interested in MD/PhD late in the game, how do these plans sound?

[rakasan]

Thank you!!

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[Fencer]

The MCAT score plays a role as to how you will be seen by MD/PhD adcoms.

Plan 1: It will be ok if you get a MCAT in the 38+ range, but all programs will give you less points due to poor research environment.
Plan 2: This is the most secure path. If you get a 38+ and a publication, many top programs will be looking at you.

 

[rakasan]

Plan 1: It will be ok if you get a MCAT in the 38+ range, but all programs will give you less points due to poor research environment.

 

[Fencer]

The upward trend mitigates some of the damage. The GPA is important, and for some schools, you will be an automatic rejection, but there are many schools that are more holistic. One number doesn't define you, but several will. No PREP program will balance "lack of research". Despite high academic scores, the lack of sufficient research is a killer for MD/PhD programs.

 

[rakasan]

@Fencer

 

[Patros]

@Fencer

What advice would you offer someone like me? My little experience doing research is not likely to land me any jobs post-graduation in a lab which makes it seem like a perpetual circle of having no experience not allowing you to gain experience. Agh, it seems like people who didn't decide on this much earlier in their undergrad career don't have much of a chance, even with a PREP program.

I'm not as experienced as some other folks in this forum, but here's my advice:
Apply to the IRTA program at the NIH. The reason why nobody really talks about the post-bacc PREPs is because there's only a few spots across the nation (maybe a few dozen), and they are geared toward URM (are you an URM?) folks who are interested in PhDs. The IRTA program is huge (~700 new post-baccs each year) and encourages applications to MD, MD/PhD, or PhD equally. If you come from a big name school that PI's recognize, can get excellent LORs, and promise to stay 2 years, it shouldn't be hard to find a PI who will take you. I think having 2 years of research experience at the NIH will make you a shoe-in for PhD programs and competitive for MD/PhD. Won't help your GPA though, so focus on the MCAT with this route.

I think the other options have severe downsides. Working in a biotech company as a lab tech may not give you intellectual ownership of your research, which is crucial. Continuing as an undergrad will cost you an arm and leg, and will give you 1 year of research and a potential GPA boost, but will still leave your GPA/research below average, and will leave little time for MCAT studying. Maybe a master's program is a better route, but it won't help your ugrad GPA.

Realistically, I think your best bet regardless of what you do is either pure PhD (for research) or DO (for clinical work). Unfortunate reality is that your GPA/MCAT will make or break you, so consider all options.

 

[Fencer]

I agree with the recommendations from Underu.

 

[ratherbefishing]

Doesn't seem like you've been in lab very much. Seems like you're still in the honeymoon period. How do you know you want to do MD/PhD (or PhD)?

 

[StIGMA]

You need research experience. Consider a job as a tech in a lab for 1-2 years that could provide you a basic salary and of course requisite experience. You want the position to allow you to work exclusively on research projects (eg: working for a post-doc- you do not want to simply maintain lab reagents). Ideally, you could also have your own project at the same time. If tuition was not an obstacle, staying an extra year in undergrad while pursuing significant research involvement (>30 hours/week) would be excellent.

It takes a lot of time to learn how to do science (& specifically molecular biology). Most labs will not be interested in training someone with minimal experience. Hopefully you know a few techniques and can use that as leverage to obtain a position. Then, with adequate supervision, you can go from there.

 

[okemba]

I can't really comment as to admissions, but -

Make sure your motivation is robust. Most of the kids I've met who want to pursue an MD/PhD who are really dedicated have almost built their egos around the notion of becoming a physician-scientist. Nooot that you have to take it that far... But just like how many biological signalling systems exhibit gradual decay in function as system components degrade or are removed, you want to ensure your motivation for pursuing this 8+ year program will last if/when your mindset starts shifting when you get into your 30s and start thinking about other aspects of life. If you've just come to this MD/PhD realization suddenly, you should probably take a step back. It's good that you're taking another year+ off/staying in school.

 

[rakasan]

Thank you everyone for your replies! Just an update if anyone was interested...

I decided to take a year off to pursue more research. I was hired as a temp in the genetics lab I worked at during my last semester and am currently working ~25 hrs/week (spoke with my manager and will likely be able to get it up to 40 after summer). Additionally, I applied and was accepted into to an 8 week summer medical research program, so with both of those combined I am looking to be spending 40+ hours in a lab/week.

I'm not as experienced as some other folks in this forum, but here's my advice:
Apply to the IRTA program at the NIH.

If things go well, I plan to apply after I hit 1+ yrs of research experience to beef up my chances of landing a PI.

You need research experience. Consider a job as a tech in a lab for 1-2 years that could provide you a basic salary and of course requisite experience.

I am also considering this option, should the current lab I am working in not allow me to work 40 hrs/week in the fall, for financial reasons. There are a few openings nearby that I have bookmarked.

Doesn't seem like you've been in lab very much. Seems like you're still in the honeymoon period. How do you know you want to do MD/PhD (or PhD)?

I can't really comment as to admissions, but -
If you've just come to this MD/PhD realization suddenly, you should probably take a step back. It's good that you're taking another year+ off/staying in school.

You both have very valid points, and honestly I do need to immerse myself into research before taking the next step in any direction. So far just by putting in more hours on the project I have been working on in my current lab, I love the feeling of working towards something I think is cool. I have always excelled at anatomy and physiology courses and am really passionate about the human body and how it works (it amazes me every time), so I felt that combining my passion for human physiology would best be suited in an academic environment more so than a clinical environment (as I had originally thought as a premed, though I did truly enjoy my time working in a hospital). I plan on seeing how plunging into research goes for these next few months and hopefully my path will become clearer.

Thank you everyone!

 

[okemba]

If things go well, I plan to apply after I hit 1+ yrs of research experience to beef up my chances of landing a PI.

You're going to apply to NIH IRTA a year from now to beef up your chances of getting a slot? Ok. So you're taking 2 gap years?

Keep in mind that the IRTA program accepts applications on a rolling-basis year-round: you don't have to start June 1st.

I plan on seeing how plunging into research goes for these next few months and hopefully my path will become clearer.

Cool. Failure is good. Fail more and get ahead.