What would you do?

[Danielle]

Currently I am on the waitlist at the med school I hope to attend (Case). However, I have also been accepted to CCOM. If Iam not accepted at Case should I go to CCOM or should I defer the acceptance and attempt to get accepted to Case? I plan on retaking my MCAT since I currently have 28O and it will no longer be accepted. I will also complete my M.S. in Anatomy in May at Case and am currently applying for a student research scholarship from the American Heart Association. I currently am doing research focusing on cerebral blood flow and metabolism and hope to continue this research while I attend med school. My P.I. wants me to reapply if I am not accepted and continue to do research towards a Ph.D. while I am applying. Should I just go to med school in Chicago or should I reapply?
My stats: Grad GPA: 3.53, UG GPA: 3.5, Science, 3.65

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[ad_sharp]

That's a bit of a toughy. This is only my personal opinion so take it for what it's worth....I wouldn't give up a seat in med school at any time for the hope of getting into a "better" one later on. You've got a sure thing in your hands right now. If you have to retake the MCAT to apply at CASE, you may or may not do as well as you did the first time. Aside from this, waiting till next year to reapply will only cost you another year of your life. I am far too impatient to give another year to get to med school. The sooner I can be out, the better.

No offense to your PI, but you should be thinking about your own best interest, not theirs. They may want you back and they may need you, but your objective is to go to medical school-don't let other people make your decision for you. Besides, you may still get in at CASE, but if you don't, I would go for the sure thing and attend CCOM. Just my 2 pennies.

 

[omarsaleh66]

i would go to CCOM, one year wait is not worth it in my opinion. I am almost finished w my first year in med school, and trust me, 1 year is a looong time and I think that u need to get it over with fast. Im sure ull have alot of opportunites for research at CCOM so i think thats the best deal!

gluck

Omar

 

[Kalel]

I'd hope for the best with Case, but plan on enrolling in CCOM if you don't get into Case. Medical training is too long and life is too short to postpone your training simply because you didn't get into where you wanted to go IMO.

 

[XCanadianRagwee]

Ask Jared from the subway commercials. He'd be able to help you out.

 

[Danielle]

I appreciate everyone's advice since this is a very difficult decision for me.

 

[doc05]

CCOM is osteo, right? If so I'd reapply. Medical training takes a long time, so one more year is no big deal. More important is to keep your options open, long-term.

 

[Danielle]

Yeah CCOM is osteo that is why I am uncertain on whether or not I should attend. I will also probably have to give up my research if I go there.

 

[jlee9531]

Yeah CCOM is osteo that is why I am uncertain on whether or not I should attend. I will also probably have to give up my research if I go there.

do you have any idea on what field you might be slightly interested in this when you enter medicine?
if its primary care, then id go to CCOM.
did you apply to CCOM because you saw positives in the DO philosophy or just saw it as a backup school?

 

[SpiritiualDuck]

Your stats are strong, good numbers. The 28 is not bad. It's within the accepted range. I'm surprised that you haven't found more success. Did you apply to wide range and enough schools?

Why did you apply to a school or program you wouldn't attend? Every school applied is a school that i'd go to.

It's a tough question about DO or MD? but that's a question you should have asked yourself a year ago.

DO's can do everything that MD's can do. Regardless of what people say, I think it's a bit harder to go DO, but I still believe all the options are there for you. I'd go for it.

 

[efex101]

A bird in hand...comes to mind. You should have really looked into DO before applying if you were not sure. I do not understand why folks apply to schools that once in they think about not attending it does not make sense.

 

[oldtimer]

I hear that Case is increasing its acceptance standards in the future. You'll need a pretty high MCAT in the coming years. In addition, they have removed the Ohio resident preference condition thereby increasing the potential pool of highly qualified applicants. The point is that I wouldn't sit out for a year in the hopes of gaining acceptance at Case because it won't get any easier to get into.

However, if you don't want to go to a DO school, then retake the MCAT and apply to more MD schools next cycle. With your grades and a decent MCAT showing, you should be able to get into an MD school somewhere.

 

[Danielle]

I applied to DO schools because my family physician is a DO. However, I don't really want to go into primary care. I am interested in neurology since most of my research has been in this field and I was just diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy last year. I think the other med schools I applied to did not accept me because I have not yet finish my M.S. (which I will finish in May). It has been a difficult choice since my PI wants me to stay and complete a PhD and reapply to Case if I am not accepted.

 

[HoodyHoo]

I applied to DO schools because my family physician is a DO. However, I don't really want to go into primary care. I am interested in neurology since most of my research has been in this field and I was just diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy last year. I think the other med schools I applied to did not accept me because I have not yet finish my M.S. (which I will finish in May). It has been a difficult choice since my PI wants me to stay and complete a PhD and reapply to Case if I am not accepted.

You have to think about if it is worth your time to finish a PhD. I am also in Neurology and my P.I. in fact also wanted me to get into MD school or stay an extra year. You can just as easily get into Neurology going to CCOM as you could at Case. I don't understand why people always assume you can't do research at DO schools. In fact, NSU-COM's students have won some East Coast Research competition against schools like Duke (according to NSU's dean who spoke with us), for the past two years.. I say don't waste your time.

 

[omarsaleh66]

i know DOs that get competitive residencies like optho and rads so u wont be restricted to just primary care, and like someone mentioned, neurology is pretty easy to get.

peace

Omar

 

[jlee9531]

I applied to DO schools because my family physician is a DO. However, I don't really want to go into primary care. I am interested in neurology since most of my research has been in this field and I was just diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy last year. I think the other med schools I applied to did not accept me because I have not yet finish my M.S. (which I will finish in May). It has been a difficult choice since my PI wants me to stay and complete a PhD and reapply to Case if I am not accepted.

the reason why other med schools have no accepted you is NOT because you are in a ms program right now. schools still accept many people who are current doing ms programs just as long as they can finish before med school...and in your case you can, so that wouldnt have been the problem really.

DOs can do MD residencies...but not the other way around. do well on your boards and get good grades with a nice deans letter...then you will be competitive for neuro.

 

[Danielle]

Thanks so much for all your advice. It is helping me with my decision. I think I will attend Chicago if I am not accepted to Case.