Take DO acceptance or reapply?

[Doodle12]

I feel like this should be a no brainer and that I’m lucky to even get an acceptance, but my physician parents are telling me to reapply and now I’m second guessing myself.
My parents reasoning:

1. I applied VERY late in the cycle (I sent in my secondaries around Oct/Nov). That probably ruled me out for most schools and if I reapplied early this time I might get more IIs this time around.
2. The school I got into is almost $60k a year in terms of tuition. As a Texas resident, if I got into a cheaper TX school I’d be paying 1/3 of that. If I got into an MD school, I’d also save the cost of having to pay for both USMLE and Complex.
3. The school is pretty new and has yet to graduate a class. This on top of being DO makes it a bit of a gamble in terms of matching.

My stats:
TX ORM
510 MCAT (125/130/126/129)
3.65 cGPA/3.56 sGPA
500 clinical hours
400 non clinical volunteering

Honestly I feel like I should just take my acceptance and run with it… There’s no guarantee I’d get in a second time + I’d be wasting another year of my life. I’m just worried I’m being too naive about all the risks that come with going to a newer, more expensive DO school.

• Are the loans/debts from the ~60k tuition going to crush me? I’ve never had to take out loans before so I will admit I am very naive about the realities of being in debt.
• Is the additional workload of Complex + OMM going to make things significantly more difficult in med school?
• Will the DO stigma + coming from a newer school hurt me in terms of residency/fellowship/employment?

Are these risks actually greater than the risks of reapplying? I know I need a wakeup call I just don’t know in which direction. If I'm being stupid right now please slap some sense into me.

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[jj22901]

Tons of people are taking on debt regardless of being MD or DO. OMM seems to be something that makes the first two years of preclinical a tad bit more annoying. The match results are out there, go look at the data. Are you comfortable matching into primary care? DOs were primarily created to address the primary care need but more are specializing. You should examine your career goals, what level of risk you’re comfortable with, and how your acceptance ties into it.

You have two physician parents who I imagine can make a gap year relatively painless compared to others who don’t have a safety net of support to go through another cycle. Not taking a dig at you, but just helping you frame your decision. Another cycle might be something effortless and worth it for you if you couldn’t imagine yourself in primary care should the match not go your way.

 

[twiptophan789]

In a very similar boat as you, so I would also like what other people have to say. Also applied around the same time as you and got into a DO school with 60k/year tuition. Similar stats and people are telling me to reapply. I am mostly sure that I will be matriculating into DO school this fall. My reasoning is that I really just want to practice medicine and don't want to risk my almost guarantee of becoming a doctor for the chance of getting into a nicer school. For people with your MCAT and GPA, about 57% get accepted into one MD school in a given cycle. Are you comfortable with those odds?

Here is what I've thought of your other questions:

• Almost everyone takes out huge loans for medical school doesn't get killed by them. Another thing to think about with cost is the price of deferring your salary as a physician for another year. Assuming you get into a TX school next year and pay 20k/year in tuition, that would make your whole education 160k cheaper. Taking into account interest on loans it would make your education about 200-250k cheaper in total. Considering as an attending you will be making at least 200-250k/year it would be a wash financially.
• COMLEX and USMLE are so redundant that most people take them a week apart and study for them at the same time.
• Yeah being a DO and from a new school will hurt you when trying to match. Do you have an idea of what you want to do? If you are totally set on Neurosurgery or something then apply again next year. I am mostly interested in primary care so not a huge deal for me.

The one thing I have no idea about is if DO schools would totally blacklist us if we tried to apply to them next year as well.

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

Idk why people apply to places they wouldn't go. You're wasting everyone's time, and your own money on the application. You want to spend another few thousand on apps that might not go anywhere or where you might not get into anything much better anyway? Your stats are fine but not exactly going to make ADCOMs salivate and fight over you.

Rejecting an acceptance for nebulous reasons like this isn't a good look. It'd be one thing if the school had some big drama happen or if you had a life-changing event happen, but you basically are saying you don't like how expensive it is and potentially being at a disadvantage for certain specialties when everyone knows DO schools focus on developing PCPs. Again, you shouldn't have applied DO if you don't want to be a DO.

Take the acceptance and be happy with it.

 

[twiptophan789]

Idk why people apply to places they wouldn't go. You're wasting everyone's time, and your own money on the application. You want to spend another few thousand on apps that might not go anywhere or where you might not get into anything much better anyway? Your stats are fine but not exactly going to make ADCOMs salivate and fight over you.

