Not taking a DO acceptance

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gopens67 said:
will this hurt you in application to Allopathic Schools????
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1. Why would one school care that you've turned another school down (allopathic or osteopathic)?

2. How would an allopathic school even know which schools you've turned down?
 
Bacchus said:
AMCAS asks:

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Have you ever matriculated at or attended any medical school as a candidate for an M.D. degree?

So you would answer No. However, this is a double edged sword because you can "hide" it but probably not for very long. I would think adcoms would have reservations admitting you when you gave up another seat.
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I don't think anyone tries to "hide" which schools they have been accepted to from other schools. They only way a school would even know if you have been accepted to another school is if they specifically asked you this during an interview/secondary app or something. I've never heard of anyone being asked about this.
 
gopens67 said:
will this hurt you in application to Allopathic Schools????
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Your problem comes in the form of the fact that you are not guaranteed a seat in any medical school. Do you want to become a physician and practice medicine or are you only interested in the initials that are behind your name?

If you are interested in the practice of medicine, you take any offer of acceptance to medical school that you get if that becomes the only acceptance that you have. If you have a choice between allopathic and osteopathic than you can choose where you believe you will perform best.

If you are thinking that you can turn down an offer of osteopathic medical school admission, then reapply to allopathic medical schools the next year and get in, you may find that you are not going to become a physician but will remain in the physician wannabe category.

This is the most likely scenario because reapplication unless you do something very serious to make yourself more competitive (not likely in one year) is not going to increase your competitiveness in terms of getting in. The osteopathic versus allopathic medical school differences are very few and both enable you to practice medicine. If that's your goal, then enter the medical school that accepts you regardless of type.
 
Bacchus said:
I took the OPs post as being a reapplicant, in which case it could be detrimental if the new school finds out.
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Nobody asks which schools you've been accepted to as a reapplicant as far as I know. You are asked, however, if you've ever matriculated. If the OP had matriculated at a DO school and was now reapplying to MD schools then the conversation of this thread would change completely.
 
MedMan25 said:
Nobody asks which schools you've been accepted to as a reapplicant as far as I know. You are asked, however, if you've ever matriculated. If the OP had matriculated at a DO school and was now reapplying to MD schools then the conversation of this thread would change completely.
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Its still a big coverup that one shouldn't have to do. Also, as njbmd said, there are no guarantees.
 
yes im talking about being a reapplicant. i don't care about the initials next to my name, I'm mainly worried about if being DO will prevent me from getting into top residencies, because I may want to go into academic medicine. If DO will not hold me back in this goal, then I would love to go DO. And the MCAT is my problem, so basically I would apply to both DO and MD this year. By sometime next year, if I only have a DO offer in hand, I will retake the MCAT. If it improves significantly, Ill reapply the following year for MD.
 
gopens67 said:
yes im talking about being a reapplicant. i don't care about the initials next to my name, I'm mainly worried about if being DO will prevent me from getting into top residencies, because I may want to go into academic medicine. If DO will not hold me back in this goal, then I would love to go DO.
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So you applied to DO schools last year, got accepted and turned it down? Being a DO wouldn't keep you from going into academic medicine or any other specialty for that matter. There are DOs who are in academia at several allopathic schools. There are DOs who practice medicine in every specialty of medicine.
 
gopens67 said:
yes im talking about being a reapplicant. i don't care about the initials next to my name, I'm mainly worried about if being DO will prevent me from getting into top residencies, because I may want to go into academic medicine. If DO will not hold me back in this goal, then I would love to go DO. And the MCAT is my problem, so basically I would apply to both DO and MD this year. By sometime next year, if I only have a DO offer in hand, I will retake the MCAT. If it improves significantly, Ill reapply the following year for MD.
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in other words, you do care about the initials behind your name. You care quite a lot actually.
 
njbmd said:
Your problem comes in the form of the fact that you are not guaranteed a seat in any medical school. Do you want to become a physician and practice medicine or are you only interested in the initials that are behind your name?

If you are interested in the practice of medicine, you take any offer of acceptance to medical school that you get if that becomes the only acceptance that you have. If you have a choice between allopathic and osteopathic than you can choose where you believe you will perform best.

