Considering applying here

[Jeanne d'Arc]

It is a surprise that after going to a podiatrist for the first time ever I found a shocking interest in the field. I was wondering how does one apply to the program? I have a 3.5GPA and a 499 MCAT, and I am planning on retaking. If I score lower on my second MCAT, would I have no chances of applying?

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[deleted1066189]

It is a surprise that after going to a podiatrist for the first time ever I found a shocking interest in the field. I was wondering how does one apply to the program? I have a 3.5GPA and a 499 MCAT, and I am planning on retaking.

If you're 100% dead-set on podiatry, there is zero need to retake that MCAT score. Your GPA and MCAT are both well above the matriculant average AFAIK

I think most pod students here would recommend you retake it to get at least a 500, for more first year scholarship money.

 

[Jeanne d'Arc]

If you're 100% dead-set on podiatry, there is zero need to retake that MCAT score. Your GPA and MCAT are both well above the matriculant average AFAIK

I think most pod students here would recommend you retake it to get at least a 500, for more first year scholarship money.

That is my goal. I initially wanted to get into medical school but all it took was one bad accident for my mom to go to a podiatrist and I had to carry her, and that opened my eyes to the field. I want scholarship money for sure, but what happens if I score lower on my second MCAT try? Also how long does the cycle run until for applying?

 

[deleted1066189]

but what happens if I score lower on my second MCAT try?

It's noncompetitive. They won't care as long as you have at least a 495 for admission. The larger schools (Barry, NY, Kent) have lower MCAT standards

Also how long does the cycle run until for applying?

The cycle opened in August, and apparently plenty of people apply in March/April...even May and manage to get in somewhere. Supposedly, people receive interview invites in a matter of hours (due to the noncompetitiveness)

 

[Jeanne d'Arc]

It's noncompetitive. They won't care as long as you have at least a 495 for admission. The larger schools (Barry, NY, Kent) have lower MCAT standards



The cycle opened in August, and apparently plenty of people apply in March/April...even May and manage to get in somewhere. Supposedly, people receive interview invites in a matter of hours (due to the noncompetitiveness)

What makes it so uncompetitive? Is it due to the tuition?

 

[deleted1066189]

What makes it so uncompetitive? Is it due to the tuition?

Number of reasons

1. lack of exposure to the field
2. higher attrition due to low admissions standards
3. only about 1000 applicants a year
4. encroachment by foot and ankle Orthos
5. job saturation in certain areas, and extremely variable range of salary (can be less than $100k)

There's also the mixed messaging as to if podiatrists are "real physicians", that can turn people off.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

What makes it so uncompetitive? Is it due to the tuition?

Seeing a DPM treat a family member is cool, but you should still shadow others both in clinics and hospitals. This is the only way to decide between an allopathic medical school or a podiatric medical school. As of right now, your stats are fine; the deadline is June 30th of each year.

That said, you should invest some time going over the threads in the forum. All of your questions have been answered multiple times.

 

[Bubuddy]

Also want to chime in.

This is not an easier version of medical school... it is medical school. Just because standards are lower than what you see in MD/DO does not change the difficulty in the courses you take. You are taking (the majority of the time) the same courses MD/DO would take in their respective schools. I mean, we have pods taking classes with MD or DO students.

 

[Weirdy]

Highly encourage you to shadow thoroughly or consider working harder to make your stats MD/DO competitive.

DPM is not a replacement for MD/DO. Your specialty is locked in the minute you sign on the dotted line.

It is also not Medschool Lite. If you do not have the work ethic and study skills that would have made you competitive for MD/DO school, you can and will fail out.

 

[KT9]

Also want to chime in.

This is not an easier version of medical school... it is medical school. Just because standards are lower than what you see in MD/DO does not change the difficulty in the courses you take. You are taking (the majority of the time) the same courses MD/DO would take in their respective schools. I mean, we have pods taking classes with MD or DO students.

I second this! Average GPA and MCAT scores do tend to be lower than MD/DO schools, but that is for a wide variety of reasons. First of all, there are only 9 (soon to be 10) podiatric medical schools across the nation, whereas there are about 155 MD schools and 36 DO schools across the nation. Because the field of podiatric medicine is smaller, not a lot of people know about it compared to MD/DO schools. Podiatric medicine is also a pre-chosen specialty. Just as MDs and DOs can choose to specialize in OBGYN, Endocrinology, Urology, etc., DPMs have chosen to specialize in Podiatry from the start. This means that, of course, there are going to be less people applying to podiatric medical schools. To put this into more perspective, there are about 113,000 family medicine/general practice physicians, 12,000 dermatologists, 42,000 emergency medicine physicians, 14,000 gastroenterologists, 38,000 psychiatrists, and 18,000 podiatrists in the U.S. Every specialty has varying numbers of active physicians. In terms of the curriculum, as a WesternU podiatric medical student, I can confirm that we do take the same courses as the DO students here. In fact, it feels like 90% of the curriculum is shared between the DPM and DO students. I am pretty sure the DPM students at Scholl take classes with the MD students.

 

[Bubuddy]

I second this! Average GPA and MCAT scores do tend to be lower than MD/DO schools, but that is for a wide variety of reasons. First of all, there are only 9 (soon to be 10) podiatric medical schools across the nation, whereas there are about 155 MD schools and 36 DO schools across the nation. Because the field of podiatric medicine is smaller, not a lot of people know about it compared to MD/DO schools. Podiatric medicine is also a pre-chosen specialty. Just as MDs and DOs can choose to specialize in OBGYN, Endocrinology, Urology, etc., DPMs have chosen to specialize in Podiatry from the start. This means that, of course, there are going to be less people applying to podiatric medical schools. To put this into more perspective, there are about 113,000 family medicine/general practice physicians, 12,000 dermatologists, 42,000 emergency medicine physicians, 14,000 gastroenterologists, 38,000 psychiatrists, and 18,000 podiatrists in the U.S. Every specialty has varying numbers of active physicians. In terms of the curriculum, as a WesternU podiatric medical student, I can confirm that we do take the same courses as the DO students here. In fact, it feels like 90% of the curriculum is shared between the DPM and DO students. I am pretty sure the DPM students at Scholl take classes with the MD students.

Yep! Scholl does have a lot of their classes with their MD counterparts.
DMU, MWU have both their DPM and DO classes together just like your WesternU. I know Touro College is taking NYCPM.