Advice for a PhD student interested in medicine?

[futuremed77]

Hello all,

I am currently a PhD student at "top 10" US university in the medical sciences area who is interested in pursuing medicine after the PhD. The following is a brief snapshot of my profile:

Citizenship
Canadian

Education
-PhD (current), funded by school and national fellowships
-MS*, GPA 3.8, funded by national fellowship
-BS*, GPA 3.7 (graduated magna cum laude)

*my MS and BS were done at the same institution at an "unknown" Canadian university

Awards
-received several scholarships (e.g. for leadership, community service, academic achievement, etc.) during undergrad and master's in addition to the competitive national fellowships.

Work experience
-1 year of public health experience working at a federal health agency
-1 summer of undergraduate lab experience in basic science
-2 years of TA experience during MS
-1 year of teaching fellow during PhD

Other professional activities
-chaired several conference organizing subcommittees

Publications
-over half a dozen conference oral and poster presentations
-no publications yet (but expecting several during the course of next few years of my PhD from PhD and MS research results)

MCAT
-will take next fall (good standardized test taker, scored >1400 on GRE)

I am wondering if you guys have any general advice for me on how to prepare myself for admissions and whether or not I am competitive for top tier MD programs at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Yale, etc. assuming I get at least 30 on MCAT and with PhD in hand?

Thank you!

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I am wondering if you guys have any general advice for me on how to prepare myself for admissions and whether or not I am competitive for top tier MD programs at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Yale, etc. assuming I get at least 30 on MCAT and with PhD in hand?

Thank you!

Recovered PhD here. If you play your cards well, you have an excellent shot at admission, perhaps even to a top tier program. A few pointers:

1. Your undergrad record is going to be very important. It's the most consistent basis for comparison between medical school applicants. You seem to have a solid record, so that will work in your favor.

2. Your graduate record is going to be much less important. This is difficult for some people, especially scientists, to grasp. When you're a PhD student and thoroughly mired in your research, it's easy to view an MD as something that would add to your scientific prowess. However, the standard medical school admissions officer is looking at your application through the lens of "should we commit our resources to train this applicant as a physician?" (as opposed to a researcher with an MD). Be prepared to sell yourself in this light.

3. Some schools may love you for your PhD, others won't care one bit. And there is no good way to predict beforehand which school will feel which way.

4. You're still going to have to play the standard premed game - do some shadowing, some volunteering, etc. If possible, get a recommendation from an MD in your field.

5. Apply to a broad range of schools. Don't assume anything. If your stats are in line with top schools, apply. But don't ignore "lower" schools, including your state schools, the OOS-friendly state schools, and every private school you can find. Yes, they can be expensive, but so can a year without an acceptance.

6. Forget everything you know. Med school is completely different from grad school. It's almost diametrically opposed, in many ways. Don't assume that you're smarter, better, or more qualified than anyone else in this process. Trust me, you will get humbled soon enough, even if you are a rock star.

7. If you have to get into your future research interests, make sure they are translational. That's the hot thing, and it's not going away any time soon.

8. Beer helps.

Good luck!

 

[MeowMix]

agree w/ most of above post, esp. comments that PhD is not at all an automatic benefit

a few things

- you MUST justify very clearly why you want to go back to school so soon after grad school - this must be very well thought out and clearly expressed - and well-tested through volunteer work and shadowing

- as a Canadian,you will never have a "state" school. You will always pay out-of-state tuition. This will be unbelievably expensive: think $70,000 tuition a year PLUS living expenses. Do you really want to go $300,000 into debt? I agree, apply very broadly, and know that wealthier schools like Harvard can end up being cheaper because they will give more scholarships.

- some schools will not touch you as a non-US-citizen, non-green card; figure out where you're eligible. THis will greatly narrow your choices.

- as a non-American, I think you will not be eligible for federal financial aid, so think ahead about where your money will come from. Private loans can make your expenses even more unbelievable

- apply in Canada

- put everything you can into excelling on the MCAT, and assume nothing about how well you will do based on the GRE. MCAT is an entirely different kind of test.

- I very much agree that med school is completely different from grad school. Grad school is all about narrow focus and tremendous depth. This will not be an option in med school. I hope you are good at multitasking, and thinking very superficially about a wide range of material. You will never have the time to really read and understand. If that thought drives you crazy, think long and hard about whether you really want to change fields.

I went to undergrad in Canada and did my PhD (fully funded, like you) at a great US university. I did not go to med school until years later, when I had US citizenship. It is MUCH more difficult to get into med school than grad school; admissions committees have seen so many PhDs that it is really not a big bonus on your application. Being Canadian adds to the challenge. Good prospects for you would be schools like Wash U in St Louis.

 

[QofQuimica]

Along with all of the previous posts with good advice, you can find links to many helpful threads here.