If you are thinking that you can turn down an offer of osteopathic medical school admission, then reapply to allopathic medical schools the next year and get in, you may find that you are not going to become a physician but will remain in the physician wannabe category.

This is the most likely scenario because reapplication unless you do something very serious to make yourself more competitive (not likely in one year) is not going to increase your competitiveness in terms of getting in. The osteopathic versus allopathic medical school differences are very few and both enable you to practice medicine. If that's your goal, then enter the medical school that accepts you regardless of type.
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That sums it up well
 
gopens67 said:
Yes I care quite a lot if it closes doors for me.
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as you should. i just thought it was funny that your first sentence said "i dont care about the initials behind my name" and then you proceeded to list reasons why you care about your initials w/o actually saying it explicitly.
 
i dont think the reapplicant title is that big of a deal, and this year will be 2nd year applying, and if didnt take the hypothetical d.o. acceptance next year, it would be my third time applying....im already a reapplicant whether or not its 2 or 3 times, dont think it matters too much.......at this point I want to know logistically if this could work and if I should even care about d.o. vs. md for MY goals...it might not be that simple to answer i guess.
 
gopens67 said:
Yes I care quite a lot if it closes doors for me.
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GoOpens67, also please keep in mind that Ryserr21 also has a chip on his shoulder in regards to some alleged grand conspiracy about how the press is colluding with the AMA, etc to keep the fact that DOs are "different" out of the mainstream media so as to further propogate the "stigma". As someone who counts three DO schools among his top five places he would like to attend (CCLCM, MSUCOM, Kirksville, Wayne State and PCOM), I find this a bit on the offensive side, even more so than someone believing that being a DO will "close doors" for someone. The difference is that you are simply speaking from ignorance.

DOs do exactly the same thing as MDs and the only differences are the historical roots (which mean about zip to anyone but a historian) and the occasional DO who decides to actually use OMM. Because of that, you would be a fool to pass up an acceptance. Best of luck with the next application cycle.
 
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.its somewhat more useful than before. I am not speaking from ignorance....I dont even have a position...Im asking people what their opinions are... I have looked at few top residencies, and there are NO D.O.'s in their residency and they dont accept applications from osteopathic schools...what other type of conclusion am I supposed to make from this.
 
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gopens67 said:
yes im talking about being a reapplicant. i don't care about the initials next to my name, I'm mainly worried about if being DO will prevent me from getting into top residencies, because I may want to go into academic medicine. If DO will not hold me back in this goal, then I would love to go DO. And the MCAT is my problem, so basically I would apply to both DO and MD this year. By sometime next year, if I only have a DO offer in hand, I will retake the MCAT. If it improves significantly, Ill reapply the following year for MD.
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I have many colleagues in academic medicine who are osteopathic physicians and have encountered ostopathic physicians in top residency programs in all specialities at Ivies, Stanford etc. It's not going to be DO that keeps you out of academic medicine, it's going to be you getting into medical school in the first place.

You are retaking the MCAT and hoping for a higher score. This isn't likely to happen (most people who go up do so by one point and many go down-kiss of death) and in these times of poor economics, competition for entry into medical school is increasing and not decreasing. You can let the "premed syndrome" cloud your judgement to the point that you are kicking yourself for not being able to get into medical school which means no residency.

Getting into an allopathic medical school is no guarantee that you are going to be competitive for academic medicine or a top residency program. You are living on too many assumptions that you have little chance of obtaining. If you are sitting there holding an allopathic/osteopatich acceptance in hand then you can plan about how you are going to perform at the top of your class. This is easier said than done.

Right now, your problem is MCAT and you haven't solved that one yet. Your "IF" is a huge one because competition to enter osteopathic medical schools is pretty stiff right now and not getting easier.
 
There's no way the MD schools will know, and the AMCAS only asks if you matriculated to an MD school previously.

There's nothing to show and nothing to hide.

The question you need to answer is why you're doing this.
 
well i think it just depends on the schools, aecom's secondary asks if you have ever been accepted to a medical school and chose not to attend...but i just checked like 3 or 4 others, and they never ask..so it really depends.
 
Rather than focus on academic or clinical medicine, focus on what residency you want to acheive. Then, from there decide if you want to go solely clinical or academic. Since both degrees have the same residencies it is still moot. If you have had/or have currently a DO acceptance you should take it.
 
