Long-term Relationship/Engaged Forum

[Lwoods]

]

Just as you shouldn't sacrifice law school for her, she shouldn't chose a DO school over an MD school for you (unless she really, truly prefers the osteopathic approach over allopathic) as her earning potential is higher for the latter. Keep applying and look seriously at big cities. She should keep applying (to US MD programs) as well. Ranking doesn't matter as much for MD programs; though top 40 is ideal, matching is heavily based on Step 1 scores and MS3 grades.

I don't blame you for wanting to be close to each other for med school / law school, but there's really no need to chose a T3 over a T25 simply to be in the same city. My husband's medical school is in NYC, and classmates had lawyer / law student SOs who worked or went to school in Boston, Philly and DC. Welcome to the realm of professional studies.

DO and MD earning potential is IDENTICAL.

To OP: wait for more acceptances for her... and if she doesn't get them then get yourself a Masters degree while you wait... her residencies can be targeted for larger cities with good law schools.

Apologies; I was trying to be concise but ended up just muddling my actual point. A DO can be limiting if she might be interested in surgical specialties, which tend to be higher paid; there are fewer DO residency programs for surgical specialties, and many MD surgical residency programs don't rank DO applicants. Once in the specialty, however, the salaries are comparable. Unless she knows she prefers osteopathy, it's just a safer bet to stick to US MD programs from which it's easier to go into a wider variety of specialties.

I do think there can be benefit to waiting to apply for law school, definitely an option to explore. You can get some WE under your belt to help offset the cost of medical school / save for law school. The downside is you two as a couple will be struggling / living off loans for at least 7 years.

[lparker]

Apologies; I was trying to be concise but ended up just muddling my actual point. A DO can be limiting if she might be interested in surgical specialties, which tend to be higher paid; there are fewer DO residency programs for surgical specialties, and many MD surgical residency programs don't rank DO applicants. Once in the specialty, however, the salaries are comparable. Unless she knows she prefers osteopathy, it's just a safer bet to stick to US MD programs from which it's easier to go into a wider variety of specialties.

I do think there can be benefit to waiting to apply for law school, definitely an option to explore. You can get some WE under your belt to help offset the cost of medical school / save for law school. The downside is you two as a couple will be struggling / living off loans for at least 7 years.

OP, Des Moines is a great school, and your SO will have great opportunities afterward. Don't be dissauded by someone who wants to pull the MD vs DO card. There's no way to say this nicely, but that's simply ignorant. DOs can apply to MD residencies, and to say there are MD programs that don't rank DOs is pretty misguided. Maybe if the DO only takes the COMLEX... And that's still only a maybe. Take a look at Mass General... The head of the division of vascular medicine is a DO. I only point that out to say that if she wants to go in to a specialty afterward, she most certainly can--and she can do it at one of the best hospitals in the country. I know this is only one example, but DOs are only 7% of the medical profession. My husband is a DO and he's interviewing at the Mayo Clinic in a few weeks. She won't be limited, but you might be--depending on what you want to do.

[kaftka juice]

.

[mrmangs]

I'm cross country at a T20, I can suck it up for two years.

She'll be sucking up someone else's for those two years.

roflllll

[dakatz]

Been dating the same girl over 5 years. Went to the same undergrad, plus we both live 30 min away from each other back at home (both of us still live with parents). Never been further than 30 min away, yet I'm doing just fine now that I'm 5 hrs away in law school. I see her about once a month, and it hasn't been a problem at all. Neither of us are the needy types. Trust me, you will know if you have someone you can trust to make the same commitment that you are ready to make. I went to law school knowing that my gf and I would be ok, and it hasn't been a problem in the slightest. So don't think it can't work.

[whymeohgodno]

Apologies; I was trying to be concise but ended up just muddling my actual point. A DO can be limiting if she might be interested in surgical specialties, which tend to be higher paid; there are fewer DO residency programs for surgical specialties, and many MD surgical residency programs don't rank DO applicants. Once in the specialty, however, the salaries are comparable. Unless she knows she prefers osteopathy, it's just a safer bet to stick to US MD programs from which it's easier to go into a wider variety of specialties.

