Too late to apply for DO?

[Phenol312]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Sorry if this has been discussed ad nauseam but i basically know nothing about the DO application process and im looking for some quick, direct answers.

Would it be too late for me to apply to some DO schools at this point?

Would I even be competitive at the schools on the east coast?

The link to my MDapps is on the left...feel free to critique. 🙂

 

[Punchap]

Sorry if this has been discussed ad nauseam but i basically know nothing about the DO application process and im looking for some quick, direct answers.

Would it be too late for me to apply to some DO schools at this point?

Would I even be competitive at the schools on the east coast?

The link to my MDapps is on the left...feel free to critique. 🙂

Technically, it's not too late. I would apply ASAP as there is a good size wave of unsure MD applicants jumping on board for DO schools right about now. You have a good MCAT, so apply broadly and something will probably happen for you. Good luck.

Also, as you may not know much about osteopathic medicine...make sure you do your homework before your interviews and writing your essays. Many D.O. schools want to be sure you know the difference between D.O. and MD. A good book to read/skim through is The D.O.s by Norman Gevitz.

 

[Phenol312]

Thank you kindly...I will apply as soon as possible...does anyone have any schools to recommend where i would have a fighting chance? I'd prefer to stay on the east cost for family health reasons.

 

[Phenol312]

I'm thinking of applying at...

UMDNJSOM

NYCOM

TCOM

PCOM

LECOM

any feedback?

also I took some summer classes at a community college...do i have to list that as a separate institute and have my transcript send from there to AACOMAS even though it already appears on my official transcript? AMCAS makes you do this is AACOMAS the same?

 

[Beau Geste]

Yes AACOMAS is the same. And, if you've ever repeated a course, you get credit for the higher grade on the repeat (if that is the case), which will help your GPA.

You should be competitive, but keep in mind that most DO schools beat the MD schools this year in handing out invitations earlier and making decisions earlier, so if you want to apply, I'd submit your AACOMAS this weekend. You'll also need a DO letter for most schools (but not all) so you'll need to get that in addition to your other LORs.

The LORs you used for MD schools are fine for DO schools.

 

[gobluegirl]

Do you have a DO LOR? I'm not sure if all those schools you listed require a DO letter or not, but I know that LECOM requires one.

 

[Phenol312]

By a DO letter do you mean a letter from a practicing DO? ... where can i find the info on what schools require it?

Sorry i know this is something i can just search for but im filling out AACOMAS at the speed of light here and I'm a guy ... we only have one track minds.

 

[Beau Geste]

Go to the schools' websites and look at required admissions info.

Yes, a practicing DO.

 

[Phenol312]

o yeah. thought didn't occur to me to do that haha.

sorry for being a noob.

 

[Beau Geste]

It's ok.

 

[EEL08]

I'm thinking of applying at...

UMDNJSOM

NYCOM

TCOM

PCOM

LECOM

any feedback?

also I took some summer classes at a community college...do i have to list that as a separate institute and have my transcript send from there to AACOMAS even though it already appears on my official transcript? AMCAS makes you do this is AACOMAS the same?

Can out-of-staters still apply to TCOM now?

 

[Phenol312]

I've narrowed it down to UMDNJSOM, NYCOM, and PCOM

i ruled out TCOM because it requires a letter from a doc and i dont have one and i dont think ill be able to acquire one any time in the near future...my efforts to gain clinical experience have just been absolutely fruitless. I wish i was still at rutgers where there were two major hospitals nearby...here theres just one and it seems they dont care much for allowing people to shadow. arg.

 

[Saregamapadanis]

I've narrowed it down to UMDNJSOM, NYCOM, and PCOM

Apply to more schools man!
I have the same bcpm gpa as you and a higher mcat and I applied early to get my interviews. If you are applying late, you should go for atleast 10 schools on the primary.
What I did was I applied to 20 schools on the primary, and only sent the secondaries to schools that sent me the interview invites. But that was me, if you get 2 or 3 interview invites , then you won't have to waste money on other secondaries- that is, you can only send in the secondaries to schools that have sent you an interview invite.

 

[Phenol312]

As much as I would love to apply to more schools, I am kinda limited as to how far I can travel from my family in NJ. My parents are in poor health (father has had multiple, thankfully, minor heart attacts and smokes heavily borderline diabetic with arthritis and refuses to see doctors. My mother is ... well lets just say shes older than my dad.)

They both come from small families and there are no relatives around to care for or help them with affairs around the house. I would like to stay relatively close to home in case of an emergency ... preferably within a days drive this way I can still help out around the house every now and then like i do now ( i know ill have less time ). Someone has to prep hte snowblowers for the winter and put up the snow fence and clear the driveway in the winter. My parents are far too cheap to hire someone to help and stubborn enough to try to do it themselves often with disastrous results.

So as silly as it may sound...i would like to stay close to my roots. I kinda think i owe them that much after 22 years.

 

[Phenol312]

Apply to more schools man!
I have the same bcpm gpa as you and a higher mcat and I applied early to get my interviews. If you are applying late, you should go for atleast 10 schools on the primary.
What I did was I applied to 20 schools on the primary, and only sent the secondaries to schools that sent me the interview invites. But that was me, if you get 2 or 3 interview invites , then you won't have to waste money on other secondaries- that is, you can only send in the secondaries to schools that have sent you an interview invite.

wait...you get interview invites before you fill out the secondaries???