Rejecting an acceptance for nebulous reasons like this isn't a good look. It'd be one thing if the school had some big drama happen or if you had a life-changing event happen, but you basically are saying you don't like how expensive it is and potentially being at a disadvantage for certain specialties when everyone knows DO schools focus on developing PCPs. Again, you shouldn't have applied DO if you don't want to be a DO.

Take the acceptance and be happy with it.

I also thought people were crazy for applying to schools and then not wanting to matriculate once they got accepted. Then I got accepted into an Osteopathic medical school and thought "should I reapply?" In my case I think it is mostly the nerves that come with making a big life decision. I want to be sure its a good decision so I start looking at all the ways it could go wrong. I think these threads are just necrotic premeds (like me) looking for reassurance.

 

[deleted771945]

I think it also depends on what the school is. You say it's a new DO school - know there is definitely more risk involved vs a more established DO school like MSUCOM or PCOM. I knew someone who also reapplied after being accepted to a "low-tier" DO school. They got accepted to the same school and still ended up going there lol.

 

[KaiBuzz]

What significant changes are you planning to make to your app in the next 2 months if you plan to reapply? Higher MCAT score? Research? Leadership? Americorps? Postbacc GPA improvement? If no changes, I think your results will be the same.

 

[chssoccer7]

I also thought people were crazy for applying to schools and then not wanting to matriculate once they got accepted. Then I got accepted into an Osteopathic medical school and thought "should I reapply?" In my case I think it is mostly the nerves that come with making a big life decision. I want to be sure its a good decision so I start looking at all the ways it could go wrong. I think these threads are just necrotic premeds (like me) looking for reassurance.

I would think that's the conversation you would have with yourself BEFORE you apply, not after. These threads have always felt to me like the applicant is saying "I never thought I would find myself with only a DO acceptance but now that I only have that, what do I do". These are life changing decisions. People applying to medical school should have the requisite maturity and knowledge to plan for this and comprehend this going into the cycle, not scrambling at the end because the school they got accepted to has the wrong two letters next to it.

PS- I sincerely hope you are neurotic, not necrotic, or you've got bigger fish to fry here

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

I mean this non-aggressively but please reapply and let people who actually want to be a DO have the seat.

Or you could realize that you have the opportunity to be a doctor, and if you have worries about matching you can take a year in medical school to do research and improve your application.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Which residencies are you considering

 

[Doodle12]

Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply! When I applied to this school I fully intended on matriculating. I don’t have an ego regarding MD vs DO and my interest was primary care anyways so I was perfectly happy with this acceptance. It’s only after my parents had this talk with me that I started having these doubts. I do struggle with anxiety (I'm working on it) so it doesn't take much for me to start catastrophizing. My thought process is: why are my parents, physicians with years of experience in the medical field, telling me to reapply over taking this acceptance? Is there some hidden risk I hadn’t previously considered that’s going to screw me over?

Regarding expense: twiptophan789 your comment helped me a lot with my fears regarding the cost, so thank you. I agree losing a year of attending salary is not worth reapplying just to get a lower tuition.
And as for the workload: Honestly I think that was just the anxiety talking. Yes Complex + OMM is an extra hassle but it shouldn't be so much that I end up overwhelmed and flunking out of med school...right...?

Anyways my main concern now is matching. Being DO shouldn't hold me back if I’m going into primary care, but I’m worried the school being so new might. Will I be able to match to a residency of my choice or will I be stuck settling for whatever I can get? And then another concern my parents raised is that most medical students end up changing their mind about speciality by the time they graduate. Am I 100% locked into primary care only if I go to this school or will I still have some flexibility should I change my mind? And is the risk of changing my mind really greater than the risk of reapplying? (Only improvement to my app has been another 100 clinical hours so not too sure about my chances there).

Basically I can't tell if my anxiety is just going haywire again or if my concerns are actually serious enough to consider reapplying. If I’m just being neurotic right now feel free to give me a reality check.

 

[Osminog]

Anyways my main concern now is matching. Being DO shouldn't hold me back if I’m going into primary care, but I’m worried the school being so new might. Will I be able to match to a residency of my choice or will I be stuck settling for whatever I can get? And then another concern my parents raised is that most medical students end up changing their mind about speciality by the time they graduate. Am I 100% locked into primary care only if I go to this school or will I still have some flexibility should I change my mind? And is the risk of changing my mind really greater than the risk of reapplying? (Only improvement to my app has been another 100 clinical hours so not too sure about my chances there).

If you look at the inaugural match lists of relatively new DO schools, you’ll see that they’re not particularly different from those of more established DO schools in terms of the proportions of specialties or quality of programs. The risks of attending a new DO school are overblown on SDN. At the end of the day, a DO is a DO.

