Accept DO or reapply

[premedstudent5110]

For people who have declined DO and reapplied to MD, can you share your story?

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[deleted1066189]

name the DO school? It's probably not as scary as you think

 

[pre-med202022]

For people who have declined DO and reapplied to MD, can you share your story?

I also would like to know please

 

[Darrow O'Lykos]

 

[FutureInternist]

Bird in hand and all that.

 

[premedstudent5110]

I graduated from an SMP (biomedical sciences) at an allopathic school that doesn't have linkage. I didn't have the best GPA but a good trend up, coupled with a horrendous undergraduate GPA. My MCAT was alright but I knew I could do better because I had not utilized every resource like UWorld and the AAMC section bank nor did I thoroughly review my FLs. So I turned down my only DO acceptance and hunkered down to study (COVID made it easy to have no distractions). I did significantly better on the MCAT and ended up with 2 MD As, 1 WL and 3 DO As.

Although I will say this, you have to make a SIGNIFICANT change in whatever held you back to improve your chances. For me, It was the MCAT. However, this process is so random at times. My friend was rejected at our SMP school and reapplied the following cycle with the identical application and was accepted.

Can I PM you?

 

[Osteosaur]

this really depends on your ability to improve your application.

ultimately if you have a garbage MCAT or weak GPA you are competing with people who never had to repair these things. It doesn't matter if some other guy did it or not. There are a million extenuating circumstances. Is there a high likelihood of it? anyone can go "Well if I really buckled own and take 30 postbac credits over the next three years and get all A's my GPA will go up by 0.1 and I can get in!" Everyone thinks that about themselves.

You just need to be realistic.

 

[alm414]

OP failed to mention that they already applied to ~40 MD schools last cycle, and received no II. Applied this cycle and apparently now has a DO acceptance. Now is considering giving up their acceptance to reapply MD?

Take the DO acceptance and go be a doctor.

Congratulations on the acceptance to medical school, by the way!

 

[Darrow O'Lykos]

OP failed to mention that they already applied to ~40 MD schools last cycle, and received no II. Applied this cycle and apparently now has a DO acceptance. Now is considering giving up their acceptance to reapply MD?

Take the DO acceptance and go be a doctor.

Congratulations on the acceptance to medical school, by the way!

This.

Take the W life has handed you, OP.

Go be a doctor.

 

[Hotshy]

OP failed to mention that they already applied to ~40 MD schools last cycle, and received no II. Applied this cycle and apparently now has a DO acceptance. Now is considering giving up their acceptance to reapply MD?

Take the DO acceptance and go be a doctor.

Congratulations on the acceptance to medical school, by the way!

OP, given your lack of success so far applying MD it would be foolish to pass up this DO acceptance. You may apply again and get no MD or DO acceptances. Go DO and be a doctor. DOs have high match rate as well, you are setting yourself up for success. Please do not let your pride get in the way and pass up this opportunity that you may never get again.

 

[premedstudent5110]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Now I am leaning towards taking my acceptance. Since the last failed MD cycle, I bumped up my mcat from 510/508 > 515, worked 1 year as a scribe in the ER, and worked 1 year as a clinical research coordinator and will have a couple publications. So I wasn't sure if this boost in my application would warrant a reapply.

 

[Osteosaur]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Now I am leaning towards taking my acceptance. Since the last failed MD cycle, I bumped up my mcat from 510/508 > 515, worked 1 year as a scribe in the ER, and worked 1 year as a clinical research coordinator and will have a couple publications. So I wasn't sure if this boost in my application would warrant a reapply.

I had better ECs and did not get in on a reapp.

It will help, sure, but no guarantee. But why wait another year and risk never getting in when you are in? OMM isn't THAT BAD

 

[djiboutiman]

I’ll give you my experience. I applied only MD on my first cycle, got 1 interview and no acceptance. Retook the MCAT for my second cycle, scored above 95%tile, got 5 interviews (4 MD, 1 DO) and still ended up with no MD acceptances. Luckily I had the DO acceptance and I took it.

