Hi,
I was recently accepted to Tulane's ACP program off of the waitlist. At the same time, I was also accepted to several DO schools including UMDNJ-SOM. I would not have even been able to apply to Tulane's ACP without my waitlist letter at UMDNJSOM first..
Should I go DO or enroll in the ACP? I know I've gotten a lot of advice from all of you in these forums for quite some time now but It would help to have even more perspective since the acceptance to the ACP only recently became an option for me. Please advise. Thank you!
No matter what you do, youre on solid footing and cant really make a wrong decision.
The main thing you have to decide is if you want to start becoming a DO today or spend the extra year and (likely) end up at the Tulane SOM.
Have you looked at the logistics of both places? Will you need to take out loans for both places? IIRC the Tulane ACP isnt a degree granting program and thus ineligible for normal grad student loans, and thus if you need loans you will have to go the private loan route which could be a bit messy (and the reason Dr. Midlife ultimately chose not to go to the Tulane ACP if I remember correctly).
Are there any reasons to decide to wait a year to start on the path to becoming a doctor? Maybe you just need a year of partial med school classes to get into the swing of things? Then the Tulane ACP may be for you. Is it because you really want that MD over that DO? Then you might take the ACP route. Almost everyone would say that there is no difference between the two besides the letters, but vanity and pride are strong motivators that I myself have been guilty of. Its hard to let go of wanting to be an MD in a society that pushes us to be the best of the best of the best. Is it worth spending a year of your time to prove yourself for those letters? Or in fifty years will you look back on this time and say I wish I didnt fret so much on the difference? Again, these things are a personal decision you have to make for yourself and weigh the pros and cons of.
My personal opinion would be to start medical school and become part of the class of 2016. I think it would be disingenuous to tell you otherwise to pay for another year of reapplication and stress in hoping youll get above the curve in anatomy to start med school a year later. I also dont know how DO schools look at reapplicants who have already been accepted to a DO program.
One person who may be able to give better advice than anyone here is a user by the name of Swimchick. She ended up going to the Tulane ACP program, just barely missed the average for anatomy(?) there and subsequently ended up going to a DO school after the Tulane ACP. If she still comes around these parts shed be able to tell you best of all what the ACP and DO is like.
Again though, in the end you cant really make a wrong choice. Youve proven youll make a capable physician. UMDNJ knows this and they want you today. But no matter what you do a few years from now this decision will be a minor thing and youll be off to residency, and 20 years from now youll be a capable physician. Just try to keep that in mind and all will be well.
, then why in the world did you apply there in the first place? Don't apply to school you don't want to go to.
DOs specialize all the time. They become surgeons,hem/onco, radiologists, ob/gyns and many other specialists. The most DO also match into MD residencies. Careful what you say, we don't need an MD vs DO flame war here.
