Fulbright --> MD/PhD

[Neuralicious]

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Hey guys,

I have a question for any Fulbright scholars out there that applied to MD/PhD after their year of international research.

I think Fulbright is a great opportunity to not only strengthen my application but a nice break from school (in a sense).
How did past students do Fulbright? Because I feel like if you apply to Fulbright you SHOULD NOT apply to MD/PhD the same year. The problem is if you get rejected from Fulbright, then you're "stuck" (not really since you can just take more classes) at your undergrad institution another year.

So do applicants usually apply to Fulbright their junior-to-senior summer and then graduate, do research in another country for a year, and then apply to MD/PhD the following year?

How do you Fulbright scholars manage to do it?! TEACH ME! 😀

 

[SBR249]

The NIH OxCam program will allow you to use your fulbright towards completion of a PhD at Cambridge or Oxford. You can also get MSTP supplemental funding for med school after the PhD through the program.

 

[ps9891]

Hey guys,

I have a question for any Fulbright scholars out there that applied to MD/PhD after their year of international research.

I think Fulbright is a great opportunity to not only strengthen my application but a nice break from school (in a sense).
How did past students do Fulbright? Because I feel like if you apply to Fulbright you SHOULD NOT apply to MD/PhD the same year. The problem is if you get rejected from Fulbright, then you're "stuck" (not really since you can just take more classes) at your undergrad institution another year.

So do applicants usually apply to Fulbright their junior-to-senior summer and then graduate, do research in another country for a year, and then apply to MD/PhD the following year?

How do you Fulbright scholars manage to do it?! TEACH ME! 😀

I'm currently on a Fulbright and will be matriculating to an MD/PhD program this fall (or summer, depending on which place I end up choosing!)

I think you can apply for the Fulbright and the MD/PhD the same year (as in submitting your applications for the same start dates) and defer matriculation to the MD/PhD if you get the Fulbright (I'm pretty sure programs will let you). The downside is that you won't have the Fulbright acceptance/experience to write in your application or talk about in interviews.

I personally applied to Fulbright the fall of my senior year, and then did my med school applications the summer after graduating/before starting my Fulbright. I procrastinated and ended up doing my secondaries my first few months here, but that could be avoided if you submit early and prepare your essays beforehand from prompt postings on SDN. Interview scheduling was less of a pain in the butt than I thought it could be, but still a bit of a hassle. I also met a handful of Fulbrighters/Peace Corps-ers/living abroad-ers on the interview trail too, so it's definitely doable.

Applying the summer after your Fulbright year is also another option. As for being "stuck" - not sure what you mean by that?

You can PM me if you want more specifics on my timeline/experience.

 

[Neuralicious]

Well I'm not really interested in doing an overseas PhD... I just think it would be a fun time (and good exposure) to do research at an overseas university after graduation with a degree in biochemistry/neuroscience.

By "stuck" I mean, what if I get rejected from Fulbright? If I didn't apply to MD/PhD that same year then I am forced to wait another year until application cycle comes around again (in which case I would probably just ditch Fulbright altogether).

How competitive are Marshall / Fulbright scholarships? Of course they only take top students but I mean... anyone know the stats of some older applicants / recipients?

Also when do you hear back from Marshall / Fulbright scholarships? Like if I apply in August, will I hear back by December?
Ideally if I graduate in the spring of 14, I would be applying to these scholarships summer/fall of 2013. This means that (hopefully) if I am a recipient, I go to another country for research from fall 2014-spring 2015. This also means then I would apply to MSTP programs in the summer/fall of 2014, to begin matriculation in fall 2016.

Worst case scenario is I am rejected from the scholarships, and am "stuck" at my institution for another year (maybe I will apply to Masters programs along with the scholarships).

Anyone have stories on how they planned this all out and were successful? Because I don't want to apply to these scholarships and study MCAT / apply to med school all at once (not only is it a lot of work, but also unnecessary to go through that kind of trouble). In regards to the deferment of MD/PhD... NO THANK YOU. Again it's too much to do at once (unnecessary to go through with it too in my opinion), and there is no guarantee that schools will allow me to do that. That means it could actually hurt my application in the long run.

I am more interested in doing a year of research overseas than matriculating straight into an MD/PhD (anyday). It seems like a great way to expand your knowledge / contacts / friendships before you are locked into an institution for almost 8 years...

