UCR 2019 or ICOM (DO) Now

[Dolly96]

Here's the rundown on my story:

This was my third (eh really my 2nd “real”) time applying to medical schools. Last year I applied to several schools but mainly focused on those schools around my home state of California. I didn't apply to many DOs. During that year I also retook several pre-requisites and earned A's in all of them. Last year I applied again but significantly increased the number of DO schools I applied to. I finally got interviews from 5 DO schools and an acceptance to ICOM. That was the happiest day of my life. I finally felt like all my hard work had paid off and I no longer had to worry about medical school is out of reach. I am also on the waitlist at ARCOM, BCOM, and ATSU (schools that do have federal loans.)

It was all good until I got an interview invitation to UC Riverside School of Medicine for their “Conditional Admit Program.” This has been my dream school since they opened. So, of course, I went to the interview because I had nothing to lose. Today I found out I have been accepted to this program. With my acceptance of their offer, they will make a personalized contract with me. I basically have to take at least 6 upper-division science courses at UCR under their post-bac program and maintain a 3.5 science GPA. If I meet this requirement I am guaranteed a seat in their class starting NEXT year in the summer of 2019. Of course, this will come with a lot of pressure. I am fairly confident that I will earn A's but there is always that risk of losing it all if I don't meet this requirement should something bad happen.

I stayed an extra year at my undergraduate university where I took several upper-division science courses including the Biochem series and earned a 4.0 GPA throughout that last year. I'm really interested to see what classes they will ask me to retake since I've taken almost every science class you can think of and earned A's...

Anyway, my living situation now is really hard for me. I was counting down the seconds until I moved out to Idaho just for the sake of my sanity but now I feel I have to be realistic and make a decision that is going to be better for me in the long run. Since I am 27 years old I do worry about my age.

So... start ICOM in a couple of months or do the post-bac with UCR and start next year?

UCR

Pros
-CA and close to family
-In-state well-known public institution
-Great clinical rotation sites
-Higher chance of being place in CA for residency

Cons
-Risk losing it all with the 3.5 requirement in post-bac
-A year of classes I feel I really don't need
-Lose the independence I was looking forward to

ICOM

Pros
-Start Now and move on without any more doubts
-New school so more say in how things are run (student organizations etc)
-Boise and Meridian are nice growing cities
-OMM

Cons
-No federal loans
-Unknown where clinical rotations will be for sure
-Lower chance of residency in CA?


*please don't quote since I'd like to change a couple of things after I get some feedback for anonymity.

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[fldoctorgirl]

Normally I would say to go with a sure thing rather than a maybe, but the lack of availability of federal loans makes this different (I feel).

If you're confident that you can maintain the 3.5, I would go with UCR. Especially since you seem to want to end up back in CA in the future.

 

[neuroresearchguy23]

Hi Dolly! If that contract they speak of is in writing and it explicitly says, 3.5 gpa and you have a seat, I would take that option. Especially since it's in your home state and it seems like you would like to stay there. You have been killing it in your post-bac classes thus far. I know you can do a 3.5, heck you'll have a 4.0 there! I believe in you. Best of luck.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

I would bet on myself in that situation. The reward is definitely worth the risk.

 

[trobinsonmd]

I think if you have a broad idea of what type of medicine you want to practice, this will help you in making your decision. If you want to do something more procedure based like surgery or IR or maybe even anesthesia, it will be extremely hard to match back into CA (or anywhere for that matter depending on what specialty)... avg DO applicant needs a step score that is at least 10 points higher when compared to their MD counterpart in most given specialties

however, if you want to practice something more general like FM or OB or even IM... the DO route is pretty solid and you should be able to get into a CA residency somewhere like Kaiser or Loma Linda or something in that realm as long as your step score and application are solid... I wouldn't worry too much about age, while one year is a long time, you'll be occupied and in the grand scheme of things, it is a small price to pay if you want to enter a competitive specialty... wrt the 3.5 gpa offer... I don't think that's really worth worrying about either, it sounds super doable

 

[MareNostrummm]

3.5 GPA isn't that hard at all and 6 courses is not that many. Go for it!

 

[Dolly96]

Normally I would say to go with a sure thing rather than a maybe, but the lack of availability of federal loans makes this different (I feel).

If you're confident that you can maintain the 3.5, I would go with UCR. Especially since you seem to want to end up back in CA in the future.

Thank you for your input. I just got an acceptance to ARCOM DO school and they have federal loans. Now this makes this decision even harder.

I think if you have a broad idea of what type of medicine you want to practice, this will help you in making your decision. If you want to do something more procedure based like surgery or IR or maybe even anesthesia, it will be extremely hard to match back into CA (or anywhere for that matter depending on what specialty)... avg DO applicant needs a step score that is at least 10 points higher when compared to their MD counterpart in most given specialties

however, if you want to practice something more general like FM or OB or even IM... the DO route is pretty solid and you should be able to get into a CA residency somewhere like Kaiser or Loma Linda or something in that realm as long as your step score and application are solid... I wouldn't worry too much about age, while one year is a long time, you'll be occupied and in the grand scheme of things, it is a small price to pay if you want to enter a competitive specialty... wrt the 3.5 gpa offer... I don't think that's really worth worrying about either, it sounds super doable

Thank you for your input! I haven't decided what type of medicine I want to practice yet. I know I won't be going for the super competitive ones, though.

