Should I apply DO?

[GujuMD]

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I am a re-app this year. 31 L MCAT (11 PS, 7 VR, 13 BS). GPA is around 3.7. I have applied to 15 allopathic medical schools. I am almost done with secondaries just need the LOR and I'll be done.
I am debating if I should apply to DO schools. I don't want to be in the same position I am in right now, next year too.
Help me!

Thanks in advance

 

[CCEMTP2DOC]

I am a re-app this year. 31 L MCAT (11 PS, 7 VR, 13 BS). GPA is around 3.7. I have applied to 15 allopathic medical schools. I am almost done with secondaries just need the LOR and I'll be done.
I am debating if I should apply to DO schools. I don't want to be in the same position I am in right now, next year too.
Help me!

Thanks in advance

I would think you would do well in the DO application process. I also think that you could still have some luck with the allopathic side. The biggest alarm I see is your verbal. Is english your native language? If not, then your verbal isn't that much of a hinderance. Your GPA is good. What schools have you applied to? Are they upper tier or a good mix of schools? Good luck with your process.



Rob

 

[njbmd]

I am a re-app this year. 31 L MCAT (11 PS, 7 VR, 13 BS). GPA is around 3.7. I have applied to 15 allopathic medical schools. I am almost done with secondaries just need the LOR and I'll be done.
I am debating if I should apply to DO schools. I don't want to be in the same position I am in right now, next year too.
Help me!

Thanks in advance

The question that you have to ask yourself is 'Do you want to become a physician?'. If the answer to this question is "Yes", then you need to apply as broadly as possible.

The elephant in the room is "Are you hung up on the initials behind your name when you are finished with medical school?". If so, then you have the make the choice of applying only to allopathic medical schools and prepare for what you are going to do if you do not get accepted or you can apply broadly to both osteopathic and allopathic medical schools, get in to either and not look back.

In the world of application to medical school in 2006, you have far more choices with both allopathic and osteopathic medical schools. In spite of what you read on SDN, you can have any career that you want provided you perform well in either osteopathic or allopathic medical school.

To those who say it is difficult to get into a surgical specialty from osteopathic medical school, I say it is difficult to get into a surgical specialty if you have not done well in allopathic medical school. For any medical student, the surgical specialties are going to be more competitive that the non-surgical specialties. For any medical student, the good programs in non-surgical specialties are going to be competitive.

Apply broadly and you increase your chances of acceptance. The best case scenario is that you get accepted to medical school because any acceptance puts you one step closer to your goal of becoming a physician. If you can't stand the idea of attending a specific school, don't apply there in the first place.

The reputation of the school that does NOT accept you, is meaningless. Apply to a broad range of schools and apply to both allopathic and osteopathic medical schools if you want to maximize your chances of becoming a physician.

 

[MDstudent101]

Yeah I trully agree, you have to ask yourself a question and if that questions answer happens to be yes, then go ahead and apply to both schools. The important thing is that you become a Physician, I mean thats if you want to bad enough. So if thats the case I highly doubt that if whether it's MD or DO after your name its going to affect you reaching your goals as a Physician. 😀

 

[GujuMD]

I have applied to a good mix of allo schools. I have been doing some reading on osteo schools. I do not mind being a DO but I guess I still need to think about it.

 

[MDstudent101]

Yeah I mean thats fine think it off and make a descision based on what you feel is right.. But I urge you not to think it over to to much and let to much time pass by.

 

[ahhh123]

I have applied to a good mix of allo schools. I have been doing some reading on osteo schools. I do not mind being a DO but I guess I still need to think about it.

i think you should apply to both.. but which one do you want more? MD or DO? I think with your stats.. you should at least get into one of the MD school.. apply widely! Good LUCK!

 

[Depakote]

Applying DO was the best thing I could have done this year.

 

[GujuMD]

I have started my DO application and will be applying to 2 or 3 DO schools...now i just have to look for schools.

 

[C.P. Jones]

hey Guju,

i'm in the same boat as you....similar stats, your mcat's higher. i started a DO app, but haven't submitted it yet since i'm afraid to commit the cash. if i do decide to do so, i will also apply to 2 or 3 schools in my area. and right now i've become really busy, so i just have not gotten to it. i'd say go for it. if i don't get any good luck by next week or two, i'm probably going to submit it.

here's my question....how quickly do DO schools get back to you. don't they have deposits in the thousands of dollars that are not refundable? If for some reason i were able to apply and get in before hearing back from a MD school, and then end up getting accepted....that would be a lot of money to lose (of course, unless i choose the DO over the MD school!). either way, just a thought, if i were to apply now, i guess it would be a bit late anyway, so if i even can get an interview, it won't be til a lot later.

