Should he reapply?

[drtobe2]

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This is kind of embarrassing. I am an avid reader of SDN, but have never posted before. I became addicted to this site last year when my son decided to apply for med school in Texas. I thought it was a bit early for him to do so, but he went ahead and took the MCAT and did reasonably well. He received 6 interviews, is waitlisted at four, and matched at TCOM. I was thrilled for him to get matched but he seemed to be a little bit disappointed. Anyway, I have become a TCOM fan and have been reading everything I can find about DOs in general and TCOM in particular. From what I have read, I think it is quite a good school, and I hope my son will attend if he doesn’t get off the list from other schools. My impression from him is that he will reapply this year, but I think it’s a risky thing to do. By the end of this semester he will have around 3.70 and 32R MCAT with limited research and clinical experience. I hope he will give up the idea of reapplying and go to TCOM. What do you guys think?

 

[bkpa2med]

I think that he should attend, because MD/DO are the same thing. I live in NYC and there is no bias in the workplace against DO's. The main aspect is to become a physician and it's great to hear that your son has received an acceptance. It's a very painful process for some and you never know what may occur in the future. IMHO he should attend, he has great grades and will most likely be a great physician.

-Bill

 

[newyorkcougar]

Personally, I think he should DEFINATELY not waste the year reapplying. TCOM is a great school, he'll get a great education, and with that kind of MCAT he is likely to get good board scores no matter where he goes anyway. I vote for TCOM!

 

[Kazema]

He should attend, but if he ultimately decides to reapply he needs to do something to improve his application. Actually if he wants to apply for the 2006 entering class he should have already been doing something to improve his application, I guess in his case clinical experience and research, because his grades are fine.

It would definitely be a mistake to turn down TCOM but do nothing in the meantime to improve his app before applying again. Even if he does strengthen his application though it's still a risk of course to turn down an acceptance to reapply - it works for some people but not for everyone.

I don't think you'll find too many people advising him to reapply unless he really, really can't bring himself to go to TCOM. TCOM is an excellent school.

 

[OSUdoc08]

This is kind of embarrassing. I am an avid reader of SDN, but have never posted before. I became addicted to this site last year when my son decided to apply for med school in Texas. I thought it was a bit early for him to do so, but he went ahead and took the MCAT and did reasonably well. He received 6 interviews, is waitlisted at four, and matched at TCOM. I was thrilled for him to get matched but he seemed to be a little bit disappointed. Anyway, I have become a TCOM fan and have been reading everything I can find about DOs in general and TCOM in particular. From what I have read, I think it is quite a good school, and I hope my son will attend if he doesn’t get off the list from other schools. My impression from him is that he will reapply this year, but I think it’s a risky thing to do. By the end of this semester he will have around 3.70 and 32R MCAT with limited research and clinical experience. I hope he will give up the idea of reapplying and go to TCOM. What do you guys think?

I'm from Texas.

Baylor and UT-Southwestern are the only Texas schools ranked higher than TCOM, according to the US News & World Report.

Unless he plans on going to one of the 2 above schools, then I don't understand why he would want to hold out for one of the other schools.

The Texas match is a risky business, and it would be a bad idea to not take the spot.

 

[APTX]

When I saw this post I felt I had to say something. I interviewed at all seven TMDSAS medical schools with a 32 MCAT and 3.75 GPA and matched at TCOM, which was disappointing to me at first because I ranked it lower than some of the other schools. My family felt that with my grades I should have been able to get into an MD school and pushed me to reapply next year. They thought that my having a DO degree would only hurt me in the long run as long as the general public thinks that DOs are doctors whose stats weren't good enough to get into an MD school. (sadly, I've heard people say this) For a month I had no idea what to do, but in the end I realized that I don't want to go through the application process again, there's not much I could do to improve my apps, and TCOM is still an excellent school. I decided I would attend TCOM in the fall, and attending TCOM's Spring Fling this past weekend gave me the chance to talk to current students to see how they felt about the school. They all had good things to say, so I feel more confident in my decision 👍

 

[villileblanc]

When I saw this post I felt I had to say something. I interviewed at all seven TMDSAS medical schools with a 32 MCAT and 3.75 GPA and matched at TCOM, which was disappointing to me at first because I ranked it lower than some of the other schools. My family felt that with my grades I should have been able to get into an MD school and pushed me to reapply next year. They thought that my having a DO degree would only hurt me in the long run as long as the general public thinks that DOs are doctors whose stats weren't good enough to get into an MD school. (sadly, I've heard people say this) For a month I had no idea what to do, but in the end I realized that I don't want to go through the application process again, there's not much I could do to improve my apps, and TCOM is still an excellent school. I decided I would attend TCOM in the fall, and attending TCOM's Spring Fling this past weekend gave me the chance to talk to current students to see how they felt about the school. They all had good things to say, so I feel more confident in my decision 👍

Did you rank TCOM lower than all of the other schools? Which schools did you rank it higher than?

 

[Megalofyia]

Your son risks not being able to get in anywhere too. There is a question on the Texas application that asks if you've been accepted anywhere.. schools will wonder about him turning down a good acceptance to apply again. It's just a risk though and not definite.

