Which MD/PhD programs to apply to?

[PhysicianScientist]

Hi all, I was hoping to get some suggestions as to which MD/PhD programs to apply to with my stats below? I'm having trouble coming up with a list because I have no idea how competetive these programs are. If you have any suggestions as to which programs to apply for (specific university name appreciated) please let me know!

Academics

• sGPA: 3.65
• cGPA: 3.7
• MCAT(2nd try): (14 PS/13 BS/9 VR) = 36
• MCAT(1): (13 PS/13 BS/7 VR) = 33

Research

• 5 publications - 1 in high impact journal (Nature Chemistry), 1 first author in decent journal (IF ~ 10)
• 4 years total (1000 hrs+)

Other Activities

~100 hours clinical volunteering
~50 hours non-clinical volunteering
~50 hours shadowing (3 docs)
~1 leadership position on student sport club

What type of programs should I apply to? If you know a specific name (example: UCLA/Caltech MSTP) please do tell! I know my GPA is probably going to hold me back from most programs

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[mTORC]

I don't think your stats will hold you back anywhere. The research is really strong; make sure you have good letters. Apply anywhere you want.

 

[MedStud!]

Hi all, I was hoping to get some suggestions as to which MD/PhD programs to apply to with my stats below? I'm having trouble coming up with a list because I have no idea how competetive these programs are. If you have any suggestions as to which programs to apply for (specific university name appreciated) please let me know!

Academics

• sGPA: 3.65
• cGPA: 3.7
• MCAT(2nd try): (14 PS/13 BS/9 VR) = 36
• MCAT(1): (13 PS/13 BS/7 VR) = 33

Research

• 5 publications - 1 in high impact journal (Nature Chemistry), 1 first author in decent journal (IF ~ 10)
• 4 years total (1000 hrs+)

Other Activities

~100 hours clinical volunteering
~50 hours non-clinical volunteering
~50 hours shadowing (3 docs)
~1 leadership position on student sport club

What type of programs should I apply to? If you know a specific name (example: UCLA/Caltech MSTP) please do tell! I know my GPA is probably going to hold me back from most programs

My experience as an MD/PhD about to graduate is that applicants have the best shots at getting interviews at places where their research interests match those of the institution. You'll have to look through the school website and faculty profiles to find this out. Program directors are looking for students that are a good "fit." It is helpful to reach out the program coordinator before you apply and tell them why you are interested and why you would like to interview there. This can go a long way in getting your application noticed in a stack of well qualified applicants.

You are right that your GPA might be a bit low, but its not too bad and the rest of your app looks good. Be sure to include as many lower tier schools as possible... schools like Harvard, Penn, Wash U are probably a bit out of reach unless your app is flawless. Despite MSTP's being "more competitive" I feel like they give out interviews more frequently since they are funded programs. I would stick with these. There are plenty of good MSTP's out there that aren't at the "premier" institutions.

Oh... an apply to as many as possible... as soon as AMCAS opens up.... and return your secondary applications as quickly as possible. This is far more important than many applicants realize.

Good luck!

 

[StIGMA]

You are competitive at top programs. Because your application is not perfect, apply to more programs than average (eg: 25 applications) if that is reasonable to you. Consider applying to ~15 programs in the "top 20" and 10 other programs. Your undergraduate school, letters of rec, race/sex, and especially interview will impact your final number of acceptances. Be sure to apply early (by mid-July) and get secondaries submitted promptly.

1000 hours of research over 4 years is not a lot of research (by comparison, I had ~2000 hours over 2 years by application time). Maybe you are under-calculating/misrepresenting these hours based on your publication output?

The goal is to obtain a reasonable number of interviews. There is no telling where you will get an interview, but at any program you probably have between a ~10-50% chance of landing an interview. You should do very well.

 

[PhysicianScientist]

You are competitive at top programs. Because your application is not perfect, apply to more programs than average (eg: 25 applications) if that is reasonable to you. Consider applying to ~15 programs in the "top 20" and 10 other programs. Your undergraduate school, letters of rec, race/sex, and especially interview will impact your final number of acceptances. Be sure to apply early (by mid-July) and get secondaries submitted promptly.

1000 hours of research over 4 years is not a lot of research (by comparison, I had ~2000 hours over 2 years by application time). Maybe you are under-calculating/misrepresenting these hours based on your publication output?

The goal is to obtain a reasonable number of interviews. There is no telling where you will get an interview, but at any program you probably have between a ~10-50% chance of landing an interview. You should do very well.

Thanks for the advice. Yes you are right, the 1000 hours was more of a minimum, as in 'at least 1000 hours.' I do not know the actual number of hours I have done but I would say it is closer to 2500 - 3000 hours as a rough estimate.

 

[PhysicianScientist]

As MedStud pointed out, should the type of research I did match with the schools strength in that department? I did mostly stuff with inorganic chemistry (nanoparticles) and would like to continue in the MD/PhD program? Does this mean I should focus on schools with strong inorganic chem departments and not so much on schools with weaker inorganic departments?

Also, would you guys suggest applying to the UCLA/Caltech MD/PhD program or USC/Caltech MSTP? I know Caltech is one of the top schools in chemistry and I can definitely see some PIs I would be interested in working with, however I've heard some people say that it is not as integrated as other programs. Anyone know if this is true?

Thanks for the advice everyone, I appreciate it a lot!

 

[PhysicianScientist]

Bump. Any suggestions on applying to the UCLA/Caltech or USC/Caltech programs? I'm very interested in doing a PhD in Caltech's chem department but I've heard that they are not good in combining the MD and PhD portions?

 

[daolso]

Bump. Any suggestions on applying to the UCLA/Caltech or USC/Caltech programs? I'm very interested in doing a PhD in Caltech's chem department but I've heard that they are not good in combining the MD and PhD portions?

My impression after interviewing at USC/Caltech (I can't speak for UCLA/Caltech) was as you have said: I loved the researchers I interviewed with, but didn't feel that strongly about the MD/PhD in general. It's a very small, newer, non-MSTP program that recently went through a leadership transition and didn't seem as well put-together as some others I saw. That all said, it's a fully funded program, and USC/UCLA/Caltech are all good schools. You should be applying to 20+ programs anyway, so if you really feel strongly about the research there I would say go ahead and add them, see if you get an interview and make the decision for yourself.