Applying

[SoleScholar]

MCAT came back, haven't taken physics or biochem, got a 500.
sciGPA is 3.42, cGPA is a 3.02
I believe I want to go into this field but keep having hesitations. I don't want to go to be an internist, or FM doc, or pediatrician which it seems most students from DO schools go into. Furthermore, I doubt I'd be even able to match into a surgical residency if I went to traditional medical school. That being said, I suppose it isn't possible to take a year off and increase my cGPA, retake the MCAT and actually study, get into a medschool and do some reinvention so I can get into a surgical residency (I like general surgery the most). But then most of the general surgeons I see in the hospital tell me not to do this route because it's soul draining, and when I shadow podiatrists they tell me to do podiatry because they love it and have time to see their family.
I don't know what to do. I'm going to apply to podiatry schools in the coming days. Hopefully I can get scholarships so I don't get crushed by debt.

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[I Drink Riesling]

It’s absolutely possible to take a gap year to do GPA/MCAT remediation. A lot of people like doing a DIY post-bacc; sign up for upper level science courses in your closest state university and get As. This method is more cost-effective than doing a formal Special Master’s Program (SMP). However, if you are interested in SMPs, do one that has a direct linkage to their medical school. A couple that come to mind are Temple for MD and LECOM for DO. This way, they give you expectations for what GPA and MCAT you must achieve in order to be granted an II and then hopefully an A. This method is higher risk, but higher reward than the DIY route. You cannot really go into podiatry half-hearted, you must go all in, or go the MD/DO route.

 

[RockClimberMed]

it is common for DOs to match general surgery

 

[SoleScholar]

it is common for DOs to match general surgery

I am so dumb for several reasons, and maybe I'll never be able to learn from these mistakes because I keep doing dumb stuff like them:
1. I took "Incomplete" grades in like 3 courses when I was dealing with a health thing and then I didn't make up the work and now they are F's.
2. Deep down I wanted to get a low MCAT score so I would not have a choice between med and pod school.
There's a fork in the road. My options are as follow:
Put in my podiatry school application, get into pod school and do that for the rest of my life.
Go back to university this summer and spend another year raising my GPAs and retake the MCAT, apply to medschool next application cycle, and hope to get in.
My parents want me to do podiatry since they believe it will give me a less stressful life than traditional MD/DO physician.
What I want is to have a job that I will enjoy, find meaning from, and provide my future family financial stability. I do like medicine, I especially like general surgery, I love playing on the Da Vinci robots at the training place and doing the operation exercises and I would be very happy to do that everyday of my whole life. I have no idea.

 

[PTPuser]

they believe it will give me a less stressful life than traditional MD/DO physician.

Not true at all.

A full blown podiatrist who does everything in their wheel house is just as stressed.

The opportunity for an MD /DO is endless right now and in the future. That doesn't hold true for a pod.

 

[RockClimberMed]

You may be able to get into DO schools without any GPA repair and no MCAT retake. There are lots of new schools willing to take lower stat applicants these days.

 

[Weirdy]

You have asked this question on multiple forums for the last 3 months.

Every time, you have decided you want to go podiatry. Yet here you are again debating it while saying you are just applying podiatry and nothing else.

There are a few fallacies with your reasoning and maybe there is an inherent fear causing you to refuse to move on with your life and commit.

"MCAT came back, haven't taken physics or biochem, got a 500.
sciGPA is 3.42, cGPA is a 3.02"

Your stats are fine for DO programs as a poster has mentioned above without spending a year to reinvent yourself.


"I believe I want to go into this field but keep having hesitations. I don't want to go to be an internist, or FM doc, or pediatrician which it seems most students from DO schools go into. Furthermore, I doubt I'd be even able to match into a surgical residency if I went to traditional medical school."

Then study harder......what exactly did you want to hear? If it was easy, everyone would do it. You've gotten this far. Why do you keep up with this 'woe is me' mentality? You keep saying you want to do a competitive specialty like surgery because you had a chance encounter with a DaVinci machine and could imagine doing it for the rest of your life. Why aren't you willing to work for it? You havn't started medical school yet. You have 4 years of personal development. What makes you think the future you 4 years from now will feel the same about any surgerical specialty after getting through medical school, step 1, step 2, rotations, sub-Is, ERAS, interviews?

"That being said, I suppose it isn't possible to take a year off and increase my cGPA, retake the MCAT and actually study, get into a medschool and do some reinvention so I can get into a surgical residency (I like general surgery the most). But then most of the general surgeons I see in the hospital tell me not to do this route because it's soul draining"

Any surgical specialty is soul draining. Residency, in general, is soul draining. Do you think podiatry residency is any different? You will be in clinic. You will be rounding early. You will get your rear end chewed out day in day out. You will feel the pressure in the OR. You will get called multiple times and run on very little sleep while also performing at your maximum.