If you’re worried about doing OMM , ya it’s lame but it’s only a couple extra hours/week. If it‘s a prestige thing, you‘ll forget about that pretty quick. If it’s a residency thing, that is a little more understandable.

DOs are at a significant disadvantage for the competitive specialties now that Step 1 is pass/fail. Thats not to say that you can’t match into Derm, Urology, etc. as a DO. But choosing the DO route means you have to be okay with going into one of the less competitive specialties. If you can only see yourself in one of those competitive specialties then ditch the DO acceptance and apply again. But just know, you’ll shut yourself out of most DO schools doing that.

 

[hungryhungryhippo4]

This makes you a unicorn. Statistically speaking <5% DOs have >512 MCAT (AACOMAS data) and OP is likely to get an MD A with a jump to a 515. The absolute worst-case scenario is that OP gets no MD As and tons of DO As since they will all gladly accept OP as early as august/september to secure a $1-$3k deposit (easy profit for them). It's better to try for one year that can impact a 30-40 year career vs thinking back "what if". It's much easier to retire to part-time at 60 and teach at any med school as an MD than it is as a DO, for example, not to mention the other benefits.

I know SDN tends to have a lot of high-stat individuals attending DO schools and the adcoms saying "this year 50% of our interviewees had a 510+" but the reality is less than 5% have >512 and those individuals likely got into MD later down the line. The numbers don't lie. If OP had the same MCAT score and said "I'll study really hard and improve" I would advise to just take the DO but OP has already achieved a huge jump to a 515

It’s okay to be a DO.

 

[deleted1066189]

With that said, OP here has a better-than-most shot at becoming an MD.

OP didn't say what their GPA is. You can certainly fix a bad MCAT, it's a lot longer and more expensive to fix a bad GPA.
Regarding your "5%" statistic, guess I'm part of it. I applied to 20 DO schools (no new or for profit schools though) this cycle with a 513 MCAT and less than a 3.2 sGPA, received only 2 interviews (both later in the cycle) and one acceptance. Granted, my ECs could've used some work, but MD just wasn't in the cards with my GPA. OP should take the acceptance.

 

[premedstudent5110]

OP didn't say what their GPA is. You can certainly fix a bad MCAT, it's a lot longer and more expensive to fix a bad GPA.
Regarding your "5%" statistic, guess I'm part of it. I applied to 20 DO schools (no new or for profit schools though) this cycle with a 513 MCAT and less than a 3.2 sGPA, received only 2 interviews (both later in the cycle) and one acceptance. Granted, my ECs could've used some work, but MD just wasn't in the cards with my GPA. OP should take the acceptance.

3.85 gpa with a 3.9 sgpa

 

[theendisnigh]

You know there was a possibility that by completing both AMCAS and AACOMAS, you could end up with only a DO acceptance. I'm always surprised by the amount of people who don't want to take a DO acceptance to a school they applied for. You knew it was DO when you applied and that any one of your schools could be your only A.

You should take the acceptance and get on with the next phase of your career.

 

[Osteosaur]

This makes you a unicorn. Statistically speaking <5% DOs have >512 MCAT (AACOMAS data) and OP is likely to get an MD A with a jump to a 515. The absolute worst-case scenario is that OP gets no MD As and tons of DO As since they will all gladly accept OP as early as august/september to secure a $1-$3k deposit (easy profit for them). It's better to try for one year that can impact a 30-40 year career vs thinking back "what if". It's much easier to retire to part-time at 60 and teach at any med school as an MD than it is as a DO, for example, not to mention the other benefits.

I know SDN tends to have a lot of high-stat individuals attending DO schools and the adcoms saying "this year 50% of our interviewees had a 510+" but the reality is less than 5% have >512 and those individuals likely got into MD later down the line. The numbers don't lie. If OP had the same MCAT score and said "I'll study really hard and improve" I would advise to just take the DO but OP has already achieved a huge jump to a 515

Doesn't matter much if he's "too good" for DO. The issue is not being good enough for MD. He got no interviews. Maybe he might have if he applied for both this year but he didn't. There might be many reasons for his but he isn't "3.9 with 515" he is "3.9 with 515 and some lower scores", and that can make a difference.

