Is the DO letter absolutely required?

[BlueDevilSung]

I'm new to the DO game, does anyone have a comprehensive list of schools that do not require a DO letter? I am not in a place to get a letter within the next three weeks that the application opens. I was going to apply to all the VCOMs and now I can't because I just found out you need a DO letter to apply.

The schools I planned on applying to were: all the VCOMs (can't anymore though...), both LECOMs, both PCOMs, Debusk, KYCOM, William Carey COM, Campbell, Nova.

The letters I have: committee letter, letter from chemistry professor, letter from psychology professor, letter from an extracurricular activity, letter from a graduate advisor of mine who was a medical school student at my undergrad.

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[AlteredScale]

Below is the 2017 CIB, it lists exactly what type of letters are expected or accepted: http://www.aacom.org/docs/default-source/cib/cib_web_full-publication.pdf?sfvrsn=38


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[Goro]

You don't need one for my school.

 

[123456ers]

I'm new to the DO game, does anyone have a comprehensive list of schools that do not require a DO letter? I am not in a place to get a letter within the next three weeks that the application opens. I was going to apply to all the VCOMs and now I can't because I just found out you need a DO letter to apply.

The schools I planned on applying to were: all the VCOMs (can't anymore though...), both LECOMs, both PCOMs, Debusk, KYCOM, William Carey COM, Campbell, Nova.

The letters I have: committee letter, letter from chemistry professor, letter from psychology professor, letter from an extracurricular activity, letter from a graduate advisor of mine who was a medical school student at my undergrad.

Some do require one, a lot explicitly state it's advantageous to have one, some don't say much at all. There's usually pretty easy to find info under each school's FAQ sections online; you should just look there for all the schools you've listed that you plan to apply to.

 

[Mysterious Stranger]

I guess it really depends on how much you want to get into medical school. You're competing against people who are at least as qualified as you who have potentially hundreds of hours of shadowing and a letter of recommendation from an attending physician to back them up.

 

[allanMED15]

I didn't have a DO letter and I have 4 DO acceptances. I did have an exceptional MD letter though. If you can show you know what the profession is, you fit the letter requirements for the school and have the numbers, you will be fine.
For the record, I applied to PCOM (GA and Philly), LECOM (Erie and Bradenton), UNECOM, and UIWSOM. They were all fine with my MD letter. The AACOM College Information Book will have all of that information available. It will not take you that long to look through it to find the schools that require a DO letter.

 

[deleted495545]

There are a few D.O. Schools that require one for your application to be considered complete (Oklahoma State comes to mind and West Virgina School of Medicine? +maybe a couple more). Then there are a bunch that recommend one (pretty much all of the rest).

But do you HAVE to have a letter from a Osteopathic Physician for those? No. I was accepted without it. However, I would really encourage you to try and get one.

Would it help my chances? Absolutely.

 

[scribeguy11]

I'm new to the DO game, does anyone have a comprehensive list of schools that do not require a DO letter? I am not in a place to get a letter within the next three weeks that the application opens. I was going to apply to all the VCOMs and now I can't because I just found out you need a DO letter to apply.

The schools I planned on applying to were: all the VCOMs (can't anymore though...), both LECOMs, both PCOMs, Debusk, KYCOM, William Carey COM, Campbell, Nova.

The letters I have: committee letter, letter from chemistry professor, letter from psychology professor, letter from an extracurricular activity, letter from a graduate advisor of mine who was a medical school student at my undergrad.

I applied to VCOM-Auburn without a DO letter. I got an II for what ended up being a waitlist spot and was told to have a DO LOE sent in right away. Sure enough, I made the waitlist about a week after my letter writer mailed his letter in. I'd say don't count out all those schools out yet (or at least not VCOM), and go through your resources and contacts to find a DO.

 

[Peach Newport]

from my memory of the application process, maybe 10% of schools actually require a DO letter. if you don't have one, and getting one is just not doable, then you should have a strong MD letter.

 

[FNPBC2MD]

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[Alienman52]

I'm new to the DO game, does anyone have a comprehensive list of schools that do not require a DO letter? I am not in a place to get a letter within the next three weeks that the application opens. I was going to apply to all the VCOMs and now I can't because I just found out you need a DO letter to apply.

The schools I planned on applying to were: all the VCOMs (can't anymore though...), both LECOMs, both PCOMs, Debusk, KYCOM, William Carey COM, Campbell, Nova.

The letters I have: committee letter, letter from chemistry professor, letter from psychology professor, letter from an extracurricular activity, letter from a graduate advisor of mine who was a medical school student at my undergrad.

Not absolutely required, but it can be a definite large plus to your app. I wouldn't say it will make or break your app.