Non-Traditional Pre Med- Need Pre Reqs

Hello everyone. My name is Caleb Sharp and I have a few concerns/questions which I hope you may help me with. To give you my background: I have earned an AAS Physical Therapist Assistant GPA(3.76), AAS Occupational Therapy Assistant GPA (3.77), and Bachelor of Rehabilitation Studies GPA (3.77). The major gaps which I see in my academic preparedness are some of the core pre-reqs such as organic chem and biology. It has been my dream to become a Doctor since I was in my teens. However, at periods of time I was uncertain if I had the necessary resources (i.e. funding) to go to med school.


At this time, my wife and I have decided to pursue medical school. Although, I am lacking in all the necessary pre-reqs. Here are a few questions that I have:

  1. Does anybody know if a med school will not accept/throw out online based core science classes which are acredited and have lab sections?

  2. DO/MD. Does my prep matter differently to either or vise versa?

  3. Any thoughts on Officer Commission for tuition…


    I have looked in several locations and spoke with numerous people (apparently not the correct locations or people) and have a lack of understanding to these questions. Please Help.

Hey csharp,

  1. In researching for a lot of my content, most schools specifically say that the core pre-reqs can not be online based classes. There might be a few hiding that do, but you’ll have to dig through each one. It is truly beneficial to do them in person, since that is how medical school is - it will get you in the flow…

  2. You’re education was similar to mine - I was an exercise physiology major and did lean towards DO, but in the end, the desire for me was to get an allopathic. This is a personal decision that you will have to decide based on your research. Some basic info here on the difference between D.O. and M.D.

  3. There are many benefits to the HPSP scholarship. I am very glad I took the scholarship and will likely finish my career in the Air Force. My wife is finishing a civilian residency now - so I see both sides of medicine. They each have their pros and cons. The fact that she has over 200k+ in student debt and I have none is FABULOUS! The one thing you have to understand is that you have to be willing to give up some control of your life. I only wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon when going to medical school. Unfortunately the Air Force had different plans and put me in a ‘Flight Surgeon’ spot. I couldn’t be happier. I love my patients, I love my job.


    So - 3 answers that basically say the same thing - do your research and decide for yourself what is best for you.

The thing not mentioned in the link to difference between DO/MD is that recognition of the degree internationally. That is haphazard, whereas, the MD is recognized.


That said, I have many people tell me they like their DO better than their former MD.


I’m allopathic… or bust, however.

  • Adoc2be Said:
The thing not mentioned in the link to difference between DO/MD is that recognition of the degree internationally. That is haphazard, whereas, the MD is recognized.

That said, I have many people tell me they like their DO better than their former MD.

I'm allopathic... or bust, however.

Good point about international - I'll have to add something about that.

Unfortunately when people say they like their DO better - or any statements like that - it's more of a personality than anything. A patient isn't able to KNOW that they like their new DO doctor better BECAUSE he/she is a DO - they just like the doctor as a person.
  • Doc Gray Said:
Unfortunately when people say they like their DO better - or any statements like that - it's more of a personality than anything. A patient isn't able to KNOW that they like their new DO doctor better BECAUSE he/she is a DO - they just like the doctor as a person.



Not necessarily true. The last one who told me that said she liked her DO's approach to diagnosing and whole-body vs. the MD's way of diagnosing her. She said she felt the DO looked at her health overall but the MD just took a portion of the symptoms...

And she works for a very large, very well established medical facility where both DOs and MDs practice.

The international thing has a link somewhere on here that shows which countries require what types of exams, fees, credentialing to practice in that country. Unfortunately, not all countries are listed...

csharp -


I’ll answer the one left unanswered - if your prep differs for DO vs MD. The answer is - only in one detail. You MUST shadow a D.O. to apply to almost all D.O. schools. It’s common to ask about osteopathic medicine in the interview as well (so it’s good to read up a bit - google A.T. Still and Osteopathic Medicine.


I’d suggest trying to find a family practice DO to shadow, as you are more likely to get an idea of any differences in the approach to patients and families.


How long you need to shadow depends - but what you would hope is that you build enough of a relationship that they will write a LOR for you when you apply.


Course prerequisites are the same - they vary slightly from school to school (none of the schools I applied to required biochemistry, for example, but some schools do), but not across MD/DO lines.


Kate