What DO Schools should I apply too?

[Bearmanbear]

Stats:

• Heavy upward trend, 4.0 the last 3 semesters, >3.5 the last 3 years, all generally sciences
• cGPA: 3.14 (junior college grades from almost a decade ago coming back to haunt me, yikes)
• sGPA: 3.72
• MCAT: 507 (126/124/127/130), not happy w/ how CARS went, but it is what it is, no excuses here, hope it won't completely disqualify me.
• Average amount of clinical hospice volunteering that I'm also currently still doing, on and off nonclinical w/ average hours, about 80 hours shadowing a primary care osteopathic physician + LOR
• Really strong PS, w/ strong LORs from advisors/professors
• ORM, but from a state with zero medical schools - I've been told this makes me somewhat underrepresented? Not sure.

I've already applied to:

• PNWU (dream school, strong ties to Washington/Northwest)
• WesternU (Oregon)
• ICOM (Idaho)
• AZCOM.
• Looking at another school in Arizona and one in NM (Burrell).
• Also applied to 2 MD programs to diversify further - UW (Long shot) and UND (possible, familial-ties).

Any other DO I should add where I would be a strong applicant? Any MD? Looking to add maybe 3-4, but trying to apply smart, I just want to be a doctor- location and DO/MD are largely irrelevant to me personally. With that said, the deep-south and most of the East-coast would be a pain to interview at and expensive, so mainly keeping it on the western half of the US would be overall beneficial.
Thanks guys!

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[Goro]

Stats:

• Heavy upward trend, 4.0 the last 3 semesters, >3.5 the last 3 years, all generally sciences
• cGPA: 3.14 (junior college grades from almost a decade ago coming back to haunt me, yikes)
• sGPA: 3.72
• MCAT: 507 (126/124/127/130), not happy w/ how CARS went, but it is what it is, no excuses here, hope it won't completely disqualify me.
• Average amount of clinical hospice volunteering that I'm also currently still doing, on and off nonclinical w/ average hours, about 80 hours shadowing a primary care osteopathic physician + LOR
• Really strong PS, w/ strong LORs from advisors/professors
• ORM, but from a state with zero medical schools - I've been told this makes me somewhat underrepresented? Not sure.

I've already applied to:

• PNWU (dream school, strong ties to Washington/Northwest)
• WesternU (Oregon)
• ICOM (Idaho)
• AZCOM.
• Looking at another school in Arizona and one in NM (Burrell).
• Also applied to 2 MD programs to diversify further - UW (Long shot) and UND (possible, familial-ties).

Any other DO I should add where I would be a strong applicant? Any MD? Looking to add maybe 3-4, but trying to apply smart, I just want to be a doctor- location and DO/MD are largely irrelevant to me personally. With that said, the deep-south and most of the East-coast would be a pain to interview at and expensive, so mainly keeping it on the western half of the US would be overall beneficial.
Thanks guys!

I can't recommend ICOM or BCOM.

I suggest the following:
all VCOMs
WVSOM
all LECOMs
KYCOM
ACOM
KCOM
Both Westerns
TUNCOM
MUCOM
SOMA
RVU-UT
CUSOM
KCU
DMU

Wayne State
Loyola
U WV
Drexel
Temple
GWU
Gtown
Creighton
Tufts
Netter
Tulane
Rush
Rosy Franklin
Seton Hall
TCU/UNT
NovaMD
Albany
NYMC

 

[Bearmanbear]

I've added WVSOM, PCOM, TUNCOM, AT Stills (SOMA), RVU (only the Colorado campus- might add UT), and now might add the other western campus (CA), as well as DMU. I'll look into those MD a bit more deeply.

Off topic, but you've sparked my curiosity- why do you oppose recommending ICOM or BCOM?
Also, I've heard applying to California DO schools as an out-of-state applicant is useless (WesternU CA campus), as its already saturated w/ strong California applicants, any truth to this? If not I would gladly tack on CA schools.

