*** 2022-2023 MD/PhD cycle - Questions, Comments, and other things ***

[Current-big-pharma-shill]

Does anyone have advice on how/when (if ever) to show continued interest in programs? I want to make sure I will be considered for some of the later interview slots that might go out from programs I'm really interested in, but don't have any new publications to report at this point. Would it be beneficial to reach out to the labs I am interested in? I got advice to do this early on while I was working on apps, but the ones I did reach out to basically gave me some form of "would love to talk, hope I see you in the interview" so I didn't commit much more time to that since I was flooded with essays at that point. Would love to hear about others' experiences.

Definitely do not reach out to the labs you are interested in, they have zero influence on your admissions. Some thing that I did pre-interview at a few schools was send an early October update (to catch the November through January interviews) and letter of interest. The update letter was not significant, just some new volunteering a new leadership roles in my life. As a standalone letter, that would be pretty insignificant and maybe even annoying. But if you tack on a paragraph or two of minor updates to a a paragraph or two about continued interest, then it basically just serves the role of letting them know you still exist and they make you happy. The response pre-interview to this strategy ranged from no reply to niceties and all the way up to getting an interview three weeks later.

I don’t see anything wrong with pre-interview communication it’s been like 6 to 12 weeks since you submitted your secondary. There will not be a negative consequence unless they explicitly stated not to send update letters, and at some schools particularly non-MSTP and the schools in the Midwest, the strategy could be viewed positively because they want people who actually want to attend them.

As an example, At the school I currently attend, I submitted the secondary a couple of hours before the deadline and gave them a call the next day just to let them know that I am still interested even though it’s almost late and just to say hi and get an interview like three days later.

So far as post interview communication, sending thank you notes within a few days to a week is good. Sending an update letter and letter of interest right after your interview or just before your interview it’s fine, I had mixed results with both of those. Additionally, when playing the waitlist game I think sending the same type of small or large update and letter of interest every two or three months just to let them know you’re still thinking about them is a viable strategy at most schools. The schools who don’t want them will let you know.

TL;dr - sending communications pre-interview and post interview is not going to hurt you if you’re not annoying about it. It may help you, it most likely won’t. The best thing it does for you is your psyche, we have/we feel we have so little control over this process that you just need to do something to feel productive and communication is a low stakes way to do that.

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[Current-big-pharma-shill]

Has anyone here been asked to send an update before? What do you think this means??

Don’t overthink it.

 

[matrihound]

Definitely do not reach out to the labs you are interested in, they have zero influence on your admissions. Some thing that I did pre-interview at a few schools was send an early October update (to catch the November through January interviews) and letter of interest. The update letter was not significant, just some new volunteering a new leadership roles in my life. As a standalone letter, that would be pretty insignificant and maybe even annoying. But if you tack on a paragraph or two of minor updates to a a paragraph or two about continued interest, then it basically just serves the role of letting them know you still exist and they make you happy. The response pre-interview to this strategy ranged from no reply to niceties and all the way up to getting an interview three weeks later.

I don’t see anything wrong with pre-interview communication it’s been like 6 to 12 weeks since you submitted your secondary. There will not be a negative consequence unless they explicitly stated not to send update letters, and at some schools particularly non-MSTP and the schools in the Midwest, the strategy could be viewed positively because they want people who actually want to attend them.

As an example, At the school I currently attend, I submitted the secondary a couple of hours before the deadline and gave them a call the next day just to let them know that I am still interested even though it’s almost late and just to say hi and get an interview like three days later.

So far as post interview communication, sending thank you notes within a few days to a week is good. Sending an update letter and letter of interest right after your interview or just before your interview it’s fine, I had mixed results with both of those. Additionally, when playing the waitlist game I think sending the same type of small or large update and letter of interest every two or three months just to let them know you’re still thinking about them is a viable strategy at most schools. The schools who don’t want them will let you know.

TL;dr - sending communications pre-interview and post interview is not going to hurt you if you’re not annoying about it. It may help you, it most likely won’t. The best thing it does for you is your psyche, we have/we feel we have so little control over this process that you just need to do something to feel productive and communication is a low stakes way to do that.

Thank you!

