What are the 10 easiest D.O schools to get into?

[TrillyBassily]

I'm a California resident with a 3.49 overall GPA and a 32 MCAT Score. I'm making my school list now and want to apply to about 7-8 mid-low tier schools and 6-7 tougher admissions schools.

Which schools are relatively easier to get into? I know that all DO schools require a lot so what I mean is comparatively easier.

Could someone please list off what they'd consider the ten or so easiest DO schools to get into?

I wish there was a list of all the osteopathic schools roughly ranked from easiest to hardest to gain admissions.

I really want to go to Western in Pomona, CA. Is that an easy or tough school to get into?

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[radian313]

I'm a California resident with a 3.49 overall GPA and a 32 MCAT Score. I'm making my school list now and want to apply to about 7-8 mid-low tier schools and 6-7 tougher admissions schools.

Which schools are relatively easier to get into? I know that all DO schools require a lot so what I mean is comparatively easier.

Could someone please list off what they'd consider the ten or so easiest DO schools to get into?

I wish there was a list of all the osteopathic schools roughly ranked from easiest to hardest to gain admissions.

I really want to go to Western in Pomona, CA. Is that an easy or tough school to get into?

To be honest, its hard to gauge this because almost all schools are either gpa, mcat or mission heavy. Hence the "easy" for you may be "hard" for others and vice versa.

That said, if there is a trend, focus on geographic location (i.e. Rural Schools) and newer schools.

 

[Camaxtli]

I'm a California resident with a 3.49 overall GPA and a 32 MCAT Score. I'm making my school list now and want to apply to about 7-8 mid-low tier schools and 6-7 tougher admissions schools.

Which schools are relatively easier to get into? I know that all DO schools require a lot so what I mean is comparatively easier.

Could someone please list off what they'd consider the ten or so easiest DO schools to get into?

I wish there was a list of all the osteopathic schools roughly ranked from easiest to hardest to gain admissions.

I really want to go to Western in Pomona, CA. Is that an easy or tough school to get into?

Your grades are really good! You don't need to apply to so many schools.

 

[TrillyBassily]

To be honest, its hard to gauge this because almost all schools are either gpa, mcat or mission heavy. Hence the "easy" for you may be "hard" for others and vice versa.

That said, if there is a trend, focus on geographic location (i.e. Rural Schools) and newer schools.

Could you name a few of the newer schools for me please?

 

[TrillyBassily]

Your grades are really good! You don't need to apply to so many schools.

Thanks, but it's only 3.49 with grade forgiveness, I've retaken A LOT of my courses at community colleges, do you think that makes a difference?

 

[radian313]

Could you name a few of the newer schools for me please?

Its on wiki by state and year.


http://.

 

[Mavs88]

This was compiled by a fellow SDN member. I believe it is outdated by 1-2 years but more or less accurate. If your MCAT is 32, you need to be aiming for the PCOM/CCOM/KCU/AZCOM/NSUCOM of the world. Also are competitive for your instate Cali schools.

Keep in mind some schools on here are very instate heavy like Oklahoma State or TCOM. Also keep in mind that TCOM uses TMDSAS, not AACOMAS, so there's no grade replacement there.

final edit: when you're filling out your AACOMAS, be extremely careful to read the fine print and proceed VERY cautiously when filling out grade replacement grades. Read all of the instructions in the manual before filling stuff in. Trust me, it sucks when you make a small error, cause AACOMAS has no leniency.

 

[Camaxtli]

Thanks, but it's only 3.49 with grade forgiveness, I've retaken A LOT of my courses at community colleges, do you think that makes a difference?

Not at DO schools

 

[Stagg737]

Schools that are generally easier imo: ACOM, LECOM-E/SH, LMU-COM, LUCOM, Kentucky-COM, WVU-COM, William Carey, maybe the Ed Vias?

Thanks, but it's only 3.49 with grade forgiveness, I've retaken A LOT of my courses at community colleges, do you think that makes a difference?

Probably. It really depends on how many you re-took there and which courses they were. Did you take multiple pre-req sciences courses like O-chem or cell bio at a CC, or where they just filler classes like sociology? Generally speaking taking a large number of core classes at CC's doesn't really look great, especially if they are re-takes to improve grades. Med schools need to know you're capable of handling the upper level courses at decent program, re-taking such classes at the CC level doesn't convey that to them. Unless you have a damn good reason as to why you didn't retake them at a university (and money is not a good reason) or a really good explanation as to why you are ready to handle med-school level classes then it could look bad.

