Ask me anything

[BigRedZippo]

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Ok. To restate: If someone is applying MD/PhD...they are denied the PhD part (is this totally seperate?)...thus 😀 are they more competitive for that MD spot for reasons such as:

1) they obviously are highly motivated if applying MD/PhD
2) they intend to do some research in medical school

or...will they be less likely for reasons like:

1) well we aren't going to accept them because they want the combined degree...and we would just be wasting an acceptance on them

2) this person thinks he/she is smarter than she really is...therefore we don't want them in our med school.

If it is any help...I'm really having trouble deciding MD v. MD/PhD...If I do apply MD/PhD I would most certainly like to be accepted for just MD as that might be best for me.

THANKS!

Hmmm....I really don't know. I know that when the mudphud committee really likes someone, they can pull almost anyone in, but I'm not so sure of the opposite. I don't think it's 'publicized' that "Joe was rejected by the PhD part but is going straight MD right now". My gut on whether they'd have an easier time getting into regular MD is that they would. MD/PhD candidates tend to have more and better research, lots of faculty letters, and fairly good scores. All things that help in MD admissions.

 

[BigRedZippo]

Any thoughts about taking organic chemistry again, even when I am doing well, at the university I transfer to?

If you really feel it'd help for the future, but I'd take another class (in the sciences) and do WELL to improve the science gpa.

 

[BigRedZippo]

thank you for all the advice that you have given thus far.

so i heard that when applying to residency it is important to have good letters of recommendation, particularly from "well known" physicians in the academic medical community. this may be pretty silly, but for your average medical school, what makes a physician well known? is it better to have a recommendation from someone who is a current/former howard hughes investigator, or a national academy of science member? is that what that means? (i know that i am obviously jumping the gun a bit here, but i figured that since the thread said ask anything i would try it out. 😀 )

thanks in advance.

Lots of things make an academic physician well known. Pretty much it's those that have contributed to the field either through research, clinical or joint investigation. You'll see when you choose your field that there's a number of people who are well known, see each other at the conferences and write all the 'guidelines for treatment of ______' with each other. These are the guys that tend to be chairmen, PDs and senior faculty.

A good word from one in a letter of rec goes a long way. I had PLENTY of interviews for residency where they'd flip through my letters, say something like "Oh man, I'm glad Jim thinks you're a good guy. Boy we had some good times in Maui at that conference in 2001". Oftentimes they wouldn't even read the letter itself. That just shows that if someone's word is trusted in the academic community, it goes a LONG way. The flip side is that a big guy isn't going to really put himself out for you if he's not SURE you'll live up to his letter (this often, but not always, holds true). So work your butt off on your electives.

 

[BigRedZippo]

Actually I should have mentioned, I am a bit of a weird situation. I started my first year with absolutely no focus and did kind of bad with my grades (first semester 2.75) and it took me pretty much until half way through my sophomore year to realize I wanted to be a bio major and a little later for being a doctor. So I am in my junior year now with a 3.67 (if I make all A's this semester it will shoot above 3.7 woohoo lol) and have yet to take organic chem or physics. So my senior year I will be taking organic and physics and also physiology in fall and mole cell in spring.

So that was the long answer to your question, the short answer is, I have not taken the mcat lol. I also plan on taking the august MCAT of 07 because I don't think I could do as well as I'd like in all my classes and be able to study like a maniac for the MCAT next year.

On a slightly seperate topic, would it be beneficial at all for me to get my emt-b cert this summer and volunteer at the fire station like 1-2 days a week all next year? Also does it help that I worked so much, ie if asked why didn't you do non-medical volunteer work, I could respond I had to work to pay for my living expenses and so I didn't have as much time as I'd liked to do other things. Or is this just a lame excuse and I need to stop being a lazy ass and go out and build some houses? (which btw I've never done and I am somewhat unmotivated to do, but I thinking about it, I bet I would really enjoy the "work")

Again, thank you for responding and also for responding so quickly it was amazing, I refreshed and you had responded to like 5 different people lol.

Make sure you didnt' take any sciences classes during those poor semesters that can factor into your science GPA- hopefully you didn't, but it may not be a 4.0.

I think the EMT would be a good experience and would show your interest and willingness to learn more about certain aspects of medicine. Plus you'd learn some patient care to boot. I don't think the lack of experience will come up if you get some more activities in, but if it does, working to support yourself is a fine explanation that no one will hold against you.

Yes, i reply quickly as I am a loser with nothing better to do. Actually i just realized how many were posted and tried to reply as quick as I could.

 

[ChocolateKiss]

Big Red,

So I realize that publications are a big plus when applying for competitive residencies. Do the pubs have to be in the specific field of the residency, or are publications in other medical and scientific areas okay as well? Do they care about publications from ugrad in science journals? Is bench research valued over clinical/policy/epidemiology?

Thank you so much!

 

[SurfingDoctor]

Big Red,

So I realize that publications are a big plus when applying for competitive residencies. Do the pubs have to be in the specific field of the residency, or are publications in other medical and scientific areas okay as well? Do they care about publications from ugrad in science journals? Is bench research valued over clinical/policy/epidemiology?

Thank you so much!

