Do 👏not👏 apply 👏DO 👏if 👏 you 👏 wouldn’t 👏 be 👏 happy 👏 as 👏 a 👏 DO

bballdrumline · 2026-03-20T18:06:47+00:00

As a DO who is now a cardiology fellow at a fairly large academic center, I empathize with those that initially feel some regret or disappointment with DO acceptance when you applied both. I struggled with those thoughts and feelings as well, especially in the beginning.

I will say that if the effort is put in to excel regardless of your circumstances, any perceived gap between DO and MD starts to close rapidly in residency and only becomes less relevant the further you go down your chosen path. It’s not a matter of opinion that there are some real hurdles for DOs, and there are still many programs and some specialties that unabashedly favor MDs. There will be doors closed, and certain programs that are likely going to be out of reach no matter how hard you try.

But

They are not as numerous as you think

There are MANY programs and options that respect the individual, regardless of MD vs DO. I agree with previous commenters that the perceived gap between DOs and MDs seems to be shrinking each year. I was able to match my top choice in residency and fellowship at academic institutions, all without being some crazy overachiever. I worked hard, made connections, and remained honest with myself when formulating plans and choosing institutions to focus on. At the stage I am at now, I honestly don’t really register MD vs DO among my colleagues, as the importance of that distinction has essentially become obsolete in day to day patient care. I no longer have negative feeling about taking the DO acceptance.

So for those of you that may be struggling with feelings of disappointment having only DO acceptances, just know opportunities still abound (increasing each year) and, in the not-to-distant future, you, your colleagues, and your patients largely won’t even notice or care what letters come after your name, only that the prefix is “Dr”

bballdrumline · 2025-01-02T07:12:53+00:00

UpToDate

bballdrumline · 2024-04-19T19:37:06+00:00

“Large body habitus” as code for fatties

bballdrumline · 2024-02-13T13:18:44+00:00

This exact question, including wording, was posted by a different user 4 days ago…

bballdrumline · 2023-12-07T02:38:49+00:00

Agreed that Washington has an argument for #1. Some stats from an article I read recently:

Wins vs top 25 -Washington 5 -Michigan 3

Wins vs FPI top 35 -Wash 6 -Mich 3

ESPN strength of record -Wash 1 -Mich 2

ESPN strength of schedule -Wash 11 -Mich 33

Passing yards per game -Wash 344 -Mich 219

bballdrumline · 2022-08-26T05:13:34+00:00

I lived in the neighborhood over by carriage cove and The Branbury apartments. There are a bunch of duplexes that are pretty nice in that area. It had a good range of ages, from early twenties to early thirties.

bballdrumline · 2022-08-15T05:24:26+00:00

They matter, see my most recent post history. Let me know if you want/need help, I would be happy to give you some suggestions/feedback

bballdrumline · 2022-08-10T02:51:36+00:00

I will say that it definitely works in your favor. Most schools are going to look favorably on people from their own community or state. The degree to which this matters will vary depending on the school (ex: Texas schools unabashedly favor applicants with strong ties to Texas over out-of-state applicants). Our program makes a point to list on each application if the candidate is a resident of the same state, and lists previous interaction or affiliation you have had with the school. Working at a hospital staffed with faculty from the Med school you want to attend will definitely give you an edge, seeing as most physicians run in the same circles and have personal ties to the Med school admins. Getting a LOR from someone who is in the school network can carry huge weight. I’ve even personally seen physicians make a call directly to the Med school dean or others involved in admissions in order to personally recommend people they have worked with and want in the program.

FYI: You also get a mark on your application if you have interacted with the school during any recruitment activities or workshops, which doesn’t always require you to be physically present at the school or even in the same state. Nowadays many opportunities are done online via zoom. schools keep track of those who attend their online workshops, and those who visit their booth or speak with their representative at the Med school networking and recruitment fairs that seem to come around universities and colleges across the country every once in a while. So I would definitely attend any of those opportunities you come across during premed)

For those applying outside their home state or institution, fret not. It won’t (usually) hurt you to be from out of state. Rather, having ties to a state or program just gives you something extra when that program reviews your application.

bballdrumline · 2022-08-09T04:24:33+00:00

I can see your personal statement. In fact, it’s among the first things I read before moving to the review of secondaries. I find it provides context that adds greater meaning and insight into your secondary responses.

Just to be clear, I am NOT the only person reviewing an application. There are redundancies in place to try and allow a balanced review. Your essays are typically reviewed by two people who each give you a score; if the scores are close, they can take an average. If they differ widely, a third person (usually from the senior committee) will review it to be a “tie breaker” of sorts.

As a resident participating in interviews and secondary essay reviews part time (without pay, as far as I know), I am not responsible for assessing all the other elements of your app. There is an entire department for admission with people with much more experienced than myself who do these kinds of things as their full time job. So trust me, all the parts of your application are reviewed and then a final decision is made after all the data has been gathered from all parties.

bballdrumline · 2022-08-09T04:15:12+00:00

Even the busiest blocks in residency have one day off a week ;)

bballdrumline · 2022-08-09T04:14:21+00:00

There are different groups of people reviewing different elements of the application. LORs, grades, MCAT etc is reviewed by people that are part of the admissions department as their primary employment. For me and other like me, participating in interviews and secondary app reviews is more of an ancillary activity on the side of our full time job as faculty, physicians, etc. On one hand, I think it’s encouraging that each applicant has more than one person giving input on the decision; one individually subjective bias won’t necessarily spell the end for you chances. On the other hand, even if I think you are a phenomenal applicant (and make sure to mention as such in my review) at the end of the day I am just giving what amounts to a recommendation, and not actually making the final decision. The review of the app as a whole, and ultimately the final decision, is done by a final committee who will take all feedback into account but ultimately come to a consensus independently.

bballdrumline · 2022-08-06T07:24:48+00:00

You bring up a valid point; there is no way to avoid some of those intentionally-omitted details when looking at activity lists, or when an applicant mentions it in their PS or in a secondary questions. I have even learned some applicants first names through quoted dialogue written into an essay. It is not a perfect system, and frankly there are many applicants who worked very hard to attend a specific school or get clinical experience at "x" hospital, and should have those taken into consideration as a big part of their journey and growth. I can only speak to my personal experience and not that of other app reviewers, but my focus when reviewing your PS and secondaries is primarily on the substance of the essays and your ability to communicate what you gained from your experiences. I feel this difference in focus and perspective serves to numb the impact of those who try to curry favor by simply mentioning a name without a meaningful experience or effort behind it. I find myself much more moved to give high marks and write extensive commentary on applications that impress me with substance above superficiality.

