Accepted to O.D. & D.O. Schools?

[ExoticBelle]

Has anyone been in this situation: being accepted to optometry & osteopathic med schools?

I applied to 5 optometry schools and 1 D.O. school. My goal for most of my life was to go to med school. However, my grades in undergrad made me rethink that goal and look at other options. Optometry seemed like a great fit for me.

Currently, I have gone on 3 interviews and have 2 more to go ....

Optometry schools:
SUNY - rejected
SCO - interview completed = alternate list
PCO - completed interview yesterday - (current top choice after seeing the school!!)
NECO - interview next week
ICO - interview the week after

Osteopathic med school:
WVSOM - completed interview a few days ago

I know I shouldn't worry about this till I find out the decisions from all the schools ...... but I can't help it. I feel like there's a pretty good chance that I'll get into PCO & WVSOM.

Things that I have been comparing are: prestige of the degree, will I be happy with my decision and my life after, location, parents (want me to go to med school), the flexibility (in regards to what can be done w/ either degree), and the stress levels of the schools and after I receive a degree

Please reply if you have any input

Thanks!

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[Spearmint1]

OD,DO,MD,DDS - None of these degrees make you a good person or a rich person. How you treat people and how you live defines who you are. Do what's best for yourself, not your parents.

 

[prettygreeneyes]

Has anyone been in this situation: being accepted to optometry & osteopathic med schools?

I applied to 5 optometry schools and 1 D.O. school. My goal for most of my life was to go to med school. However, my grades in undergrad made me rethink that goal and look at other options. Optometry seemed like a great fit for me.

If you are genuinely intersted in the field of optometry, then go for it. Be sure that your motivation for the profession is real, and that you aren't relying on the field to be a "back-up" of sorts to medical school. If you feel you will "settle" for optometry, you'll be miserable the rest of your working life.

Good luck at your interviews!

 

[vc84]

Life is TOO short to spend it being unhappy , so make sure u pick something that you will enjoy doing for the rest of ur life. I suggest talking to people in both professions (preferably ppl. who have been in the profession for a while) and ask them what they like and dont like about the profession, maybe that will help?
Good Luck

 

[kristian]

Has anyone been in this situation: being accepted to optometry & osteopathic med schools?

I applied to 5 optometry schools and 1 D.O. school. My goal for most of my life was to go to med school. However, my grades in undergrad made me rethink that goal and look at other options. Optometry seemed like a great fit for me.

Currently, I have gone on 3 interviews and have 2 more to go ....

Optometry schools:
SUNY - rejected
SCO - interview completed = alternate list
PCO - completed interview yesterday - (current top choice after seeing the school!!)
NECO - interview next week
ICO - interview the week after

Osteopathic med school:
WVSOM - completed interview a few days ago

I know I shouldn't worry about this till I find out the decisions from all the schools ...... but I can't help it. I feel like there's a pretty good chance that I'll get into PCO & WVSOM.

Things that I have been comparing are: prestige of the degree, will I be happy with my decision and my life after, location, parents (want me to go to med school), the flexibility (in regards to what can be done w/ either degree), and the stress levels of the schools and after I receive a degree

Please reply if you have any input

Thanks!

What were your grades like? GPA? Did you do well on the OAT? You've got quite a bit schools listed...that's good. I wish you luck.

 

[koennen]

Has anyone been in this situation: being accepted to optometry & osteopathic med schools?

I applied to 5 optometry schools and 1 D.O. school. My goal for most of my life was to go to med school. However, my grades in undergrad made me rethink that goal and look at other options. Optometry seemed like a great fit for me.

Currently, I have gone on 3 interviews and have 2 more to go ....

Optometry schools:
SUNY - rejected
SCO - interview completed = alternate list
PCO - completed interview yesterday - (current top choice after seeing the school!!)
NECO - interview next week
ICO - interview the week after

Osteopathic med school:
WVSOM - completed interview a few days ago

I feel like there's a pretty good chance that I'll get into PCO & WVSOM.

!

Why do you think you have a pretty good shot of getting into WVSOM? You said your undergrad grades are not very good and you interviewed verrrrrrrry
late in the season. Those facts, standing alone, would tend to indicate the contrary.

But, ... really .... optometrist over physician.

 

[eyestrain]

But, ... really .... optometrist over physician.

How dare someone choose to be an OD over an MD.

 

[IndianaOD]

Like I've said before, its just as easy to get into "a" MD or DO as it is an OD. There are plenty of 3.8 to 4.0 grads from respected undergrads in optometry school. An MD is no "smarter" than anyone else. Completely individual. Titles are so self-fullfilling and demonstrate nothing.

