Advice moving forward?

[Hwiteside]

Hello!

I am a recent college graduate who is interested in applying to an MD/PhD or MSTP, and would appreciate some advice moving forward.

I graduated last fall with a 3.94 GPA, and the rest of my app (EC/Volunteer/shadowing/etc) was pretty good as well. The only thing I was missing was my MCAT, which I had planned to take after studying over the summer once I got my diploma.

Unfortunately, about a week after I graduated, I got into a major accident that left me in bed for a long period of time. Long story short, after six major surgeries, physical therapy, and almost a year later I am one surgery/two weeks away from being pretty much fully recovered. Right now, I'm finally studying for the MCAT, but I do have a few questions/concerns about what I should be doing to be more competitive.

1) Except for a few projects I did for my classes, I have absolutely zero research experience. I've applied for a few research assistant jobs, and I'd be willing to take 2 years off to get the necessary experience, but is there a better route for me? Should I get a masters degree?

2) What MCAT score should I realistically be aiming for? I think a 33 was the average for the old MCAT, so should I just translate that into a new score?

3) What level of mathematics should I have for the phD? I only took up to calculus 1 in university, and I was wondering if I should take additional classes at a community college or something.

Thank you for all your help!

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[eteshoe]

1. You do not currently have enough research experience for an MD/PhD, though depending on your MCAT score you could be quite competitive for the MD-only without having to get additional research experience. You really have to evaluate if the dual degree program is what you need to achieve your career goals. That being said being a research tech (with your own projects) or a masters will suffice. Though with a masters understand that you will most likely have to fund yourself.

2. You need to aim for an MCAT score in the 90th percentile (most likely 95th for some of the more competitive schools). On the new scale that anywhere from 514-516+

3. The level of math you need will really depend pre-med requirements and what you want to study for your PhD. Usually taking the whole first yr calc sequence (1+2) plus a statistics should be sufficient. If you plan on doing a an engineering PhD, you'll need to also take DE + basic eng classes.