Hey guys,
I’m currently debating on my 2 options, a 7 year Bs/Do program at NSU-KPCOM or doing Pre-med at UT Dallas. My issue with the 7 year program is that the medical school is very expensive and due to it being a little lower ranked med school, I might not be able to match into the future residency I want. However, I would save a year and also basically have a guaranteed seat. As of now, I’m leaning towards UT Dallas since I have a full tuition scholarship there and if I were to become a Texas resident, I have a very high chance of getting into a Texas med school, which are very cheap. Any thoughts?
I recommend UTD. There’s no reason to limit yourself right now to DO. You’ll have great opportunities to build an impressive resume for med school at UTD.
First find out how easy or difficult it would be for someone to become a TX resident coming from outside. Will your parents be able to relocate?
Lately TX med schools have become very competitive.
Did you get any price breaks from NSU?
If so, you can consider joining there, prepare well for MCAT and try out. I don’t think they would stop you from doing that.
I generally don’t recommend people making up minds on DO this early. Better to complete undergrad, weigh both options, MD or DO in junior year and pursue whatever is more desirable or achievable at that point of time.
DO’s have identical residency opportunities as their MD counterparts. That being said, I’m not really a big fan of BS/DO or BS/MD programs anyway. College is a maturation process, and you may change your major 2 or 3 times like every other college student. I think you’d be better off at UT-Dallas.
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I suggest you take some time to look at this list from the Residency Match that was just held last Friday (March 19th). Overall, US MD seniors match rate was 92.8%, and US DO seniors match rate was 89.1%, so not a lot of difference, but if one looks at the specialties there are several significant differences. If you have a specialty in mind you can look to see if DO is fine or not - though keep in mind that many change their minds about specialties once they get into rotations and fully see their options.
Then you have to weigh the fact that getting into med school is tough overall - fewer than half make it in. A guaranteed option is tempting. I know many students who went to DO schools who are happily doctors now. If you are pretty sure you want something like Internal or Family Med, it would be hard to turn down the guarantee IMO.
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Opportunities, yes. Odds for specific specialties, no. Anyone pursuing medical school options should look at the info from this year’s match in depth (data from other years is available too, but in prior years the opportunities weren’t the same).
DO is perfectly fine for some paths, cautionary for others.
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Note that the guarantee is contingent on 3.5 college GPA overall and in science, and 502 MCAT with 125 each section.
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