Dual-Degree for MD/PhD

[Doctr]

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Hello everyone,

As a high school student, I took many AP and post secondary classes. I am now a freshman in college and will have 65 credits by the end of this semester 😱. Thus, I am considering a dual degree. I am a Pre-Med major (any reason to change.. Bio?), and I was considering business..

I have a seat reserved in a med school through a BS/MD program, however, I am very fond of research and plan on applying for a MD/PhD program within the coming years. Any advice/recommendations for a dual degree that would aid in an application of a MD/PhD program?

Thanks!

 

[billw]

What subject would you like to pursue a PhD in?

 

[tinery]

Switch to something that could help you with your research- biochem, bioengineering, biophysics... What is a pre-med major anyway? Does it combine biology with social sciences or something? I'd say switch to a more rigorous science major.

 

[WNT Signaling]

Hello everyone,

As a high school student, I took many AP and post secondary classes. I am now a freshman in college and will have 65 credits by the end of this semester 😱. Thus, I am considering a dual degree. I am a Pre-Med major (any reason to change.. Bio?), and I was considering business..

I have a seat reserved in a med school through a BS/MD program, however, I am very fond of research and plan on applying for a MD/PhD program within the coming years. Any advice/recommendations for a dual degree that would aid in an application of a MD/PhD program?

Thanks!

A second degree in business is not a waste of time, but it's not important. If you are interested in doing an MD, PhD, you need to start doing research. Are you planning to do research this summer? If not, email labs and see if they will let you volunteer this summer (it's difficult to get paid after your first year of UG). You need to be proactive in getting research experience, so start looking for labs you can get involved with on campus during the school year.

You should realize that research is not for everyone, and in fact, you might not like it. Also, until you've spent an adequate amount of time and you have experience under your belt, research can be really, really boring--you just got keep on keepin' on

 

[Doctr]

The Pre-Med curriculum at my school combines social sciences with core classes for medical school.

I have already completed an internship at the Cleveland Clinic and do enjoy research. I intend on returning there this summer.

I am unsure exactly what path I would choose for a PhD (For the last year or so I have been heavily considering neurosurgeon/neurosciences due to my fascination with the brain and spinal cord).

 

[harvman11]

First, it's great that you're thinking this far ahead, I didn't figure out I wanted to do an MD/PhD until near the end of my Junior year. Second, your 2nd major (or first, for that matter) doesn't really matter for medical school admissions or MD/PhD admissions. However, what you WILL need is several upper level biology/biology-related courses, so in that respect a major like biochem, biology, neuroscience, etc. would be a good choice. Don't worry about what you want to do your PhD in, there'll be plenty of time for that later.

Perhaps more important is that you get involved in research at your school. It's great that you've done research over the summer, but you should also try to do research doing the school year as well. I personally didn't start research until the summer after my sophomore year, and found myself a bit behind some other candidates at the schools I interviewed at in terms of total research time. The great thing about doing work during the school year is you can devote as much or as little time as you have to it... I work 8 hours a week some weeks, and 20 hours others. You should aim for at least 2 years of solid, independent research by the time you apply. If you can get papers, posters, abstracts, etc. that's great, but those are just icing on the cake.

Something else I should mention is you should have the basic "pre-med" stuff... though you don't need it to the same extent. Do a little shadowing, a couple hours of clinical volunteering a week, and show some leadership and you should be ok on that front.

 

[MadMnkey]

If you really want to follow the MD/PhD route, then you need to take a lot of upper level bio classes and do well in them, score decently well on the MCATs, and research. The thing with research is that you need to be able to talk about it beyond the level of just restating what your lab does or even findings from a paper that your lab published. You really need to have your own project and show that you've worked at it and that you know how to think structured and logical method in order to solve the problem that was presented to you. Also, make sure you get amazing recs from the researcher(s) you work with. Personally, I think those recs make all of the difference, especially for MD/PhD.

 

[Ischemic]

Lol, I'm very amused that the OP who's doing a BS/MD program thinks that premed is a major. Premed was NEVER considered a major, it's just a list of a bunch of MINIMUM requirements that will be accepted by most medical schools. If you want to do research do a major of biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology something along those lines. Take upper level bio classes geared for students thinking about doing PhD work. That should help more than doing business.

 

[schrizto]

Some BS/MD programs are very receptive to their students pursuing a PhD along with their MD. Brown, Northwestern, and RPI/Albany to my knowledge have the option in place to add on a PhD. Others like Rice/Baylor want their BS/MD students to take the MCAT to be considered for the MD/PhD program.

 

[schrizto]

Lol, I'm very amused that the OP who's doing a BS/MD program thinks that premed is a major. Premed was NEVER considered a major, it's just a list of a bunch of MINIMUM requirements that will be accepted by most medical schools. If you want to do research do a major of biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology something along those lines. Take upper level bio classes geared for students thinking about doing PhD work. That should help more than doing business.

Actually, I'm not surprised by this. A lot of BS/MD programs condense undergraduate studies into two or three years so their students basically just fulfill the pre-reqs in those years. Some schools might not even have a pre-med major but their BS/MD students are designated as pre-med majors because those are all the courses they take.

 

[LizzyM]

Forget the second major... spend the time on research during the academi year. Plan to get a few years experience including some outside funding for your own project and the presentation of the results (poster or publication).

Research experience and plenty of it is the coin of the realm.

 

[Mackey]

It is one thing for someone with nothing to lose to bite off more than they can chew. It is another for someone such as yourself to do the same. Get a few required classes under your belt and out of the way before you start venturing out into other disciplines.

I've had a few friends who started a BS/MD program and lost it due to GPA reasons after they got in a little over their head.

You're on a good path. Stay on it. Once you're well entrenched and have some breathing room, do whatever yah want.

 

[chman]

It is one thing for someone with nothing to lose to bite off more than they can chew. It is another for someone such as yourself to do the same. Get a few required classes under your belt and out of the way before you start venturing out into other disciplines.

I've had a few friends who started a BS/MD program and lost it due to GPA reasons after they got in a little over their head.

You're on a good path. Stay on it. Once you're well entrenched and have some breathing room, do whatever yah want.

This is sound advice.

 

[Neuronix]

Forget the second major... spend the time on research during the academi year. Plan to get a few years experience including some outside funding for your own project and the presentation of the results (poster or publication).

Research experience and plenty of it is the coin of the realm.

👍 You need to figure out what you want in life while keeping your grades as close to 4.0. Spend your freshman year with as light a schedule as possible and do research. Decide whether you want to do business or MD/PhD. If you choose to do MD/PhD, you should plan for a science major, not "pre-med", and plan on continuing research for several years with a very high GPA and MCAT score. The second business degree will not help you in this endeavor.

I've had a few friends who started a BS/MD program and lost it due to GPA reasons after they got in a little over their head.

👍👍👍

You are an absolute setup for a disastrous Freshman year. No matter what, you need to keep your GPA as close to 4.0 as possible. Something will have to give, and I recommend that something is the number of credits at least your first semester while you figure out what you want. Med schools do not care about or look at courseload as long as you graduate in a reasonable amount of time.