 

[ioniansea]

@whoever screenshotted my question to reddit and called me an “SDN MFer” - that’s rude. Obviously I sent the school an update but I haven’t heard of an adcom specifically reaching out to ask for one. I guess my bad for asking a simple question to a forum…

 

[Current-big-pharma-shill]

@whoever screenshotted my question to reddit and called me an “SDN MF” - that’s rude. Obviously I sent the school an update but I haven’t heard of an adcom specifically reaching out to ask for one. I guess my bad for asking a simple question to a forum…

Most often schools that ask for an update are basically just trying to ensure that they have the most complete application to present to the committee. It also acts as a litmus test for interest. It is common enough, I know Emory is one in particular who asks almost everyone for this.

 

[poptrop]

Does ghosting typically mean a soft R? I haven't heard from many schools and I feel they've given out a majority of their interviews already.

 

[thr1932359]

Does ghosting typically mean a soft R? I haven't heard from many schools and I feel they've given out a majority of their interviews already.

Which schools are you especially suspicious about having passed you over? (if you're not comfortable saying this in the public thread, you can send a DM too)

 

[RunningMSN]

Does ghosting typically mean a soft R? I haven't heard from many schools and I feel they've given out a majority of their interviews already.

What makes you think that most of the interview invitations are already handed out?

Here's a graph from CycleTrack of interview data from last cycle. Note that the people who self-reported data skewed toward high achievers, and despite that, only ~50% of interviews were handed out by the start of October.

If you look at self-reported data on SDN from last cycle (which also heavily skews toward high achievers), ~60% of interviews were handed out by the start of October.

As you can see by both graphs above, there are still a good chunk of interviews to be sent out. While some schools may be almost done sending out the invitations to their particular program, that is not the case for all programs.

 

[Fencer]

What makes you think that most of the interview invitations are already handed out?

Here's a graph from CycleTrack of interview data from last cycle. Note that the people who self-reported data skewed toward high achievers, and despite that, only ~50% of interviews were handed out by the start of October.
View attachment 360398

If you look at self-reported data on SDN from last cycle (which also heavily skews toward high achievers), ~60% of interviews were handed out by the start of October.
View attachment 360399

As you can see by both graphs above, there are still a good chunk of interviews to be sent out. While some schools may be almost done sending out the invitations to their particular program, that is not the case for all programs.

I have seen the complete dataset from AMCAS MD/PhD cycles for all MD/PhD interviews and acceptances. As indicated the reported SDN dataset has a very slight bias but not by much. I was able to connect the MD/PhD trainee who generated the "reported" SDN dataset in contact with APSA, who is helping this current MD/PhD trainee to expand and maintain the idea. Some of the report lag is due to insecurity, as some SDN members only start contributing after receiving their first acceptance. It is ok... the community appreciates members who post late. It is a great service to the applicant community as this is a very stressful time for many of you. Now, back to my corner.... 🙄

 

[poptrop]

Which schools are you especially suspicious about having passed you over? (if you're not comfortable saying this in the public thread, you can send a DM too)

I'm more so concerned generally, there are over 20 schools that I've heard nothing from. I know no news is generally considered "good" news but I also get the impression that many schools wait to hand out rejections and I'm just struggling with not knowing if I'm still being considered or if I've been passed over. I've gotten rejected from a couple of really amazing programs so maybe this is just the anxiety talking.

I feel a lot of schools have started their first interview dates and will in the next couple of weeks, which I'm also assuming means they've handed out all of those interview spots and likely have people lined up for later interview dates who couldn't make the first ones. Of course I'm not suggesting this is the case for most schools, but I just have the feeling that many have given out over 50% of their available interview slots at this point and potentially are even higher at this point, and towards the end they might hold on to those available spots more tightly.

 

[thr1932359]

I'm more so concerned generally, there are over 20 schools that I've heard nothing from. I know no news is generally considered "good" news but I also get the impression that many schools wait to hand out rejections and I'm just struggling with not knowing if I'm still being considered or if I've been passed over. I've gotten rejected from a couple of really amazing programs so maybe this is just the anxiety talking.

I feel a lot of schools have started their first interview dates and will in the next couple of weeks, which I'm also assuming means they've handed out all of those interview spots and likely have people lined up for later interview dates who couldn't make the first ones. Of course I'm not suggesting this is the case for most schools, but I just have the feeling that many have given out over 50% of their available interview slots at this point and potentially are even higher at this point, and towards the end they might hold on to those available spots more tightly.

Honestly, I think it is just way too early to tell if the problem is your application, especially if you returned your secondaries later in the cycle and have a lot of schools on your list that are also known to interview later (e.g. Maryland, UNC). I was in the same position as you (scroll up) a few weeks ago with a late-July/early-August submission, but my situation did a literal 180 in just the past week.

