What are some of the least competitive DO Programs?

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pseud0 said:
Pretty sure every single one of them is under 10% acceptance rate
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Eh, acceptance rate will be higher than matriculant rate. I actually wouldn't be surprised if the acceptance rate cleared 10% at some of the newer schools.



OP, the ones you probably don't want to go to.
 
The reason I am asking, is due to my criminal hx. It sounds much worse than it is, 2 minor misdemeanors. I was told to apply to some of the newer schools since I have very good stats.
 
Socal_emt said:
The reason I am asking, is due to my criminal hx. It sounds much worse than it is, 2 minor misdemeanors. I was told to apply to some of the newer schools since I have very good stats.
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Depends. Were the 2 misdemeanors at different times or the same time. Also what they are. MIP is different than assault
 
Also don't apply to Campbell if you have a criminal history. It's an automatic rejection
 
Socal_emt said:
The reason I am asking, is due to my criminal hx. It sounds much worse than it is, 2 minor misdemeanors. I was told to apply to some of the newer schools since I have very good stats.
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You real question should be which schools ask you to disclose that information. Some don't. If they don't ask, then you aren't lying. Pretty simple. They still do background checks though.
 
no violent, no drugs, no touchy feely stuff.

I was 18 when I got the DUI (California zero tolerance of any alcohol at or above 0.01, i was at 0.06 BAC)
 
I don't think the Dui would kill your app. I think the second offense might make it more difficult. Not because you were Dui again but that you knowingly didn't follow rules, medical schools are obsessed with following the rules and professionalism.

Saying that, apply to all schools outside of Campbell Lucum. I've heard lucom super anti booze so having that charge would be a killer. Like the undergrads honor code says you need to report someone if you see them drinking. Not saying that transfers over to the medschool but I'm just saying they probably won't seem forgiving for a DUI
 
SoCal EMT, enough of this. I've seen your stats. You're a URM with a 3.6 GPA. Just do decently on your MCAT and practice talking about your DUI/misdemeanors. You're not a 3.2/501 applicant who needs to "focus on the new schools." You're severely underestimating how competitive your applicantion could be. You might have a fairly competitive MD application, and your chances are good at ANY osteopathic school.
 
Hi just popping in to say that I also had a misdemeanor and was interviewed at 8 DO schools of the like maybe 15-20 I applied to (LMU, MU, LECOM B, LECOM SH, NSU, Campbell, ARCOM, ACOM) so literally nothing is impossible if u are just honest and own your mistake. I am a 3.4/3.5 502 applicant if that helps


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MDspartan said:
The newer DO schools are generally less selective. WCUCOM, ACOM, BCOM, LUCOM, UIWSOM, MUCOM come to mind.
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It is so relative tho. I got waitlisted at LUCOM and nvr heard anything from MUCOM. Got accepted to MSUCOM and KCU, which are generally considered the top tier schools. It's beyond me honestly.
 
Socal_emt said:
DUI in 2011 and driving while license suspended in 2013.
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I think you've put enough time between yourself and the incidents that it won't keep you out of school. Apply broadly DO and MD schools too.

A friend of mine goes to Johns Hopkins.. total genius with a ridiculous resume. He didn't get into NYMC, a "low tier" med school. Med school admissions are a complex crap shoot. Apply to the schools you'd like to go to but plenty of safeties also and you'll be successful.
 
PreMedDonna said:
Hi just popping in to say that I also had a misdemeanor and was interviewed at 8 DO schools of the like maybe 15-20 I applied to (LMU, MU, LECOM B, LECOM SH, NSU, Campbell, ARCOM, ACOM) so literally nothing is impossible if u are just honest and own your mistake. I am a 3.4/3.5 502 applicant if that helps


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Hey congrats on the interviews, please let me know if you get accepted into any of the schools. Also, did you disclose it to the schools? And if so when... primary application? Secondary? Interview? Was the misdemeanor case dropped?
 