Can the OP handle not having a shot at some DO unfriendly specialties? That is the question. He's already messed around for 2 years trying to get in. it might be 3 or 4 now waiting for that shot.

 

[JBM16BYU]

Take the DO acceptance. It means you'll get to be a doctor, which was obviously the goal of all of the applications, interviews, MCAT studying, etc. You've worked this hard, you've got the acceptance, and like others mentioned above, it's not guaranteed that you'll get the acceptance again in a reapplication. Congrats on getting into medical school!

 

[hungryhungryhippo4]

It's quite funny how we gave opposing advice on two posts, where you encouraged the prospective dental student to forego their acceptance ($440k) and try for a cheaper dental school. 440k school or reapply | Student Doctor Network

OP here will be in more debt than that for the DO school they're accepted to (not to mention interest during residency), and OP here has killer stats, vs mid/avg stats for the pre-dent in the other post. The goal of all applicants is not to "be a doctor". Maybe it is for some whose culture values being a "doctor". My parents/relatives (Indian) for example, don't know the difference between a family doc, NP, PA, nurse or what have you and think the phlebotomist is a doctor if no one tells them. All they care about is prestige without any regard for what specialty etc.

Now, I do what I want and so I pursued an MD with the goal of a med-competitive specialty, which is not "just become a doctor". I'd be miserable if I was pigeon-holed into 3-4 specialties simply because of the two letters next to my name.

One of the neurosurgery residents at Dartmouth is a DO. There are DOs in EVERY specialty. Sure a lot of them pursue primary care but that doesn’t mean they are limited to that by any means. Also we need doctors in primary care.

 

[Hotshy]

You don't even know me..... lol. Most of my/families docs are DOs and I even submitted a DO LOR to AMCAS. A person can have an opinion about something yet still welcome it. Are you gonna say that my DO doctor friends are "part of the problem" since they would suggest to anyone to try for MD over DO?

I think most people on this site and in reality would agree that it's better to get US MD over DO if possible. There may be an advantage to US MD but there is still plenty of opportunity for US DO. OP may have 515 MCAT now but it's going to be averaged with other scores at the very least. There's a possibility he applies again and gets ghosted by US MD, especially given how competitive this cycle was and how competitive the next cycle will be. He may have a harder time getting another DO acceptance if it's shown that he already turned one down (not sure how readily available that information is). So he could apply again and get no acceptances. It's a far less riskier option to take the DO acceptance now and become a doctor, if OP works hard most career paths remain open. He could try again for MD but he will lose another year of attending salary and may be left with no acceptances.

 

[Hotshy]

Thank you for giving your take as a resident. Most schools (especially lower tier) take the most recent/highest MCAT.
Besides a handful of schools that ask if you're a reapplicant (not even specifically if gave up an acceptance), AACOMAS/DO schools have no way of knowing if someone was accepted (not same as matriculated which AACOMAS does ask I believe - to filter out caribb dropouts etc).

Is a year's salary in a second or third choice specialty worth it though if OP has high aspirations? e.g. If OP wanted to do GI/Cardio (400-600k/year) and an MD makes it easier to match academic IM, that extra year pays off handsomely over a 30-40 year career ~$3m difference.

OP will have to weigh the potential risks and benefits. It all depends on the amount of risk he is willing to take on. Also depends on what OP wants as a career.

 

[RheumDoc112]

It's much easier to retire to part-time at 60 and teach at any med school as an MD than it is as a DO, for example, not to mention the other benefits.

This is a fairly ridiculous comment and not consistent with my own experience, or the experiences of my colleagues. I know it's hard to believe sometimes on this message board but you'll have a hard time finding anyone who cares if you're a DO or MD. No idea what other benefits you're referring to that MDs receive that DOs can not receive.

