Everyone I've talked to doesn't care about the difference between an MD and a DO. I've lived in WA, OR, and MA. You live in CA, where the ratio of pre-medical neurotics are 1:3
😉 Consider the source. I once attended a Q&A put on by an admissions committee from a medical school in CA where a student from UC-Davis was freaking out about a B+ in one of his classes. Perspective is lacking, man.
I don't know where this idea of DO students being lazy/not committed to excellence comes from. DO students aren't tainted students just because they attend schools with lower GPAs/MCATs. They work hard, if not harder, than MD students. In my last job, I worked in academic medicine, and I saw residency applications of DO candidates who had extensive ECs including tons of research/volunteer work and excellent USMLE scores and PS from no name DO schools compared to MOST of the MD candidates applying for the same residency. Of course, there are DO students who probably should never have considered going into medicine because their scores/grades are terrible. But guess what? There are MD students like that too.
That being said, I agree with
@Medic741 about the rotations and history of DO schools, I think that's where the DO stigma will stay strong for a long time. But the key is to stop grouping things into larger categories ("DO this, DO that") and being obsessed with prestige. Focus on being the best medical student you can be so you can be the best doctor you can be regardless of the two letters next to your name. I PROMISE you, it will not go unnoticed.
There are people who have had to overcome worse stigmas than DO vs. MD in their careers and lives, and they're doing just fine.
P.S. The place I worked for had an incredibly prestigious fellowship program in its field with only 4 spots, and one was given to a DO. The school they graduated from would surprise you.