09 Crowd???

[dendro]

I applied to 22 programs. Good luck with applying!

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[Neuronix]

I just want to convey that it's possible to get into an MSTP-funded MD/PhD program with an MCAT in the lower 30s.

Of course it is. You had an excellent GPA and from the sounds of it excellent research experiences. You are also a US citizen. That was the point of all of my posts and if you read my Admissions FAQ you fall into the two excellents catagory (http://drslounge.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=539268). i.e. if your GPA or MCAT is a little low but your other credentials are excellent, you still stand a good chance. However, international applicants are held to a higher standard and generally need a stellar record in almost all catagories due to the high competition for very limited spots that are not funded by the MSTP grant.

I also never said that person would NOT get into a program. I said just to apply in their home country as well because it may or may not happen.

yeesh

 

[sunshine8i8]

Wow, I feel like there are conversations spinning off left and right!

And here I go, spinning off another one, just to clarify Lynkeus's post.

If memory serves, UCLA also has a partnership with CalTech whereby MD/PhD students can choose to do their PhD at either school;

Indeed UCLA does team up w/ CalTech for their PhDs. The MSTP secondaries requires you to list research interests/potential PIs for both UCLA and CalTech.

 

[reine1jb]

soo..

Is everyone who is applying this year having as much fun as I am filling out secondaries?

 

[GliaGirl]

Fun doesn't even BEGIN to describe it... :cry:

Luckily, I'm running out of secondaries that I can fill out before my application is verified by AMCAS. I'll hopefully get a little break before that happens...

Time to go start Johns Hopkins! Yee haw!

 

[reine1jb]

Fun doesn't even BEGIN to describe it... :cry:

Luckily, I'm running out of secondaries that I can fill out before my application is verified by AMCAS. I'll hopefully get a little break before that happens...

Time to go start Johns Hopkins! Yee haw!

haha yeah, just wait until your AMCAS gets verified, my inbox was flooded with secondaries

Secondaries aren't bad most of the time, but what makes secondaries really inconvenient is when the schools want your LOR writers to attach a form with their letter. Makes interfolio pretty much useless

 

[GliaGirl]

What schools did you have that problem with? I noticed it for SUNY Downstate, but that's the only one I've seen so far. Then again, I've only gotten about 5 secondaries.

I'm really not looking forward to the day that I get 20 emails at once telling me to write essays and fill out forms and go crazy. I have a goal of turning the apps around within 3 days of getting them, but I'm starting to see that won't be possible if they all send me emails the day I get verified. Maybe I'll get "sick" and stay home from work to crank them out.

All in all, I have to admit that I'm kind of having fun with this whole process. I can't wait for interviews. I love traveling and seeing new places, so it'll be an adventure (not looking forward to spending thousands on plane tickets, though). To be honest, I'm a little bit scared that I'm not going to get in anywhere (does anyone know if that ever happens to anyone???), but I'm pretty confident that if I get enough interviews my winning personality will make me irresistible.

 

[jdeng87]

i have found that dartmouth and mayo have their own little rating form they want. also, upitt has an online system for your recommenders to submit their perspectives.

im also super excited for interviews... and super scared i wont get any (thats why i applied to 20+ schools... great financial decision :-/ lol)

from my experience, schools send apps in batches. so i got a few schools all at once...and then a break... and now im getting slammed with my second round of apps (about 5 schools). also for schools that screen like UAB and vandy... they just come randomly i think.

 

[bunglebong]

Hello all! I will be accompanying you on this year's wonderful application journey.

I would like someone to put a number on my chances to get in. I want percentages, school by school!

Just kidding...I'm just glad to be here. BTW, don't read too much into the "bong" part of bunglebong. It's just a silly name.

 

[reine1jb]

What schools did you have that problem with? I noticed it for SUNY Downstate, but that's the only one I've seen so far. Then again, I've only gotten about 5 secondaries.

I'm really not looking forward to the day that I get 20 emails at once telling me to write essays and fill out forms and go crazy. I have a goal of turning the apps around within 3 days of getting them, but I'm starting to see that won't be possible if they all send me emails the day I get verified. Maybe I'll get "sick" and stay home from work to crank them out.

All in all, I have to admit that I'm kind of having fun with this whole process. I can't wait for interviews. I love traveling and seeing new places, so it'll be an adventure (not looking forward to spending thousands on plane tickets, though). To be honest, I'm a little bit scared that I'm not going to get in anywhere (does anyone know if that ever happens to anyone???), but I'm pretty confident that if I get enough interviews my winning personality will make me irresistible.

not a whole ton of them do, like jdeng87 stated, Dartmouth and Mayo do, but I think also Ohio State and USC require additional forms as well


On the note of Mayo, are they not going to prompt us to do anything? IE will they email or do we get our letters sent there and pay the fee and then if they like us we'll get the phone interview thing in lieu of a secondary?

 

[Coolios]

Yeah, guess I'm applying this cycle too. Wanted to stay closer to home, so applying mostly to schools in the northeast/mid-Atlantic coast. Hope I see you all out on the interview trail.

Heh, any other Greek (ethnic, not fraternity/sorority) MD/PhD applicants out there?​

 

[Crash Bandicoot]

What do you guys think about a math major applying for a nontraditional PhD (math, physics, something like that)? There are a few schools that will let you do it, but I have virtually no EC's apart from some shadowing/volunteering. I'm thinking if I get an interview I might get some slack for the lack of research once I explain myself. 3.6 BCPM, 36 MCAT, recs should be decent to good

 

[ToStrikeInfinit]

Hey friends,
I'm also applying to MD/PhD programs for 2009. Any other applicants have math degrees? I'm looking for research programs like Harvard and MIT's HST. Best of luck to everyone.

Hey, HST is also my top choice; unfortunately, I didn't realize I was very close to double majoring in math until it was too late to do anything about it. Hopefully the degree in biochem + a handful of math classes and extracurriculars will be enough.

Any HST insiders in the room? What sorts of things do they look for during the interview.

Also, unrelated question: how important is it to name-drop particular researchers in the secondary essays? I kind of forgot to do it for yale, although in the main secondary essay I talked about specific research programs they have that I find interesting. I've heard you can request specific researchers to interview with (assuming you get an interview); is this true?

 

[GliaGirl]

I was talking to an old friend from high school, and he's applying MD/PhD and he hasn't even taken his MCAT yet! It makes me feel better about my chances to think that a lot of people (I think I heard 1/3 of applicants from somewhere) don't even apply until the week of the deadline.

I still have to fill out one secondary (no rolling and the deadline is not for a couple months, so there is no real incentive to get it in early, is there? or am I totally off base with that assessment?) and send a few checks and forms to various places (for these I actually really need to get on the ball), but for the most part, the hell is over. I am not a huge fan of forms, I must say...

By the last few, it got so easy to write the essays! I was really cranking them out! But I did make the mistake of accidentally leaving the wrong school name in one of my essays that I recycled. I didn't notice until it was already submitted. The committee will probably get a good laugh about that before affixing a giant rejected stamp on my application. Maybe if I didn't notice it, they won't either... fat chance!

 

[GliaGirl]

This thread should probably be de-stickied, since no one uses it anymore. Unless people start using it. Also a good option.

 

[TheEgyDoc]

hey guys, im all new to this. and im probably sure this has been asked at least a couple of times. but indulge me! im an IMG with american citizenship in search of a paid research post. any hints on where i might start looking or applying. thanks