Is this just a thing with the DO schools? or have i been sending out checks for secondaries to MD schools for their secondaries for no reason?

 

[Saregamapadanis]

Yes, I guess we all have different priorities.
you are competitive to all the schools you have mentioned, so goodluck and god speed 👍, just apply as soon as possible.

 

[Phenol312]

yep thanks for your help

i've already finished the AACOMAS except for the personal statement...I'm just editing and redrafting my AMCAS PS to fit.

 

[anthroguy]

i applied to UMDNJ, PCOM, and NYCOM in December last year, was verified in January and was complete in february with secondaries with those three schools. I got an interview in march at UMDNJ and was accepted a week or two later. I heard nothing from the other schools and was a NJ resident.

 

[Tanner82]

too late

 

[bkmonkey]

I've narrowed it down to UMDNJSOM, NYCOM, and PCOM

i ruled out TCOM because it requires a letter from a doc and i dont have one and i dont think ill be able to acquire one any time in the near future...my efforts to gain clinical experience have just been absolutely fruitless.

I question applying to any medical school without clinical experience. Schools will ask (as you should as well) how you know you really want to enter medicine if you haven't had any clinical experience...

 

[Phenol312]

I question applying to any medical school without clinical experience. Schools will ask (as you should as well) how you know you really want to enter medicine if you haven't had any clinical experience...

I have been trying to gain clinical experience roughly since june and haven't had any luck so far. I've just been turned away. It seems I just dont know the "right" people.

However, to answer your "how" i say that i have seen many of my relatives and loved ones pass away and have been there for them in their last moments often within hospital walls. I've spent more time in hospitals as a healthy child than i care to remember. I saw my grandmother fall and break her hip and had to watch helplessly as the paramedics lifted her into an ambulance and carried her away. I was only 5 years old. When you see something like that at a young age, and look back on it, you kinda realize you want to be the person there at the other end of the hospital ride to make sure things go right. The night my grandmother came home from the hospital she died in her sleep. If the attendings had kept her under observation a little longer she might have been with us a little longer (i don't blame the doctors it was her time). So yeah, i could go on but i think ill get off my soap box now.

this is more of a "why" than a "how" but as Nietzsche put it

"He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how."
(im taking liberties with his words but i think you get my point 🙂)

 

[bkmonkey]

I have been trying to gain clinical experience roughly since june and haven't had any luck so far. I've just been turned away. It seems I just dont know the "right" people.

However, to answer your "how" i say that i have seen many of my relatives and loved ones pass away and have been there for them in their last moments often within hospital walls. I've spent more time in hospitals as a healthy child than i care to remember. I saw my grandmother fall and break her hip and had to watch helplessly as the paramedics lifted her into an ambulance and carried her away. I was only 5 years old. When you see something like that at a young age, and look back on it, you kinda realize you want to be the person there at the other end of the hospital ride to make sure things go right. The night my grandmother came home from the hospital she died in her sleep. If the attendings had kept her under observation a little longer she might have been with us a little longer (i don't blame the doctors it was her time). So yeah, i could go on but i think ill get off my soap box now.

this is more of a "why" than a "how" but as Nietzsche put it

"He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how."
(im taking liberties with his words but i think you get my point 🙂)

You're personal experiences are definitely poignant, but the clinical experience issue will still come up. Nearly everyone applying to medical school has a moving story relating to a personal medical history. While it is really important to see things from a patient's perspective, it is equally important to see them from a physicians perspective. There has to be a hospital or community clinic nearby where you can get some volunteer experience. Are you living somewhere rural? Also, make sure to address specifically why you want to be a doctor, not a nurse, PA, NP, etc.

 

[PatriotsForever]

Can out-of-staters still apply to TCOM now?

Too late for TCOM now, the TMDSAS (Texas's equivalent of the AMCAS) was due on October 1.

 

[EEL08]

Too late for TCOM now, the TMDSAS (Texas's equivalent of the AMCAS) was due on October 1.

I knew the deadline had passed for in-staters and I figured it would be the same for out-of-staters but wasn't sure. Do OOSers apply through TMDSAS also?

 

[Phenol312]

You're personal experiences are definitely poignant, but the clinical experience issue will still come up. Nearly everyone applying to medical school has a moving story relating to a personal medical history. While it is really important to see things from a patient's perspective, it is equally important to see them from a physicians perspective. There has to be a hospital or community clinic nearby where you can get some volunteer experience. Are you living somewhere rural? Also, make sure to address specifically why you want to be a doctor, not a nurse, PA, NP, etc.

thanks...I live in flemington, NJ with the hunterdon medical center a stone's throw away...they have a whole cancer wing and i was born there you'd think they'd cut me a break. I've emailed a few people...I was childhood friends with the son of the VP but id hate to use that as leverage considering i dont talk to his son anymore. So, I just emailed my friends younger brother and asked for his dad's/mom's email (the mother is a nurse).

I understand the importance of the clinical exposure i just wish someone had stressed it to me when i was back in NB and st. peter's and RWJ were a block or two away... 🙄

 

[bkmonkey]

You might want to try calling the hospital. Usually there is some sort of community outreach department. Just ask the front desk who you can speak to about volunteering...