Hackintosh Posted January 1, 2014 Report Share Posted January 1, 2014 So I have an acceptance at a DO school and a waitlist at an MD school. The tuition for the DO school is $40K whereas it is $60K for the MD school. If I get an acceptance from the MD school I would have a tough decision. I know I will succeed at either school so I would essentially be burdening myself with 30% more debt simply for the MD title. So I am actually leaning towards the DO school. Am I underestimating the value of the MD degree? Somebody talk some sense into me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashmetoo Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 So I have an acceptance at a DO school and a waitlist at an MD school. The tuition for the DO school is $40K whereas it is $60K for the MD school. If I get an acceptance from the MD school I would have a tough decision. I know I will succeed at either school so I would essentially be burdening myself with 30% more debt simply for the MD title. So I am actually leaning towards the DO school. Am I underestimating the value of the MD degree? Somebody talk some sense into me. If you want something like primary care, DO. If you want to be some kind of specialist like surgery, or the ROAD stuff, since you are a Canadian, having a MD behind your name will probably help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
advair250 Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 MD all the way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandibular Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 MD with no hesitation if given the choice Also, there's no way you would know for sure if you want primary vs specialty until youve lived through rotations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slashsev Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 MD, keep in contact with the school as much as you can pay the "hold my spot fee for the DO" ..and wait it out goodluck n congrats to being a doctor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hackintosh Posted January 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 MD with no hesitation if given the choice Also, there's no way you would know for sure if you want primary vs specialty until youve lived through rotations Well it looks like with an MD degree, I have no choice but to specialize for a high enough salary to pay off the huge debt. With the DO degree, I am relegated to primary care. So I guess I would have to choose now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 Well it looks like with an MD degree, I have no choice but to specialize for a high enough salary to pay off the huge debt. With the DO degree, I am relegated to primary care. So I guess I would have to choose now. eventually either way you could clear the 80K difference, but it is a tough call. The MD is certainly a more powerful degree in the system. It is a personal choice - personally I would want the MD as it carries with it the full range of options and I know how hard it is to be sure you want family medicine - or any other specialty for that matter - early on. Good luck either way - at least you can take heart that you have acceptances! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 Well it looks like with an MD degree, I have no choice but to specialize for a high enough salary to pay off the huge debt. With the DO degree, I am relegated to primary care. So I guess I would have to choose now. Clearly we need better methods to test for logic thinking ability of prospective med students. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
advair250 Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 A doctor worrying about 80k difference in debt? Doctors are well paid, even primary care in Canada... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegame11 Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 I would also take into consideration how the 3rd and 4th year rotations are structured in each school and where you get to rotate. If you like primary care, then DO school is fine. But in the long term, $80k difference + interest is not really significant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hackintosh Posted January 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 Clearly we need better methods to test for logic thinking ability of prospective med students. Well I've actually run the numbers. Assuming the reimbursement of a neurology resident, I'll break even in PGY3 with the DO degree. With the MD degree I will still be holding 100K debt by PGY4. So if I go MD, I have to specialize into something that renumerates more to break even before I'm 40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hackintosh Posted January 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 In any case, thanks to everyone for the replies. i've got some thinking to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
advair250 Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 And then after pgy4, you're paid off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edict Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 So I have an acceptance at a DO school and a waitlist at an MD school. The tuition for the DO school is $40K whereas it is $60K for the MD school. If I get an acceptance from the MD school I would have a tough decision. I know I will succeed at either school so I would essentially be burdening myself with 30% more debt simply for the MD title. So I am actually leaning towards the DO school. Am I underestimating the value of the MD degree? Somebody talk some sense into me. The difference between MD and DO is bigger than the difference between Top tier MD and Low Tier MD. The reason is the different systems in which you apply. There is discrimination against DOs, the MD behind your name is actually worth the extra 20k per year believe it or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashmetoo Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 The difference between MD and DO is bigger than the difference between Top tier MD and Low Tier MD. The reason is the different systems in which you apply. There is discrimination against DOs, the MD behind your name is actually worth the extra 20k per year believe it or not To each their own. I'm having a great time with my soon-to-be DO behind my name. I haven't experienced any of this so-called "discrimination" that you hear so much about on these forums, but never seem to materialize in real life. Have you ever worked