Guju

 

[GujuMD]

good luck C.P. Jones

 

[Stolenspatulas]

I THINK YOU MAY NOT HAVE TO APPLY DO. My reasoning is as follows: it looks like your scores are pretty solid (besides the V on the mcat, but still thats one thing). what i want to ask is how did your previous app year go? did you get interviews. were you something like 5/15 schools in terms of getting interviews? If your interview rate was pretty high, that means on paper they thought of you as "comparably competitive." I stress again, thats only on paper--- schools liked your scores, your extracurrics, your mcat enough, etc. so, my point is, the problem you may have had is the interview process. I have a friend with a 3.95 39 mcat who applied to 15 schools, got 3 interviews, didnt get in to anywhere. he def should not apply DO. he should do some more volunteering (since that redflagged him some) and learn HOW to interview. IT MAY DEFINITELY HAVE BEEN THE CASE THAT YOU JUST DIDNT INTERVIEW WELL. if thats the case, buy some of those good books out there (theres one on amazon that i bought for 12 bucks used) and get some mock interviews in (i asked a doctor who was on the admissions committee at my ugrad to do a mock for me).

now, if you really dont care about the initials behind your name, by all means, apply to DO. all im saying is maybe your numbers and your extracurrics etc are good enough to land an MD school somewhere.

 

[Nlightened]

I agree with Stolenspatulas, admissions commitee are tough to figure out and you would be surprised at what some students stats were when they were accepted. Make sure you apply to some "safety" schools. Meaning: apply to 1/3 ivy, and 2/3 state and or lesser private schools. You should do fine, just make yourself stand out in the interview. Some schools thrive off of their diversity as well as obtaining well rounded students.

 

[GujuMD]

My last years app: MCAT 28L (11ps, 6 vr, 11 bs), GPA was about 3.74. I applied late because i took the august MCAT and I sent the secondary app to 13 schools and got one interview and was waitlisted at that school. and i got a mail from them after their school started that i didn't get in.

i was thinking about applying DO again this morning...i am still a little unsure because i am low on money

 

[MiesVanDerMom]

My last years app: MCAT 28L (11ps, 6 vr, 11 bs), GPA was about 3.74. I applied late because i took the august MCAT and I sent the secondary app to 13 schools and got one interview and was waitlisted at that school. and i got a mail from them after their school started that i didn't get in.

i was thinking about applying DO again this morning...i am still a little unsure because i am low on money

I'm in the process of also applying DO. If you're only doing 2 or 3 schools it doesn't cost that much (i'm low on cash too). I think it's worth it. I can't face the idea of re-applying next year.

 

[musiclink213]

This is what I've learned from word of mouth only, but I have heard that some MD schools will reject you if you get less than an 8 on any section of the MCAT. This is purely anecdotal, and I have no evidence to support it, other than something a friend told to me. That said, IMO, the 7 on VR really might hurt you. They're not going to care so much if English was your native language or not. It might help you, but it won't completely excuse you from the score.

I don't see the harm in applying to DO schools. You've already spent so much money, what's another couple hundred bucks in applying for a few DO schools? And from the time your transcripts come in and get verified, it takes about 6 weeks for verification. So say you submit in one week. 6 weeks puts you at the end of November? And then you fill out your secondaries soon as you get them, get invited for an interview. Odds are, you would probably go on those interviews in Jan/Feb. So by that point, you might have a better idea of where you stand with the MD schools. If you have already a few interviews, possibly a few acceptances by that point, than the decision is yours to make if you want to go to the DO school interview or not, or accept their decision. So remember, these things will take time, so while that whole thing is going down, you might start to develop a better picture of your MD luck.

 

[chaeymaey]

Do you have a DO school in your state? You may want to just apply there for now and add schools later if you feel the need to. I'm just applying to the one in my state, and I'm a reapplicant as well.

 

[MadHopsMD]

I am a re-app this year. 31 L MCAT (11 PS, 7 VR, 13 BS). GPA is around 3.7. I have applied to 15 allopathic medical schools. I am almost done with secondaries just need the LOR and I'll be done.
I am debating if I should apply to DO schools. I don't want to be in the same position I am in right now, next year too.
Help me!

Thanks in advance

I say take the MCAT again and try to score at least 8 or the magical 9.

Trust me the difference between a 7 and a 9 is A LOT in terms of interviews received, while only technically 4 more correct multiple choice answers. 🙂 I am living this story.

that said you have a high total score...so you can get lucky.

 

[drhannibal]

It can't hurt to apply to a few DO's. You can see how everything turns out at the end of the process, and end up rejecting the DO schools if you get into MD programs that you would rather attend. Plus, you might end up really liking the DO teaching style. You never know. 🙂

 

[Orthodoc40]

I think njbmd said it all.

The primary & secondary fees for DO schools are a lot less than MD applications - so applying to 3 or so won't be that much money. And yeah - DO schools tend to let you know within 2 weeks of interview what your status is. In general they are much faster at sending interview invitations and replies than any of the MD schools. Some of them have hefty chunks of money to put down in order to hold a spot. You can research those fees at the AACOM website. Maybe hold off on those schools for now if you're worried about that. Or maybe just worry about it later, once it happens, if it happens. I'd rather lose $1000 deposit and be in this year than spend lots more money re-applying next year.