SMP with Conditional Acceptance vs DO Acceptance

[MDterminator]

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My URM friend with 3.5 GPA and sub 500 MCAT has this scenario and they need help deciding what to do.

Choice A - Take conditional A to mid tier MD school next cycle... just have to average a "B" for 2 semesters and repeat MCAT with a score of 500 to get in.

VS

Choice B - Take A to top 5 DO school in current cycle

Advice?

 

[LunaOri]

Take the DO A! There’s no guarantee of getting an adequate MCAT score.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Take the A. I wrote a LOR to our post back program for a student who went to our local pre med mill. They were a Chem major with a 3.7 GPA. They were unable to maintain the GPA required for an interview. N=1, speaking with our PD, this is not uncommon. The sub 500 mcat for your friend is worrisome and they have an A at a top 5 DO school. Tell them to take they A. They want to be a doctor, don't they?

 

[Rachapkis]

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. You know what they call graduates from DO schools: DOCTOR.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Why take an extra year of debt?

 

[MDterminator]

Well, my friend wants to land a non-primary care residency at a recognized Academic Institution. Perhaps MD gives them the better chance, and they are giving me the impression that they think its worth the gamble.

BTW the MD school is east coast and IS. The DO school is mid-America and OOS. Probably factors in to their decision and outlook of residency placement. Tough choice if you ask me.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Well, my friend wants to land a non-primary care residency at a recognized Academic Institution. Perhaps MD gives them the better chance, and they are giving me the impression that they think its worth the gamble.

BTW the MD school is east coast and IS. The DO school is mid-America and OOS. Probably factors in to their decision and outlook of residency placement. Tough choice if you ask me.

It's not as tough when you are facing the debt number over a few decades. URM future healthcare providers rely on networking through SNMA or similar organizations to position them for their next step. SNMA includes URM students at DO schools and Caribbean programs! (Please note we are not telling anyone to apply to Caribbean programs.) This is not a hard choice; your friend will find connection and community through SNMA and NMA to help them further... so start medical school now.

Please encourage your friend to post here.

 

[LizzyM]

Well, my friend wants to land a non-primary care residency at a recognized Academic Institution. Perhaps MD gives them the better chance, and they are giving me the impression that they think its worth the gamble.

BTW the MD school is east coast and IS. The DO school is mid-America and OOS. Probably factors in to their decision and outlook of residency placement. Tough choice if you ask me.

Given his track record, that may not be a reasonable goal (non-primary care residency at a recognized Academic institution) regardless of the med school attended. Before going anywhere, he should think deeply about why he wants to attend medical school and whether he would be okay with a career in ambulatory primary care (that's where most care is delivered these days).

 

[MDterminator]

The overwhelming response appears to be take the guaranteed DO acceptance.

Albeit they are still waiting to hear from another MD school that will likely end in waitlist, this is the hand they are dealt.

 

[LindaAccepted]

My URM friend with 3.5 GPA and sub 500 MCAT has this scenario and they need help deciding what to do.

Choice A - Take conditional A to mid tier MD school next cycle... just have to average a "B" for 2 semesters and repeat MCAT with a score of 500 to get in.

VS

Choice B - Take A to top 5 DO school in current cycle

Advice?

Take the acceptance (unless accepted elsewhere that he prefers.)

 

[Goro]

My URM friend with 3.5 GPA and sub 500 MCAT has this scenario and they need help deciding what to do.

Choice A - Take conditional A to mid tier MD school next cycle... just have to average a "B" for 2 semesters and repeat MCAT with a score of 500 to get in.

VS

Choice B - Take A to top 5 DO school in current cycle

Advice?

Always go for the sure thing

 

[candbgirl]

An A is always better than maybe next year if you do this and this. What was his original MCAT?

 

[MDterminator]

An A is always better than maybe next year if you do this and this. What was his original MCAT?

499

 

[MDterminator]

Hmm I feel like if my friend posts on the other popular pre-med forum they would get different responses haha.

 

[candbgirl]

Hmm I feel like if my friend posts on the other popular pre-med forum they would get different responses haha.

Your friend can listen to anyone he wants to. Just realize that in this thread your friend has gotten responses from at least 6 actual ADCOMS. Pretty impossible to get better info than that.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I think I'd want to know how "sub" 500 his score was, how many other times has he taken the MCAT and what were his scores, how were his practice test scores, how much time would he have to devote to practicing for MCAT, what is his course load in terms of credits and difficulty, and how hard will it be to keep a B’s or better in his final two semesters given he has a 3.5 avg so far.

But unless I got really good answers to all of the above, I'd take the top 5 DO A and never look back.

This is a point frequently neglected by pre med advisors. At our school, 1st semester of med school is 32 credits. Basically 2 semesters of college in 1 semester. This is a huge adjustment for all but elite students. Students who haven't mastered the basics in college are ofter " tsunamied" in med school. Sub 500 mcat is a red flag. Most pre meds as @Goro often says think they are going to sink a 50 ft jump shot at the buzzer. I would very often recommend our Masters program for such applicants. They almost always hit the ground running and do well in med school. As I said earlier, take the A at a top 5 DO school, they will be a doctor and in charge of their own destiny.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Well, my friend wants to land a non-primary care residency at a recognized Academic Institution. Perhaps MD gives them the better chance, and they are giving me the impression that they think its worth the gamble.

BTW the MD school is east coast and IS. The DO school is mid-America and OOS. Probably factors in to their decision and outlook of residency placement. Tough choice if you ask me.

We hear this reasoning all the time, and there are two problems with this. First, going to a DO school doesn't mean you're locked into primary care, it just may make the road a little harder and riskier. But declining a DO acceptance to continue an SMP ALSO makes the road harder and riskier. So I would consider the "fail" scenario. If he goes to the DO school and winds up not being competitive for his non-primary care specialty, he can still go into IM/FM/peds/a few other fields and make minimum $200k+/yr for the rest of his career. If he declines the A and stumbles on either his SMP or his MCAT, he's never going to be doctor and has to completely change his career path. One of those is significantly worse as a fail scenario than the other. And keep in mind, while he may be doing well now you never know when something unexpected could arise--he could have a family member get sick, he could have a personal life event that affects his mental health, he could find that he doesn't have the time to adequately prep for the MCAT while also doing the SMP, etc.

Secondly, getting into the MD school does not guarantee that he will be able to match a competitive specialty either. Plenty of MD students overestimate their competitiveness each year, reach for a specialty beyond their means, and fail to match.

Bottom line, declining an A for a nonguaranteed benefit does not make sense to me.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

We hear this reasoning all the time, and there are two problems with this. First, going to a DO school doesn't mean you're locked into primary care, it just may make the road a little harder and riskier. But declining a DO acceptance to continue an SMP ALSO makes the road harder and riskier. So I would consider the "fail" scenario. If he goes to the DO school and winds up not being competitive for his non-primary care specialty, he can still go into IM/FM/peds/a few other fields and make minimum $200k+/yr for the rest of his career. If he declines the A and stumbles on either his SMP or his MCAT, he's never going to be doctor and has to completely change his career path. One of those is significantly worse as a fail scenario than the other. And keep in mind, while he may be doing well now you never know when something unexpected could arise--he could have a family member get sick, he could have a personal life event that affects his mental health, he could find that he doesn't have the time to adequately prep for the MCAT while also doing the SMP, etc.

Secondly, getting into the MD school does not guarantee that he will be able to match a competitive specialty either. Plenty of MD students overestimate their competitiveness each year, reach for a specialty beyond their means, and fail to match.

Bottom line, declining an A for a nonguaranteed benefit does not make sense to me.

Very well said.