Engineer to MD/PhD in Engineering

[m2regen]

Hello!

I have been working in engineering R&D for a large and well-known medical device company for a couple of years and am interested in applying to MD/PhD programs. I have some academic research experience in basic science molecular biology, and experience as a researcher for an academic-industry collaboration project (biology/engineering). I have a little shadowing/clinical/volunteering experience as well.

Stats wise, I was (unfortunately) not a responsible student in undergrad, where I studied bioengineering. Since, I have shaped up and re-taken the pre-med science courses independently at a well-regarded public university (post-bacc GPA: 3.84). My overall AMCAS GPAs are (cGPA: 3.06) and (sGPA: 3.46). I am doing a master's degree in engineering (grad GPA: 3.90) at a highly ranked engineering school. I also have a high MCAT score (38).

I know that stats wise, there is a big weakness; however, my industry experience and research background are a strong case for an MD/PhD engineering, since the engineering research is usually adopted into industry. I generally get a positive response when I speak with faculty about my background, but I am afraid that I might get filtered out before a human reads my application due to my low GPA.

So questions:

1. I plan to elaborate on my case for pursuing this path in my personal statements. have heard that MD/PhD programs generally take a better look at their applicants, since it is such a specialized path. Is that true, and how can I use that to my advantage?

2. Although I was not a good student in undergrad, I am a better student now. Are there places in the application for me to emphasize this and my recent academic record that anyone can recommend?

3. How is industry research experience viewed for MD/PhD applicants in engineering?

I haven't been able to find much information, or other people in this kind of path, so I hope that someone might be able to give me some good pointers! I would greatly appreciate any and all advice. Thank you for reading this, and I appreciate your time.

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[m2regen]

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[futuremdforme]

How bad is bad for cGPA? (This would include your post-bacc but not your Master's). Your recent stats are great and with your MCAT I think you could have a decent shot, but I really don't know what the cut-offs are to have your application seriously considered.

 

[Shjanzey]

You are fine. Your upward trend, technical expertise and badass MCAT should find you a spot at plenty of institutions. I did something similar, yet had a lower MCAT and similar GPA. If my MCAT was higher I would have worried less about getting the acceptance, but I guess that is a moot point now.

My advice for you if you plan on applying in the upcoming year is to select the university you are most interested in and try for an early decision program. If it is your local state school that is an added bonus, since they usually take residence of the state first.

 

[DrMidlife]

i don't see anything in here about patients. have you worked w/any? there are a bunch of years involving direct interactions with sick people between you & the md, before you get back to engineering. there are a bunch of years of being evaluated by docs who don't give a crap about your engineering ambitions. are there viable alternatives to md/phd that would get you where you want to be without such a drastic side trip?

 

[m2regen]

Thank you all for your responses! @DrMidlife, thank you for pointing that out! In terms of recurring clinical experience, I spent a summer shadowing in an emergency room about 4-8 hours per week. I also worked as a community health worker for my undergraduate university's medical school for a summer, about 10-12/week. Other than that, I also shadowed a private practice physician for about 4 hours a week during a summer that I was working full-time in a the lab. I also volunteer in one of my company's patient outreach programs, although that has no direct patient interaction.

On a personal level, while my career aspirations are mostly research based, I do want to interact with patients. In addition to the human factors, I want to use that experience to properly understand the needs of patients (and doctors too!) that are the end users of medical devices. Based on my experiences, this is not optimally realized in the intermittent collaborations between physicians and engineers. I elaborate on this more in my personal statement(s) (if anyone is interested in reading), but the main gist is that I have found that a technical background alone is insufficient for the career I want to have. Thank you again for reading my case and for your thoughtful feedback!

 

[m2regen]

You are fine. Your upward trend, technical expertise and badass MCAT should find you a spot at plenty of institutions. I did something similar, yet had a lower MCAT and similar GPA. If my MCAT was higher I would have worried less about getting the acceptance, but I guess that is a moot point now.

My advice for you if you plan on applying in the upcoming year is to select the university you are most interested in and try for an early decision program. If it is your local state school that is an added bonus, since they usually take residence of the state first.

Thank you for your encouraging words, @Shjanzey! I also appreciate the advice about ED. I looked through available information on my top 3 programs and wasn't able to determine whether there is an ED option. How do you know if a program has an ED option? Is there a database or systematic way to find out? Thanks again.

 

[Shjanzey]

Thank you for your encouraging words, @Shjanzey! I also appreciate the advice about ED. I looked through available information on my top 3 programs and wasn't able to determine whether there is an ED option. How do you know if a program has an ED option? Is there a database or systematic way to find out? Thanks again.

I think that if you use MSAR you should be able to find out, but that costs money. Most institutions will have something written in their admissions section about early decision. I typed my institution name in and early decision program into google and immediately got a link to the info they provide. Hopefully that helps.

 

[GreenDuck12]

Just want to put this up for you to consider as you weigh early decision. From what the AAMC rules say, it sounds like you would only be able to apply to one program initially using ED which would hold up any other applicants you would want to submit until October. This would really put you at a disadvantaged with gaining an interview so late in the game.

http://www.usnews.com/education/blo...ld-you-apply-early-decision-to-medical-school

 

[m2regen]

I think that if you use MSAR you should be able to find out, but that costs money. Most institutions will have something written in their admissions section about early decision. I typed my institution name in and early decision program into google and immediately got a link to the info they provide. Hopefully that helps.

Thank you again for your advice. I renewed my MSAR subscription and cross-referenced MD/PhD programs with ED participation to get a list of schools. Unfortunately, none of my top choice schools (none of my state school either) are participants. Regardless there are some good schools on the list for my research interest so that is encouraging. Thanks again for your support and for providing some much needed calming for my nerves!

 

[m2regen]

Just want to put this up for you to consider as you weigh early decision. From what the AAMC rules say, it sounds like you would only be able to apply to one program initially using ED which would hold up any other applicants you would want to submit until October. This would really put you at a disadvantaged with gaining an interview so late in the game.

http://www.usnews.com/education/blo...ld-you-apply-early-decision-to-medical-school

Thanks for posting this, it is great advice. Since my top choices do not participate in ED, and neither do schools in my state/region, the decision is not straightforward. Additionally, I've heard from multiple MD/PhD students that MD/PhD admissions can be counter-intuitive at times, where candidates can be accepted into great programs, but rejected from "safety" programs, which makes this choice more difficult because then I cannot really consider any school to be a "safety", especially with my GPA as the elephant in the room. Since MD/PhD represents a 7-9 year commitment, location also factors in a bit more. Overall, there are a lot of costs and benefits to consider. Thank you for sharing that article!

 

[m2regen]

Update in case it helps anyone, I did (fortunately) end up getting into an MD/PhD program. I recently completed the first 3 years of medical school (including core clerkships) and am about to start PhD training. Getting in was definitely an uphill battle, but it was so worth it, and I can't imagine doing anything else.

I remember being super lost in this process, as few people with this kind of background were applying MD/PhD, so if there is anyone in this boat, feel free to PM or reply.