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I mean certainly you "can", but does it put you at any sort of disadvantage or do you have to be in your graduating year?
There's another thread about two below yours that is basically asking this same question. No, you cannot usually transfer into medical school while you're still a grad student. No, you should not plan on applying to medical school while you're a grad student before your last year of grad school. And even while you're writing up your thesis, you'd better make sure to get your PI to write in your LOR that s/he expects you to graduate on time, because inquiring med school adcoms will most certainly want to know.I mean certainly you "can", but does it put you at any sort of disadvantage or do you have to be in your graduating year?
Your GPA is lower than average but not so low that it will automatically get you put into the reject pile for MD-only applications. I don't know about MD/PhD programs, but it's reasonable for you to apply to MD-only programs with that GPA, especially since you have an upward trend.Numbers:
No GRE or MCAT yet. By the time of application, barring a catastrophe and miracle, GPA should be somewhere be between 3.2 to 3.4, probably closer to the the lower end. Somewhat of an upward trend, but nothing I'd fit a curve to.
You might be a little light on the research experience for MD/PhD programs compared to other applicants, but just FYI, a pub is not necessary for successful application.Research:
I will have two semesters and a summer by the time of application. No publications or anything as of yet, but a possibility. Half the time spent on grunt work, half spent involved in more enriching endeavors.
Good. Many MD-only schools will also want a nonscience prof letter, so plan on getting one. My state schools also require a peer letter written by another student. I don't know if other states have this requirement, but again, you may need one. Check the requirements for your state schools.Letters of recommendation:
I'll be getting one from a practicing MD, one from the department chair (took a class he taught), and one from my PI.
Terrific EC for MD-only programs. Consider asking your supervisor for a LOR.Extra curricular:
EMT-B certified. A few hundred hours of experience, split between volunteering and working. Plan to do some more volunteer stuff in a clinic this summer, but that may be too late for the written portion of applications.
Ditto. Make sure your dept. chairman comments about your performance as an instructor in his LOR.I'm a TA for one of my University's PE classes, basically a certified Instructor and act in that capacity.
SDN is *not* representative of most premeds. Being nervous is understandable; it's never easy to want something badly and face the possibility of not succeeding. But that's still no excuse to not try. When are you planning to take the MCAT? It's pretty tough to gauge your ultimate competitiveness without an MCAT score.I know I'm not in a "doomed to failure" position, my GPA just makes me nervous for med school applications and my research background seems light for physician-scientist programs.
It probably doesn't help that my major is light on pre-meds so most of the stats I see are here on SDN, which tend to be higher than a representative sample...