If you applied later than I did, then it's very possible you might not even have had your application read, or you HAVE had it read and the programs are debating which latter-half interview slot to throw you into (which is what I suspect happened to me). Keep your eyes peeled for the rest of this month and I feel like you should be getting attention. Before then, focus on preparing for the interviews you do have. If you still don't have a single interview by the time November starts, I would start considering your options, but until then I feel like you should send in whatever updates you have and sit tight.

 

[medscie158]

Has anyone had any in-person "casual" dinners with current students? Unsure of what to wear to this "casual" dinner 🤔

 

[poptrop]

Has anyone had any in-person "casual" dinners with current students? Unsure of what to wear to this "casual" dinner 🤔

The students will be wearing casual clothes. I know some people prefer to overdress but in my opinion if they say casual then its casual, you don't need to overthink it.

 

[poptrop]

What is the consensus on rescheduling an interview twice? Any advice on how to approach the situation?

 

[deleted1147484]

.

 

[ManifestingTheA123]

Has anyone gotten any pre secondary Rs from the UCs?

 

[mdphd?]

Has anyone gotten any pre secondary Rs from the UCs?

Nope. My MCAT is not "new" enough for UCSF since they changed up their COVID-era rules, so I expect it any day now. AMCAS was processed in early July.

 

[Peritus_Medicus]

Does it feel that the cycle is slower this year? Looking at the threads last year, it feels more invites were given out by this time?

Nope - You guys are pretty much where we were last year. It's the worst feeling ever, but keep hanging in there. Do keep an eye out for updates on the cycle in Fencer's tab - he provides reliable (i.e., non-biased) data

 

[deleted1147484]

Nope - You guys are pretty much where we were last year. It's the worst feeling ever, but keep hanging in there. Do keep an eye out for updates on the cycle in Fencer's tab - he provides reliable (i.e., non-biased) data

.

 

[deleted1147484]

Haha, the waiting is terrible. Sorry, what is the Fencer’s tab?

.

 

[owouwu]

Any thoughts on how bad it is that most of my top choice schools haven't sent IIs to me yet? Am trying not to lose hope but at this point giving up on those schools seems prudent. It does not help that one of the few schools that did send an II were like "aight - last minute interview invite goes to you - and we are booked until our last interview date!" already.

I regret sending in my top choice school apps in like August D:

 

[owouwu]

What is the consensus on rescheduling an interview twice? Any advice on how to approach the situation?

I did this for two of my schools (lol) and I think it generally depends. Administrative folks are generally there to help! If there is a good reason (e.g. trying to work out more than 1 interview invite at once...) to do this, I doubt that anyone would look at you and be like "hmph, this person doesn't care about us."

 

[thegourd]

I regret sending in my top choice school apps in like August D:

Interesting, is this actually the case? I was always under the impression that while submitting in July is considered early, submitting in August is neither early nor late (i.e., you don't get the supposed "early submission benefits," but it's not late enough to result in any potential harm/negative).

 

[owouwu]

Interesting, is this actually the case? I was always under the impression that while submitting in July is considered early, submitting in August is neither early nor late (i.e., you don't get the supposed "early submission benefits," but it's not late enough to result in any potential harm/negative).

you're right- maybe I was simply benefitting from early submission from all other schools. My last tinge of hope is that maybe some schools (Harvard, Yale, JHU) just send interview invites in a slow trickle over time. My stats are certainly up to par, but not getting a single invite from my favorite MD PHD programs is such a bummer D:

@thegourd I know you're doing stellarly right now (which I saw from the other MD PhD thread) - so many congurts to you!!

 

[dapark62]

Does anyone understand the process behind: "Your application will be reviewed by both the MD and MSTP admissions committees?"

Like is it reviewed by both & needs two yes's independantly? Or does one go first & pass it on to the other? Or is it mostly MSTP review & MD just needs to say "yeah they're fine".

I ask this in terms of pre-interview review as well as post-interview review (since it seems like all programs have been having an MD interview day as well as an MSTP day).

 

[owouwu]

Does anyone understand the process behind: "Your application will be reviewed by both the MD and MSTP admissions committees?"

Like is it reviewed by both & needs two yes's independantly? Or does one go first & pass it on to the other? Or is it mostly MSTP review & MD just needs to say "yeah they're fine".