It’s true that many medical students change their minds about their preferred specialties. However, you wouldn’t be “100% locked into primary care” as a DO student. Many DO applicants can match with relative ease into neurology, psychiatry, pathology, and low/mid-tier university IM (allowing for decent specialty fellowship opportunities). High-performing DOs can be competitive for PM&R, anesthesiology, and DR. DOs do struggle when it comes to matching into surgical specialties (even Gen Surg and Ob/Gyn), as well as into ultra-competitive ones (integrated IR, Derm, etc.). Also, high-tier academic programs may not consider DO applicants, even in uncompetitive specialties.

Taking the DO path does close doors. It sounds like your parents want as many doors open for you as possible—so if you were to want to aim for the stars, the letters after your name wouldn’t hold you back. At the same time, reapplying comes with its own risks; it does help, however, that you’re a Texas resident, as public TX med schools have heavy in-state biases and most would consider your stats to be highly competitive.

I don’t have a definitive answer for you, but I just wanted to walk through some of the factors that are relevant to your decision.

Finally, I’d recommend that you think critically about some of the advice you receive on here. For example, the “you shouldn’t have applied to the school if you didn’t want to go—so now that you were accepted, you should matriculate” argument is absurd; it’s an example of the sunk cost fallacy. Even more silly and unhelpful is the classic reply of “withdraw and let somebody who actually wants the acceptance have it,” which is generally expressed with a snarky, condescending tone. Being indecisive about a massive investment doesn’t mean you should thoughtlessly abandon the opportunity and pass it along to somebody who’s less indecisive than you.

 

[LizzyM]

If you'd rather never be a doctor than to be a DO in 2027, then turn down this offer and apply to only MD schools this summer. There is a 50-50 chance you won't be admitted to MD school and you'll be looking at an alternate career, applying a third time (and maybe adding in DO schools) and meanwhile, the cohort you would have joined will be half way through med school.

 

[GoSpursGo]

This is very unfortunate, since as many others have said you should not apply to a school that you don’t want to matriculate to. The time to decide about whether you want to go to a new DO school was before you submitted your application.

In general I do advocate to take any acceptance and run. The fact that the school hasn’t yet graduated a class IS a bit of a red flag, and you will likely have your specialty choices restricted as a result. Your stats are good enough that you could almost certainly at least get into a more established DO program, and would stand a shot for some TX MD schools. Whether that is worth a year of your life, and potentially still wind up at a DO school with a somewhat better reputation, is a question only you can answer.

 

[Doodle12]

My issue isn’t that it’s DO, but rather the combination of being both DO and a new school. Even if I were to reapply, I would still apply DO but to more established schools.
When I applied I was aware of and prepared for the risks that come with going DO, but it’s the extra risks that come with it being a new school that’s throwing me off. It doesn’t help that everything I’m finding online about this school is telling me to avoid going here if possible…

I agree it was stupid of me to not be aware of this before I applied. I had the DO is DO mindset and thought as long as I get in SOMEWHERE I will be fine. I now realize that was naive of me, which is why I made this thread. I wanted to get some outside perspectives and be less naive going forward with whatever decision I make.

If you look at the inaugural match lists of relatively new DO schools, you’ll see that they’re not particularly different from those of more established DO schools in terms of the proportions of specialties or quality of programs. The risks of attending a new DO school are overblown on SDN. At the end of the day, a DO is a DO.

If this is the case, then that helps my fears a lot. As long as I'm on the same playing field as other DOs I'll be happy. I just keep finding conflicting info on how serious the risk of going to a newer school is and I'm not sure what to believe.

 

[EArlyBirdGetsTheWorm]

OP you gotta tell us what school it is. Based on that we can give you better answers about their match rates, reputation etc.

 

[Doodle12]

the school is SHSU

 

[jj22901]

the school is SHSU

Dawg, take it hahahahahaha.

 

[Nontrad_FL_LGBT]

SHSU is one of the biggest military medical training centers that exists. I really doubt the med school would be total garbage.

 

[deleted771945]

the school is SHSU

I was also a TX resident applying via TMDSAS. I would have loved to go to SHSU. I don't think it's a bad choice.

 

[Happy Bulbis Cordis]

the school is SHSU

Well I don't think anyone was expecting that lol

 

[chilly_md]

There is also a bill being considered in the legislature that would bring the cost of tuition down by providing more state funding.

 

[wysdoc]

Well I don't think anyone was expecting that lol

Actually I guessed it as it’s the only TX DO school which hasn’t graduated a class.