 

[Dolly96]

I really appreciate your guys' feedback. This morning I got accepted to ARCOM which is a DO school with federal loans. So now that takes away one of the biggest cons (no fed loans) of ICOM. Does your guys' opinions change now?

ARCOM
pros
-low COL
-on campus housing that would allow my 2 dogs
-already had a first year class so not totally new

cons
-pretty rural to what I'm used to (not too bad of a con but it takes me a bit to get comfortable to newer settings)
-not a driveable distance

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

I really appreciate your guys' feedback. This morning I got accepted to ARCOM which is a DO school with federal loans. So now that takes away one of the biggest cons (no fed loans) of ICOM. Does your guys' opinions change now?

ARCOM
pros
-low COL
-on campus housing that would allow my 2 dogs
-already had a first year class so not totally new

cons
-pretty rural to what I'm used to (not too bad of a con but it takes me a bit to get comfortable to newer settings)
-not a driveable distance

No. It’s still a brand new DO school.

 

[fldoctorgirl]

Does your guys' opinions change now?

I agree with Anatomy. If we were talking about a more established school, my opinion might change; in this case, I think holding off for a year makes sense. At the end of the day, though, it's a pretty personal decision-- only you know what's right for your specific path.

 

[frog301]

Do you have any preferences about the MD vs. DO route? Personally I'd choose UCR. 1 year might seem long now, but if it helps you with land a residency spot in CA, which would be 4+ years after med school, I think you've already answered your question. You're bound to make strong connections and know people who might make life easier when trying to match into residency in CA.

 

[Dolly96]

Do you have any preferences about the MD vs. DO route? Personally I'd choose UCR. 1 year might seem long now, but if it helps you with land a residency spot in CA, which would be 4+ years after med school, I think you've already answered your question. You're bound to make strong connections and know people who might make life easier when trying to match into residency in CA.

Those were the main reasons why I ended up choosing UCR. It was an incredibly difficult decision to make but I hope this year of wait will be well worth it in the long run.

 

[frog301]

Those were the main reasons why I ended up choosing UCR. It was an incredibly difficult decision to make but I hope this year of wait will be well worth it in the long run.

Good luck Dolly96!

 

[Kingsmen2018]

MD>DO

 

[mindfulnessmedication]

Sorry to revive this thread, but I am in a very similar situation--though, the DO program I got accepted to (ACOM) is more established than ICOM.

ACOM: (1) does offer federal loans. (2) already graduated 2 classes (pretty much 3, in a few months) and decent residency placements.

However, UCR has also granted me a conditional acceptance to their 2020 class, provided I earn a ~3.5 in their postbac program (6 undergraduate upper division courses).

In my case, do you think it is worth turning down my current acceptance at ACOM (starting fall 2019), and spend another year doing a postbac then attending UCR (starting fall 2020)

 

[bobabro21]

Sorry to revive this thread, but I am in a very similar situation--though, the DO program I got accepted to (ACOM) is more established than ICOM.

ACOM: (1) does offer federal loans. (2) already graduated 2 classes (pretty much 3, in a few months) and decent residency placements.

However, UCR has also granted me a conditional acceptance to their 2020 class, provided I earn a ~3.5 in their postbac program (6 undergraduate upper division courses).

In my case, do you think it is worth turning down my current acceptance at ACOM (starting fall 2019), and spend another year doing a postbac then attending UCR (starting fall 2020)

Same, I am accepted to touro in Nevada. Also just got the email today. Pretty tough pickle we are in. Would like to hear from anyone else who previously was in this situation.

 

[TrackManDan]

Make that three, I too am in the same position. I have an acceptance to ATSU, but I’ve had an interview at Drexel DPMS (it’s essentially the same as UCR’s Conditional Admit program). I’d really like to be at UCR since it’s home for me (literally, I live 25 minutes away). And I would just like to hear what people think of the program. I’m definitely one to bet on myself and I know I’ll be able to do the work.

 

[JRSmith]

I would say go for UCR, but with a 3.5 requirement, it might be worth investigating further what it entails. Ask for the classes you would take. You don’t want them to throw you into some high level classes. Find out the classes, and check reviews on them. If they’re only requiring a 3.5, there must be some catch to it that isn’t right in front of you. I’d google/research this program like crazy.

 

[Dolly96]

I'm super late to respond but I wanted to share my input. I am super happy with UCR as it has been my dream school so I know I will be grateful I chose to wait in the long run.

The pos-bac wasn't difficult for me (I've taken soooo many undergrad science classes)-- I worked a lot and was really just passing the time. The ONLY thing I catch myself worrying/obsessing about is time. I'm on the older end (above 25 younger than 30) so I wanted to start ASAP but I'm happy I chose to wait because now I'll be closer to my family, I won't have to worry as much about staying in CA for residency, it's a more solid program (I ended up getting off ARCOM's waitlist and also decided to let that acceptance go for UCR too), and more.

I'm willing to provide more insight to UCR's program but you basically get to choose which classes to take so that was super nice.