This was compiled by a fellow SDN member. I believe it is outdated by 1-2 years but more or less accurate. If your MCAT is 32, you need to be aiming for the PCOM/CCOM/KCU/AZCOM/NSUCOM of the world. Also are competitive for your instate Cali schools.

Keep in mind some schools on here are very instate heavy like Oklahoma State or TCOM. Also keep in mind that TCOM uses TMDSAS, not AACOMAS, so there's no grade replacement there.

final edit: when you're filling out your AACOMAS, be extremely careful to read the fine print and proceed VERY cautiously when filling out grade replacement grades. Read all of the instructions in the manual before filling stuff in. Trust me, it sucks when you make a small error, cause AACOMAS has no leniency.

Agree for the most part, but one or two comments. OP's MCAT is solid, but that GPA could be questionable depending on the number of retakes and if they were at a CC. I go to one of the 5 you said he/she should shoot for, and if a large portion of his re-takes are at a CC his odds wouldn't be good. I think 12-15 schools is a solid number for OP to shoot for. Definitely go for some of the "better" DO schools, but get a good mix and I still think he'll probably be fine.

Also, while the LizzyM scores can be helpful, I think they aren't as accurate for the DO schools as they are on the MD side. Most DO schools look for some things well outside the basic statistics (example, my school likes to see a minimum of 80 shadowing/direct patient care from it's applicants). On top of that, 1 or 2 years out of date can change a lot of things, especially MCAT scores and the competitiveness of the "new schools". Plus she has the majority of DO schools so close in terms of points that most of their scores are practically interchangeable. I'm not saying it's a useless tool, just that it's far more representative for MD applicants.

 

[mspeedwagon]

With a 3.49/32, you'll basically get into any DO school you want (except for those that are state specific or very mission driven). You can start with Touro-CA if you are looking to stay west. Pick the schools you'd actually want to attend, don't focus on the easiest to get into. My GPA was close and my MCAT worse and I had no problems. Got 2 MD interviews and interviews at PCOM, ATSU, Nova and many other places (ended up having to turn down a bunch toward the end). LECOM was the only DO school that rejected me outright (ironically one that is considered easier to get into in the DO world).

I'm a California resident with a 3.49 overall GPA and a 32 MCAT Score. I'm making my school list now and want to apply to about 7-8 mid-low tier schools and 6-7 tougher admissions schools.

 

[Promethean]

Thanks, but it's only 3.49 with grade forgiveness, I've retaken A LOT of my courses at community colleges, do you think that makes a difference?

Nope. Grade forgiveness is grade forgiveness. It is set up to give you a chance to redeem yourself. Adcoms aren't waiting like Lucy with the football, to jerk it away just as you commit to the kick. (Peanuts? Charlie Brown? Am I dating myself?)

I have a ton of CC and online college credits on my transcripts. Didn't seem to be a thing. Don't worry about finding the lowest bar to try to get over. Ease of entry is a terrible rubric for choosing a school. Do some actual research into the schools that interest you. Pick them based on their curriculum/didactic style, facilities, geography, cost, literally any other thing that matters to you. Then, after you have a list of schools that you are genuinely interested in, apply to a few of those. Don't worry as much about whether they are easier or harder... except for a handful that only like regional or in state applicants, the variation in your likelihood of acceptance at various DO schools will not be significant enough to warrant moving a school on or off your list.

 

[Stagg737]

Nope. Grade forgiveness is grade forgiveness. It is set up to give you a chance to redeem yourself. Adcoms aren't waiting like Lucy with the football, to jerk it away just as you commit to the kick. (Peanuts? Charlie Brown? Am I dating myself?)

I have a ton of CC and online college credits on my transcripts. Didn't seem to be a thing. Don't worry about finding the lowest bar to try to get over. Ease of entry is a terrible rubric for choosing a school. Do some actual research into the schools that interest you. Pick them based on their curriculum/didactic style, facilities, geography, cost, literally any other thing that matters to you. Then, after you have a list of schools that you are genuinely interested in, apply to a few of those. Don't worry as much about whether they are easier or harder... except for a handful that only like regional or in state applicants, the variation in your likelihood of acceptance at various DO schools will not be significant enough to warrant moving a school on or off your list.