Why are you even thinking of applying to DO schools if you have no intention of attending one?
 
I agree with the posters above who are puzzled by your application to osteopathic medical schools if you never really had any intention of enrolling at one. In my experience, the people who care most about "DO or MD" are pre-meds. I've worked with many physicians in several specialties who are DO's and MD's. They work seamlessly together with total respect for one another.

In the end, your residency options are shaped by you, not your degree. Quit listening to the hype and just get into school, go forth, and heal. Otherwise you risk being stuck in the PreMed forums forever because you can't get another acceptance. It's up to you. Either way, good luck.
 
I agree that you are making a lot of assumptions. I'm at a "top" medical school right now, and people here are not necessarily going to get into the best program in the specialty of their choice (if it's derm or ophtho in particular). As far as MCAT, you do hear about these miracles where someone did very poorly on the MCAT and then rocked step 1. A lot of the time, step 1 and mcat scores are correlated (not all the time, but good test takers are good test takers). If you don't do well on step 1, you are not going to get into a top residency program in derm.
 
Raryn said:
Perhaps I don't understand. If you don't plan on taking a DO acceptance, why not just NOT APPLY for DO schools?
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Yeah, I think this is what is confusing people the most. If you don't want to be a DO, don't apply to DO schools. You'll save yourself some money too.
 
gopens67 said:
will this hurt you in application to Allopathic Schools????
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No MD schools will know. However, remember that there is a chance you won't get into MD schools at all and then you'll just be SOL. If you didn't want to potentially go to a DO school (even as a backup) why did you apply??
 
I think you would be better off making plans on maybe taking this year off, to study for the MCAT. Study hard for however long it takes during the year (give yourself a few months of concentrated study, at least) and then take the darn test. Find out your score, then make a plan. Trying to plan with so many things still up in the air doesn't make any sense, and you will likely waste a ton of money in the process. If you are anticipating being a 3 time applicant already, DON'T DO THAT!!! The more you apply, the harder it really gets to prove to schools that you have what it takes. At every interview, they will ask you if you've applied before, both to their school and in general. A lot of the times they will specifically ask you where you have interviewed at.

In summary: study hard, and just do the MCAT right now. If you get the score you think you need for MD, then apply to both MD and DO and see what you get. Don't apply this year with a wishy washy idea of planning on having to do it again. Adcoms will pick up on this, if you are lucky enough to get interviews at DO schools. If they sense your hesitation, you are not very likely to get an acceptance. Good luck.
 
gopens67 said:
i do have intention of enrolling in one, but maybe not at the expense of an MD possibility. So what i would do is, after getting the DO acceptance, try and take the MCAT again, just as a last shot(so i know I tried everything, and if I do significantly better, dont take the DO acceptance, and reapply to MD for the following year...this way I know I will have tried everything I could have to get MD) The whole question is, will DO hold me back for residency? Also if my plan is even feasible (cause will it prevent me from applying to allopathic schools, having previously gotten acceptance to DO and turning it down) Im interested in psych...
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The answer is no it won't. Now I'm a little confused. DO you have an acceptance to an osteopathic school already or are you just asking? If you feel that you wouldn't accept the DO acceptance because you may get into a MD school then do yourself a favor and don't apply to a DO school. There are plenty of people who could care less about whether they get a MD or DO as long as they're a doctor and love the field they're in. It sounds to me like this is your plan of attack.

After going through interviews at BOTH MD and DO Schools you feel as though only a DO school will accept you. Then after being accepted at a DO school you'll say "oh let me make sure that this isn't my ONLY option so I'm going to turn down my ONLY acceptance, pay another 210 dollars for the MCAT and then ANOTHER 160 in AMCAS fees plus fees for the other schools and in secondaries and travel expenses. Just to see if this time I can get into an allopathic school. If I don't get in and the DO schools decide to bestow their favors upon me yet again, I will go there."

Is that your plan of attack?
 