Socal_emt said:
DUI in 2011 and driving while license suspended in 2013.
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Socal_emt said:
no violent, no drugs, no touchy feely stuff.

I was 18 when I got the DUI (California zero tolerance of any alcohol at or above 0.01, i was at 0.06 BAC)
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I don't think a school being newer will have an impact on your acceptance for a criminal record. If anything, a newer school might want to stay as clean as possible during their probationary period. That said, 2 crimes that are 2 years apart is troublesome. Sure, they are not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but it also looks like a blatant disregard of the law to be driving when you're not permitted; and it would be really hard to convince anyone you weren't doing it for the full 2 years. At this point all you got going for you is to try, but It's much more of an uphill battle than had it been just the DUI alone and people thinking you were just a dumb kid (BAC being low).
 
BillsMafia28 said:
Hey congrats on the interviews, please let me know if you get accepted into any of the schools. Also, did you disclose it to the schools? And if so when... primary application? Secondary? Interview? Was the misdemeanor case dropped?
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Declined interviews at 2 of them. 1 more to go. Accepted at all the rest. There's a box on the AACOMAS primary for it so I disclosed it even though the record is sealed. I wanted to take no chances bc my lawyer advised that some states allow expunged/sealed records to be opened when applying for professional licenses. Seriously just be honest because only one school even said anything to me about it (LECOM). And pretending that it didn't happen can result in automatic expulsion if they find out.

For clarification: it was an alcohol charge but an isolated incident

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Grey Storm said:
You can lose your license after you graduate if they find out.
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Also true. Just be truthful on your apps, everyone!!! Yeah sure my sealed criminal charge didn't come on the background check at the school I deposited at, but don't F yourself later in life by lying on ur app.


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Grey Storm said:
You're done. You have an established record of making very poor choices. I'm sorry but no school will take you within the next decade.

Edit: I'm sorry above posters, but you're wrong about the newer schools. All of the newer schools are still medical schools. The fact that the two crimes were done 2 years apart and that they weren't that long ago is a deal killer, regardless of your scores. All of the newer schools are very difficult to get into. Please understand that you're speaking through the lens of someone who has been accepted or is probably going to get accepted. All medical students are the elite of academia, and we all represent the very best humanity has to offer.

You committed two vehicular crimes. Both crimes required a lapse in judgement and the second one demonstrated that you knowingly committed the crime and didn't care enough to follow the rules. You're done. It's that simple.
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Grey Storm, I don't think you have any idea what you're talking about. In my own immediate group of friends there are 3 people who were accepted despite serious misdemeanor "lapses in judgment." 2 are at MD schools. 1 is at DO. None of them were particularly stellar applicants, just run of the mill pre-meds with decent grades and mcats. One had a DUI and a marijuana possession charge in the two years before he was accepted to THREE US MD schools. He didn't have a 40 mcat. His dad wasn't a senator. He didn't have anything particularly special either, he was just a decent guy with good grades. Another had a *violent* misdemeanor. He had one DO and one MD acceptance.

The idea that medical schools will just blindly reject you in favor of an applicant without such a record is spurious. I'll admit it sounds plausible given what we know about the meat grinder that is med school admissions, but it's really not like that. There are a small handful of schools that will (Campbell comes to mind) but they're in the vast minority.

You'll need to work hard to show the adcoms it's behind you, of course. It will require hard work and making good but it is certainly doable.

My friends all had one thing in common: they weren't unrepentant a**holes, and the admissions committee believed in them.

Please don't spread such unfounded negativity.
 
Grey Storm said:
I've worked in admissions. We rejected people immediately if they came up positive for any misdemeanors, even if they called and admitted it. I'm telling you, with a record that shows a trend, he's done. But feel free to encourage him to waste his time. If he's foolhardy too, then that's on him.

The simple fact is hospitals won't hire someone with a criminal record, so why go through the time and expense of training someone who has one?

SocialEMT: You're done. .... you're done you're done you're done. Do something else with your life.
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You worked in some kind of admissions? I hope you'll forgive us doubters for being skeptical of that. Congrats on moving up to "your mom's house" (from your profile).