Grade forgiveness is grade forgiveness, but taking a 300 level science class at a CC =/= to a 300 level science class at a university. If someone does a year or 2 at a CC then finishes at a university and their GPA remains roughly the same or goes up, it's probably not going to be a big deal for most, if any adcoms. If adcoms see an app with a transcript starting at a university which has a mediocre GPA, then sees there are multiple upper level/core classes taken at a CC at a later date with great grades, it's not hard to put 2 and 2 together. I'm not saying it would kill an application, but it certainly won't look good and will hurt at least at some schools.

Even with that being said, I agree with pretty much the rest of what you said and think @TrillyBassily will be fine as long as he/she applies early and broadly. Though it is a bit hard to tell if the CC courses will be an issue at all without knowing which classes were taken at the CC, how many credits it was, and what the GPA at the non-CC institution is.

 

[MADD!!!]

Stats wise you're fine for every school. Just apply to all the schools that interest you and see what happens. Focus on making the other parts of your app look good.

No one on here can say if you're going to get accepted to school X, Y, or Z. BUT, I could tell you that if you do get rejected from a DO school, it's NOT because of your GPA or MCAT. Make sense? Good. Focus on making the other parts of your app look good and hope for the best. Good luck!

 

[mathnerd88]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/do-school-list.1185993/#post-17486755

This may help.

 

[drkube]

You're fine for any DO school, except the IS-biased schools and mission driven schools.

 

[TheaterOfTheme]

This was compiled by a fellow SDN member. I believe it is outdated by 1-2 years but more or less accurate. If your MCAT is 32, you need to be aiming for the PCOM/CCOM/KCU/AZCOM/NSUCOM of the world. Also are competitive for your instate Cali schools.

This is misinformation. There are no "in-state" schools in CA as there are in some midwestern state. No in-state bias overall.

 

[change4med]

Statwise you're good for pretty much any DO school, hopefully you have a good amount of EC's too!

Don't worry too much about the retakes at a CC, your 32 showed that you could critically apply what you learned.

Any of the schools west of the Mississippi is a good start!

 

[IslandStyle808]

I'll say this, your stats are on the high end, enough to get into a US MD school. If you walk into that interview and the interviewers feel like you are viewing them as back up, you will be rejected. There is no such thing as an easy school to get into, just what school best fits you. You look at the stats for each school and pick out which ones you like and feel like a fit.

 

[Mavs88]

This is misinformation. There are no "in-state" schools in CA as there are in some midwestern state. No in-state bias overall.

Erm, I simply meant in the state of California....I specifically wrote the next paragraph about other schools with instate bias.

 

[TheaterOfTheme]

Erm, I simply meant in the state of California....I specifically wrote the next paragraph about other schools with instate bias.

Apologies for being veg, all I meant is that the state MD schools, being the UCs, do not have in-state bias.

 

[Mavs88]

Apologies for being veg, all I meant is that the state MD schools, being the UCs, do not have in-state bias.

No worries, I should have said the Cali DO schools. 🙂

 

[CookiesNMilk]

Which schools are mission-driven?

 

[mathnerd88]

Which schools are mission-driven?

You can look up the mission statements of every school. You can easily tell which ones are mission driven.

 

[PossibleDOC?]

I think it's time we called in the master of the application cycle, the king of advice, the count of knowledge, the one the only @Goro


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Goro]

Do you want to get into an easy school, or a good school?

The newest schools will be the easiest to get into. But do you really want to go to LUCOM?

Your stats are great for both Western and Touro-CA, if you wish to stay in CA.

I'm a California resident with a 3.49 overall GPA and a 32 MCAT Score. I'm making my school list now and want to apply to about 7-8 mid-low tier schools and 6-7 tougher admissions schools.

Which schools are relatively easier to get into? I know that all DO schools require a lot so what I mean is comparatively easier.

Could someone please list off what they'd consider the ten or so easiest DO schools to get into?

I wish there was a list of all the osteopathic schools roughly ranked from easiest to hardest to gain admissions.