with a DO? Have you ever seen a MD put down a DO? There's ~20 DOs in all of Canada, I'd be really surprised if you actually did see one of them. Have you gone to med school in the US? Have you rotated in DO and MD hospitals? Have you worked alongside both MD and DO attendings? Have you interviewed all across the US? If yes, where did you see this discrimination? Or is this more along the lines of hearing a friend of a friend who read on SDN that DOs are discriminated against? If no, how do you know there is discrimination? What I can tell you is from my own experience of interviewing at multiple famous programs in the US alongside Stanford, Columbia, multiple allopathic soon-to-be-MD graduates on the east coast. And I have not seen this discrimination you seem so sure about. What different system do you refer to? The match? Everything is linked nowadays, and you can apply to both sets. So I don't know what you are referring to. What I have seen are PDs who take 1/2 of their interns from DO institutes, PDs who actually are DOs managing ACGME residencies. If it was me, I would never pay 20k extra a year just to have a "MD" behind my name. I wouldn't even pay 10k a year, nor 5K a year. Maybe your information is out of date, in my opinion, if you had to pay 80k extra for a MD, I'd let them keep their MD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ploughboy Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Well I've actually run the numbers. Assuming the reimbursement of a neurology resident, I'll break even in PGY3 with the DO degree. With the MD degree I will still be holding 100K debt by PGY4. So if I go MD, I have to specialize into something that renumerates more to break even before I'm 40. I wish I was only holding 100k debt back in PGY-4... PS: Remunerates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookiemonster99 Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 To each their own. I'm having a great time with my soon-to-be DO behind my name. I haven't experienced any of this so-called "discrimination" that you hear so much about on these forums, but never seem to materialize in real life. Have you ever worked with a DO? Have you ever seen a MD put down a DO? There's ~20 DOs in all of Canada, I'd be really surprised if you actually did see one of them. Have you gone to med school in the US? Have you rotated in DO and MD hospitals? Have you worked alongside both MD and DO attendings? Have you interviewed all across the US? If yes, where did you see this discrimination? Or is this more along the lines of hearing a friend of a friend who read on SDN that DOs are discriminated against? If no, how do you know there is discrimination? What I can tell you is from my own experience of interviewing at multiple famous programs in the US alongside Stanford, Columbia, multiple allopathic soon-to-be-MD graduates on the east coast. And I have not seen this discrimination you seem so sure about. What different system do you refer to? The match? Everything is linked nowadays, and you can apply to both sets. So I don't know what you are referring to. What I have seen are PDs who take 1/2 of their interns from DO institutes, PDs who actually are DOs managing ACGME residencies. If it was me, I would never pay 20k extra a year just to have a "MD" behind my name. I wouldn't even pay 10k a year, nor 5K a year. Maybe your information is out of date, in my opinion, if you had to pay 80k extra for a MD, I'd let them keep their MD. I definitely agree with your point DO or MD: IT DOESN"T MATTER paying an extra 80k isn't worth it. YOLO enjoy your life stop worrying about the little things In the end you'll be a doctor making good money most patients don't care if you're a MD or DO as long as you are allowed to treat them. Btw...if you went to a family doc and found out that he was a DO would you change doctors? Or if you went to the emergency room and found out the doctor was a DO would you REFUSE care from them? No do I have to repeat myself again? It doesn't matter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
advair250 Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 OP, your post history said you interviewed with Wanye in 2009...are you trolling everyone with a DO vs MD debate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hackintosh Posted January 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 OP, your post history said you interviewed with Wanye in 2009...are you trolling everyone with a DO vs MD debate? No, I got waitlisted and rejected from Wayne that year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hackintosh Posted January 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 I wish I was only holding 100k debt back in PGY-4... PS: Remunerates LOL. I've been using that word incorrectly my whole life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
advair250 Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Its 2014.. that was 4-5 years ago, did you do a second degree for Canada? You must be glad to finally have an acceptance at hand! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hackintosh Posted January 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Its 2014.. that was 4-5 years ago, did you do a second degree for Canada? You must be glad to finally have an acceptance at hand! Not a second degree. I did do one post-bacc year in Canada with the aim of applying to US schools again, but the rest of the time I just worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashmetoo Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Not a second degree. I did do one post-bacc year in Canada with the aim of applying to US schools again, but the rest of the time I just worked. How likely are you to get off the MD waitlist at this point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hackintosh Posted January 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 How likely are you to get off the MD waitlist at this point? That's hard to say, but I am more confident this year of coming off the waitlist than I was in 2009 based on my applicatin and how the interview went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashmetoo Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 That's hard to say, but I am more confident this year of coming off the waitlist than I was in 2009 based on my applicatin and how the interview went. Which DO school did you get into? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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