Anyone with successes, please tell me your timeline of events pertaining to applications / graduation, haha

 

[ps9891]

How competitive are Marshall / Fulbright scholarships? Of course they only take top students but I mean... anyone know the stats of some older applicants / recipients?

This may depend to some extent on what country you're applying to. More popular ones obviously receive more applications and can be more selective.

http://us.fulbrightonline.org/program_regions_world.html

Select your region of interest then find the link for a "one page statistical synopsis" at the bottom. It'll give you a PDF file showing # applications and # awards per country, % Bachelor's/master's/doctoral students, and some other useful tidbits. To my understanding, however, the quality and feasibility of your proposed project and your personal statement are the most important factors. Feasibility of the project may also include whether you have the appropriate knowledge/skills.

 

[JChiang795]

I got a Fulbright a few years back and matriculated into an MSTP immediately after.

What you want to do is apply for the Fulbright during the fall of your senior year. Not sure what the application process is for the Marshall, but the applicant pool is the same as the Rhodes, which is very strong and competitive (much more so than the Fulbright). You will find out whether or not you got the Fulbright really late, as in April/May so you may want to have a back up plan, like getting a 1-year Master's or a job somewhere.

Should you get and accept your Fulbright, you should fill out your med school apps (primary/secondary) immediately, which is the summer before you actually leave to another country. You may even be able to get an interview before you leave, which will save a ton of money.

While abroad, you just wait for the interviews to come in. There will be a ton of programs impressed that you got a Fulbright and will offer interviews right off the bat. You will want to group the interviews together back to back to back to save some money while you fly back and forth from your host country to America. It will be tiring, but well worth it. Many MSTPs offer free hotels and some flight reimbursement. When you interview, tell them you flew across the world to interview at their school. This will be a far more interesting fact than the other interviewee stories' about their Western blots or pulse sequence.

When you're done interviewing, sit back and watch the offers come rolling in. When you are done with your Fulbright, you can jump right into your MD/PhD program and you will have a year of amazing travel and research experience under your belt. Then while all the other MD/PhD students who jumped into med school straight out of undergrad complain about how they will never get a vacation again for the next 8 years, you can regale them with stories from when you spent a year abroad.

I got accepted at every MSTP I interviewed at and I think the Fulbright had a lot to do with it.

 

[CoolSativus]

I got a Fulbright a few years back and matriculated into an MSTP immediately after.

What you want to do is apply for the Fulbright during the fall of your senior year. Not sure what the application process is for the Marshall, but the applicant pool is the same as the Rhodes, which is very strong and competitive (much more so than the Fulbright). You will find out whether or not you got the Fulbright really late, as in April/May so you may want to have a back up plan, like getting a 1-year Master's or a job somewhere.

Should you get and accept your Fulbright, you should fill out your med school apps (primary/secondary) immediately, which is the summer before you actually leave to another country. You may even be able to get an interview before you leave, which will save a ton of money.

While abroad, you just wait for the interviews to come in. There will be a ton of programs impressed that you got a Fulbright and will offer interviews right off the bat. You will want to group the interviews together back to back to back to save some money while you fly back and forth from your host country to America. It will be tiring, but well worth it. Many MSTPs offer free hotels and some flight reimbursement. When you interview, tell them you flew across the world to interview at their school. This will be a far more interesting fact than the other interviewee stories' about their Western blots or pulse sequence.

When you're done interviewing, sit back and watch the offers come rolling in. When you are done with your Fulbright, you can jump right into your MD/PhD program and you will have a year of amazing travel and research experience under your belt. Then while all the other MD/PhD students who jumped into med school straight out of undergrad complain about how they will never get a vacation again for the next 8 years, you can regale them with stories from when you spent a year abroad.

I got accepted at every MSTP I interviewed at and I think the Fulbright had a lot to do with it.

 

[delirium81]

That's some brilliant use of the slow clap.

 

[NeuroKookie]

Just another perspective. I'm on a Marshall scholarship and I applied to MST programs concurrently. I accepted at an MSTP and was going in with the intention of deferring for two years. However, the NIH-OxCam Scholars program actually gave me a way of marrying the MSTP with the Marshall (works with Rhodes etc.) to create an international MD/PhD program for me. Now I'm doing the PhD phase first and entering the MD phase in the U.S. after I finish from England.

Combining the programs was just a great way of consolidating everything and saving me a couple years in the process. 🙂