I really want to go to Western in Pomona, CA. Is that an easy or tough school to get into?

 

[DetectiveAlonzo]

BCOM.

No offense to the program at all as it was a GREAT program and seemed to have it's stuff in order from folks I personally know who went and interviewed there.

Pretty much any new school.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

BCOM.

No offense to the program at all as it was a GREAT program and seemed to have it's stuff in order from folks I personally know who went and interviewed there.

Pretty much any new school.

Nah I'd go with BCOM second behind Liberty. At least BCOM has somewhat of a hint of a mission with trying to find people who will eventually possibly serve the region. But yeah those two schools I would say. Even schools that appear to have low stats are often selective because of them looking for a specific type of candidate like SOMA.

 

[edgerock24]

BCOM... since people could literally email the dean after being rejected, and then get accepted.

 

[mathnerd88]

BCOM... since people could literally email the dean after being rejected, and then get accepted.

I've only heard like two cases from BCOM that this worked, and they applied super early.

 

[IslandStyle808]

BCOM... since people could literally email the dean after being rejected, and then get accepted.

And they rejected a people with a >30 MCAT score.

 

[QueenJames]

Yupp. I was apart of the first interview group there. Great interview and great vibe. Dean flatout told us they had rejected folks with 30 and above on their MCAT because they didn't fit the mission of the program.

BCOM is gonna be something serious in the next few years and I was proud to have atleast been accepted and given the chance to pursue my studies there. They got the money to back it up and they have the affiliation with NMSU to do research and anything else.

 

[QueenJames]

Just to add to it all... more and more people are hopping onto the DO train and averages of programs are steadily increasing. This last year saw a record number of DO applicants I believe. There are new programs opening as well but many folks are dead set on going to already established programs... which are starting to see an increase in average stats.

 

[redhope]

Hard to say, but geography and mission aside (factors out of your control) I would say the following are pretty easy to get into relatively speaking from a stats perspective:

In no particular order

ACOM (stats are on the rise so be careful), SOMA (I know a couple 24 MCAT's that got in this cycle), BCOM, CUSOM, LUCOM, LMU-DCOM, PNWU, PCOM-GA, KYCOM, all of the VCOM's, William Carey, NYIT-Arkansas (22 or 23 MCAT?)

 

[mspeedwagon]

Just remember stats can be very deceiving. I was rejected by some of these schools (LMU-DOM, PCOM-GA, VCOM) and got into many other DO schools that folks would consider higher tier (ATSU-KCOM, PCOM-PA, Nova, Touro-NV and some others).

I applied to schools that I would consider attending. I'd strongly recommend that the OP do the same. I wouldn't consider attending LUCOM, BUCOM or KYCOM (the latter is very specific about the type of applicant they are looking for) so did not apply to those (BUCOM wasn't even around to think of it and going to a super religious school is against my religion hence eliminating LUCOM).

Hard to say, but geography and mission aside (factors out of your control) I would say the following are pretty easy to get into relatively speaking from a stats perspective:

In no particular order

ACOM (stats are on the rise so be careful), SOMA (I know a couple 24 MCAT's that got in this cycle), BCOM, CUSOM, LUCOM, LMU-DCOM, PNWU, PCOM-GA, KYCOM, all of the VCOM's, William Carey, NYIT-Arkansas (22 or 23 MCAT?)

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

BUCOM wasn't even around to think of it and going to a super religious school is against my religion).

Do you mean LUCOM?

 

[mspeedwagon]

I realize my post wasn't clear so made an edit. Yes. I meant LUCOM. I wouldn't go to BCOM because it's new. I wouldn't go to KYCOM because I don't match the demographic they are seeking and I wouldn't go to LUCOM because of the religion they follow (even though I'm Catholic, just a different type of Christian, I don't agree with a lot of the ways their organization stands for).

Do you mean LUCOM?

 

[Ioannes Paulus]

Keep in mind a few things. Some DO schools, although have a "lower" average GPA, don't look at grade replacement favorably. Message me if you want more details

But, anyway, the toughest schools are TUCOM, Touro-Harlem (not Middletown), NYITCOM, CCOM, AZCOM, PCOM, and KCUMB. This doesn't necessarily mean that they will provide the "best" education in the DO world.

The rest are doable with your stats if you apply early enough.