<p>Has anyone taken both tests during the same year/ cycle? I'm asking this because I want to try to take both before I graduate from college. If I don't get into any D.O/M.D programs, I want to go to P.A school and in order for me to do that I need to take the GRE. So any advice? Plus I know I asked this question about applying to all three (D.O/M.D/P.A) during the same cycle but is it a good idea? I know someone said that if you apply lets say to Cornell's M.D and P.A program it might be a red flag. Is that true? It shouldn't be in my opinion because shouldn't admission officers know that there is a chance that a student may not get into med school and so he/she may want to apply to a full range of programs ?</p>
<p>I asked about applying to applying to two different programs at the same school during the same cycle, and the representative told me in no uncertain terms that it was VERY looked down upon and showed a lack of commitment to either program. I thought the same way you did, but nope, it’s definitely not something colleges are generally approving of.</p>
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<p>That’s really stupid. I mean it doesn’t show that the student is uncommitted. To me it just shows that he/she wants to enter the medical field. I like many other students, don’t want to get rejected from med schools and have no where to go. I’ll only have a B.S in biology, what am I going to do with that ? Also does anyone know if the schools will know that you applied to different programs at different schools? Like will Cornell’s M.D program know that I applied to Hofstra P.A program?</p>
<p>Yup, I know what you mean. Maybe they just like the types that are “all or nothing”? It might be that in your case especially, as med school’s tough, and some branches of medicine really are “do or (the patient will) die”. Have you thought about related branches of healthcare, like speech therapy or physical therapy? Some of those pay pretty well and have relatively short graduate programs, and they often have minimal prerequisite requirements. (I’m just mentioning them as backup-backup plans. :p)</p>
<p>Nah. My back up plans are being a P.A or a nurse practitioner.</p>
<p>It doesn’t make sense because you’re not properly looking at the situation the way they do. I will have to e-mail my friend because he had sent me an article on how med school’s lose money with each student and I think it will add nice insight to people but really what I want to post here is an analogy.</p>
<p>Pretend you are going speed dating with 10 people and at the end of the event you have to get married to one of them. That’s the kind of commitment a med school is making. You will forever be one of their alumni and your performance reflects on them. Also let’s say that if you pick someone to marry and they agree, you get $1 million dollars. If they turn you down but your 2nd choice accepts, you get $500,000. With each successive drop down your list, you lose 50% of your money (i.e. if you go withyour 3rd choice, only $125,000, with your 4th choice, 62,500, etc). This provides you the incentive to pick people that will choose you because med school’s have an incentive to get a high yield. It’s easier and it’s something you can brag about but it’s not the most important thing.</p>
<p>So now that we’ve set it up, let’s talk about the 10 people you date. 8 of them only say great things about you and all tell you that you are their #1 guy and you think they are incredible. The 9th one says, “look, I think you’re great, but I’m REALLY interested in that guy over there. If he doesn’t choose me, I’ll choose you.” The last person says, “I’m REALLY interested in you but I don’t know if I have what it takes to make this relationship work, so just in case you don’t want me, I’m going to tell that guy over there that he is my #1”. #9 is how you look to PA programs when you apply MD and #10 is how you look to MD programs when you apply to PA. Now, if you are the perfect match, the school might look past that just as you might look past it, but odds are you’re not the perfect match and so why chance it with you when they can choose from the 8 other perfectly good choices?</p>
<p>Also, I taught someone who took the MCAT and LSAT two weeks apart so I imagine GRE and MCAT together can be done.</p>
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<p>Probably not the best example. If you have the numbers to be competitive for Cornell Med, you should be accepted to a med school somewhere, particularly a SUNY if you are instate.</p>
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<p>With all due respect, Columbia, you just don’t get it. For one, your opinion (and mine) is irrelevant. And more importantly, med schools want folks who have a ‘med school or bust’ mentality. Period. </p>
<p>While developing a Plan B may make perfect sense to 99% of the population, it makes no sense to professional school adcoms. None. </p>
<p>Med school admissions are competitive as all get-out, and EVERYthing you do, (including where you complete your premed prereqs), either strengthens your app, or weakens it. There is no in-between.</p>
<p>If you are asked what your plan B is during your med school interview, how do you think the interviewer will react when you tell him/her this?</p>
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<p>Oh but from what I was told the SUNYs don’t treat their instate students well. By that I mean they only accept about 60% of instate students while other state schools accept over 90% of their instate students. </p>
<p>And someone answer the following please,
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<p>Obviously because it’s a bad thing now to have a plan B I won’t tell them that. So I wouldn’t know but I’m guessing “Ohhhhhh you’re not dedicated enough, get out!!!”</p>
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<p>There’s a simple solution to that–move after graduation, spend a year or two establishing residency and then apply.</p>
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Certainly your UG would know. And maybe those who wrote your LORs. And AAMC administrators would know too. </p>
<p>Do the med school adcoms talk to one-another? I think there was a thread about that (as in, do some school systems, like CA, discuss who they’re going to admit?), but I don’t what the consensus was. You know, the class sizes aren’t all that big at many of these schools, so maybe the adcoms talk to each other about who they’re admitting/rejecting/giving a scholarship to and compare notes.</p>
<p>I do not know much about GRE except that you probably do not need to prepare for it at all. I took GMAT at some point, just walked into exam without ever openning the book, was not familiar with format. I heard that GMAT might be a bit more difficult than GRE. Well, I did not apply to very selective business schools, but I have an MBA.
