8
868651
Thats the impression I’m getting from the program. I often wonder if it’s harder to find a job with a DO instead of an MD.
- Status
A
AnatomyGrey12
It’s not.
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2016
- Messages
- 73
- Reaction score
- 137
Like for troll. Retweet for naïve premed.
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2010
- Messages
- 75,030
- Reaction score
- 120,434
No, and no. A number of DO schools have stats that are on par or even surpass a number a MD schools.
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2016
- Messages
- 200
- Reaction score
- 109
I saw a DO school with a MCAT range that extended to 520.
A
AnatomyGrey12
In 2017 there were 21 DO matriculants with an MCAT score of 519 or higher.
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2017
- Messages
- 204
- Reaction score
- 137
Did you know the term “mentally ******ed” is now outdated? The accepted term is now “intellectual deficit.”
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2017
- Messages
- 58
- Reaction score
- 46
I had a high GPA, high MCAT (taught MCAT courses), went DO, and will be doing pediatrics at an academic program for residency. If you're sincerely curious, you can PM me for details. If you are a troll, then shame on you and I pity you for having nothing more interesting in your life than online forums that are not applicable to you.
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2016
- Messages
- 114
- Reaction score
- 103
Not sure why people are getting defensive but the M.D requirements are significantly higher, you need more research, and the cost of schools are usually lower. D.O. Schools will cause you to be discriminated against when choosing residency and you will have a significantly hard time specializing in anything other than primary care. Some M.D. residencies will look at an IMG before D.O. Osteopathic schools make it more difficult for a student with some with mandatory attendence, dress code, the COMPLEX instead of USMLE, and no pass/fail/honors. Osteopathic schools mostly don’t even have a hospital and your most importantly years(3-4) will be needlessly difficult.
Still, osteopathic school allows people with lower, but still good, grades become a doctor and I wouldn’t even bother applying to be a doctor without osteopathic schools. Though no doubt if I had the choice I would pick allopathic schools if I had the grades but I can’t go back in the past. I don’t see any rational reason to choose osteopathic over allopathic if you have the grade and ec’s.
Still, osteopathic school allows people with lower, but still good, grades become a doctor and I wouldn’t even bother applying to be a doctor without osteopathic schools. Though no doubt if I had the choice I would pick allopathic schools if I had the grades but I can’t go back in the past. I don’t see any rational reason to choose osteopathic over allopathic if you have the grade and ec’s.
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2017
- Messages
- 58
- Reaction score
- 46
If you're going to speak as if you are more educated than others giving advice, then you should know that the exam is the COMLEX. Also, very few residencies will prioritize IMG over DO and those that do are significantly less likely to be a competitive program. The OP was asking if DO is just for low GPA and low MCAT. I answered their question. I had a high GPA and a high MCAT. I also was caught with a fake ID during undergrad which resulted in institutional action. So I had that as a red flag but otherwise I performed higher than 90% of MD students on STEPs and matched accordingly. I will always 100% tell people to go MD over DO. But that is not what the OP asked. Furthermore, most schools have an attendance policy that requires labs only (which MD schools have too) and no dress code. You may be latching onto rules from 2 or 3 schools but that is not the majority.
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2017
- Messages
- 1,938
- Reaction score
- 3,331
1) the requirements are not “significantly higher”. People with stats equivalent to the AACOMAS average applicant are accepted to MD schools all the time. It’s not necessarily the norm, but it’s not a rare occurrence. You’re also totally disregarding the emphasis placed on reinvention or other life experiences that a vast majority of DO schools highly regard.
2) this was already pointed out, but basically zero programs will prioritize an American IMG over a DO student, and those that do are not programs you should be interested in anyways.
3) my future DO school matched about 50% primary care and about 50% not primary care (probably closer to 60/40?). This does not seem like a “significantly harder time” to me. There are a handful, like neurosurgery and ortho (which six people from my school matched last year), that are generally more difficult. Additionally (and anecdotally), many (majority?) of the people marching to FM programs from my school matched to their first choice programs and were thrilled. It’s not like they just got screwed into FM like so many seem to imagine. People - and this may surprise you - actually want to do FM.
4) my school, and a majority of other DO schools, have H/P/F, no dress code, streamed and VOD lectures, and no mandatory attendance for lectures.
5) you don’t necessarily need “more research”. A majority of MD schools don’t place much emphasis on research, either. And, for the record, I had over 1600 hours.
I agree with you: MD > DO in a vast majority of circumstances. But it’s important to understand that it isn’t the s***hole degree so many on SDN paint it to be.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2016
- Messages
- 1,042
- Reaction score
- 1,139
It’s so sad that people stigmatize DOs and osteopathic schools. At the end of the day, both MD and DOs are healthcare providers with equally respectable medical degrees
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2014
- Messages
- 4,224
- Reaction score
- 15,037
Yes to first question. No to second question. Some have MD level apps but are geographically limited and go DO, Those are a minority though.
- Joined
- May 28, 2017
- Messages
- 362
- Reaction score
- 214
I would say based on the chatter on sdn DO does seem to attract those with lower scores. For some reason you get students coming to the pre-DO forum to ask if it is possible for them to even have a chance (see for yourself). I thought that grade replacement would increase stats a bit but with the new school proliferation I’m not sure this is the case. But overall matriculant data(not applicant data) is higher for MD vs DO. I can’t comment on job prospects but I would guess that it is pretty even when it comes to primary care.
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2013
- Messages
- 8,599
- Reaction score
- 19,864
Closing thread. This topic has been discussed elsewhere on the forum and there’s plenty of material to search through here and elsewhere on the two degrees. Stop asking the same question every chance you get
- Status
