applying mstp

[munnabhai]

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Say that ideally I would wish to pursue an MD/PhD at a good medical school... but my stats are far from stellar (and waiting an extra year to improve GPA do more EC and research is MUCH less desirable an option than just doing an MD). Will applying for MDPhD lower my chances of admission to MD (if I am rejected from MDPhD)?

I heard from someone that the MDPhD decision is made so late that if you are rejected from MDPhD, your application for a regular MD is reviewed later, thus lowering your chances of admission to medical school itself.

Would it still be advisable to apply MSTP? Or should one only apply to MSTP if they have amazing stats (upper 30s and 4.0s and 294870293847 publications) or if they arent willing to settle for MD only?

Thanks and best of luck to everyone in this new year!

 

[durfen]

Say that ideally I would wish to pursue an MD/PhD at a good medical school... but my stats are far from stellar (and waiting an extra year to improve GPA do more EC and research is MUCH less desirable an option than just doing an MD). Will applying for MDPhD lower my chances of admission to MD (if I am rejected from MDPhD)?

I heard from someone that the MDPhD decision is made so late that if you are rejected from MDPhD, your application for a regular MD is reviewed later, thus lowering your chances of admission to medical school itself.

Would it still be advisable to apply MSTP? Or should one only apply to MSTP if they have amazing stats (upper 30s and 4.0s and 294870293847 publications) or if they arent willing to settle for MD only?

Thanks and best of luck to everyone in this new year!

It depends on the school. For me, the MSTP guys mostly make the MD decision as well except in certain cases. While I have an MCAT in the upper 30s, my GPA is not stellar. I've got an acceptance so far, hoping for more. So no, if you love research, go for it. It will show during interviews and your personal statements.

 

[crimsonkid85]

waiting an extra year to improve GPA do more EC and research is MUCH less desirable an option than just doing an MD

I think if you are serious about mstp, you shouldn't be afraid to take some time off. seriously a LOT (i would approximate at least half) of people i met on mstp interviews have taken time off to work more in a lab.

Will applying for MDPhD lower my chances of admission to MD (if I am rejected from MDPhD)? I heard from someone that the MDPhD decision is made so late that if you are rejected from MDPhD, your application for a regular MD is reviewed later, thus lowering your chances of admission to medical school itself.

it depends on the specific medical school. for example, harvard does NP, HST, and MSTP completely separate and concurrent with one another. however, Johns Hopkins will not consider your MD application if you get thrown out by the MSTP committee unless the MSTP thinks you are an absolutely stellar MD applicant and recommends you to the MD committee. Vanderbilt states explicitly that you must chose to apply to one program, and that the other program will not consider you, no matter what the circumstances. so yea, depends on the specific school.

Would it still be advisable to apply MSTP? Or should one only apply to MSTP if they have amazing stats (upper 30s and 4.0s and 294870293847 publications) or if they arent willing to settle for MD only?

if you love to do science, and you accept that you will not be seeing many patients, and you are sure that a physician-scientist is what you want to be, go for it. 🙂 i definately don't have a 4.0 (ha! i wish!), nor do i have even first author publications, and i have gotten interviews (and some acceptances, woohoo!) from places! 🙂 good luck!

 

[Dr.Watson]

If your MCAT (mid/upper 30s) and research experience (more signif than just summers) are good, they should compensate for a lower GPA. My GPA wasn't good by premed standards, but I got more interviews than I knew what do with and a couple of acceptances so far.

Also, I applied very early and the places that rejected me pre-interview, rejected me really early (Sept/Oct). Most put me in the MD-only pool then (not sure how it would turn out b/c I withdrew after MSTP acceptance). So, if you're concerned, apply early and you should be fine.