 

[IndianaOD]

Like I've said before, its just as easy to get into "a" MD or DO as it is an OD. There are plenty of 3.8 to 4.0 grads from respected undergrads in optometry school. An MD is no "smarter" than anyone else. Completely individual. Titles are so self-fullfilling and demonstrate nothing.

 

[lrobin15]

Has anyone been in this situation: being accepted to optometry & osteopathic med schools?

I applied to 5 optometry schools and 1 D.O. school. My goal for most of my life was to go to med school. However, my grades in undergrad made me rethink that goal and look at other options. Optometry seemed like a great fit for me.

Currently, I have gone on 3 interviews and have 2 more to go ....

Optometry schools:
SUNY - rejected
SCO - interview completed = alternate list
PCO - completed interview yesterday - (current top choice after seeing the school!!)
NECO - interview next week
ICO - interview the week after

Osteopathic med school:
WVSOM - completed interview a few days ago

I know I shouldn't worry about this till I find out the decisions from all the schools ...... but I can't help it. I feel like there's a pretty good chance that I'll get into PCO & WVSOM.

Things that I have been comparing are: prestige of the degree, will I be happy with my decision and my life after, location, parents (want me to go to med school), the flexibility (in regards to what can be done w/ either degree), and the stress levels of the schools and after I receive a degree

Please reply if you have any input

Thanks!

I know the haul is a lot longer in med school and residency, but the rewards are fantastic. But, you have to really want it to make it through. If you have a real interest in the eye, then you can become an opthamalogist. If your GPA is above a 3.0 and you have an MCAT >24, then you have a shot. I think applying to only one school though, reflects that you do not have the passion to become a physician. This, in the long run may hurt you because there are thousands of people that have a strong drive to be a physician in as such that they will not give up and reapply several times if need be.

If you do get in to WVSOM, good luck.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Like I've said before, its just as easy to get into "a" MD or DO as it is an OD. There are plenty of 3.8 to 4.0 grads from respected undergrads in optometry school. An MD is no "smarter" than anyone else. Completely individual. Titles are so self-fullfilling and demonstrate nothing.

Yes, in fact we're all equal. MD/DO=OD=DC=ND. Keep smoking crack buddy.

Are there intelligent people with ridiculous stats in OD school? Sure. Are there idiots in med school? Sure. But across the boards, the stats for MOST med schools are above (sometimes WELL above) the other allied health professions programs. There's a reason for that. People's lives are in your hands as a physician!

The OP is trying to decide b/w becoming an optometrist vs. going to med school. If you have an interest in the eye and don't want all the years of schooling to become a physician, then go to optometry school.

If you have crappy grades so far, unless you really buckle down during med school, it is unlikely that you will be at the top of your med school class all of a sudden. That coupled with a mediocre board score will require an act of God (or ridiculous connections) to land Ophthalmology (assuming your interest remains the eye during med school).

If you do go to med school and do well in years 1-2, nail Step 1 and rotations, and get involved in research, then Ophtho is certainly within your reach. At least then you'll be an Ophthalmic SURGEON and PHYSICIAN.

G'luck to you. It's a tough decision!

 

[IDoctor]

you know the OP never mentioned MD, so I don't know why everyone is bringing that up.
DO and MD are entirely differnt, despite both being considered physicians. I highly doubt most people would in fact want a DO performing any form of eye surgery on you. DO averages are quite a bit lower than MD, in terms of GPA and MCAT scores. So honestly I dont understand the comparison there, but this is probably a topic for the medicine forum.

Generally DO's average GPA is around 3.4-3.5, which is quite similar to that of OD school average. Just my two cents.

 

[luckyfool]

Has anyone been in this situation: being accepted to optometry & osteopathic med schools?
Things that I have been comparing are: prestige of the degree, will I be happy with my decision and my life after, location, parents (want me to go to med school), the flexibility (in regards to what can be done w/ either degree), and the stress levels of the schools and after I receive a degree

Please reply if you have any input

Thanks!

I think it's dangerous to choose a career purely for its prestige. Go for whatever interests you the most.

 

[koennen]

you know the OP never mentioned MD, so I don't know why everyone is bringing that up.
DO and MD are entirely differnt, despite both being considered physicians. I highly doubt most people would in fact want a DO performing any form of eye surgery on you. DO averages are quite a bit lower than MD, in terms of GPA and MCAT scores. So honestly I dont understand the comparison there, but this is probably a topic for the medicine forum.

