel like if I had applied earlier I would have had a much higher chance. The thing is, I don't mind being a DO. I've always wanted to go into primary care (peds or psych) and don't really care about the judgment. I also don't mind going OOS since I feel like I would be able to focus on my studies better. Though I am a huge family person and am worried about getting homesick.

So, I've been thinking that I should skip this upcoming interview, retake the MCAT, and reapply for the 2021 cycle. On one hand, I would hate to lose a year of my life for a chance at getting in. I also know that being a reapplicant isn't great. Also, I don't actually know that I'll score better on the MCAT. On the other hand, I might have a better shot at getting into MD schools or at least DO schools closer to home. I'm just worried that my family is influencing me too much because they don't want me to go OOS and say that I'm wasting my potential, so I would appreciate some outside input.

What is your dilemma? You apparently have no accepts.

How badly do you want to be a doctor IF you only have a DO accept?

IF you do have the DO accept and wish to turn it down in hoping that you can improve your app with an MCAT retake, by all means do so. I'd rather see your seat go to someone who wants to be a doctor right now.

And remind your parents that you're the one applying to med school, not them, and thus it's your call, not theirs.

Final word of advice: beggars can't be choosy.

 

[ilikecatstoo]

What is your dilemma? You apparently have no accepts.

How badly do you want to be a doctor IF you only have a DO accept?

IF you do have the DO accept and wish to turn it down in hoping that you can improve your app with an MCAT retake, by all means do so. I'd rather see your seat go to someone who wants to be a doctor right now.

And remind your parents that you're the one applying to med school, not them, and thus it's your call, not theirs.

Final word of advice: beggars can't be choosy.

I was just debating canceling this upcoming interview and reapplying next cycle with a stronger app. However, the whole reason I applied this cycle instead of waiting was because I wanted to "be a doctor right now". So for now, I'll be seeing how this cycle plays out. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Seihai]

I was just debating canceling this upcoming interview and reapplying next cycle with a stronger app. However, the whole reason I applied this cycle instead of waiting was because I wanted to "be a doctor right now". So for now, I'll be seeing how this cycle plays out. Thanks for the advice!

You do need to be aware of the fact that turning down an acceptance to medical school (DO or MD) is a nonstarter at pretty much any United States medical school. It's fairly well-known that turning down an MD acceptance to apply again is one of the best ways to make sure you'll never go to medical school. I'm not sure if the same stigma exists on the DO side.

 

[KnightDoc]

I guess I'm suddenly hesitant because a lot of people are telling me that I'm setting myself up for failure if I go down the DO path, and with the upcoming merger I'm worried about matching. Plus my family is making me feel guilty for (in their eyes) not putting enough effort into going MD or staying in-state, and it feels as though I've taken the easy way out. Quite honestly though, the only thing I would change about this cycle would have been applying to those other DO schools earlier.

Thanks for the advice!

I totally get it, and I'm resisting the urge to push you in one direction or the other - hence my comment about the go-back machine. As you know, there is nothing easy about this process, so there is no such thing as an easy way out.

You are absolutely not setting yourself up for failure given your goals -- you correctly played the hand you were dealt with your grades and MCAT score. My comment merely stated the obvious - if you planned on being rejected and retaking the MCAT, it was a bad move to set yourself up as a reapplicant by applying at all this cycle. At this point it's done, so you have to move forward. Given what is (to you) your surprising level of success (a lot of people here would have totally predicted your DO success given your stats), you now have a new problem regarding withdrawing, possibly turning down As, etc.

For what it's worth, I agree with everyone else that's it's a leap to take a significantly higher MCAT next year for granted. Without that, you'll be in worse shape as a reapplicant than you are now. Maybe you should just pray that you don't get any As, in which case your decision will be made for you! 🙂

Again, if it were me, I'd go on the interviews and let the cycle play out. Try to block out all the noise. You sound very resilient, and I have a feeling you will do well whatever ends up happening (DO this year or DO or MD sometime in the future). Common wisdom holds that unless you want some highly competitive specialty, you will likely end up in exactly the same place if you attend a DO program or a mid tier or lower MD program, so just don't put a lot of weight on what well meaning, but uninformed, family and friends have to say. The people who are going to be left standing when the music stops with the merger are going to be IMGs, not primary care focused DOs.

Again, good luck!!! 🙂