I ask this in terms of pre-interview review as well as post-interview review (since it seems like all programs have been having an MD interview day as well as an MSTP day).

Depends on school! Which one were you curious about?

 

[panexm22]

I have my sole MD-only interview next week at my state school (doesn't have an MD/PhD program and gets <100 in-state applications per year). I'm pretty sure my resume/letters scream "MSTP applicant" – any advice for if they ask me directly if I'm applying MD/PhD elsewhere, or if I've considered the dual degree? I feel like honesty is generally the best policy but I don't want them to think they're my fallback even though they are.

 

[mdphdhopefully]

I have my sole MD-only interview next week at my state school (doesn't have an MD/PhD program and gets <100 in-state applications per year). I'm pretty sure my resume/letters scream "MSTP applicant" – any advice for if they ask me directly if I'm applying MD/PhD elsewhere, or if I've considered the dual degree? I feel like honesty is generally the best policy but I don't want them to think they're my fallback even though they are.

I was (am) in the exact same situation but the MD-only interview was a closed application MMI so it worked itself out LOL. Curious to hear what others say

 

[pcm810]

I have my sole MD-only interview next week at my state school (doesn't have an MD/PhD program and gets <100 in-state applications per year). I'm pretty sure my resume/letters scream "MSTP applicant" – any advice for if they ask me directly if I'm applying MD/PhD elsewhere, or if I've considered the dual degree? I feel like honesty is generally the best policy but I don't want them to think they're my fallback even though they are.

I am in the same boat where if I don't get into any MSTPs there are some MD programs I've applied to. I would go to these MD programs because they still have very strong research in the curriculum. Unclear if admin liked this answer yet, but I was honest that I applied to MD PhDs because I want to be a physician scientist, but made sure to just emphasize that I thought I could get an excellent research education and follow my career goals at their institution.

 

[poptrop]

you're right- maybe I was simply benefitting from early submission from all other schools. My last tinge of hope is that maybe some schools (Harvard, Yale, JHU) just send interview invites in a slow trickle over time. My stats are certainly up to par, but not getting a single invite from my favorite MD PHD programs is such a bummer D:

@thegourd I know you're doing stellarly right now (which I saw from the other MD PhD thread) - so many congurts to you!!

I'm currently in the same position. Hoping we can get some more ins during the second pass reviews. I thought my stats were good but probably not up to SDN's standards so maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[thegourd]

you're right- maybe I was simply benefitting from early submission from all other schools. My last tinge of hope is that maybe some schools (Harvard, Yale, JHU) just send interview invites in a slow trickle over time. My stats are certainly up to par, but not getting a single invite from my favorite MD PHD programs is such a bummer D:

@thegourd I know you're doing stellarly right now (which I saw from the other MD PhD thread) - so many congurts to you!!

Ahh thanks! And I see what you mean. The waiting is definitely stressful/annoying, but don't be losing hope yet (especially not at this point). Schools love taking their sweet sweet time, and from what I've gathered there's quite a bit of variance in the time-between-completion-and-interview/reject measure. If anything, I think it's good you took your time on your top choices: better to submit a really though-out and well-put-together secondary than rush it (this was definitely the case for me – the popular "get your secondary in within 2 weeks" piece of advice was just not feasible for me, so nearly all of my schools were submitted at the ~4week mark).

 

[owouwu]

Ahh thanks! And I see what you mean. The waiting is definitely stressful/annoying, but don't be losing hope yet (especially not at this point). Schools love taking their sweet sweet time, and from what I've gathered there's quite a bit of variance in the time-between-completion-and-interview/reject measure. If anything, I think it's good you took your time on your top choices: better to submit a really though-out and well-put-together secondary than rush it (this was definitely the case for me – the popular "get your secondary in within 2 weeks" piece of advice was just not feasible for me, so nearly all of my schools were submitted at the ~4week mark).

You are the sweetest. Thank you for your affirmations/soothing words.

Is it just me or is the MD-PhD community extremely kind/helpful, especially relative to the MD-only community? That has certainly been my experience so far and I love you, pumpkin sir

 

[matrihound]

Anyone else get unreasonably nervous when interviewing with PDs in comparison to the rest of the interviews? Even with questions I know I can answer well, I always end up floundering a bit. Anyways, not a real question just trying to feel better about myself lol hope everyone is having a nice weekend.

