Session 126

In this episode, I’m going to tackle a question that came in on Twitter about whether a student should turn down an acceptance to a DO medical school.

But before we start, go on Twitter yourself. Ask me a question. Use #askmshq,  and we will be pulling out your questions in order for us to create a second podcast, full of questions from you.

Listen to this podcast episode with the player above, or keep reading for the highlights and takeaway points.

Should I Turn Down My DO Acceptance and Apply MD Next Year?

Our poster explained the following scenario in a Twitter direct message:

He got an acceptance to a DO school this year. He got a 31 on the MCAT and a GPA of 3.7. So both of those are great. He didn’t apply to any MD schools, but now he’s thinking of doing that and taking a year off. Any thoughts?

What would you do? Think about it. You already have an acceptance to medical school, but you wait a year to apply again…

Don’t Apply to Medical Schools That You Don’t Want to Attend

We’ve talked about what schools you should apply to in the past. If you’re going down your list of medical schools and you’re creating this list that you want to apply to, ask yourself:

When you check your mail and you have an acceptance to a school that’s in your list, but you’re unhappy or disappointed, do yourself a favor and DON’T apply there. Do the school a favor and DON’T apply there. Do the other students applying to that school a favor and DON’T apply there.

• Apply to a school that if you got an acceptance, you would gladly jump at going.
• Be sure that where you are applying, you need to be asking yourself if this is what you really want?

MD vs. DO: Choosing Which Schools to Apply To

Don’t ever turn down your only acceptance to medical school because it’s an osteopathic school to try again next year to apply to an allopathic school.

[Related episode: MD vs DO: What Are the Differences (and Similarities)?]

What happens when you turn down an acceptance to medical school?

• That school you’re applying to is going to question your determination and commitment to medical school.
• You may never get another chance. You can’t burn bridges considering that it’s a tight-knit community.
• DO vs. MD is almost a nonexistent issue after medical school. Many premeds make an issue out of it, but it really doesn’t matter whether you are an MD or DO.

Some pieces of advice for premed students:

Apply to the medical schools that fit:

• the vocation you want to be in
• your philosophy of education
• the research you may be interested in
• the family you want to be near

Links and Other Resources

• Check out my Premed Playbook series of books (available on Amazon), with installments on the personal statement, the medical school interview, and the MCAT.
• Related episode: DO vs Caribbean Medical School? What Should I Do?
• Related episode: Should We Even Have a DO Degree?
• Need MCAT Prep? Save on tutoring, classes, and full-length practice tests by using promo code “MSHQ” at Blueprint MCAT (formerly Next Step Test Prep)!