 

[JBM16BYU]

As someone who went through the match within the past few years, I can assure you that each specialty is within reach, although as some have mentioned, some subspecialty surgical fields are harder to obtain, this is true. Even if you go MD, those fields are not guaranteed. Even in MD schools, you have individuals who barely pass their boards, are in the bottom quartile of their class, etc, who will have a harder time getting those fields anyways. I personally know DO’s in all fields of medicine. Like applying to medical school, it’s all about how hard you work. Board scores, research, publications, presentations, leadership opportunities (both in medical school and nationally), and extracurriculars. Then on rotations, work your tail off. Don’t just show an interest, actually be interested. Study hard, not to just pass the test, but knowing that you’ll be applying what you learn to real patients in the future. Get good letters. You can accomplish all of this as a DO. Many DO students choose DO school because they want primary care, but not all. Personally, I’m a DO in a non-primary care field. I was fortunate to match at a top institution in my field. It’s doable. You will always meet and read stuff on this forum from individuals who are DOs and wished they were MDs. Take everything you read on here, both sides, with a grain of salt, realizing that you’ll find people happy and unhappy with their own personal decisions, whether it’s MD vs DO, one specialty vs another. Best of luck to you!

 

[alm414]

If given the choice between $100-150k in tuition (most MDs are cheaper/or give scholarships) vs $200k-300k for DO (except LECOM) Idk a single person that would choose DO.

Ok, but OP doesn't have a choice between MD vs DO. There is no guarantee for the MD acceptance, especially after an already unsuccessful cycle.

I'm still questioning why OP would apply to DO at all if they wouldn't go even after being accepted. I also have to imagine declining a DO acceptance will look absolutely horrible if they end up reapplying DO.

 

[Wildtype]

2018-aacomas-applicant-matriculant-profile-summary-report.pdf

I wouldn't exactly say ~400 people matriculating to DO schools with 513+ falls into the unicorn category, especially since that data is from 2018 and things get more competitive every year. It's more interesting to me that nearly 1/3 of the people who apply with a 513+ end up matriculating.

 

[Goro]

I wouldn't exactly say ~400 people matriculating to DO schools with 513+ falls into the unicorn category, especially since that data is from 2018 and things get more competitive every year. It's more interesting to me that nearly 1/3 of the people who apply with a 513+ end up matriculating.

Indeed. In this cycle, some 33% of the interviewees had had MCATs in the 90th%iles of higher.

 

[JBM16BYU]

All-in-all, for OP, it comes down to this: you have the DO acceptance. If you want to be a doctor, you have the opportunity. You have the acceptance. If you don't want the DO acceptance, then it's up to you (someone else will take it from the waitlist and will become a doctor). Regardless of stats, there is no guarantee for an MD acceptance next cycle, so I wouldn't bank on that. I am a DO resident. DO's can practice in every state, in every specialty. As a DO, if you choose to accept it, you'll probably meet people who propagate old biases, misinformed as they are. As a DO, you can take the same USMLE board exam (which will be pass/fail for you), apply to the same specialties, match into the same specialties, and obtain the same medical license as an MD.

 

[Goro]

Goro, from what I suspect you're at a "top" DO school where you see these types of applicants. Still, I'd be willing to bet ~10% or so end up matriculating, and those 400 are scattered across PCOM, KCU, Touros, MSU, TCOM, etc... maybe 6-7 of all DO schools. Most of the those with >513 who end up matriculating probably don't have a 3.9 GPA like OP, or have a lower GPA with reinvention and whatnot. Grouping him with them is not right. At least that's been my experience with my SMP's cohort and friends at DO schools.

You seem to be very vested in convincing the OP to drop their acceptance and take the path you chose.

Make no doubt, I am happy for your success and wish you the best. But just because your gamble was successful, it's a lot to ask for the OP to do the same thing.

It's almost as if you're looking for validation for your choices.