Anyway the real simple fact is that hospitals WILL hire people with criminal records, and medical schools DO accept them. The nature of the offense, time passed since the offense, and the ability of the applicant to demonstrate they've learned and changed are all pretty big factors of course.
 
Grey Storm said:
I've worked in admissions. We rejected people immediately if they came up positive for any misdemeanors, even if they called and admitted it. I've heard the changed person story and it didn't matter because it effects insurance rates. I'm telling you, with a record that shows a trend, he's done. But feel free to encourage him to waste his time. If he's foolhardy too, then that's on him.

The simple fact is hospitals won't hire someone with a criminal record, so why go through the time and expense of training someone who has one?

SocialEMT: You're done. .... you're done you're done you're done. Do something else with your life.
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Realize that even if you "worked in admissions", that is at your school. I know accepted students, one resident, and physicians with misdemeanors. A simple search on these forums will show you that the doors are not closed. Actual adcoms have also said the same. Opinions are important, but so is factual accuracy.
 
Grey Storm said:
I've worked in admissions. We rejected people immediately if they came up positive for any misdemeanors, even if they called and admitted it. I've heard the changed person story and it didn't matter because it effects insurance rates. I'm telling you, with a record that shows a trend, he's done. But feel free to encourage him to waste his time. If he's foolhardy too, then that's on him.

The simple fact is hospitals won't hire someone with a criminal record, so why go through the time and expense of training someone who has one?

SocialEMT: You're done. .... you're done you're done you're done. Do something else with your life.
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Yeah you don't have a flying clue... If you did work at a medical school for admissions (I highly doubt that), then it is one school. Multiple current adcom members have said otherwise.

Also hospitals definitely hire people with criminal records... on top of that doctors generally aren't hired by the hospital.
 
Grey Storm said:
I've worked in admissions. We rejected people immediately if they came up positive for any misdemeanors, even if they called and admitted it. I've heard the changed person story and it didn't matter because it effects insurance rates. I'm telling you, with a record that shows a trend, he's done. But feel free to encourage him to waste his time. If he's foolhardy too, then that's on him.

The simple fact is hospitals won't hire someone with a criminal record, so why go through the time and expense of training someone who has one?

SocialEMT: You're done. .... you're done you're done you're done. Do something else with your life.
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Even a minor traffic violation? In my state all traffic violations are misdemeanors. I was going 13 mph over the speed limit. You're gonna auto reject people for that?
 
Grey Storm said:
Perhaps you should consider the fact that during match 60+ highly qualified graduates will be applying for 6 positions? Hospitals choose to interview or not based and stats, and yes, they do FBI criminal background checks.
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What are you talking about? Are you talking about the residency match? Of course they run a criminal background check, it's just that the OP indiscretions aren't something that will keep him out... but only if he cleans it up and keeps his nose clean and is repentant.

Nothing you have said changes anything about our opinion about your advice, aka it's crap.

Also when did hospitals start letting "medical student-accepted" help them make admissions decisions?
 
Grey Storm said:
He asked for our advice, I gave mine, there you go. You shouldn't assume that someone who has a dissenting opinion hasn't "a flying clue". Perhaps you should consider the fact that during match 60+ highly qualified graduates will be applying for 6 positions? Hospitals choose to interview or not based and stats, and yes, they do FBI criminal background checks.

SocialEMT - do you have a chance in hell? Yes. Should you dedicate years of your life and $300k to a degree only to be sidelined like a Caribbean graduate or worse? No. I stand by my opinion sir. You're playing with fire listening to 22 year old book worms thinking that because they've been admitted into medical school, they know how the world works. They don't.
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"22 year old medical student who knows how the world works..."

Dude, according to your profile, you're not even a medical student, you're "accepted." You claim to have "worked in admissions" but offer no actual evidence to support the claim, which I agree, is highly dubious.