 

[wysdoc]

the school is SHSU

Why in the Sam Hill did you, as a Texan, apply so late? That was your first mistake. But my guess is your parents told you to retake your MCAT to get a higher score. How close am I?
Your second mistake is letting yourself be twisted into a pretzel 🥨 of confusion after getting admitted.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

OP, your stats are adequate but not dazzling. I often advise not attending a new school unless it's your only acceptance. There is no indication that you would not thrive there as all medical.school material is the same the first 2 yrs, save for OMM. Residencies look at Board Scores, class rank, research, and LORs. How vigorous they scrutinize this data depends on how competitive that particular specialty is. Ortho, very competitive, FM, not so much. So, getting accepted to med school and matching in residency is a game/contest. You have to understand the rules of the game, and play well. Applying late was probably not your best first move. I frequently say life is full of hoices, so make good ones. Lots of good advice above, so synthesize it and make the best choice for you going forward. Imo, rejecting the acceptance is a bad idea at this point. You can't turn the clock back and apply earlier, so I would take the acceptance and be more proactive in advancing your career. You may find that Primary Care suits you and all of this angst was for nothing. Certainly its getting harder for all residency applicants to match, MDs and DOs, but more so for DOs. If you matriculate, work hard, find a mentor, get involved in some research, and make yourself the best applicant possible. The Match Game is changing rapidly, so monitor it closely, and play well. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[drthedude]

If you look at the inaugural match lists of relatively new DO schools, you’ll see that they’re not particularly different from those of more established DO schools in terms of the proportions of specialties or quality of programs. The risks of attending a new DO school are overblown on SDN. At the end of the day, a DO is a DO.

It’s true that many medical students change their minds about their preferred specialties. However, you wouldn’t be “100% locked into primary care” as a DO student. Many DO applicants can match with relative ease into neurology, psychiatry, pathology, and low/mid-tier university IM (allowing for decent specialty fellowship opportunities). High-performing DOs can be competitive for PM&R, anesthesiology, and DR. DOs do struggle when it comes to matching into surgical specialties (even Gen Surg and Ob/Gyn), as well as into ultra-competitive ones (integrated IR, Derm, etc.). Also, high-tier academic programs may not consider DO applicants, even in uncompetitive specialties.

Taking the DO path does close doors. It sounds like your parents want as many doors open for you as possible—so if you were to want to aim for the stars, the letters after your name wouldn’t hold you back. At the same time, reapplying comes with its own risks; it does help, however, that you’re a Texas resident, as public TX med schools have heavy in-state biases and most would consider your stats to be highly competitive.

I don’t have a definitive answer for you, but I just wanted to walk through some of the factors that are relevant to your decision.

Finally, I’d recommend that you think critically about some of the advice you receive on here. For example, the “you shouldn’t have applied to the school if you didn’t want to go—so now that you were accepted, you should matriculate” argument is absurd; it’s an example of the sunk cost fallacy. Even more silly and unhelpful is the classic reply of “withdraw and let somebody who actually wants the acceptance have it,” which is generally expressed with a snarky, condescending tone. Being indecisive about a massive investment doesn’t mean you should thoughtlessly abandon the opportunity and pass it along to somebody who’s less indecisive than you.

Thank you for this, as someone matriculating into a newer DO school

 

[Doodle12]

I don’t even have an excuse for why I applied so late. There was LOR fiasco in which a professor that previously said they’d write me a letter ended up ghosting me when the time came, but honestly that was on me for not securing it earlier. But it’s true that I can’t turn back the clock so I gotta make do with the choices that are in front of me.

SHSU doesn’t seem like a bad choice at first which is why I was happy to apply there. However after talking to current students I’m hearing there’s high levels of burnout and the curriculum is made way more difficult than it needs to be which makes me nervous… Med school is a grueling environment to begin + being competitive as a DO is already an uphill battle so I’m worried about how I’ll handle these additional difficulties.

Right now I think I’m just going to go ahead and matriculate, but any advice/reassurance on how to navigate those previously mentioned issues would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tompremed]

"the curriculum is made way more difficult than it needs" take this as a positive. It indicates the school is serious about its education and this reputation should help its graduates.

 

[deleted1159422]

For what it's worth, I applied with those exact stats and way more clinical/EC hours and leadership as a traditional ORM. Only had one MD interview and one DO interview in TX. TX really loves GPAs

 

[deleted1159422]

SHSU is one of the biggest military medical training centers that exists. I really doubt the med school would be total garbage.

Is it even affiliated with the medical school? I don't think it is.