 

[thr1932359]

Ahh thanks! And I see what you mean. The waiting is definitely stressful/annoying, but don't be losing hope yet (especially not at this point). Schools love taking their sweet sweet time, and from what I've gathered there's quite a bit of variance in the time-between-completion-and-interview/reject measure. If anything, I think it's good you took your time on your top choices: better to submit a really though-out and well-put-together secondary than rush it (this was definitely the case for me – the popular "get your secondary in within 2 weeks" piece of advice was just not feasible for me, so nearly all of my schools were submitted at the ~4week mark).

I want to second this, I submitted most of my secondaries 3-4 weeks after I got them because I was very unsatisfied with the quality of writing I was able to produce in a shorter turnaround time. Most notably, I got my UChicago and WashU interviews from >4-weeks-out secondary submissions and got marked complete in August, so I don't think August is a "late" month for submissions (out of all of the possible interview dates, I also think I ended up at the ones in the middle at every school I submitted secondaries to in late July or early August).

That being said, I'm nowhere near as successful as @thegourd is up to this point, so feel free to disregard my advice if you think I'm talking nonsense.

 

[thr1932359]

Anyone else get unreasonably nervous when interviewing with PDs in comparison to the rest of the interviews? Even with questions I know I can answer well, I always end up floundering a bit. Anyways, not a real question just trying to feel better about myself lol hope everyone is having a nice weekend.

I'd hazard a guess that more people than not feel the same way as you. As long as you presented yourself as affable, I think you've done what you could

 

[saganist]

I've had a couple and no one actually eats on camera 🙁

Just replying to this because the applicants actually ate on camera during lunch at Hofstra's interview day! And Mt. Sinai is offering applicants a $25 uber eats credit for the dinner w/their current students! There's hope!

 

[poptrop]

I wanted to bring this up again, but I was wondering if I should submit a letter of continued interest to my top choice program (have not been invited for an interview). I love this program whole-heartedly and would love a chance to interview, but I also don't want to annoy the committee. I don't have many significant updates because some progress from things I was already involved in and wrote about in my application that I would be doing. Would really appreciate any thoughts on the matter.

 

[thr1932359]

I wanted to bring this up again, but I was wondering if I should submit a letter of continued interest to my top choice program (have not been invited for an interview). I love this program whole-heartedly and would love a chance to interview, but I also don't want to annoy the committee. I don't have many significant updates because some progress from things I was already involved in and wrote about in my application that I would be doing. Would really appreciate any thoughts on the matter.

I think it's worth a shot if you haven't updated them at any point in the past. I sent an update to every school I applied to (that accepted updates) after I had a conference abstract accepted a couple weeks ago.

 

[forscythia]

Does anyone have a list of programs that still consider you for MD after MD/PhD rejection? I've had 2 schools so far that 100% flat-out reject you across the board with an MD/PhD R and 2 that consider for both. Getting antsy with only 1 MD/PhD interview this cycle but 5 MD only interviews.

 

[lemon.slice]

Does anyone have a list of programs that still consider you for MD after MD/PhD rejection? I've had 2 schools so far that 100% flat-out reject you across the board with an MD/PhD R and 2 that consider for both. Getting antsy with only 1 MD/PhD interview this cycle but 5 MD only interviews.

Here is the info that I have based on my own research. Does not include all schools.

Columbia Yes (When you come to interview, both medical school and MD-PhD program interviews are scheduled. The two programs make their decisions independently so that if you are not accepted into the MD-PhD program, you are still eligible for medical school admission.) Applicants not invited for MDPhD interviews are sent to the Medical School for MD-only consideration.
Colorado/CU Anschutz - Yes. Please email them [email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions

medschool.cuanschutz.edu

Einstein Yes, depending on your request on the secondary application, to either the medical school or graduate school for further consideration.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine | Education