Simply saying "I know better than anyone else because they're just medical students" based on some vague claim of experience is pretty unconvincing, especially since there are many, actual, verified admissions officers on SDN who directly contradict what you're saying.

But first, I do need to make sure of something... you do know the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony, right? Because what you're saying would make sense if you were talking about felonies.
 
AnatomyGrey12 said:
Yeah reading back on his posts I wonder this as well, because a felony would change the game and everything would make more sense.
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Its also possible that he's in a state like New Jersey, where there are no misdemeanors or felonies, just "crimes" and "disorderly persons offenses," so "criminal record" actually means "felony record." One way or another, it seems far more likely that he's conflating misdemeanors with felonies.
 
I'm an EMT working at a hospital in Southern California. Hospitals do not FBI background, they do a generic FCRA background pulled from your SSN. Of course when you apply for licensure they do a DOJ + FBI, even so, with a lawyer helping to push the board, I will have no problem getting licensed. It may of course be initially delayed and require much more supporting documents.


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I want to be a physician, I will try and will see what happens this cycle. I consider myself much more mature since my decisions when I was 18 years old. If an adcom want to deny me, I am man enough to understand why, and move on with my life.

Thank you all for your support, I appreciate it!

🙂<3


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AnatomyGrey12 said:
What are you talking about? Are you talking about the residency match? Of course they run a criminal background check, it's just that the OP indiscretions aren't something that will keep him out... but only if he cleans it up and keeps his nose clean and is repentant.

Nothing you have said changes anything about our opinion about your advice, aka it's crap.

Also when did hospitals start letting "medical student-accepted" help them make admissions decisions?
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The FBI background check is run when you apply for your license. Of course you have to fess to up to all criminal history (expunged or sealed) but by then, your medical school can not do anything about it if you did not disclose an arrest.
 
bears1992 said:
The FBI background check is run when you apply for your license. Of course you have to fess to up to all criminal history (expunged or sealed) but by then, your medical school can not do anything about it if you did not disclose an arrest.
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Yes, but the sort of misdeamenors that OP has will not preclude him from getting licensed. If he keeps screwing up then yeah but if he only has those two instances on his record he will be able to get a license.
 
AnatomyGrey12 said:
Yes, but the sort of misdeamenors that OP has will not preclude him from getting licensed. If he keeps screwing up then yeah but if he only has those two instances on his record he will be able to get a license.
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Oh I didn't mean you would be excluded from getting a license I just meant that once he's applying to get licensed it doesn't matter if he didn't include it on his medical school app. Grey Storm had said that upon applying for license, a medical school would see that he did not disclose an arrest and he would be barred from getting a license... but what is a medical school going to do, show up at your house and take your diploma?

I guess this doesn't apply if OP did not get his case(s) expunged or sealed as they would show up on a medical school background check anyway.
 
Grey Storm said:
I've worked in admissions. We rejected people immediately if they came up positive for any misdemeanors, even if they called and admitted it. I've heard the changed person story and it didn't matter because it effects insurance rates. I'm telling you, with a record that shows a trend, he's done. But feel free to encourage him to waste his time. If he's foolhardy too, then that's on him.

The simple fact is hospitals won't hire someone with a criminal record, so why go through the time and expense of training someone who has one?

SocialEMT: You're done. .... you're done you're done you're done. Do something else with your life.
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There are many physicians with criminal records. I don't believe this idea that they won't hire a physician that has one.
 
Grey Storm said:
I wish you the best of luck. I hope I'm wrong, and the above posters are right. If you don't get in anywhere, your record should expire after 7 years (details vary between states so you'll need to speak with someone who specializes in admissions for each school you apply to). You should be good to go then, if you still wish to pursue medicine.
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What? Criminal records don't expire. I have never even heard of a state "expiring" a criminal record after 7 years. There are some states that allow you to apply for expungment after a specified number of years, but that will still show on an FBI background check. I have been through this process so I can tell you with certainty that there is no expiration. Expungement will not show up on a medical school background check but it will show up when you apply for your license. A DUI and a DWSL are not crimes that would bar anyone from obtaining a license. OP, try and get your cases expunged. If your convictions are expunged then you will not have to provide it on a medical school app, even if the app specifically states all crimes regardless of expungement.
 
