Reapply with stronger app or take DO acceptance?

[Thorrr_888]

I applied early this past 2021-2022 cycle in July and received 2 interviews one at my in-state school which is UNC and a DO school, CCOM. I was accepted to CCOM very early but was not accepted to UNC which was my first choice. The Tuition at CCOM is astronomical. It is about 400k+ total cost after four years which is scary. UNC would be ~200k. I realize I should have researched the school more before applying but I did not realize its drawbacks until recently. Overall, I'm nervous to accept because I'm not sure which specialty I want to do yet although I am leaning away from primary care. I realize that DO students face a tougher competition matching into residency and am thinking I would be happier at a lower-cost, better-recognized school.
My MCAT was 507 (124, 126, 127, 130). I was studying while working full-time and would retake the test without working to spend sufficient time on it and I am sure I would improve my score. My GPA is 3.91 with good ECs with 3000 hours clinical experience and 1000 research. If I chose to reapply I would skip the next cycle and apply in the 2023-2024 year to take my time and not rush the process.
I guess my question is, would it be crazy to not accept this offer and reapply with stronger stats and volunteer hours/experiences?
Would MD schools know that I had rejected this offer from a DO school?

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[LizzyM]

If you can accept the risk that your MCAT score may not improve and that the competition will be more fierce in 2023 than it was in this last cycle, and you can accept the risk that you may never be admitted to any other medical school and never achieve your dream of being a physician.... if you can determine what that risk is and whether you can live with it, go for it. Turn down the DO offer.

If you can't accept the risk, take the DO offer and be relatively assured of being a resident physician about 50 months from now.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

You’re also risking two years of an attending salary.

Not sure which choice, but you have to factor this in.

How old? This may also be a factor you want to consider

 

[chilly_md]

Since part of your reasoning is finances, it is also possible that you do not get into UNC and will be paying 320k+ for an out of state or private MD school. Cost of living and tuition can go up in 2 years as well.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Did the admissions team at UNCSOM specifically tell you that you were rejected only because of your MCAT?

I think it's tricky, but I would want to get out of the hoops you have to continue doing as an applicant and start jumping through the hoops to be a great med student for residency as soon as I could. How confident is your financial aid officer for the DO school to get you scholarship opportunities even after you start school?

 

[Angus Avagadro]

There are the military and Public Health Service options to consider to cover the expensive tuition.
You might have considered LECOM, much lower tuition with a solid match list.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Is the applicant still eligible for HPSP or NHSC? I think you can still seek those opportunities after you start school.

 

[Thorrr_888]

You’re also risking two years of an attending salary.

Not sure which choice, but you have to factor this in.

How old? This may also be a factor you want to consider

True. Age is part of the decision. I turned 24 this year.

 

[Thorrr_888]

Did the admissions team at UNCSOM specifically tell you that you were rejected only because of your MCAT?

I think it's tricky, but I would want to get out of the hoops you have to continue doing as an applicant and start jumping through the hoops to be a great med student for residency as soon as I could. How confident is your financial aid officer for the DO school to get you scholarship opportunities even after you start school?

They did not specifically say that the MCAT was the reason. I have a feeling it was the interview and the MCAT that had the most influence. I just did not click well with the UNC interviewer, it didn't feel like a conversation. My other interview went 1000x better.

 

[anesussy]

If I were you I wouldn't even have applied to DO schools unless I was a reapplicant, but what's done is done.

I would retake the MCAT if I were you. No sense in leaving anything on the table, especially at this stage in the game.

If you take the DO acceptance, you're always going to regret not giving yourself a shot at redemption.

If you can accept the risk that your MCAT score may not improve and that the competition will be more fierce in 2023 than it was in this last cycle, and you can accept the risk that you may never be admitted to any other medical school and never achieve your dream of being a physician.... if you can determine what that risk is and whether you can live with it, go for it. Turn down the DO offer.

If you can't accept the risk, take the DO offer and be relatively assured of being a resident physician about 50 months from now.

The fearmongering in this post is ridiculous lol

DOs are heavily disadvantaged in the match, and it's only going to get worse. Don't start with the deck stacked against you unless you absolutely have to.

And that's not even mentioning having to take two sets of board exams.

 

[Goro]

The fearmongering in this post is ridiculous lol

DOs are heavily disadvantaged in the match, and it's only going to get worse. Don't start with the deck stacked against you unless you absolutely have to.

And that's not even mentioning having to take two sets of board exams.

Tell that to my kids who have matched in academic IR, Derm and Ortho residencies. Things have changed since you were in med school.

 

[anesussy]

Tell that to my kids who have matched in academic IR, Derm and Ortho residencies. Things have changed since you were in med school.

Congrats to your school's students who accomplished that. That is seriously super impressive, and I think it's awesome. I'm just saying the deck is stacked against DOs, and I'm sure that even those students you mentioned would agree.

The reason I said it's only going to get worse is that more and more MD schools are opening every year.

In the past 5 years alone (2017-2022):
- California University of Science and Medicine
- Washington State
- Kaiser Permanente
- UT Houston
- NYU Long Island
- U Nevada Las Vegas
- Mayo AZ
- Hackensack
- U Illinois Carle
- Nova
- TCU

Meanwhile, if you look at match rates, they're getting lower and lower for DOs with each passing year:

Here is the ratio of matched/unmatched (raw data) and number of applications:

2020
MD- .68 pgy1 (1372 applied) DO- .60 pgy1 (433 applied)
MD - .26 pgy2 (1038 appllied) DO- .22 pgy2 (295applied)
Charting Match Rate- 89.6% MD & 78.7% DO

2021
MD- .70 pgy1 (1460 applied) DO-.52 pgy1 (513 applied)
MD- .20 pgy2 (1030 applied) DO-.18 pgy2 (366 applied)

2022
MD- .71 pgy1 (1489 applied) DO-.52 pgy1 (505 applied)
MD- .21 pgy1 (1094 applied) DO-.17 pgy2 (305 applied)

To give you some insight on where the match rate is headed for Anesthesiology.

This is just anesthesiology, so maybe in some specialties the match rate for DOs is increasing? But I would assume not.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

We just went through Record number of DO students and graduates secure residency placements through 2022 NRMP Match . Just putting up to refer back.

 

[fxryker]

People being confidently incorrect about DOs will never end, huh?

 

[BioPsychotic]

Congrats to your school's students who accomplished that. That is seriously super impressive, and I think it's awesome. I'm just saying the deck is stacked against DOs, and I'm sure that even those students you mentioned would agree.

The reason I said it's only going to get worse is that more and more MD schools are opening every year.

In the past 5 years alone (2017-2022):
- California University of Science and Medicine
- Washington State
- Kaiser Permanente
- UT Houston
- NYU Long Island
- U Nevada Las Vegas
- Mayo AZ
- Hackensack
- U Illinois Carle
- Nova
- TCU

Meanwhile, if you look at match rates, they're getting lower and lower for DOs with each passing year:

This is just anesthesiology, so maybe in some specialties the match rate for DOs is increasing? But I would assume not.

The overall match rate for DOs this past match was the highest on record at around 91%.

More and more DO schools are also opening.

Find another hill to die on.

 

[Proudfather94]

The overall match rate for DOs this past match was the highest on record at around 91%.

More and more DO schools are also opening.

Find another hill to die on.

Seems like the best DO schools match lists are even higher than that. While some programs may be out of reach for DOs enough are that if you apply broadly enough and are competitive you should get in somewhere.