Generally DO's average GPA is around 3.4-3.5, which is quite similar to that of OD school average. Just my two cents.

You, my friend, do not have a clue. The ONLY difference between MDs and DOs is that DOs learn manipulation. The training for MDs and DOs is otherwise identical in all respects. DOs are licensed physicians in every state and can practice any type of medicine and perform any type of surgery that an MD can. And contrary to your ignorance, there are many, many, many DO opthamologists.

Take your two cents and invest it some knowledge.

 

[CatsandCradles]

DO and MD are entirely differnt, despite both being considered physicians. I highly doubt most people would in fact want a DO performing any form of eye surgery on you. DO averages are quite a bit lower than MD, in terms of GPA and MCAT scores. So honestly I dont understand the comparison there

Hi IDoctor,

Can you explain to me how MDs and DOs are entirely different and why most people would not want a DO performing eye surgery on them?

 

[thedman888]

you know the OP never mentioned MD, so I don't know why everyone is bringing that up.
DO and MD are entirely differnt, despite both being considered physicians. I highly doubt most people would in fact want a DO performing any form of eye surgery on you. DO averages are quite a bit lower than MD, in terms of GPA and MCAT scores. So honestly I dont understand the comparison there, but this is probably a topic for the medicine forum.

Generally DO's average GPA is around 3.4-3.5, which is quite similar to that of OD school average. Just my two cents.

i smell a troll

 

[IDoctor]

as i said go read the medicine forums. i do not want to debate w/ you as this is not the topic of this thread. you can find plenty of threads on there stating the differences. there are those who feel the two paths are equal and those that do not, I for one do not.
My purpose was to state that GPAs of incoming ODs are similar to those of DOs. And to relay that there IS a difference in the two fields of MD and DO. Just as there are arguments about MDs being better than ODs, there are those who argue that MDs are better than DOs as well.

 

[ODduck]

At least then you'll be an Ophthalmic SURGEON and PHYSICIAN.

Geez, please take your arrogance and self-rightousness somewhere else. I wondered what the smell in here was. Now I know, med students showed up.

 

[luckyfool]

There's clearly a difference between allopathic vs. osteopathic medicine...otherwise there wouldn't be 2 different sets of schools to train 2 different types of physicians in the first place. Their approach to how to practice is different. DOs are more into preventive care whereas MDs are more problem-based. That's why most DOs are PCPs; and there are significantly fewer DO ophthalmologists than MD ophthalmologists.

Mostly of what IDoctor said are just facts as a response to what previous posters had said. I don't know why he's being called troll... however I do recommend the MD Vs. DO topic to be discussed elsewhere.

 

[ODduck]

however I do recommend the MD Vs. DO topic to be discussed elsewhere.

Yes.

I'm tired of the OD vs. Ophthalmologist debate on the Optometry forum, let alone an MD vs. DO debate on the Optometry forum.

 

[still_confused]

Things that I have been comparing are: prestige of the degree, will I be happy with my decision and my life after, location, parents (want me to go to med school), the flexibility (in regards to what can be done w/ either degree), and the stress levels of the schools and after I receive a degree
Thanks!

prestige? stress level? what your parents want? Im going to be the devil and say that you shouldnt be doing med or opt school. You lack the commitment, passion, and drive for either profession. You need to find out what you want before you go applying to schools that require your full dedication. I would not want surgery done by a person that took the easy way out or doing what thier parents want.

And there are plenty of reasons why DOs and MDs are different, but in the eyes of the law they are the same. So MDs can complain all they want. Nobody says anybody needs to please the MDs. Convince the lawmakers of your competancy, MDs would never accept non mds to be part of thier little crew so why bother, thier opinion doesnt matter anyway.

 

[CatsandCradles]

It's from my experience that there's a lot of confusion over what a DO is.

Patients will sometimes confuse DO and OD interchangeably. And I've met patients who think that a DO is an MD ophthalogist - perhaps they are thinking that DO stands for Doctor of Ophthalmology and this is incorrect. DO stands for Doctor of Osteopathy. However the situation is made very very very confusing since there are some DOs who are ophthalmologist.

And other times, I have seen threads were people think DOs are chiropractors or some kind of physical therapist. While this is incorrect, I can see where the confusion can occur since DOs employ manual techniques on top of the regular pharmacology and surgery. And again the situation is made all the more confusing for people because there are a small subset of DOs who specialize in what is called OMM - which is specialty that is dedicated to muscle and streching techniques. And to confuse everyone even more, a FP or Peds doctor may choose to do a fellowship in OMM.