What he means by 7 years is the "soft" background check. There are two different types of background checks (actually three). The first being an FCRA SSN check from where the individual has lived, that usually only goes back 7 years unless the state says otherwise (these are done by private investigators or third party companies IE: pre-check) after 7 years the misdemeanor will not show up. Of course felonies will ALWAYS. The second being a DOJ + FBI which is used when licensing an individual, that shows EVERYTHING despite expungement or sealing. The third is when you apply to a law enforcement, FBI, or CIA intelligence type jobs, that's the one where they can show up at peoples door steps asking if your favorite color is really red (just a joke) and can see any minor traffic citation/parking ticket.
 
Socal_emt said:
What he means by 7 years is the "soft" background check. There are two different types of background checks (actually three). The first being an FCRA SSN check from where the individual has lived, that usually only goes back 7 years unless the state says otherwise (these are done by private investigators or third party companies IE: pre-check) after 7 years the misdemeanor will not show up. Of course felonies will ALWAYS. The second being a DOJ + FBI which is used when licensing an individual, that shows EVERYTHING despite expungement or sealing. The third is when you apply to a law enforcement, FBI, or CIA intelligence type jobs, that's the one where they can show up at peoples door steps asking if your favorite color is really red (just a joke) and can see any minor traffic citation/parking ticket.
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That must be state specific because we run background checks all the time at my work and misdemeanors from 20 years show up all the time. I actually just recently ran a background check a few weeks ago and a DUI and solicitation of prostitution came up from 1991. I live in FL btw and these are commercial background checks. The only thing that should be erased after 7 years is derogatory marks on your credit history. If your convictions are not expunged, I would not risk lying about them on your app and then having them pop up on a background check. DUI and DWSL are really not that bad (the youth pastor at my church has a DWSL arrest) but I guess it is viewed differently depending on the school.
 
I am working on getting my criminal background check right now, just so I know what to say on my application. When I was 16 I was arrested for trespassing, I was at a school really late at night, nothing to do so my friend and I were hanging out, not doing anything else. Cop came, put us in handcuffs, and our parents come get us period week later had to go down to the courthouse to just meet with some guy who had me write a one-page paper on other things we could have done that night instead of trespassing. This was in 2006. I'm going to include it but I wasn't sure exactly what to say it was, I think I remember he classified it as public trespassing, but I just wanted to be sure. I'm applying this summer and just off of a gut-check I assume this won't be a problem as long as I'm honest about it, so as far as no one who is in medicine has ever had any sort of a criminal history of any sort kind of seems ridiculous. Stuff happens. And I think kind of let everyone in this post is getting up is it just depends on the school and the crime and there aren't a ton of blanket statements like you will absolutely never get in if you committed homicide. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it just the smartest idea to email the schools you are interested in and ask them? Because you've gotta be honest and let them know anyways

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PreMedDonna said:
Declined interviews at 2 of them. 1 more to go. Accepted at all the rest. There's a box on the AACOMAS primary for it so I disclosed it even though the record is sealed. I wanted to take no chances bc my lawyer advised that some states allow expunged/sealed records to be opened when applying for professional licenses. Seriously just be honest because only one school even said anything to me about it (LECOM). And pretending that it didn't happen can result in automatic expulsion if they find out.

For clarification: it was an alcohol charge but an isolated incident

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Thats awesome! LECOM is my top choice. Do you remember specifically what LECOM mentioned at the interview? Also when were you invited for an interview/accepted.
 
BillsMafia28 said:
Thats awesome! LECOM is my top choice. Do you remember specifically what LECOM mentioned at the interview? Also when were you invited for an interview/accepted.
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I wasn't asked about it in the interview but, when I was accepted, a Student Affairs rep asked for documentation of the expungement. I interviewed at Erie/SH in 9/16 and Bradenton 1/17


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