26 yo, non-traditional applicant. Am I better candidate for M.D. or M.D/PhD?

[xfactor121893]

So... I originally attended the University of Pittsburgh and partied my face off. I joined the Marine Corps for a good ol' kick in the butt and I've served in the reserves for 6 years. I meanwhile finished school elsewhere and attained a B.S. in Cell & Molecular Biology with a Chem minor. I had very demanding military obligations during the school year and often had to withdraw from classes or miss quizzes/tests if my professors weren't sympathetic. I graduated with a 2.9 GPA, mostly due to my liberal arts professors. My senior year I took all graduate-level biology courses and got a 3.75 quite easily. I am currently in a M.S. program in Molecular Biology at Lehigh University, a fairly prestigious institution. I am also currently working at a local lab doing research and development working on COVID-19 immunoassay tests (ELIZA kits) among other projects.

I believe my resume is starting to rise again from the grave so I am considering medical school. My question is: assuming I have adequate graduate GPA and MCAT scores, would it be smarter to apply for an M.D/PhD or just a M.D.? I don't have a strong background in medicine, though I participate in clinical research through my job. With my concentrated background in molecular biology and private-sector research experience, I feel I'd be more attractive as a Medical Researcher to an institution where I could potentially contribute to their program's research portfolio. Plus I can potentially transfer credits and shave off a year or two of the PhD program. So what do you guys think? I wonder if in my case a M.D/PhD is actually the smarter choice..

As a side note: I am not a combat veteran (no G.I. Bill) and I do not yet have my name on research publications.

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[GreenDuck12]

You are not currently competitive for either option due to your low GPA and lack of research. Look at Goro’s guide for reinvention for guidance for how to rehab your application.

 

[user1341]

I graduated with a 2.9 GPA, mostly due to my liberal arts professors.

Along with the advice above, I politely suggest a change in perspective as well.

 

[Nugester]

To chime in: instead of asking, what will give you a better chance of getting in, ask yourself, how much do you love research? Is the goal to be a MD? What if you had to decide between medicine or research? Obviously work on your stats first but, answers to those questions should guide what you should do.

 

[LizzyM]

After you achieve the rank of attending physician, do you have a goal of spending 80% of your time in the lab and 20% in clinic? If yes, you are a good candidate for MD/PhD. If no, you are not. Everything else is secondary to that first question. You won't be held to that "or else" but that is the place to begin thinking about MD/PhD; do you want to be a physician scientist.

If you do not want to be a physician-scientist, focus on MD-only. You will have an uphill slog particularly as you say that you don't have a strong background in medicine. If you have not shadowed and if you have not been in other face-to-face experiences (paid or unpaid) with patients then you are not ready to apply to medical school.

You might want to consider PhD only if you want to continue on in a research capacity. The bar is much lower for PhD-only than for MD-only or MD/PhD. That said, the typical applicant has a year of full-time experience and a publication in the works before getting interviewed for a PhD slot.

 

[Wolvvs]

The graduate-level courses you took during your senior year aren't necessarily going to help you; while graduate courses often cover higher level material, they are often graded less rigorously than undergraduate courses. Similarly, while the MS may help with admissions for the PhD portion of the MD/PhD, it won't help you with the MD portion. Your research is certainly nice to have and would make you appealing to top medical schools, but that's not going to help if any core portions of your application are missing.

What grades did you get in the prerequisite courses? Specifically, Biology I and II, General Chemistry I and II, Physics I and II, Organic Chemistry I (and II if you took it), and Biochemistry? Did you take any non-graduate upper level science classes? I'm thinking things like cell bio, A&P, genetics.

Having a military background can give you a strong advantage for medical school admissions, especially if you choose your schools carefully, and makes it so that other extracurriculars are less important. But that notwithstanding, you absolutely need some sort of clinical experience, preferably on a volunteer basis, and you need shadowing.

I think if you make yourself competitive for MD, you'll also be competitive for MD/PhD if you complete the MS and get your name on something. Alternatively, to LizzyM's point, it might be easier to go straight for the PhD.