And the situation is made all the more confusing since for many health professionals the word "Osteopath" means bone disease. And it does. However this does not mean that osteopaths are leukemia and lymphoma specialist. However some DOs are in HemeOnc and Oncology - hence it adds to some of the confusion even among health professionals.

Then, a lot of DOs are in AGCME residencies. Which is the allopathic residency system. The osteopathic one is AOA. But you can imagine how this makes a lot of people confused. Many DOs work alongside MDs in inpatient settings and many times you cannot tell an MD from a DO - and many patients have never heard of or are not familiar with a DO.

There is a lot of media confusion over what a DO is as well. An example is the Newsweek article over the war in Iraq and a story titled "Hero MD" - however he was a surgeon from NYCOM. And there is a lot of debate and argument even within the osteopathic profession, just look at the osteopathic forum here on SDN.

Like some of the above posters mentioned, there are differences between MDs and DOs - but the question often argued among medical circles is how different? And you'll see some DOs who are stanuchly against joining the LCME schools - and there are some who would like to do the exact opposite. Does the philosophy of the osteopathic schools make it any different from the allopathic ones? Some say yes. Some will say no.


By the end of reading all the above you should be thoroughly confused - and understandably so - even osteopaths are confused.

 

[still_confused]

what in the world, this is an optometry forum, leave us alone! nobody here cares about the difference, they care about preoptometry advice! You real doctors can compare the size of your er...degrees in your OD bashing forums!

 

[ODduck]

what in the world, this is an optometry forum, leave us alone! nobody here cares about the difference, they care about preoptometry advice! You real doctors can compare the size of your er...degrees in your OD bashing forums!

Seriously, thank you.

I don't give two ***** about the difference between MD and OD. By the way, I might be an optometry student that will be come a "wannabe doctor", but (believe it or not) I DO know that D.O. doesn't stand for Doctor of Ophthalmology. We the people who "aren't smart enough to go to real med school" really do know about the health system in the United States and don't need some med student or whatever you are coming over here to teach us about it.

.....It still smells in here.....

 

[kristian]

Seriously, thank you.

I don't give two ***** about the difference between MD and OD. By the way, I might be an optometry student that will be come a "wannabe doctor", but (believe it or not) I DO know that D.O. doesn't stand for Doctor of Ophthalmology. We the people who "aren't smart enough to go to real med school" really do know about the health system in the United States and don't need some med student or whatever you are coming over here to teach us about it.

.....It still smells in here.....

Ummm...guys can you explain to me the difference between DO, OD, MD, and OP??? getting really confused here

 

[thedman888]

as i said go read the medicine forums. i do not want to debate w/ you as this is not the topic of this thread. you can find plenty of threads on there stating the differences. there are those who feel the two paths are equal and those that do not, I for one do not.
My purpose was to state that GPAs of incoming ODs are similar to those of DOs. And to relay that there IS a difference in the two fields of MD and DO. Just as there are arguments about MDs being better than ODs, there are those who argue that MDs are better than DOs as well.

sigh...the ignorance..

 

[prettygreeneyes]

Hey guys,

The MD vs. DO thread has been done and redone a thousand times. Let's not bring it back in the optometry forum. Back to the OP's original question...

PGE

 

[IDoctor]

sigh...the ignorance..

i am sorry that i am ignorant. but i guess i see that entering DO stats are well below those of MDs. im an OD student, so i try to help other people "see". so do you see these stats?
but maybe im just ignorant. i guess i'll be ignorant. but at least i do not go around saying little one liners like "i smell a troll" over the internet. at least i am mature. grow up little boy.

p.s. and this is why i prefer MDs over DOs.

 

[mshheaddoc]

i am sorry that i am ignorant. but i guess i see that entering DO stats are well below those of MDs. im an OD student, so i try to help other people "see". so do you see these stats?
but maybe im just ignorant. i guess i'll be ignorant. but at least i do not go around saying little one liners like "i smell a troll" over the internet. at least i am mature. grow up little boy.

p.s. and this is why i prefer MDs over DOs.

You are being ignorant, but that's ok. Not everyone understands the minor differences in some degrees and we are all ignorant in various ways to some degree. Hence why we have this board to try to help people understand.



Let us try to steer this discussion of DO vs. MD (as its been in the pre-med forums) back to the OP and the confusion of deciding DO vs. OD.

With that said, I was also someone who thought that medical school was a distant goal I'd never apply to. If you have always had a dream to go into medicine, don't 'settle' for anything else. As a previous poster said, you might hold resentment for what your true goals would be. Same would be said with if you always wanted to be a OD, podiatrist, dentist, etc.