 

[Bearmanbear]

*Also, I trust your judgement, but I'm noticing many of these MD programs are perhaps a little out of reach at first glance, given my MCAT and specifically my cGPA. I think my cGPA would automatically eliminate/screen me out of the majority of MD schools, but I'm no expert.
Any comments on that? Thanks

 

[Dagrimsta1]

*Also, I trust your judgement, but I'm noticing many of these MD programs are perhaps a little out of reach at first glance, given my MCAT and specifically my cGPA. I think my cGPA would automatically eliminate/screen me out of the majority of MD schools, but I'm no expert.
Any comments on that? Thanks

You should apply MD anyway. The COA at MD schools is generally less than DO school and the ladder is much less steep towards residency as of now. Apply instate as they tend to favor their own students as well. Your focus should primarily be schools that have a reasonable cost and with valuable (hospital/ward based) rotation experiences.

Think of it as fishing with money being bait, you don't want to miss moby dick because you were trying to save a few bucks.

 

[Bearmanbear]

You should apply MD anyway. The COA at MD schools is generally less than DO school and the ladder is much less steep towards residency as of now. Apply instate as they tend to favor their own students as well. Your focus should primarily be schools that have a reasonable cost and with valuable (hospital/ward based) rotation experiences.

Think of it as fishing with money being bait, you don't want to miss moby dick because you were trying to save a few bucks.

Thanks! Haha great analogy... As I've mentioned, I live in a state with no medical schools (no in-state), but have already applied to regional programs (UW AKA WWAMI), as well as other MD programs like UND and WSU. I'm definitely aware that MD is less costly and overall better in the long-run as far as residency experiences/opportunities. But I also just want to be a doctor, with a focus on primary/internal care medicine and at the risk of coming off as desperate, will attend anywhere that accepts me to reach this goal. Now, I'm not financially incompetent, I will obviously choose the school that A) accepts me, B) has the strongest track record, and C) has the best overall value

All in all, as of now, I've applied to 11 DO schools and 3 MD. I feel I have I have cast a wide net, but by the end of the week, I may apply to an additional MD as per Goro's list.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I've added WVSOM, PCOM, TUNCOM, AT Stills (SOMA), RVU (only the Colorado campus- might add UT), and now might add the other western campus (CA), as well as DMU. I'll look into those MD a bit more deeply.

Off topic, but you've sparked my curiosity- why do you oppose recommending ICOM or BCOM?
Also, I've heard applying to California DO schools as an out-of-state applicant is useless (WesternU CA campus), as its already saturated w/ strong California applicants, any truth to this? If not I would gladly tack on CA schools.

Not to speak for Goro, but Icom has not graduated a class yet, so consider them unproven. If you are accepted there, and nowhere else, the choice is up to you. It usually takes a few years for a new school to get their faculty and curriculum up to speed. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[DO2015CA]

If you are a WWAMI applicant then UW is a little more in reach than you think. 507 is not near their matriculated for the whole class but it’s okay-ish for WWAMI

 

[Bearmanbear]

If you are a WWAMI applicant then UW is a little more in reach than you think. 507 is not near their matriculated for the whole class but it’s okay-ish for WWAMI

Thank you - that makes me feel a bit better about applying there. Though, I know about 4 applicants with MCATs ranging from 507-514, and a 528 all rejected from UW, some w/ greater EC's/GPA than myself, so you can imagine my self-doubt. As far as COA and quality goes, its my golden fleece of MD schools.

 

[DO2015CA]

Thank you - that makes me feel a bit better about applying there. Though, I know about 4 applicants with MCATs ranging from 507-514, and a 528 all rejected from UW, some w/ greater EC's/GPA than myself, so you can imagine my self-doubt. As far as COA and quality goes, its my golden fleece of MD schools.

Yes, med school admissions are a crapshoot that’s why you cast a wide net. You should be able to net a DO acceptance with your stats