I know of many rejections (especially Asian and Indian American kids) with stellar backgrounds (3.9 GPA, 516+ MCAT). My own daughter decided she needed to do clinical research and as such did a one year gap in which she continued her already significant undergraduate research at a local hospital. She would worry about a single A- she had! She had acceptances from 4 MD programs, and accepted at JHU.
With OP’s daughter, I would recommend she apply to DO and a different set of MD programs (from ones she applied to prior), do clinical research, and retake MCAT. If she is of Asian descent, it will be hard with scores below 520. Also, I do know of kids who went the Caribbean route, they have done well here having found rotations & residency in Brooklyn. Finally, it’s not unusual to have 2-3 year gap years. Keep at it, if she is really interested.
In my opinion, applicants to the Caribbean medical schools need to do a LOT of due diligence before applying even.
I do wonder where this OP’s daughter applied the first time, and if she plans to tweak her list.
ETA, yes many take a gap year or two or three after undergrad. BUT they don’t abandon their shadowing, volunteer work, etc during those years. And patient contact jobs.
Yes agreed, but then again residency with US schools isn’t guaranteed either. You really have to apply smartly at each stage of medical school journey, it’s challenging no matter, before you get in, and after you are admitted.
The 2022 Match rate for USMD seniors was 92.9% and for DO seniors 91.3%.
For US IMGs**, it was 61.4%. For FMGs**, it was 58.1%.
Additionally, 1100 US MD grads*** and 456 US DO grads*** matched.
**Percentage only reflects those individuals who submitted a Match list. Not all individuals who registered for the Match submit a Match list. Typically this is because they didn’t receive any interviews.
*** Grad = med school graduate who graduated before July 1 of the year before the current Match cycle.
The Matriculating Student Questionnaire for 2014 (oldest date I can find online without having AAMC membership to access), reveals that over 96% of entering med students had physician shadowing and over 94% had clinical volunteering experience.
Given these high percentages, I’d say it would be quite unusual to be granted admission to med school without having some sort of prior clinical exposure to health care.
Those most likely to be given a mulligan on clinical exposure are children of physicians (at least according to a couple of adcomms on SDN).
Note: because the questionnaire specifically asks only about volunteer experiences, any paid clinical experiences are not accounted for.
Her MCAT score is not bad for DO schools. She might need to retake a few classes and gain more patient related volunteer experience to become competitive. Question is, does she have a solid plan or will it be another throw $hit at the wall to see what sticks? If she is serious, then I’d consider helping her for another cycle. If not, then what you are doing is right.
Are you talking financially supporting her? Another cycle won’t end for a LONG time. This student, if she gets accepted this round, would start medical school in August or so 2024!
IIRC, this family resides abroad, but maybe I’m mixing them up with another family.
I hope this student can find some good ways to improve her resume….herself.
Oschner School of Medicine at the University of Queensland teaches an American style medical curriculum and offers US students a chance to rotate at Oschner Health in Louisiana. This program is designed specifically for foreign students, not Australians. UQ-Oschner has pretty decent Match rate for US students. (98% according to the school, though it doesn’t say whether this includes only seniors or a mix of seniors and grads, or how many student register for the Match but do not submit rank lists.)
Most Australian medical schools have a 6 year program with direct-from-high school admissions.
Those Australian med school that’s do use post-graduate entry (4 year MBBS or MD) don’t follow a US/Canadian style curriculum and leave some educational gaps that US student will need to fill on their own before attempting the USMLEs.
Plus US and Canadian students are on their own to find the US/Canadian based clinical rotations they’ll need to successfully match back to the US/Canada.
israeli medical schools are no longer allowed to accept non-Israeli citizens.
The Atlantic Bridge program still sends US and Canadian students to study medicine and dentistry in Ireland. However, the issue is that US-IMGs do not have great Match rate. (Only around 60%)
The last year that NRMP broke down match rates by country where the student attended med school, Ireland did not produce enough US IMGs to be listed. (A country must have produced 50 or more US citizen medical grads/year to be listed.) For non US med grads (mostly Canadian citizens) from Ireland 20 out of 46 matched.
Thanks for the info. There’s no way I’d recommend a future doctor not get some sort of medical experience TBH. How would they even truly know they wanted to be a doctor if they didn’t see behind the scenes? Yes, some (like my son) “know” from age 8 (for him), but even then, getting some sort of hands on is confirming his thoughts.
I guess I won’t say it’s essential for med school (DO/MD) acceptance, but it’s still very, very typical from what you post and I doubt it’s getting less important as it gets more competitive.
Since the application period for new cycle begins in only a few months, it appears that not much has changed. I agree D would be applying with essentially with the same application with probably the same result. Both S and DIL are MDs. They interact daily with other MDs and DOs. All other Doctors, patients and staff address all MDs and DOs as Doctor…… From talking with S and DIL, both strongly agree that DOs are treated as equals by both other doctors, patients and staff. Yes there are probably some MDs who think they walk on water having gone to “med school” as opposed to osteopathic school, but so what. DOs went through very similar medical training, licensing exams and employment vetting to get their jobs. They’re a good chance that most patients, staff don’t know or care where other treating Doctors went to med school.
If D really wants a career as physician, FWIW I’d suggest she skip the upcoming cycle, spend next 18 months boosting her resume, then apply again, but definitely add some osteopathic schools into the mix. Agreeing with above inquiry, what’s D’s sGPA?
This. My primary care physician’s practice was merged/acquired by a large regional health system. For primary care (pediatrics, internist, geriatrics) there are about an equal number of DO’s and MD’s with a nice roster of PA’s. It is one of the best practice’s in the region (patient-friendly, easy to get an appointment, telehealth if you want, physical appointment if you prefer) and I cannot imagine that anyone has a clue which Doc went where or studied what. You need labs done? You walk down the hall. You need a referral to a specialist? They’ll pull up your insurance on the screen to make sure they are referring you to someone in-network. You think you are having an allergic reaction to your meds at 2 am on a Saturday night? You’ll get a phone call returned in less than 15 minutes.
I use a large group/hospital practice. I had an eye appointment this week and believe me, you take the next doc on the list as it takes 3-6 months to get an appointment. I did notice this doc was a DO and it didn’t phase me at all. She is great, calm, took my questions seriously. I’ve had 4-5 eye docs at this clinic and I can’t tell you if the were MDs or DOs, where they went to school, how log they have been practicing. If I wanted to be picky, I could wait forever for a particular doc. Even when I’ve had follow-up I might see a different doc than the one I saw 2 weeks earlier.
For some appointments (dermatology, for ex) I get a PA first, and then if needed referred to a doc (wasn’t necessary, the PA handled my issue). I have no idea if the doctor reading my mammogram is an MD or DO, went to med school in Washington DC or Washington state (or in Mexico or England or China).
My friend is now sold on the mobile service, first for her MIL who will be 100 in three weeks and it is easier to send out a nurse or PA, EMT, and all the equipment. Sooo much easier than getting the MIL into a car and then to an ER. Friend couldn’t get in to see a doc last week and was going to go to an Urgent care for flu and covid tests, but Dispatch Health came to her house and did it all, diagnosed bronchitis, gave her the inhaler and meds.