Diminishing Returns? Applying for MD with PhD

[Endoxifen]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Obviously applying for an MD with a completed PhD will provide an advantage over traditional applicants. However, will it also diminish the value of each of your individual achievements? By this I mean, will the admissions committees be comparing you equally with the other applicants or against their notions of someone in your stage of life?

Thank you!

 

[Goro]

Obviously applying for an MD with a completed PhD will provide an advantage over traditional applicants. However, will it also diminish the value of each of your individual achievements? By this I mean, will the admissions committees be comparing you equally with the other applicants or against their notions of someone in your stage of life?

Thank you!

C'mon Endo...you know the answer to this!

 

[Endoxifen]

C'mon Endo...you know the answer to this!

It's always safer to hear it from someone directly rather than making plans based on assumptions.

 

[Endoxifen]

For a bit of context, I'm currently in the running for a bunch of the big UK scholarships, but I'm working on my plan B. I'm taking a gap year regardless and I want to get a formal education and experience with genetic epidemiology, so the NIH IRTA is a good place to start. From there, I want to do the NIH's Ox-Cam program, but I'm trying to decide between Track 1 (standard MD/PhD) and 3 (PhD first). If I do the PhD first, I might be able to cut </= a year off my PhD because it will be contiguous with my IRTA program. This would also work if I get the Churchill scholarship, which funds a 1 year masters at Cambridge. However, if I take track 3, I will need to apply for the MD well into my PhD, the # of MSTP slots might go down, and the adcom's expectations will likely change. I'm trying to gather all of the information now so that I can make the best choice with the least amount of debt.

 

[Goro]

Obviously applying for an MD with a completed PhD will provide an advantage over traditional applicants. However, will it also diminish the value of each of your individual achievements? By this I mean, will the admissions committees be comparing you equally with the other applicants or against their notions of someone in your stage of life?

Thank you!

You're not compared to other applicants. You're compared to what the school wants.

 

[Endoxifen]

You're not compared to other applicants. You're compared to what the school wants.

Wow, I somehow forgot that... weird. Ok, that helps a lot actually. Thank you!

Do you know if there are statistics regarding admission of various types of students (PhDs specifically) to individual schools? I'll definitely ask the NIH program coordinator which medical schools their students are typically successful at, but published stats are always a big help (assuming one doesn't go nuts with interpretation).