www.einsteinmed.edu

Emory Yes, you may REQUEST to have your application assigned to the MD-only pool.
Icahn/Sinai Yes, automatically.
Jacobs/UBuffalo - Yes. You are eligible for interview by the Medical Admissions Committee if you are not invited to interview for the MD-PhD Program. Candidate rejected by the MD-PhD are still eligible for admission to the medical school.
NYU No.
Penn State No.
San Antonio (Long) No unless you submit TMDSAS.
Stony Brook Yes. You may apply solely to the MST program, or you may apply to the MST program and indicate that you would like to be considered for MD-only admissions should you not be accepted to the MST program. You would have to indicate that selection at the time you apply and the MD interview/application process is separate from ours.
Temple/Katz No.
UChicago - Pritzker Yes. Your application is initially reviewed jointly by the medical school and the MSTP. If both parties are interested, an interview invitation will be issued. The application can also be rejected outright or put on hold for further review later on. The applicant then comes for a joint interview with both Pritzker and the MSTP. If the MSTP interviews the candidate but does not accept him/her, the applicant can make a written request before the December 1st application deadline to have the application transferred to MD-only consideration, at which time the application will go through the MD-only committee process.
UConn Yes - must REQUEST via email. The School of Medicine admissions committee does not automatically consider M.D./Ph.D. applicants who are not invited for an interview or not accepted into the M.D./Ph.D. program for admission to the M.D. only program. M.D./Ph.D. applicants who wish to be considered for the M.D. program at any point during the admissions process must email their request to the School of Medicine Dean of Admissions at [email protected] and notify the M.D./Ph.D. program at [email protected]. Should applicants decide they wish to be considered for the M.D. program rather than the M.D./Ph.D. program, it is recommended that they do this as early as possible during the admissions cycle.
UIC Yes. If an interview offer is not extended to an applicant the application will be sent to UIC College of Medicine MD only for further review and consideration.
UMass Chan Yes.
UPitt MUST REQUEST BEFORE OCT 15 to change your application type in AMCAS.
UTSW No unless you submit TMDSAS.
Vanderbilt MUST REQUEST BEFORE NOV 1. Once an applicant is interviewed by the MSTP, he or she can no longer be considered for the MD only program.
VCU Yes. CONTACT AMCAS to change your application status and notify the Office of Admissions of the change.

FAQs

FAQs

medschool.vanderbilt.edu

Yale Yes, automatically.

 

[Current-big-pharma-shill]

Here is the info that I have based on my own research. Does not include all schools.

Columbia Yes (When you come to interview, both medical school and MD-PhD program interviews are scheduled. The two programs make their decisions independently so that if you are not accepted into the MD-PhD program, you are still eligible for medical school admission.) Applicants not invited for MDPhD interviews are sent to the Medical School for MD-only consideration.
Colorado/CU Anschutz - Yes. Please email them [email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions

medschool.cuanschutz.edu

Einstein Yes, depending on your request on the secondary application, to either the medical school or graduate school for further consideration.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine | Education

www.einsteinmed.edu

Emory Yes, you may REQUEST to have your application assigned to the MD-only pool.
Icahn/Sinai Yes, automatically.
Jacobs/UBuffalo - Yes. You are eligible for interview by the Medical Admissions Committee if you are not invited to interview for the MD-PhD Program. Candidate rejected by the MD-PhD are still eligible for admission to the medical school.
NYU No.
Penn State No.
San Antonio (Long) No unless you submit TMDSAS.
Stony Brook Yes. You may apply solely to the MST program, or you may apply to the MST program and indicate that you would like to be considered for MD-only admissions should you not be accepted to the MST program. You would have to indicate that selection at the time you apply and the MD interview/application process is separate from ours.
Temple/Katz No.
UChicago - Pritzker Yes. Your application is initially reviewed jointly by the medical school and the MSTP. If both parties are interested, an interview invitation will be issued. The application can also be rejected outright or put on hold for further review later on. The applicant then comes for a joint interview with both Pritzker and the MSTP. If the MSTP interviews the candidate but does not accept him/her, the applicant can make a written request before the December 1st application deadline to have the application transferred to MD-only consideration, at which time the application will go through the MD-only committee process.
UConn Yes - must REQUEST via email. The School of Medicine admissions committee does not automatically consider M.D./Ph.D. applicants who are not invited for an interview or not accepted into the M.D./Ph.D. program for admission to the M.D. only program. M.D./Ph.D. applicants who wish to be considered for the M.D. program at any point during the admissions process must email their request to the School of Medicine Dean of Admissions at [email protected] and notify the M.D./Ph.D. program at [email protected]. Should applicants decide they wish to be considered for the M.D. program rather than the M.D./Ph.D. program, it is recommended that they do this as early as possible during the admissions cycle.
UIC Yes. If an interview offer is not extended to an applicant the application will be sent to UIC College of Medicine MD only for further review and consideration.
UMass Chan Yes.
UPitt MUST REQUEST BEFORE OCT 15 to change your application type in AMCAS.
UTSW No unless you submit TMDSAS.
Vanderbilt MUST REQUEST BEFORE NOV 1. Once an applicant is interviewed by the MSTP, he or she can no longer be considered for the MD only program.
VCU Yes. CONTACT AMCAS to change your application status and notify the Office of Admissions of the change.

