Colleges of osteopathic medicine look for well-rounded students who have the potential to be excellent, compassionate, humanistic physicians. The medical schools look at the whole applicant, not simply GPAs or MCAT scores.
Students who want to be physicians who look beyond symptoms to find and treat the cause of disease, illness and injury, and who want to work in partnership with their patients to help each person achieve her or his highest possible level of health, are a good match for osteopathic medical education. Students who are interested in using their hands to diagnose and treat patients, and who believe that to heal, a physician needs to look at the whole person and all aspects of her or his life also will be a good fit for a career in osteopathic medicine.
Many nontraditional students find a second or third career as an osteopathic physician to be very rewarding. All of America's colleges of osteopathic medicine offer supportive, high-quality programs for students of all ages from all backgrounds at campuses across the country.