Medical education is a long haul and expensive, even with the accelerated pathway. The way you’re articulating your preference for DO vs. PA makes me question whether you have clear reasons that you’d rather be a physician, or if it’s just more of a vague feeling that being a PA would be “settling.” PA can be a great career - some feel the quality of life is better.
The requirements to transition to the DO program, at NYIT, suggest that this a bit less than a guarantee:
You may be admitted… contingent on this whole list - not just maintaining the 3.5+ GPA, but also scoring at or above that year’s MCAT average for the entering class, securing favorable recommendations, and passing the interview.
How have you done on standardized tests in the past? If you aren’t a strong test-taker, the MCAT threshold could be a stumbling block.
Hofstra’s progression requirements also include interview and recommendations, but the GPA threshold is 3.3 and there’s no standardized test. There appears to be much lower risk of failing to progress to the professional phase, at Hofstra.
So, I think looking ahead to the MCAT is important. Did you have strong SAT/ACT scores? It would be really unfortunate to grind through this program, give up the higher-quality-of-life experience that you think you’d have at Hofstra, and the near-guarantee of PA admission, and then get tripped up by the MCAT.