FAQs

FAQs

medschool.vanderbilt.edu

Yale Yes, automatically.

To add to this, Cornell, WashU, Harvard, Yale, and UCLA will all consider you automatically.

Edit: Cornell wants you to change your AMCAS status from “MD/PhD” to MD only

 

[thr1932359]

To add to this, Cornell, WashU, Harvard, Yale, and UCLA will all consider you automatically.

Cornell wants you to change something on your AMCAS (from Combined Degree to MD) I think. (Is that how automatic diversion of consideration works at every school?)

 

[thr1932359]

Here is the info that I have based on my own research. Does not include all schools.

Columbia Yes (When you come to interview, both medical school and MD-PhD program interviews are scheduled. The two programs make their decisions independently so that if you are not accepted into the MD-PhD program, you are still eligible for medical school admission.) Applicants not invited for MDPhD interviews are sent to the Medical School for MD-only consideration.
Colorado/CU Anschutz - Yes. Please email them [email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions

medschool.cuanschutz.edu

Einstein Yes, depending on your request on the secondary application, to either the medical school or graduate school for further consideration.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine | Education

www.einsteinmed.edu

Emory Yes, you may REQUEST to have your application assigned to the MD-only pool.
Icahn/Sinai Yes, automatically.
Jacobs/UBuffalo - Yes. You are eligible for interview by the Medical Admissions Committee if you are not invited to interview for the MD-PhD Program. Candidate rejected by the MD-PhD are still eligible for admission to the medical school.
NYU No.
Penn State No.
San Antonio (Long) No unless you submit TMDSAS.
Stony Brook Yes. You may apply solely to the MST program, or you may apply to the MST program and indicate that you would like to be considered for MD-only admissions should you not be accepted to the MST program. You would have to indicate that selection at the time you apply and the MD interview/application process is separate from ours.
Temple/Katz No.
UChicago - Pritzker Yes. Your application is initially reviewed jointly by the medical school and the MSTP. If both parties are interested, an interview invitation will be issued. The application can also be rejected outright or put on hold for further review later on. The applicant then comes for a joint interview with both Pritzker and the MSTP. If the MSTP interviews the candidate but does not accept him/her, the applicant can make a written request before the December 1st application deadline to have the application transferred to MD-only consideration, at which time the application will go through the MD-only committee process.
UConn Yes - must REQUEST via email. The School of Medicine admissions committee does not automatically consider M.D./Ph.D. applicants who are not invited for an interview or not accepted into the M.D./Ph.D. program for admission to the M.D. only program. M.D./Ph.D. applicants who wish to be considered for the M.D. program at any point during the admissions process must email their request to the School of Medicine Dean of Admissions at [email protected] and notify the M.D./Ph.D. program at [email protected]. Should applicants decide they wish to be considered for the M.D. program rather than the M.D./Ph.D. program, it is recommended that they do this as early as possible during the admissions cycle.
UIC Yes. If an interview offer is not extended to an applicant the application will be sent to UIC College of Medicine MD only for further review and consideration.
UMass Chan Yes.
UPitt MUST REQUEST BEFORE OCT 15 to change your application type in AMCAS.
UTSW No unless you submit TMDSAS.
Vanderbilt MUST REQUEST BEFORE NOV 1. Once an applicant is interviewed by the MSTP, he or she can no longer be considered for the MD only program.
VCU Yes. CONTACT AMCAS to change your application status and notify the Office of Admissions of the change.

FAQs

FAQs

medschool.vanderbilt.edu

Yale Yes, automatically.

Regarding UChicago:

UChicago - Pritzker Yes. Your application is initially reviewed jointly by the medical school and the MSTP. If both parties are interested, an interview invitation will be issued. The application can also be rejected outright or put on hold for further review later on. The applicant then comes for a joint interview with both Pritzker and the MSTP. If the MSTP interviews the candidate but does not accept him/her, the applicant can make a written request before the December 1st application deadline to have the application transferred to MD-only consideration, at which time the application will go through the MD-only committee process.

Does this imply that UChicago's MSTP admissions decisions will be made before December 1st? Or does the MD-only consideration only apply to those who interviewed early enough to get a (unhappy) decision by December 1st?

EDIT: never mind, I just searched up the interview dates and they run until January.

