24 y/o Non-Trad → Considering MD/PhD, Need School List Advice

[wannabedocmath]

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Hi all,
I’m a 24-year-old non-trad getting a second degree in chemistry at a state school. My first degree was in math from a T10 university. I plan to apply next cycle (matriculating 2027) and would appreciate guidance on what range of MD/PhD programs I should be targeting, plus any general advice.
Stats:

• MCAT: 521
• GPA: 3.76 overall, 4.0 post-bac (first degree was at a notoriously rigorous school)

Research:

• ~500 hours currently in a biochemistry/drug discovery lab.
• 1 first-author manuscript in review (ACS Omega).
• Sole researcher on development of a new biochemical assay, expected to yield at least 1–2 more first-author pubs before application.
• Project-based lab courses: produced one group manuscript on nanoparticle synthesis/characterization; currently leading a computational + synthesis project screening ~530 compounds.
• By application: ~1,500 hours research, likely ≥2 first-author publications.
• Poster presentation at school symposium x 2

Clinical Experience:

• Shadowing: 80 hrs.
• Clinical volunteering: 30 hrs (free clinic front desk); starting hospice volunteering this semester.

Non-Clinical Volunteering:

• ~50 hrs tutoring underprivileged kids (continuing to add more weekly).

Teaching / Work Experience:

• Extensive tutoring/TA experience in math, chemistry, and physics.
• Run independent tutoring business (including students from high-net-worth families).
• Work experience: server/host at family restaurant (only do this occasionally now)

Interests:

• Strongly drawn to metabolism/biochemistry and drug discovery (enzymes, small molecules).
• Considering physician-scientist training to bridge basic discovery with translational impact.

Given this profile, what MD/PhD programs should I be considering? I’d appreciate suggestions for a balanced school list (reach, target, safety) and any thoughts on potential gaps in my application. Thanks in advance.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Did you sign up...

Thread 'Applying to MD/DO-PhD Programs? Join our APSA Q&A for interview prep tips! 9/18 7PM EST'

Sep 8, 2025

• APSAVirtualContent
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Pre-Medical (MD)

• 

Connect with APSA and their webinars. We also have the Research Scientists forum where most of our MD/PhD experts hang out.

 

[PickaGodnPray]

Your research is great, honestly better than most PhD students I see. Your volunteer hours are low in both clinical and nonclinical settings. This will be your biggest hurdle at T10s, which I would think you could be competitive for if you address the weakness. Do something other than tutoring (literally everyone does this, it won't make your application standout), and add a ton of volunteer clinical hours. Most people at these top programs are applying with thousands of hours.
Also just a side note but no reason to list your school's poster presentations. Save the space for more important/impactful activities.

 

[AsclepiusAdvisingLLC]

Our recommendation is usually that PhDs should wait until the end of the MD program - moving the PhD to part of the Residency experience - rather than a MD-PhD program. This is due to a number of reasons like PIs extending your time in school, uncertainties with federal funding, burnout, etc.

To this, consider whether you need a PhD for what you want to do. No need for a PhD to do academic work, research, get grants, etc. We have several MD-PhD advisors who would strongly encourage you to really think on this. What do you plan to do with that PhD?

All said, as PickaGod noted, your research is very good but you need significantly more hours in clinical and nonclinical settings. Are your shadowing hours in different specialties or ?

Tutoring can be a strong activity, if framed right, but is very common, hard to prove impact, and easily inflated.

 

[LizzyM]

I'd flip this and ask if you really need the medical degree to pursue your career goals. One advantage to the combined MD/PhD is that it may be fully funded (tuition and stipend) but the trade off is years of your life that will be spent doing dissertation research. Be absolutely sure you want to "help people" and spend time with people who are sick, injured, or just demanding before you leap into medicine as a career.

 

[AsclepiusAdvisingLLC]

I'd flip this and ask if you really need the medical degree to pursue your career goals. One advantage to the combined MD/PhD is that it may be fully funded (tuition and stipend) but the trade off is years of your life that will be spent doing dissertation research. Be absolutely sure you want to "help people" and spend time with people who are sick, injured, or just demanding before you leap into medicine as a career.

Another important consideration!

 

[wannabedocmath]

I'd flip this and ask if you really need the medical degree to pursue your career goals. One advantage to the combined MD/PhD is that it may be fully funded (tuition and stipend) but the trade off is years of your life that will be spent doing dissertation research. Be absolutely sure you want to "help people" and spend time with people who are sick, injured, or just demanding before you leap into medicine as a career.

With the experience I've had so far, I'm committed to the physician-scientist track. I know I need more experience with patients to be sure, which is why I'm starting hospice volunteering. Given I continue down this track, are there any schools you think I'd be competitive for? Or how I can go about making a list of schools.

 

[eigen]

With the experience I've had so far, I'm committed to the physician-scientist track.

But this doesn't really mean you need an MD-PhD, was the point.

You can do research well with an MD, especially if you have prior research experience. To get more "high-level" grant writing and management experience, I've seen MDs do research post-docs either before or after residency as well.

As someone who considered this and went for a PhD and who has a lot of friends who went the other way... I think a lot of students over-estimate the value a combined degree means vs. cross-training with an MD.

 

[deleted1191256]

But this doesn't really mean you need an MD-PhD, was the point.

You can do research well with an MD, especially if you have prior research experience. To get more "high-level" grant writing and management experience, I've seen MDs do research post-docs either before or after residency as well.

As someone who considered this and went for a PhD and who has a lot of friends who went the other way... I think a lot of students over-estimate the value a combined degree means vs. cross-training with an MD.

To add on to this, as someone who HEAVILY debated MD-PhD vs MD with post docs, It’s really something I was only able to decide by talking to people that had each degree.

I literally emailed and talked to physician scientists (MD only and MD/PhD) with coffee chats/zoom meetings. They’ll be able to help you decide because they’ve actually been through the process. You probably have an MD researcher or MD-PhD at your school you can reach out to, or you can try the NIH’s clinical centers website to find physician scientists easier if your school has none like mine. You got this OP I’m only mentioning this cause I’ve heard it’s a really important interview question.

 

[wannabedocmath]

But this doesn't really mean you need an MD-PhD, was the point.

You can do research well with an MD, especially if you have prior research experience. To get more "high-level" grant writing and management experience, I've seen MDs do research post-docs either before or after residency as well.

As someone who considered this and went for a PhD and who has a lot of friends who went the other way... I think a lot of students over-estimate the value a combined degree means vs. cross-training with an MD.

Thanks for pointing that out — I didn’t realize there were so many MDs who build strong research careers without a PhD. That’s helpful context. Could you share a bit more about what those paths look like in practice? And given my profile, do you think I should still lean toward applying MD/PhD, or would MD-only programs also make sense to include on a school list?

 

[eigen]

Thanks for pointing that out — I didn’t realize there were so many MDs who build strong research careers without a PhD. That’s helpful context. Could you share a bit more about what those paths look like in practice? And given my profile, do you think I should still lean toward applying MD/PhD, or would MD-only programs also make sense to include on a school list?

What those paths look like in practice can vary a lot depending on the individual.

I think there is a lot of nuance in considering MD vs MD/PhD, and talking to people who have done either path (as @Anthodite mentioned) is very helpful. By numbers, a substantial of the people who pursue an MD/PhD don't do any research after the degree, and instead end up in a substantially clinical of fully clinical job.

There is (often) the benefit of free tuition for MD/PhD programs, but that is also offset by the longer training. Similarly, research-based careers often have substantially lower salaries than clinical positions.