 

[deleted1159422]

If you look at the inaugural match lists of relatively new DO schools, you’ll see that they’re not particularly different from those of more established DO schools in terms of the proportions of specialties or quality of programs. The risks of attending a new DO school are overblown on SDN. At the end of the day, a DO is a DO.

It’s true that many medical students change their minds about their preferred specialties. However, you wouldn’t be “100% locked into primary care” as a DO student. Many DO applicants can match with relative ease into neurology, psychiatry, pathology, and low/mid-tier university IM (allowing for decent specialty fellowship opportunities). High-performing DOs can be competitive for PM&R, anesthesiology, and DR. DOs do struggle when it comes to matching into surgical specialties (even Gen Surg and Ob/Gyn), as well as into ultra-competitive ones (integrated IR, Derm, etc.). Also, high-tier academic programs may not consider DO applicants, even in uncompetitive specialties.

Taking the DO path does close doors. It sounds like your parents want as many doors open for you as possible—so if you were to want to aim for the stars, the letters after your name wouldn’t hold you back. At the same time, reapplying comes with its own risks; it does help, however, that you’re a Texas resident, as public TX med schools have heavy in-state biases and most would consider your stats to be highly competitive.

I don’t have a definitive answer for you, but I just wanted to walk through some of the factors that are relevant to your decision.

Finally, I’d recommend that you think critically about some of the advice you receive on here. For example, the “you shouldn’t have applied to the school if you didn’t want to go—so now that you were accepted, you should matriculate” argument is absurd; it’s an example of the sunk cost fallacy. Even more silly and unhelpful is the classic reply of “withdraw and let somebody who actually wants the acceptance have it,” which is generally expressed with a snarky, condescending tone. Being indecisive about a massive investment doesn’t mean you should thoughtlessly abandon the opportunity and pass it along to somebody who’s less indecisive than you.

I want to argue that most schools would NOT consider these stats as highly competitive. They're below average for matriculants and def below for ORMs.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I don’t even have an excuse for why I applied so late. There was LOR fiasco in which a professor that previously said they’d write me a letter ended up ghosting me when the time came, but honestly that was on me for not securing it earlier. But it’s true that I can’t turn back the clock so I gotta make do with the choices that are in front of me.

SHSU doesn’t seem like a bad choice at first which is why I was happy to apply there. However after talking to current students I’m hearing there’s high levels of burnout and the curriculum is made way more difficult than it needs to be which makes me nervous… Med school is a grueling environment to begin + being competitive as a DO is already an uphill battle so I’m worried about how I’ll handle these additional difficulties.

Right now I think I’m just going to go ahead and matriculate, but any advice/reassurance on how to navigate those previously mentioned issues would be greatly appreciated.

" Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth"...Mike Tyson.

Best advice is to run your own race and not listen to your classmates. You will find some are elite students with the ability to absorb information rapidly. My wife, an MD went to class to socialize and drink coffee. She graduated in the top 10%. I, had to take a lunch pail approach, 8 hr a day and on weekends to graduate in the upper half. You will adapt as you have proven you have the skills to be successful. It will depend on how quickly it happens. So do what you need to do to succeed. Utilize any resources if the need arises, tutors, upper classes, etc. Dont wait to ask for assistance. Any of my advisees would have to meet with me if they scored poorly on an exam. My former school would provide a mentor to aid in the transition if needed. Also, find some "ME", time to release some of the stress. I would suggest some sort of exercise or meditating since you already mentioned you have anxiety issues. I'm sure you will be fine. Be open to suggestions and change if you have a rocky first few weeks. You have lots of time to show improvement if its even necessary.

 

[Osminog]

I want to argue that most schools would NOT consider these stats as highly competitive. They're below average for matriculants and def below for ORMs.

The average TMDSAS stats for Texas residents who were accepted in 2022: 511 MCAT, 3.8 cGPA. OP: 510/3.7. OP would definitely be in the running, even as an ORM. Perhaps “highly competitive” was overstating it, though.

 

[MDbecomesMD]

if it was some random for-profit medical school in the US with no graduating class data yet, I would honestly recommend a reapp (even though 9/10 times I wouldn't). But if this institution has a good reputation and outlook in TX (seems like most TX schools are phenomenal to us outsiders but I am sure wysdoc could shed some light on this), just take the spot.

 

[drthedude]

if it was some random for-profit medical school in the US with no graduating class data yet, I would honestly recommend a reapp (even though 9/10 times I wouldn't). But if this institution has a good reputation and outlook in TX (seems like most TX schools are phenomenal to us outsiders but I am sure wysdoc could shed some light on this), just take the spot.

Disagree, at the end of the day you’ll still be a physician