MD Chances at MD/PHD .. PLEASE HELP

[Ryleigh Aime]

Hello all,

I'm only coming here because I genuinely need advice on how I should go about my premed career. I am planning to apply for about 40 MD/pHD programs and I would like to know what tier schools I should apply for or whether or not I will get in anywhere.

African-American, female, 3.8 gpa , no MCAT yet- aiming for 520

Key Things on Resume:
- thousands of hours working with underserved children
- eboard member of a prestigious honor society
- member of a competitive research foundation ( however by the time of application, I will have only ONE YEAR of substantial research done )
- 2 posters and a publication by time of application
- coordinator of 2 programs targeting underserved youth
- few shadowing hours
- volunteer for a health related organization
- volunteer at a hospital (nothing really clinical)


Please be as critical as possible.

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[Forever Geebs]

When are you taking your MCAT and when do you plan on applying?


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[Ryleigh Aime]

When are you taking your MCAT and when do you plan on applying?


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MCAT this coming May and I plan on applying June/July

 

[Forever Geebs]

Outside of stellar MCAT score, be sure to increase your clinical volunteering and shadowing hours. I would aim for about 100 hours each, if possible. Apply in-state and broad depending on whether you’re interested in top tier schools for the research component.

Best of luck to you.


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[candbgirl]

You need way more clinical experience before you apply. What do you do at the hospital? Do you interact with patients consistently? You also need about 50 hours of shadowing including a chunk with primary care docs. Where to apply depends on your MCAT so when you get that come back and people will be glad to help you develop a focused list of schools.

 

[rtn1]

ok no, ignore most of the people commenting saying you need more clinical hours. ~100 total shadowing/volunteering/whatever is probably more than enough and there are plenty of people who get in with less. that said, the most important component of your application BY FAR is research experience. Look at the graph at the bottom of this page for example, google "washu md phd statistics" and look at the graph at the bottom of the page. A year of research at the time of application will put you in the bottom 25% of applicants in terms of research experience. being african american, and if you end up getting a ~520 mcat with a 3.8 you'll be in pretty good shape stats wise but you might want to think about whether or not it's worth doing a gap year to get some more substantive research experience

 

[Ryleigh Aime]

Outside of stellar MCAT score, be sure to increase your clinical volunteering and shadowing hours. I would aim for about 100 hours each, if possible. Apply in-state and broad depending on whether you’re interested in top tier schools for the research component.

Best of luck to you.


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Thank you! I'm definitely applying to all in-state schools.

 

[Ryleigh Aime]

ok no, ignore most of the people commenting saying you need more clinical hours. ~100 total shadowing/volunteering/whatever is probably more than enough and there are plenty of people who get in with less. that said, the most important component of your application BY FAR is research experience. Look at the graph at the bottom of this page for example, google "washu md phd statistics" and look at the graph at the bottom of the page. A year of research at the time of application will put you in the bottom 25% of applicants in terms of research experience. being african american, and if you end up getting a ~520 mcat with a 3.8 you'll be in pretty good shape stats wise but you might want to think about whether or not it's worth doing a gap year to get some more substantive research experience

Thankyou .. I'm considering a gap year for that reason as well.

 

[Microbug]

high MCAT will get you in the door, research is the most important thing.

 

[mdmd1007]

Knowing your research in and out is the key. Even if you didn't do all the experiments in the paper, make sure you know them and understand their significance. Also, make sure you have a clear vision of where the research is going into the future (mouse models, clinical trials, additional cell models, etc.). Your research does not exist in a vacuum and knowing what contributions specific scientists have made to the field is important.

Basically, be well read and know your science. This will communicate your passion for science. MSTPs are science first, medicine second.

 

[bluelamin]

honestly u dont need to apply to 40 schools. ur application looks good so far...especially if u have a pub. u just need a nice mcat score.