I believe that you can take both. Studying for MCAT is very time consuming though and MCAT test is very difficult, I would not advise anybody to just walk in. Most people spend few hours every day for many weeks, some spend several months if they have very busy schedule.</p>
<p>“MD OR BUST” is what med schools want. They’re not looking for people who are still exploring all their options because as far as they’re concerned, you better know 10000% that this is for you by the time you’re applying. If not, wait and apply later (nearly half the M1 class at my school is “nontraditional”). Furthermore, there are plenty of great applicants who do have the MED SCHOOL OR BUST attitude, so it makes sense for med schools to pick them over people who are unsure. </p>
<p>You could avoid this entire problem if you applied to one, waited to see what happened, then applied to the other. </p>
<p>At the same time, if “all you really want” is to enter the medical field, then why bother suffering through the MCAT and physics and whatever at all? Why not just apply PA? </p>
<p>Guarantee you that you’re going to have to convince yourself that being a doctor is the best for you before you can possibly convince a school to accept you. If you’re wishy-washy about this (which, unfortunately, is what having back up plans that involves alternate careers look like) then how do you expect to convey to them that you’re in it for the long haul and are worth their huge investment?</p>
<p>(Note: that’s not to say having a backup plan is a bad idea. The point is, having a backup plan that is an alternative career is the bad idea, because it shows that you are not fully committed to either one. A perfectly fine response to “what would you do if you don’t get in” would be something along the lines of “take a year off to strengthen my application and apply again” “explore my interests in health policy by interning for a state representative” “volunteer full-time with the agency whose mission I respect and admire” “take classes to work toward my MPH or MBA or MHA degree” etc)</p>
<p>And Re: SUNY accepting 60% of instate applicants. I’m from Missouri, we have effectively one state school (the other draws nearly all of its students from a BS/MD program), and my school accepts FAR LESS than 60% of its instate applicants. We interview about half of the instate applicants and then accept slightly less than half of those, for an acceptance rate that hovers around 25%. I have no idea where you’re getting the idea that over 90% acceptance is the norm for state schools, and in fact have never seen such figures–would like for you to share!</p>
<p>^Many top college students to not into PA programs right away also. I know one (she is currently working as PA), she applied only to PA programs (never wanted MD), did not get into any and ended up volunteering at the hospital for whole year and applied again, got in on a second try. She originally was from private HS and graduated from private UG, very good student.</p>
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<p>I suspect Columbia is confusing 2 numbers–in-state acceptance rates and proportion of in-state students in the school.</p>
<p>Some state schools do demonstrate a strong in-state bias in admissions and their student populations are largely made up of state residents, but even in those states (and I live in one–the state med school accepts fewer than 2% OOS) the in-state acceptance rate doesn’t even come close to 90%. (35% acceptance rate–even for in-state)</p>
<p>Totally agree with you, WOWMom. I was going off of the statement “I mean they only accept about 60% of instate students while other state schools accept over 90% of their instate students.”</p>
<p>Which, as far as I’ve ever seen, is just completely false.</p>
<p>^ <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1389213-easiest-med-schools-m-d-d-o-schools-get-into.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1389213-easiest-med-schools-m-d-d-o-schools-get-into.html</a></p>
<p>Read through the thread. Some state schools like the ones in Texas have an in state student population of over 90%. </p>
<p>Miami, do you happen to know what/ how many PA programs they applied to? I suspect that PA has to be easier to get into vs. med school.</p>
<p>^I think you need to re-read what you just wrote, because
agrees with the above posters. The class is comprised of 90% in-state students, but did not accept 90% of those who applied in-state.</p>
<p>"Miami, do you happen to know what/ how many PA programs they applied to? I suspect that PA has to be easier to get into vs. med school. "
-I have no idea. I know that she did not apply to any type of top programs. She appied locally and close by, but I do not know how many. Her mom said, that there are many experienced health care people (not sure their positions) who apply to PA and that bumped her out first time around.</p>