Publications are publications. Obviously, if you publish in a journal related to the specific field in which you are interested in, that shows the residencies your interest and can be a catalyst for discussion during interviews. However, from what I've seen in speaking with program directors (and this is obviously bias towards the field I'm entering), the fact that you expressed interest in research and were in fact published was good enough for them. The time of research, lab vs. clinical matters little. And yes undergrad publications count... any significant work you've done that can differentiate you from the flock (ie, you wouldn't want to be mentioning random volunteer work for undergrad unless to created an organization or something).

 

[DoctorPardi]

Make sure you didnt' take any sciences classes during those poor semesters that can factor into your science GPA- hopefully you didn't, but it may not be a 4.0.

I think the EMT would be a good experience and would show your interest and willingness to learn more about certain aspects of medicine. Plus you'd learn some patient care to boot. I don't think the lack of experience will come up if you get some more activities in, but if it does, working to support yourself is a fine explanation that no one will hold against you.

Yes, i reply quickly as I am a loser with nothing better to do. Actually i just realized how many were posted and tried to reply as quick as I could.

I actually am certain all my biology, chemistry, math and physics (have yet to take any physics) are all A's. In fact, my first semester I made an A in math even though I made a D in philosophy (which I retook last semester and made an A in, just to prove I could). Anyway so I know for certain my BCPM is a 4.0, so I am really trying to graduate with that, and as far as activities goes. I think I will be getting accepted into "golden key"( I think that is what it is called, it means you are top 15% by gpa of your entering class) and the biology honor society at the end of this year. So I might try to get an officer position in either or both of those.

Thanks again for a quick response and helpful and motivational information!

 

[BigRedZippo]

I actually am certain all my biology, chemistry, math and physics (have yet to take any physics) are all A's. In fact, my first semester I made an A in math even though I made a D in philosophy (which I retook last semester and made an A in, just to prove I could). Anyway so I know for certain my BCPM is a 4.0, so I am really trying to graduate with that, and as far as activities goes. I think I will be getting accepted into "golden key"( I think that is what it is called, it means you are top 15% by gpa of your entering class) and the biology honor society at the end of this year. So I might try to get an officer position in either or both of those.

Thanks again for a quick response and helpful and motivational information!

No worries. I remember "Golden Key" well. Boy for another line on my "awards" section I couldn't mail them the dough fast enough!

 

[BigRedZippo]

I've had multiple PMs about "extenuating circumstances"- being the first in your family to go to college, having to work full time, extreme sickness, etc. The question is: do I put this in or will I sound like a whiner? The answer is YES put it in! Many secondaries have a space that says something like "Use this section to explain or expand upon anything you wish". That's a great spot for it. Be selective- your hideous bout with mono sophmore year may not be great. Your difficulties working and overcoming great obstacles will be. Best of luck to everyone!!

 

[dr.pinky]

I originally started undergrad at one school, then transferred after 2 years (due to a variety of factors, including money, program availability [they had a much more specialized program in what I wanted to do at the second school], etc).

My GPA the past 2.5 years at my second school is 3.92. My GPA at the first school was ~3.0 (forget the exact number). Those first two years I really didn't have much in the way of academic direction, didn't know what I wanted to do, and certainly didn't put the kind of time into studying that was necessary. Since transferring, I realized I absolutely love the stuff I'm studying, and therefore have been able to devote huge quantities of time studying for my classes (and obviously doing well).

Now, weight-wise, my overall combined GPA will come out to like 3.5 or a little higher (maybe 3.56 or so) . . . but just from the AMCAS application, will Adcoms see the breakdown? Like will they be able to tell "oh, he didn't do amazingly his first two years, but after transfering and entering a program he liked, he's done exceptionally well, so the last three years he has a 3.92" (assuming I keep on my current course for the rest of this semester). Will this factor into their decision? Or will they only see my GPA of 3.5X and whatever my MCAT score is (I'll be taking it in August)?

How big of a hinderance are those first two years for me? I've obviously shown over the past few years that I evolved and have done very well (not bragging, just saying relative to the first years) in school, so will they take this into account? I know my acceptance will also depend heavily on my MCATs, but assuming a "decent" score, how big of a detriment will my first two years of 3.0 or so be?

I hope that BigRedZippo doesn't mind me also adding my 2 cents. I am in the application process in the moment and have completed 4 interviews thus far. I was in a similar situation to yours, but my GPA and MCAT scores were lower than average. This process can go so differently for everyone, but I just wanted to encourage you to go after your dreams because there are schools that do recognize your progression as long as you take BigRedZippo's advice.
They seem like to students who own up to their mistakes and confront them rather than try to cover them up! Good luck! 🙂

 

[witt105]

Zippo,

I am a junior studying for the April MCAT and am planning on applying to Medical School this summer.

I have around 100 volunteer hours at a hospital (all in pediatrics), have been working on honors research for 9 hours a week for the past 2 semesters, and teach swimming lessons to kids for 2 hours a week. I am starting a doctor shadow next week (2-3 hours/week) and plan to continue that well into the forseeable future.

I feel like my EC's just aren't enough. What else could/should I be doing? I'm more than willing to share my time, and I love kids. Also, starting a new EC this close to applying, will that look bad on my app.?

My GPA is average, and hopefully my MCAT will be stellar, but who knows? Will my lack of stellar EC's be a hindrance?

Thanks!