Formal Post Bac vs. DIY Post Bac and Working full-time in Research for MD/PhD

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greg_eng

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Hi,

I will be graduating undergrad with a B.Eng in Mechanical engineering in the Spring of 2020. I decided to pursue an MD/PhD degree during my third year of school and after taking part in microbiology research at my institution for a year (my first experience in the biology field ever). Because of scheduling constraints and M.E. degree requirements I am missing almost all of my pre-reqs except for math, physics I, and gen. chem lab. It was not possible for me to switch to a biomed/biology because it was not offered, and it was too late to transfer into ChemE. Therefore, I have been debating whether a formal post bac program at a school would be more beneficial to me for pursuing an MD/PhD within two years of graduating undergrad. Or, if it would be better to find a full time research position and do a diy post bacc in the NYC area by taking night/summer classes. I know that the second option would take me longer and be more challenging, but I am curious as how either path would reflect on me in the MD/PhD admission process. Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much!

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What's your sGPA and cGPA? I don't think you'll need a formal postbacc if your GPAs are solid and have a good MCAT score. I'd recommend the affordable DYI postbacc to take your required prereqs. If you can juggle it, I'd do it with full-time research. It has been increasingly common for MD applicants to have research under their belt and if you want the PhD too, you need to justify that to adcoms. You didn't mention non-clinical/clinical volunteering and shadowing, but make sure to have those boxes checked off.
 
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