I do think there can be benefit to waiting to apply for law school, definitely an option to explore. You can get some WE under your belt to help offset the cost of medical school / save for law school. The downside is you two as a couple will be struggling / living off loans for at least 7 years.

OP, Des Moines is a great school, and your SO will have great opportunities afterward. Don't be dissauded by someone who wants to pull the MD vs DO card. There's no way to say this nicely, but that's simply ignorant. DOs can apply to MD residencies, and to say there are MD programs that don't rank DOs is pretty misguided. Maybe if the DO only takes the COMLEX... And that's still only a maybe. Take a look at Mass General... The head of the division of vascular medicine is a DO. I only point that out to say that if she wants to go in to a specialty afterward, she most certainly can--and she can do it at one of the best hospitals in the country. I know this is only one example, but DOs are only 7% of the medical profession. My husband is a DO and he's interviewing at the Mayo Clinic in a few weeks. She won't be limited, but you might be--depending on what you want to do.

Isn't it much easier to get into DO programs than MD programs?

[ChemistryMatters]

This is such a tough decision...as long as you are *completely sure* this is the person you will marry/set up a permanent home with...otherwise you should do what is best for your future.

I lived 1.5 hours away from my SO to go to a top engineering grad school. I won't do it again for law school. It wasn't terrible, but you don't get that lost time back. I think this is especially relevant if you want children, you just don't have the time to be young and together for very long before kids come along and take up a ton of time.

I have very little chance of getting into a top 20 school so that's not too much of a concern, but I am limiting myself to cities in which my husband can find a job and be happy. One important possible difference in our situation is that I'm going into patent law...there aren't as many of us out there so going to a top school isn't quite as important (still important though) as it is for someone who wants to go into another area of law.

Priorities change as you get older, though. Ultimately, you have to decide what is most important for you.

[im_blue]

Apologies; I was trying to be concise but ended up just muddling my actual point. A DO can be limiting if she might be interested in surgical specialties, which tend to be higher paid; there are fewer DO residency programs for surgical specialties, and many MD surgical residency programs don't rank DO applicants. Once in the specialty, however, the salaries are comparable. Unless she knows she prefers osteopathy, it's just a safer bet to stick to US MD programs from which it's easier to go into a wider variety of specialties.

I do think there can be benefit to waiting to apply for law school, definitely an option to explore. You can get some WE under your belt to help offset the cost of medical school / save for law school. The downside is you two as a couple will be struggling / living off loans for at least 7 years.

OP, Des Moines is a great school, and your SO will have great opportunities afterward. Don't be dissauded by someone who wants to pull the MD vs DO card. There's no way to say this nicely, but that's simply ignorant. DOs can apply to MD residencies, and to say there are MD programs that don't rank DOs is pretty misguided. Maybe if the DO only takes the COMLEX... And that's still only a maybe. Take a look at Mass General... The head of the division of vascular medicine is a DO. I only point that out to say that if she wants to go in to a specialty afterward, she most certainly can--and she can do it at one of the best hospitals in the country. I know this is only one example, but DOs are only 7% of the medical profession. My husband is a DO and he's interviewing at the Mayo Clinic in a few weeks. She won't be limited, but you might be--depending on what you want to do.

Isn't it much easier to get into DO programs than MD programs?

Yes, I believe MD > DO > Caribbean MD.

[DoubleChecks]

Apologies; I was trying to be concise but ended up just muddling my actual point. A DO can be limiting if she might be interested in surgical specialties, which tend to be higher paid; there are fewer DO residency programs for surgical specialties, and many MD surgical residency programs don't rank DO applicants. Once in the specialty, however, the salaries are comparable. Unless she knows she prefers osteopathy, it's just a safer bet to stick to US MD programs from which it's easier to go into a wider variety of specialties.

I do think there can be benefit to waiting to apply for law school, definitely an option to explore. You can get some WE under your belt to help offset the cost of medical school / save for law school. The downside is you two as a couple will be struggling / living off loans for at least 7 years.

