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BU Medical Sciences
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cman9811 said:
Planning to apply to MD/PhD programs - a bit worried since my MCAT is high and I may be yield protected from lower-tier schools but my GPA is 10th-20th percentile for the top schools. Have not really heard of people with lower GPAs getting into the top MD/PhD programs (but maybe I haven't spent enough time looking). Would love to speak with anyone who was in a similar situation and wants to reflect upon their application cycle. Thanks in advance!
  • Year in school: Senior (taking 1 gap year) at a top 10 undergrad, ORM
  • Country/state of residence: PA
  • Schools to which you are applying: ??? hoping I can get some advice here. Definitely applying to all of my in-state schools.
  • Cumulative GPA: 3.75 (predicting 3.75-3.78 by the end of senior year)
  • Science GPA: 3.73
  • MCAT: 525
  • Research – include any abstracts/posters/publications and how you were credited (eg. First author, senior author, etc): First-author abstract, poster, and oral presentation at a national conference (2019). Multiple first-author abstracts and poster presentations at national conferences throughout the years (2016-2019). Middle author in a protocol paper (currently in review) for some clinical research I did over the summer of 2019.
  • Volunteering (clinical) – include hours/sites: VA hospital - 341 hours between high school and college
  • Physician shadowing – include hours/specialties: 124 hours (various specialties and gen peds)
  • Non-clinical volunteering: ~150 hrs with an IDD organization (helped co-found my campus' chapter)
  • Extracurricular activities: Lab research in a derm lab, VP of healthcare club on campus (started initiatives and brought in funding for the club), Head TA for a non-science class
  • Employment history: research and my TA positions for 2 non-science classes
  • Please include time span and weekly commitment for volunteering/research/shadowing/extracurriculars.: Research experience has been consistent since 2014 (~6 yrs of experience, 10-20 hrs/wk) and is where I spend the bulk of my extracurricular time
  • Immediate family members in medicine? (y/n): no
  • Specialty of interest: Unsure
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Somehow your post doesn't really tell me why you are applying MD/PhD. Why this track?

Your research publications are great, but tells me nothing more. Is the national conference one for all undergraduate researchers or discipline-specific? Did you get any awards or supplements to do your research? Are you doing research during your bridge year?

Don't double dip on your lab research as EC activities in your activities accounting unless it was different.

Break down your volunteering hours between high school vs. college and where.
 
On point #4, while you may have continuously volunteered at the VA since high school, it's better that you report just your hours as a college student (post-HS graduation if you want) and note in your description that you had also volunteered since high school. Reasson: HS volunteers generally are limited to what they can do in a clinical setting versus when they turn 18, so that distinction of what responsibilities you had as a college student volunteer is important.
 
Thank you for your help! Do you have any suggestions as to what programs (besides in-state PA MD/PhD programs) I should consider applying to? Am I competitive for top MSTP programs, or will my GPA (or something else) hold me back?
 
cman9811 said:
Thank you for your help! Do you have any suggestions as to what programs (besides in-state PA MD/PhD programs) I should consider applying to? Am I competitive for top MSTP programs, or will my GPA (or something else) hold me back?
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Because all MSTP programs provide tuition waivers, you apply to all the MSTP programs that best fit your needs when it comes to research resources, student services including those for research, and clinical experience. Act as if they all talk with each other, because the program directors know each other very well.
 
Just to clarify (as I may have interpreted your recent message incorrectly), given my stats/ECs, I am competitive enough to apply to any MSTP program, as long as it fits with my research interests and hopeful clinical experience (among other things)?

Thank you again for your help!
 
Those applying to MSTP programs know that if they are desirable, the fact that the MSTP comes with tuition covered by federal research training grants means that in-state vs. out-of-state arguments go to the wayside. (It's like applying with an HPSP scholarship in hand.) I also know that MSTP directors and students meet every year to discuss their research, so highly desirable MSTP applicants ultimately will be known by all the programs throughout the country. Choose MSTP programs based on departments that support students, student resources to help with balancing preclinical, clinical, and research priorities and career progress. There aren't that many MSTP students in each school or overall. Very strong MSTP's will interview at more than one MSTP program, and they will likely receive multiple offers. But whatever school is chosen, the other program directors will see you again so remain as professional as possible.

Interpret my perspective about MSTP applications as you will. Talk to the students in the MD/PhD forum for much more insight or advice:
forums.studentdoctor.net

Physician Scientists

For students interested & current students in Physician Scientist Training Programs or biomedical research programs.
forums.studentdoctor.net forums.studentdoctor.net
 
Ah, I see. That makes sense. Really great and insightful points! Thank you for clarifying things and for pointing me to physician-scientist sub-forum!
 
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