Hey Mary
I read your Bio stuff, Congratz! Actually the MD / DO issue for me has to do a bit with my practice. Possibly I have been isolated but I have noticed that my favorite Doc’s were always DO’s. Moreover, I have had numerous bad interactions with admissions people from MD schools, most noteably here in AZ.
When i entered the admission office and talked with the admit guy from Tuscon State Med school (MD) I had specific questions. Mostly how my age and experience as an RN would help/hinder me in the admissions process. He proceeded to tell me that it would be a great help in 3rd and 4th year as well as residency. Then he finished by telling me that it would have absolutely no berring on my admission and if i wanted to get in i needed to have highly competitive MCAT/GPA and they chose people for interviews 100% based upon that. Creme of the crop is what he said as i remember.
In direct contrast, when i went to the DO school and told them my experience as an RN and publishing in journals etc, he was visibly excited. He stated directly to me that they actively looked for people like me and if i got average scores on the MCAT and GPA i was guarenteed an excellent chance.
I may have had a bad experience, however, I have heard a similar one from many others. Maybe it jaded me, but along with my personal experiences it had pushed me towards DO school.
As an aside. The fact that DO schools have slightly lower GPA and MCAT requirements is probably attractive to many non-trads. I think this is due to the difficulty that can come with getting high GPA and MCAT scores when dealing with real life.