OP, Des Moines is a great school, and your SO will have great opportunities afterward. Don't be dissauded by someone who wants to pull the MD vs DO card. There's no way to say this nicely, but that's simply ignorant. DOs can apply to MD residencies, and to say there are MD programs that don't rank DOs is pretty misguided. Maybe if the DO only takes the COMLEX... And that's still only a maybe. Take a look at Mass General... The head of the division of vascular medicine is a DO. I only point that out to say that if she wants to go in to a specialty afterward, she most certainly can--and she can do it at one of the best hospitals in the country. I know this is only one example, but DOs are only 7% of the medical profession. My husband is a DO and he's interviewing at the Mayo Clinic in a few weeks. She won't be limited, but you might be--depending on what you want to do.

Isn't it much easier to get into DO programs than MD programs?

yes it is. from what i hear, also harder for DO's to be employed, i.e. unlike in med school, you cant just slack off (well i mean you'd be doing the same amount of work to pass haha) and get SOME 6 figure job...it is a riskier investment

[nateaway]

not to derail this with an off the wall suggestion but couldn't you just go to Iowa? it's all of 90 minutes away from des-moines and its not like there's traffic. You could in fact live together a scant 45 minutes from your respective schools paying absolutely nothing in rent because you'll be in the ass middle of nowhere. Since des moinesand iowa city are also pretty much the middle of nowhere its not like you're really missing out.

[Amir N]

not to derail this with an off the wall suggestion but couldn't you just go to Iowa? it's all of 90 minutes away from des-moines and its not like there's traffic. You could in fact live together a scant 45 minutes from your respective schools paying absolutely nothing in rent because you'll be in the ass middle of nowhere. Since des moinesand iowa city are also pretty much the middle of nowhere its not like you're really missing out.

Indeed, this is my primary goal. Yet admission to the University of Iowa is not guaranteed, so I am exploring Drake University as well.

As for both of us living between Des Moines and Iowa City: for those who have done the same thing or live in Iowa, is this a realistic option?

[im_blue]

not to derail this with an off the wall suggestion but couldn't you just go to Iowa? it's all of 90 minutes away from des-moines and its not like there's traffic. You could in fact live together a scant 45 minutes from your respective schools paying absolutely nothing in rent because you'll be in the ass middle of nowhere. Since des moinesand iowa city are also pretty much the middle of nowhere its not like you're really missing out.

Indeed, this is my primary goal. Yet admission to the University of Iowa is not guaranteed, so I am exploring Drake University as well.

You could also look into Cincinnati or Kentucky-Lexington, both of which are similar distances from Louisville.

[nateaway]

not to derail this with an off the wall suggestion but couldn't you just go to Iowa? it's all of 90 minutes away from des-moines and its not like there's traffic. You could in fact live together a scant 45 minutes from your respective schools paying absolutely nothing in rent because you'll be in the ass middle of nowhere. Since des moinesand iowa city are also pretty much the middle of nowhere its not like you're really missing out.

Indeed, this is my primary goal. Yet admission to the University of Iowa is not guaranteed, so I am exploring Drake University as well.

As for both of us living between Des Moines and Iowa City: for those who have done the same thing or live in Iowa, is this a realistic option?

I feel that if you're not in at Iowa you're getting into the realm of schools where you really just oughtn't be paying sticker anymore. I say if you're going to marry a rich doctor you're best bet is to do it with little to no debt frompretty much every angle. The difficulty of course is that if your SO has to move, then your drake degree will be pretty much worthless, on the other hand this move is out of the upper midwest your Iowa degree isn't exactly a golden ticket either. I guess in your place if I didn't get iowa I would go TTT and sleep well at night with my meal ticket next to me and no debt. If I some how got into some better schools and not Iowa I personally would still go the TTT route unless I got into some miracle T14 reach- It would be a closer call but I just don't see sticker at minnesota or even UIUC as a life changing opportunity different in type rather than scale from your free TTT.

p.s.Lock it down!

[firemed]

Isn't it much easier to get into DO programs than MD programs?