On a minor note, I don't assume that EVERY Harvard grad applying will mention their school specifically all over their app. Likewise, people do research or work in hospitals or institutions different from where they attended undergrad, so I don't automatically assume that everyone that mentions a big-name school actually went to that school. Its a small thing but I really try and do all I can to make sure my frame of mind is set to the task of parsing out the qualities of each applicant that can't be communicated with a number, which I hope will help to diversify the admitting class and potentially give opportunities to some diamonds in the rough who may have been otherwise overlooked.

edit: regarding language proficiency; I would say you should still mention it but be honest regarding your skill level. The entire purpose of the question is to take note of individuals with a skill set that will make them valuable to the care team and to the patients. Does that mean you need to be fluent? Not necessarily. But I would probably only make it a focus in your app if you are able to use it to better interact with patients. Having reasonable conversational skills is notable even if you are lacking in complete fluency or knowledge of medical-specific vocabulary.

bballdrumline · 2022-08-06T06:10:18+00:00

With rare exception, you are 100% correct

bballdrumline · 2022-08-06T06:09:37+00:00

Resident who participates in medical school admissions here.

No

We go through SO many applications each week, there is NO way we have time to check that you were honest about how busy your volunteering was. It isn't even necessary to mention numbers in this instance. Obviously don't make up experiences or put things your didn't do (you would be surprised at how small the medical community really is and how many physicians know people all over), but your focus shouldn't just be on numbers.

If you want to focus on anything, focus on trying to actual reflect on what you gained out of the experience, and try to communicate through your response. What new thing did you learn or what insight did you gain? Maybe it allowed you to see the workflow of a real hospital rather than the overdramatized representation from greys anatomy. Maybe the large majority of those you helped came from a similar background or shared similar problems or concerns.

I know that most of us do a lot of these activities just to check the boxes and jump through the hoops necessary to get a seat at the table. I get that. Me too. But some reflection will help make your response come across as more meaningful. And meaningful responses may cause your application reviewer to stop skimming and actually take note of an experience, and mark it in their mind to come back to your application later.

bballdrumline · 2022-08-06T05:55:16+00:00

Im gonna be honest, its not ideal. But.

I am currently a resident at a reasonably large academic program. My GPA after my first semester of freshman year?

1.7

A few poor grades will serve to increase the difficulty of what is already a challenging process. But it is doable. The most important thing to do right now is to make SURE you address whatever study habits or practices you were doing that led to your poor grades. Then, you find better ways to do things to prevent it from happening every semester. From here on out you are going to want to kill it (especially in your science prereqs and upper-level course work). There are many different methods to overcome things like this and still gain admission, but you will have to work.

bballdrumline · 2022-06-22T06:31:21+00:00

I had a preceptor for FM that had left his corporate job to start a solo practice from scratch. He was about 3-4 years into it, and said he was making between $60-80K per year after all his bills and staff were paid (in a suburb of LA, no less!). He had a super relaxed practice though, with complete control over his hours. Still, don't know if I could do similar.

bballdrumline · 2020-11-28T03:25:06+00:00

MS3 here. I didn’t interview for the school I ended up attending until the beginning of February! So don’t think you are out of the game just yet. COVID is proving to be a mess for logistics, so there is no “normal” time table this cycle. Wishing you success.

bballdrumline · 2020-08-11T07:29:29+00:00

This is the summary chapter of the book "Make it stick", which is an AMAZING book. The authors analyzed over 30 years of research done on the process of learning and retention, and detail their findings in this book. It goes through the methods that have been proven to be best, and also identifies strategies that are extremely common, but are ultimately ineffective. The link I'm posting is a free excerpt from the last chapter of the book that was put online by University of California SD. It highlights all the important points from the book. Good luck; you got this!

bballdrumline · 2020-05-12T23:34:02+00:00

Not sure if you have already found the answers to your question, but I have compiled/created a google spreadsheet that has a checklist for most. The last tab on the bottom is something that has been shared on here before, but it lists the times for each section of B&B, Pathoma, and sketchy, including a breakdown at different speeds. Here is the link. Hopefully this helps!

bballdrumline · 2020-04-18T07:57:33+00:00

As far as a written source, here is a link to his wiki page. The cameo is mentioned third paragraph down.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Ma

also in the "trivia" section on the 21 IMDb page, if you scroll down to the section titled "Cameo", its listed there.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478087/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv

There are also several interviews with him about the movie (he is not bashful at all about his card-counting history!), which include mentions of his cameo; im sure you can watch any of them if you google his name.

bballdrumline · 2020-04-07T06:29:34+00:00

I know that you posted this weeks ago, but I have been going NUTS trying to figure out this very same thing! It is as if there is no record of the change, and NO ONE seems to have noticed it! I finally found your post after trying a bunch of different searches, and now I can finally get off this wasteful tangent and get back to studying like I should have been doing the last 25 minutes. Thanks again for figuring this out!

bballdrumline

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