 

[drtobe2]

Thank you all so much for all your input. I wish my son would read this thread and come to his senses. I have developed a kinship and affection for DOs and DOs- to- be after reading so much about the trials and tribulations some of you guys had to go through in the application process, and the heated debates between DOs and MDs. I discouraged my son from pursuing a career in medicine when he first came up with the idea three years ago, for I knew how hard it was going to be. Now I am afraid when reality strikes, he may get cold feet and give up. I have reminded him repeatedly that being a healer is not a job, it is a calling, and it makes very little difference whether you are a DO or MD. Anyway, I think he likes TCOM and may still go. I think his only concern is that after four years he may not be able to get into some sub-specialties in which he may be interested. Well, that’s another story altogether.
I feel that I know some of you guys personally since I check this forum several times a day. All in all most of your guys are very upbeat and encouraging to one another. I am especially impressed by the non-traditional pre-meds who have a passion for medicine and keep on working hard to make up whatever deficiencies that they may have in order to get into med school. I truly admire them and am convinced they will be wonderful doctors in the future, and I will seek them out when I need one. As far as my son is concerned, I really can’t do a whole lot for him except for praying and sharing with him my two cents when I am asked. He is still very young and may have to learn some life lessons through hardship and difficulties. I hope he will be as wise and down to earth as many of you guys.

 

[Megalofyia]

If it helps my mom tries to tell me a lot of what she thinks.. I know SHE thinks I dont listen to her.. but I do.. I just dont want her to know that right away 😉

 

[APTX]

If it helps my mom tries to tell me a lot of what she thinks.. I know SHE thinks I dont listen to her.. but I do.. I just dont want her to know that right away 😉

Even though they don't think so, I listen to everything my parents say; I just don't like to hear it sometimes. When all's said and done I'm glad I'm allowed to make my own decision about some things. 🙂

To villileblanc: let's just say I ranked TCOM among the lower 3 (I don't want to offend anyone with specific names and numbers)

 

[Kazema]

Sometimes we kids just have to learn for ourselves; my mom gave me tons of advice every day, but I always insisted (insist) on doing things my way and screwing up first .

 

[Future Doc B]

My 2 cents...

TCOM is a great school! At Spring Fling they had a slide show their 2005 Residency matches and I must say it was pretty impressive! 2 grads got into Orthopedics and a whole bunch of others got into prestigous MD and DO residencies. So, I think if your son works hard he can accomplish anything he wants in medicine.

FYI, it was mentioned at Spring Fling that TCOM c/o 2009 had higher stats than some of the other medical schools in Texas.

 

[PublicEnemy]

i'm going to go against the grain. i think someone should only attend an osteopathic medical school if thats where they really want to be. i would say the same thing to anybody no matter what school. don't go where you don't want to. don't apply where you know you won't go. the 2 letters after your name will be there forever, and you have to be willing to accept being a DO. its not just a backup for allo schools. and even for those people who treat it as such, they too must ultimately choose or accept to become a DO, and be prepared to live with that decision.

and while must of us on this thread are confident with our decision, or realize or believe that our professional careers will not be affected regardless of the type of medical degree we obtain, its not always the case for everyone. ultimately its completely a personal decision. but it should at least be an informed decision.

for people from texas, the other huge factor to consider is the amazing price of in-state tuition. what if you match at TCOM but also get into an allo school like Drexel or Albany with a nice hefty price tag? what then? but even cost should not be the sole factor. everyone is different, and not everyone can put a price on personal happiness or satisfaction.

if someone is having a hard time seeing themselves happy being a DO, or they can't get excited or feel some pride in that, then seriously, its not for them. no big deal, its not for everyone. its nothing personal, but thats the way it is.

the worst type of regret is the regret from not taking chances, thinking what if, or if only i had...

re-applicants can have success. and 1 year is not a big deal, in fact for many people, taking a year off is a good idea, doing something healthcare related, or just gaining maturity. i could have applied during college to go straight, but i decided to take 2 years off for me, and i don't regret it all.

 

[Static Line]

This is kind of embarrassing. I am an avid reader of SDN, but have never posted before. I became addicted to this site last year when my son decided to apply for med school in Texas. I thought it was a bit early for him to do so, but he went ahead and took the MCAT and did reasonably well. He received 6 interviews, is waitlisted at four, and matched at TCOM. I was thrilled for him to get matched but he seemed to be a little bit disappointed. Anyway, I have become a TCOM fan and have been reading everything I can find about DOs in general and TCOM in particular. From what I have read, I think it is quite a good school, and I hope my son will attend if he doesn’t get off the list from other schools. My impression from him is that he will reapply this year, but I think it’s a risky thing to do. By the end of this semester he will have around 3.70 and 32R MCAT with limited research and clinical experience. I hope he will give up the idea of reapplying and go to TCOM. What do you guys think?

He needs to go to TCOM. With numbers like 3.7 and 32R he should have received other invites. Obviously, many of these adcoms see a weak link on his app somewhere that concerned them. I have friends who got into ECU and UNC with similar GPA's and much weaker MCAT than your son's but they made up for it in other areas, like experience etc...

Nothing wrong with osteopathy unless his ego is too big that it can't measure up to his standards, then he would be better off waiting. Beleive me, I see DO's everyday at work who are just as competent, just as respected, and make just as much money as their allopath counterparts.

 

[CoverMe]

i'm going to go against the grain. i think someone should only attend an osteopathic medical school if thats where they really want to be. i would say the same thing to anybody no matter what school. don't go where you don't want to. don't apply where you know you won't go. the 2 letters after your name will be there forever, and you have to be willing to accept being a DO. its not just a backup for allo schools. and even for those people who treat it as such, they too must ultimately choose or accept to become a DO, and be prepared to live with that decision.

I agree. Medical school is way too difficult and requires way too much dedication to try to "fake it." If he's not happy with the school, then respect his decision to either reapply or do something else. If the bottom line was that he wanted to practice medicine above all else, then going to a DO school would not cause him to hesitate.

I understand the OP's enthusiasm, but the fact that she's going to the effort of posting here (does here son peruse sdn?) and seeking opinions to back up her opinion regarding her sons decision is alarming. He's the one who has to live with it, and without the right motivations he'll be nothing but miserable. It matters not what I think, the OP thinks, or what anyone here at SDN thinks, let him come to his own conclusions.