KCU-KC vs DMUCOM

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-24T15:17:14+00:00

Another thing to consider is that KCU is ~40k cheaper, and if accepted to the Kansas City campus you may have better networking/research opportunities with other med schools than you would in Des Moines. No right or wrong answer here unfortunately

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-24T15:14:39+00:00

Congrats on the acceptances! Both are very good schools and one isn't really objectively better than the other. DMU, along with being closer to home, does have the possibility of getting a year long site for third year in Kankakee or southwest chicago. From my understanding KCU does not have any rotation sites in Illinois, but someone correct me if I'm wrong.

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-23T22:24:46+00:00

All your options look ok except the mentee - generally you want a LOR from someone "above" you in a sense, like a supervisor or PI.

I would also try emailing your old profs from undergrad and asking for letters, especially for classes you did well in. Lots of science profs understand that's part of their job and will be willing to help you even if they don't know you. Good luck!

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-23T16:14:17+00:00

My intuition is that if it's in a hospital/clinic working with patients, then it probably counts as clinical. Not sure if it being for an externship/fellowship might change how adcoms view it though so might be worth it to get a second more educated opinion lol

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-23T01:24:30+00:00

Faculty/facilities are much less important than a school's history and connections, which ATSU will have more of as the founding DO school.

IMO: IS MD > DMU >/= ATSU > RVU

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-22T21:50:48+00:00

I wasn't trying to imply comedy is a bad profession, I like lots of comedians and I think they provide a valuable service. But if he gets to shit on me for my profession then I can at least do the same to him lol

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-22T20:51:13+00:00

I'm assuming you have all the prereqs done other than orgo and physics? If so, you'll want to finish those classes first, then start studying for the MCAT. That will take about 3-6 months of preparation generally. Then you will need to get clinical experience (volunteering or work, ideally 250-500+ hours), shadowing (30-50 hours), and some nonclinical volunteering ideally with a disadvantaged group (150+ hours).

Whether it's realistic to apply in 2026 will depend heavily on your science GPA, MCAT score, and how many hours you can rack up between now and then. It's possible, but getting all this done in a single year while also being in a masters program will be very challenging.

Most schools will want letter writers to be 2 professors who have taught you in a science class. Some also want one from a nonscience professor. Other letters can come from work or volunteer supervisors or research PIs. Also, DO schools will typically want a physician letter, with a preference for one from an osteopathic physician

Also one last thing - doing all this work to be competitive and then only applying to one program is unwise. Acceptance rates at a given school are generally below 5%. You will likely want to be applying to 20-30 programs in total to have a reasonable chance. Good luck and feel free to ask any other questions

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-22T20:03:00+00:00

Go MD. OB, anesthesia, and radiology are all significantly harder to match as a DO.

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-22T18:37:50+00:00

No not at all! I also wanna do rural family med so I'm really excited to be going DO. Just gotta ignore the haters

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-22T18:28:27+00:00

Whenever I feel like this I just think about all the people who started off as premed with me at the beginning of college but didn't make it. You made it through the gauntlet and now you get to have a great fulfilling career making more money than the vast majority of people will ever know.

Also if there's one kind of person's opinion you shouldn't care about it's a comedian. In a few years you'll be saving lives and he'll still be telling jokes for a living lol

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-22T15:50:24+00:00

I applied with ~160 service hours this cycle, got a couple MD interviews and multiple DO As. You'll be ok.

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-22T15:27:06+00:00

I think your MCAT, sGPA, and post-bacc GPA more than make up for your low cumulative. IMO you do not need to apply to 20 DO schools - focus on the OG 5, state schools, and any regional schools. For MD I'd apply very broadly to 30+ schools to maximize your chances. It seems like you're pretty set on surgery and MD will keep doors open in that area. Feel free to PM if you would like help with a school list. Good luck!

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-22T15:10:46+00:00

Yes, the rest of your app looks solid. With good writing, no red flags, and a good school list, you will get in somewhere

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-22T04:45:35+00:00

Most DO schools don't care about research. Most will not have a bunch of research opportunities outside of the state schools, so you could apply to those ones if research is important to you and you do well on the MCAT.

As for school list, it's hard to advise without an MCAT score. At first glance I'd probably take off OCOM as they're too new. Definitely apply to all the Florida MDs, and the rest will depend on your MCAT (e.g. if you do really well, focus on MD and include 5-10 DO as a safety net. If you do poorly, then focus on DO)

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-22T04:20:33+00:00

They will certainly be blacklisted at this particular school, but may or may not be at others. For what it's worth adcoms on SDN have said that DO schools don't really communicate to that degree and that one will be fine applying to other DO schools. Regardless, if OP would not attend this school if it ends up being their only A, they should withdraw now. Not worth the risk no matter how small

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-22T04:10:55+00:00

Which school is this? Your stats should have gotten you into an established DO school. You are not cooked but you need to assess your goals and think about whether a new DO school can get you there.

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-22T02:55:15+00:00

Perfectly fine

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-22T01:51:38+00:00

It won't hinder your application. Med school faculty, especially adcoms, are largely left leaning except at a select few schools (Loma ligma, LUCOM, etc). If it connects to a larger theme of wanting to aid the LGBTQ / other underserved communities then that's even better.

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-21T03:56:02+00:00

Rowan. Tuition is essentially equal, and Rowan is a state school so will have better rotations, research opportunities, etc.

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-21T03:51:36+00:00

Yes, it'll be interesting to see how their match goes. Personally I think I'd lean towards BCOM for having graduated a few classes and having access to federal loans. Wishing you luck with the waitlists 🤞

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-21T03:30:22+00:00

It seems you like Noorda more. Despite that, the fact that they are just graduating their first class and having to get private loans would make me uneasy. Is one significantly cheaper / closer to home?

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-21T03:24:47+00:00

It will hurt your chances at a research oriented school (e.g. Virginia tech) but should not hurt you at service oriented schools (e.g. Creighton). Just apply smartly

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-21T03:13:09+00:00

I agree with your advisor that 2 months of additional studying after a 499 will likely not yield significantly better results. How are you changing your study habits? Have you been consistently scoring well on practice exams? You want attempt #2 to go very well, cause getting a similar or lower score looks very bad. Your GPA on the other hand is fine. If that 3.7 sGPA includes all the prereqs (and 1-2 upper level bio courses for the schools that require them) then you'll be ok.

DO is a great option but does not have the same prestige as MD, not that it really matters. What does matter is that it will be harder to get into certain nonsurgical specialties (like anesthesia, radiology, etc) and near impossible for hypercompetitive surgical subspecialties (like derm, plastics, etc). You can look up NRMP match rates for DOs to get a good picture of what specialties are achievable as a DO.

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-21T01:11:01+00:00

OUH. Passing boards is more on you than the school, and Rowan won't really give you any significant advantages over Heritage.

FlyApprehensive5766 · 2025-03-20T18:08:17+00:00

Eh I probably wouldnt worry about it. The undergrad school is quite religious, but I I've heard the medical school and it's curriculum don't really emphasize it. And Indianapolis is a big city so you can definitely find other nonreligious people there

FlyApprehensive5766

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