 

[drdonato]

Cornell wants you to change something on your AMCAS (from Combined Degree to MD) I think. (Is that how automatic diversion of consideration works at every school?)

Regarding Cornell, this is what they instructed me to do after receiving the R but I haven’t been able to switch it on AMCAS. It says I can’t change the degree program because the deadline has passed. Anyone else have any luck with this?

 

[thr1932359]

Regarding Cornell, this is what they instructed me to do after receiving the R but I haven’t been able to switch it on AMCAS. It says I can’t change the degree program because the deadline has passed. Anyone else have any luck with this?

This is a good question, and unfortunately I don't have an answer to this because Tri-I told me to get lost nearly three months ago HAHA. I'd probably shoot admissions an e-mail stating this exact issue "I'd like to switch to MD-only consideration but am not allowed to on AMCAS". That being said, I think the deadline was October 17 for the MD-only program, and I'm not sure whether one can get an exception if they submitted their MD-PhD program earlier: Admission Timeline for 2023 Application Year | Medical College

 

[doubledocdoggo]

I was recently accepted into one of my top choices. However, I have an interview scheduled for tomorrow at a school that I would probably not consider over my current acceptance. Is it too late to withdraw from the interview? I don't think they could fill the spot on such short notice, and I also don't want to waste anybody's time. How do program directors feel about these last-minute cancellations? I know that their teams worked so hard to put together my schedule, and I am afraid it is unprofessional to cancel so late.

 

[owouwu]

I was recently accepted into one of my top choices. However, I have an interview scheduled for tomorrow at a school that I would probably not consider over my current acceptance. Is it too late to withdraw from the interview? I don't think they could fill the spot on such short notice, and I also don't want to waste anybody's time. How do program directors feel about these last-minute cancellations? I know that their teams worked so hard to put together my schedule, and I am afraid it is unprofessional to cancel so late.

Good question!! I am debating this myself... I recently (yesterday) was accepted to a program (my first A!!) and was debating whether to cancel all my interviews at schools I wouldn't consider more than the one I was accepted to.
I have two thoughts:

- first, that I don't actually know what the program would be like without speaking to directors/faculty at that school, and that the interview experience could be one that is deeply informative, or

- second, that I am taking up a spot that could be given to someone else who truly needs/wants that opportunity, and it would be better for me to cancel the interview to allow a new opportunity for someone else.

I certainly don't want to say "nah, this program is worse" from preconceived biases about what the school is like, but I also want to make sure to give spots to others who would really need it. Thoughts?

 

[mdphdhopefully]

Good question!! I am debating this myself... I recently (yesterday) was accepted to a program (my first A!!) and was debating whether to cancel all my interviews at schools I wouldn't consider more than the one I was accepted to.
I have two thoughts:

- first, that I don't actually know what the program would be like without speaking to directors/faculty at that school, and that the interview experience could be one that is deeply informative, or

- second, that I am taking up a spot that could be given to someone else who truly needs/wants that opportunity, and it would be better for me to cancel the interview to allow a new opportunity for someone else.

I certainly don't want to say "nah, this program is worse" from preconceived biases about what the school is like, but I also want to make sure to give spots to others who would really need it. Thoughts?

My $0.02/what i'm doing in a similar circumstance: we've paid the schools a lot of money to evaluate us as applicants. If there's ANY chance that I would attend that school, I'm going to accept and attend the interview.

For example, I got an interview invite to a lower ranked, smaller MSTP with a somewhat worse research match than the school I have an A at--I'm gonna accept and attend the interview. There's a chance that the interview makes me love the program or the current students, they share some info that i really vibe with, etc. and would ultimately prefer it to my current A.

On the other hand, I recently received an ii to a non-MSTP MD/PhD I applied to with a very poor research match and a very high COA. I rejected this interview because there's not a single thing they could say which could make me attend their program over my current A.

 

[poptrop]

How common are November interview invites?

 

[Glutenlover1948]

Depends on the school tbh. Many are done with IIs (some like Tri-I have been done for over a month, some like Emory and UWisc recently sent their last major wave), while others are just getting started. MCW MSTP just sent their first IIs of the season on Monday. They will certainly be sending more to come. The late-interviewing schools (the ones with interviews after New Years) will be the main ones sending invites in Nov.

If you are curious in overall probability, it would be helpful to refer to @RunningMSN 's graph below.

Here's some data from CycleTrack on this. Looks like MD-PhD tends to come ~1/2 a month behind MD.

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