" and when I shadow podiatrists they tell me to do podiatry because they love it and have time to see their family.
I don't know what to do. I'm going to apply to podiatry schools in the coming days. Hopefully I can get scholarships so I don't get crushed by debt."

Again with the woe is me mentality. You picked podiatry. You made your bed. Now lie in it. Everyone on this forum has student loan debt. Everyone on the MD/DO/OD/DDS forums has student loan debt. The rate of return is different, but we are all laden with debt.

And here's another question for you- if you're already worried about matching into a surgical specialty in medical school, what makes you think you'll be able to maintain a higher class rank or gpa while in podiatry school to match to a better surgical residency? Yes- it is significantly easier to get into a podiatry program. Yes, Step 1 and 2 are harder than APMLE 1 and 2. But it doesn't make podiatry school any easier. You are taking the same if not very similar courses.

 

[Feli]

Go into DO.... not probable to get a surgery residency, but it's also certainly not impossible.
You are struggling with confidence since you are not being welcomed with open arms by MD/DO as you expected. Get over it.

Realize that even a very average family care DO who was bottom half of their class is on months-long wait for visits (or no longer taking new patients because they are so busy) nearly anywhere in USA and as long as they pass boards, they can readily be employed by hospitals, small groups, solo... whatever.

DPM has some success stories and some good training programs, but most podiatrists are seeing patients who phone same-day or next-day because there are just so many of us (and numbers growing with all-time highs of grads ever year). There are thousands and thousands of DPMs who make under 200k, which, with today's tuition inflation, is under 2:1 ROI for 7yrs and $400k+ with interest. Hospital podiatrist jobs are a small minority of podiatrists - even if highly qualified - and most have to go places they aren't crazy about to find the hospital jobs or fair pay... and/or work pretty hard at the hospital DPM job (call, evening surgery, early rounds/consults, etc) for half or less of what MD/DO surgeons make.

...Both are potentially interesting careers.
Both have high debt burden.
Both can be workaholic... or fairly relaxed.
So, go where you are treated best.
Bottom line: the job markets and mean/median pay are totally different for MD/DO vs DPM.... supply/demand.

 

[Prehealth1011]

I'm years out and don't have the DO admission stats handy. Did you retake any courses and are those GPAs including the retakes? That matters since AACOMAS doesn't do grade forgiveness.

In any case, I posted this before. In general, FM/IM/Neurology/Peds/EM/PMR/Psyc are all typical DO targets. Anesthesiology/Radiology IF you do well on boards. General surgery is competitive but achievable. This isn't Ortho/Ophtho/Derm/ENT/Urology/NSGY. If those are your goals, then I wouldn't go DO. You could end up in a constant loop of reapplying and not matching. My friends who matched into general surgery did auditions, didn't kill their boards at all, and matched fine. The posters here have been incredibly kind in replying to your many dilemmas. Hope you find what you want.

 

[SoleScholar]

I'm years out and don't have the DO admission stats handy. Did you retake any courses and are those GPAs including the retakes? That matters since AACOMAS doesn't do grade forgiveness.

In any case, I posted this before. In general, FM/IM/Neurology/Peds/EM/PMR/Psyc are all typical DO targets. Anesthesiology/Radiology IF you do well on boards. General surgery is competitive but achievable. This isn't Ortho/Ophtho/Derm/ENT/Urology/NSGY. If those are your goals, then I wouldn't go DO. You could end up in a constant loop of reapplying and not matching. My friends who matched into general surgery did auditions, didn't kill their boards at all, and matched fine. The posters here have been incredibly kind in replying to your many dilemmas. Hope you find what you want.

I didn't retake any courses ever.
I'm just going to finish my degree and try to get into DO school.

 

[Weirdy]

"MCAT is in a few weeks. I'm considering backing out. I'm totally lost in my life right now and none of this seems worth it. Talk about return on investment, I've been in school forever, the whole time I've been depressed, lonely, no friends, nothing. I have no money and I'm trapped. This whole country is a scam. I don't think I have a future."

"I'm going to leave the country and try to get citizenship in Germany. Have a living accommodation setup with a friend. I've realized I just want a simple life and I just want to have a wife and family and play piano and accordion in peace and worship God and make the world more beautiful."

This was you 2 months ago.

Get it together. Medical school will only get harder than what you are doing now.

Closing.