Go where your passion leads you and good luck with your decision.

 

[IndianaOD]

Time for all the med students to go back to their own space and pat each other on the ass. Medicine of any type isn't rocket science. Ophthalmologists in eastern Europe have 3 years of education (We had one at IU). There they are, cutting away on eyeballs. Heck, if a high school student did a 6 year residency in most medical specialties they would do fine. Its all about repetition. There are many conditions that ODs are the only ones trained to treat. Time and time again the doubters have been silenced. Was it not MDs back in the day that though spectacle lenses were bogus? There was a recent article in the British Journal of Ophthalmology that compared ODs (who hold only a B.S. in the UK), not a doctorate as here in the US, to ophthalmologists in a hospital setting. They had almost the exact same Dx and treatment plans even though they are educated like ODs here were in the 60's.

Poster, if you get a DO you will still hear all the B.S. about how you're somehow not a real doc. My grades and test scores were at the top of my class, and yup I turned down several med schools for optometry school. Imagine that! They were even allopathic schools, GOOD GOD.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

Geez, please take your arrogance and self-rightousness somewhere else. I wondered what the smell in here was. Now I know, med students showed up.

Not arrogance. REALITY.. Accept it.

Lets get back on track here. The OP (original poster) wanted to know pros/cons of becoming a physician vs. an optometrist.

Now carry on people...

 

[iproblem]

Not arrogance. REALITY.. Accept it.

Lets get back on track here. The OP (original poster) wanted to know pros/cons of becoming a physician vs. an optometrist.

Now carry on people...

what reality? reality that DOs still get the second class treatment by the medical community? No? That DO is expanding but majority of the population still don't know what the heck a DO stand for? You tell me what kind of reality that entails.

 

[iproblem]

My grades and test scores were at the top of my class, and yup I turned down several med schools for optometry school. Imagine that! They were even allopathic schools, GOOD GOD.

damn yo, it must take the courage of the world's bravest man to pull off something of that magnitude! many props to you bro!!

 

[ODduck]

My grades and test scores were at the top of my class, and yup I turned down several med schools for optometry school.

WOW, what were you thinking? Why would you want to be a "wannabe, fake doctor" when you could have been an almighty, amazing MD or DO. You must have something wrong with you or something.

 

[philosopherdoc]

You know, I never ever came into this forum before but I might start now. Half of the entertainment on these forums is everyone getting all excited about something that really doesn't matter.

If you're worried about getting told you're not a real doctor, that happens in every part of the medical community. M.D.'s tell D.O.'s that, M.D.'s tell that to other M.D.'s in specialties like dermatology, and there are countless other examples. Personally, I've been blind as a bat for years, and I really like my O.D. Can't say the same for my old physician (I've since switched).

My optometrist tried to get me to go to O.D. school but that simply wasn't where my interests were. It wasn't because of me thinking either medicine or optometry was worse or better, I just didn't like the eye (and still don't, even though my undergrad research was on eyes, not my choice).

Bottom line you have to decide what fits you better, which is often found out during shadowing. My advice to the OP is to shadow both and see which one fits better, and not worry about the prestige or whatever else. As a new D.O . student I take a lot of flak for going into osteopathic vs. allopathic medicine, but it fit me better. One of the reasons why has to do with my experience working with people who did manual labor, and seeing what OMM did for them. It just fit me better.

 

[IndianaOD]

WOW, what were you thinking? Why would you want to be a "wannabe, fake doctor" when you could have been an almighty, amazing MD or DO. You must have something wrong with you or something.

I know, I still look out for a group of white coats with dart guns to shove fist fulls of Seroquel, Depakot, and Lithium down my throat and drag me away.

 

[Spearmint1]

oh please stop boosting your stats unless you have proof. I can say I played with pamela anderson's puppies too. Stop causing trouble, and just answer the original poster's question from now on.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

what reality? reality that DOs still get the second class treatment by the medical community? No? That DO is expanding but majority of the population still don't know what the heck a DO stand for? You tell me what kind of reality that entails.

Clearly, the last time you were in a hospital was when you were being delivered. I wonder if a DO Ob/Gyn doc did the delivery. Imagine THAT.

Since you're on detention littleman, I will refrain from SURGICALLY dissecting your comment (something you'll NEVER be trained to do) and making you look like the troll you really are.

Back to the main topic...

 

[tkim]

there's a lot of posturing going on here. it's always a losing proposition comparing two distinct fields of medicine. in the end we make our choices on mostly personal reasons that would not apply to any one else. in any event, this thread has degenerated and will be closed.