See the issue is that you applied to them in the first place. If you didn't want to go, why do it? Now you've put yourself in a little bit of a bind. But if you really don't want to go, then don't. Personally, I'd take it if I were you, but its a personal decision.
 
gopens67 said:
tamar that was a pretty accurate description. Im applying now and like I said I dont mind being a DO if its the best thing I can get. However, if I dont get into any MD schools, and for some reason I have just a DO offer in hand...with that offer in hand I would take the MCAT just so I would know for sure. I wouldnt mind reapplying a third time, money is not an issue for me, time will not be that big of a deal....this is my career. But apparently people have issues with being a reapplicant...but we'll see.

My situation is pretty complicated, I already have a good MCAT score (31, balanced) and decent GPA (3.4), but I took the Mcat again and did worse significantly. Im very scared as to what the effect of this will be. I already know some schools will surely count me out completely. and i dont want to explain why i retook with a 31...i have already a 100 times and its killing me already haha.
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Can you maybe point us to a post where you DID explain why you retook with a 31? Maybe you took SDN opinions too seriously. But yeah, having a MORE RECENT lower score is going to be a big drag, unless you have a good reason.
 
zipmedic said:
Otherwise you risk being stuck in the PreMed forums forever because you can't get another acceptance. It's up to you.
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Some folks deserve to remain in pre-med forum hell indefinitely.
 
Ok if my description is correct then just take the DO acceptance. Unless you plan to drastically increase your MCAT score there isn't much you can do. In fact even increasing your score wouldn't do much. You'd have to be different from when you first applied. Since I don't know what type of ECs you have I can't speak on that. However you would have to do something amazing, like cure cancer or discover a brand new disease, to have a chance.

Ok you don't really have to cure cancer. However discovering a new disease might do the trick.

Really take the DO and ruuuuunnn with it.
 
gopens67 said:
tamar that was a pretty accurate description. Im applying now and like I said I dont mind being a DO if its the best thing I can get. However, if I dont get into any MD schools, and for some reason I have just a DO offer in hand...with that offer in hand I would take the MCAT just so I would know for sure. I wouldnt mind reapplying a third time, money is not an issue for me, time will not be that big of a deal....this is my career. But apparently people have issues with being a reapplicant...but we'll see.

My situation is pretty complicated, I already have a good MCAT score (31, balanced) and decent GPA (3.4), but I took the Mcat again and did worse significantly. Im very scared as to what the effect of this will be. I already know some schools will surely count me out completely. and i dont want to explain why i retook with a 31...i have already a 100 times and its killing me already haha.
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31 and 3.4, and you retook it and went down? You're probably screwed. Sorry, but that's a huge red flag. You should have done a SMP, if you didn't get in with that.
 
i love how everyone thinks im screwed.. there are some schools that will take my best scores. we'll see what happens and I'll let you guys know if you were right.
 
If I may ask, what DO school did you get into? There is some variability amongst their offerings.
 
gplex, you can such do a search for any posts under my name..i definitely spoke about it recently. I never got into one, this is all hypothetical, im deciding whether or not I should add DO schools for the upcoming year.
 
Well then your post is damn confusing. I'm done with hypotheticals. Good luck with the application.

Gplex OUT.
 
Lokhtar said:
31 and 3.4, and you retook it and went down? You're probably screwed. Sorry, but that's a huge red flag. You should have done a SMP, if you didn't get in with that.
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Agreed. If you reject a DO acceptance just to apply yet again (that would be your third time, right?) to MD schools with a 3.4 GPA and nothing else showing improvement other than a (maybe) slightly higher MCAT, you're going to crash and burn. When it comes to MD schools, a 3.4 GPA is not "decent" when you're a 3rd time applicant with little meaningful improvement between apps. A post-bac or SMP would help raise the GPA, and then if you can somehow (though unlikely) significantly raise your MCAT score, then maybe you have a fighting chance. Bottomline: if you get an acceptance at ANY school you apply to this cycle, MD or DO, take it and thank your lucky stars.
 
gasapple said:
Some folks deserve to remain in pre-med forum hell indefinitely.
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Dude where have you been??? I haven't seen you on the boards in a while (you can PM if don't want to answer here).
 
Why do people apply DO "as back-up" if they really have no intention of going, even if it's their only option? It's rude and a complete waste of time, money, and energy.
 
I don't understand why you plan to apply DO if you plan to turn down a potential acceptance.
 
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