Easier, but not that much easier. 3.4-3.7 in hard sciences, 27+ on the MCAT. They also like non-trads, so for a fresh new UG student, not necessarily that much easier.

yes it is. from what i hear, also harder for DO's to be employed, i.e. unlike in med school, you cant just slack off (well i mean you'd be doing the same amount of work to pass haha) and get SOME 6 figure job...it is a riskier investment

I have never, ever, seen any DO have trouble finding a job. Basically all of them will have a 6 figure job when they are done with residency. Now, as Lwoods pointed out, it can be harder for them to find a surgical specialty or derm, or what have you. But significant numbers of them will. And even FP makes over a hundred grand. But none of them are going to be like some of us... wondering how to pay off $200K on 40K/yr.

[Slimpee]

OP, i'm a 1L at Iowa and can think of several long-distance relationships off the top of my head. Whether or not they work out is another story...

Des Moines is a few hours from Iowa City so it's definitely doable but it isn't so close that you can just unexpectedly "pop-in" on each other.

If you truly love this woman having her away might help you focus on school work and you can still see each other often.

Good luck!

[notanumber]

If you do make the (foolish IMHO) decision to attend a T3 on full scholarship then make damn sure that the "full ride" isn't tied to 1L grades - section stacking and all.

[MysticalWheel]

Fuck bitches get money.

I take mild offense to this...but support it .

MW

[Gotti]

I would think that if you got into a T1 school, esp somewhere like UIUC which is not at the very bottom of T1, your SO would not want you to settle for a T3 instead. My boyfriend (we’re serious, and we will probably get married) has the grades to get into places like UMich, NU, and he even has a shot at Harvard…I doubt I’ll be going to any of those states. We want to go to the same general area, but if he gets into T14 and I don’t, I would NEVER let him not go just for me….and vice versa.

If you already know you’re going to get married, it shouldn’t matter where you go. I’d sacrifice a few big names to be close to him (like if he got into NYU and I got into USC, I’d strongly consider Fordham) but definitely not T1 for T3. He would do the same, and I think THAT is the right decision.

Kids are harder to leave…but SO’s will make sacrifices for the sake of the other person’s well being, esp if you plan on marriage in the future.

[Barbie]

My boyfriend is coming with me to law school. He's a business major so he can pretty much work in any city. I might end up having to commute a bit if I go somewhere near a big city but not in one (we would try to find a place between the two).

[Nicholasnickynic]

Stay with partner, do not go to law school--> Find another career, stay with partner, be happy

break up, go to good law school.-->have a good law career, find another partner, be happy

Stay with partner, go to t3/4=Resent partner for the rest of your life for making you go to a crappy law school where you spent three years of your life and then were unable to get a job.

Law school or partner, PICk.

But if you do pick partner, DO NOT go to a t3.

[James Bond]

go to good law school.-->have a good law career

LMFAO, like that's a guarantee at all

[Nicholasnickynic]

go to good law school.-->have a good law career

LMFAO, like that's a guarantee at all

1. we all know that.
2. its not "LMFAO" funny. I mean really. You were LAUGHING YOUR FUCKING ASS OFF? Really?
3. Im assuming the reason it matters between t1 v t3 is job prospects. I was just simplifying it.

[IAFG]

My boyfriend is coming with me to law school. He's a business major so he can pretty much work in any city. I might end up having to commute a bit if I go somewhere near a big city but not in one (we would try to find a place between the two).

This will end well

[Barbie]

My boyfriend is coming with me to law school. He's a business major so he can pretty much work in any city. I might end up having to commute a bit if I go somewhere near a big city but not in one (we would try to find a place between the two).

This will end well

He came with me to UG too. So far so good.

[IAFG]

My boyfriend is coming with me to law school. He's a business major so he can pretty much work in any city. I might end up having to commute a bit if I go somewhere near a big city but not in one (we would try to find a place between the two).

This will end well

He came with me to UG too. So far so good.

A lot easier to find a college that will take you than a job in a new city, commuting 1L is about as smart as Russian roulette, etc etc etc