<p>Isn’t D.O considered to be a safety? I know that the schools are easier to get into</p>
<p>DO schools are not safety schools either. Much like allopathic schools, they reject 2/3rds of the students that apply and still do not have any trouble filling their classes.</p>
<p>Acceptance data to osteopathic schools</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.aacom.org/data/studentenrollment/Documents/Apps_Enroll_Grads_by_COM.pdf.pdf[/url]”>http://www.aacom.org/data/studentenrollment/Documents/Apps_Enroll_Grads_by_COM.pdf.pdf</a></p>
<p>(Also, Columbia, you will need to check–some osteo schools have unique requirements not covered by the ‘typical’ pre med activities. Like shadowing a osteopath and getting a LOR from a practicing osteopathic doctor.)</p>
<p>I agree with WayOutWestMom…having a great GPA and a super MCAT score in today’s era of medical school admissions is not a guarantee…and I agree there remains many factors that will come into play as more and more folks with top stats continue to apply…apply broadly, expect rejection…and definitely apply to your state school…most of all hang in there-and do not become discouraged…the process is long and if you are accepted by at least one school be happy.</p>
<p>D. did not have a plan because she was in combined bs/md. However, she had a forward plan (vs. back up), that is if she did good enough to apply out of her program. Forward plan worked. She never was interested in anything else.</p>
<p>Um. Bestselling novelist.</p>
<p>Anyway.</p>
<p>Bestselling novelist is an awesome plan. So are the Hollywood star, Olympic medalist, world renown scientist, USA President, Microsoft CEO and many others. To have just one song high in charts would feed your family forever and ever…</p>
<p>I have many back-up plans, first one would be volunteering for Doctors Without Borders until I got in, second being apply for a Masters program then apply again after completion if not then apply for PhD, third try to get a job at a genetic engineering firm, and fourth would be drop off the face of the earth and become a backpacker/rockclimber/certified guide.</p>
<p>^I think your fourth should be bumped up a couple of places!</p>
<p>Me too that’s my second dream! But I want to be in position where I can help out my family if something happened.</p>
<p>A backup plan, psychologists might tell you, allows you to have an excuse for allowing yourself to fail.</p>
<p>If medicine is what you want to do, then commit yourself to the fullest!</p>
<p>I guess my DS’s back-up plan would have been to work full time as an EMT until he discovered he disliked how they spent their time waiting for a call, like smoking cigarettes behind their building.</p>
<p>WOWmom, this has always concerned me.
How can you get great gpa while at the same time studying for the MCAT and applying to med schools, plus shadowing/working on research, and participating in volunteer/community work? Unless you take some time off. Do most kids take some time off, or do they go straight from college into med schools?</p>
<p>It depends. I would say about 1/2 of MS1s (could be more or less, depends on the school) come straight from undergrad, but the rest take 1-2 years off before starting med school. </p>
<p>Either way it’s tough to balance everything–whether you’re a student trying to maintain the strong GPA and do ECs or working full time after graduation and still maintaining your ECs. But I guess either way it’s good practice for med school where the academics are brutal and you’re still expected to be involved in multiple community service/volunteer activities.</p>