Help with a school list?

[Latteandaprayer]

I don't need you to list every school I should apply to, but a few examples at each "tier" would be helpful to finalize my list. If this should go somewhere else, let me know! I think I've included everything, but I'll add more if needed.

cGPA: 3.78
sGPA: 3.68
MCAT: 520
I am white, I am a Michigan resident.

Clinical experience:
- ~300 hours volunteering in ED and pediatric physical therapy (plenty of patient interaction)
- 50 hours shadowing a PCP

Non-clinical volunteering:
- 200 hours in local soup kitchen and pantry

Research:
- 3 years in a yeast lab studying ER stress (definitely over 2,000 hours) (~15 hours a week during the semester, 40 over the summer)
- First author publication and interview
- Presented at my University's ER Stress Conference

Employment:
- 10 hours/week as a caregiver for a family member, 3 years (I do not consider this clinical experience because she's a family member)
- TAed for intro bio lab, one semester (6-8 hours a week)
- Lab assistant (media prep, glassware, etc) for 3 years (5 hours a week)

EC:
- General board member of a campus theater club. Directed, produced, stage managed (a lot of leadership)
- Elected board member, Conflict Resolution Chair

LORs:
- Unfortunately, I only managed to get 3, 2 science and 1 humanities.


Fears about my application:
- Cookie cutter
- GPA is meh for MD-PhD
- It seems like I did not do a lot outside of school
- Community service hours are meh, but I have meaningful experiences
- Clinical experience time is meh, but I have meaningful experiences

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[931kra]

Your GPA is quite good, even for MD/PhD programs. Is the 3 LORs including your PI LOR? Your clinical/non-clinical volunteering hours are good but a little cookie-cutter, as you said (though there's nothing inherently wrong with that, especially for MD/PhD, where more emphasis will be placed on your research experience which seems okay). Your caregiver experience sounds very important and formative, so I hope you are able to highlight what you learned from it!

List-wise, I would definitely recommend every one of your in-state MI options! Beyond that, I don't think it would unwise to apply anywhere. You have a realistic shot (assuming compelling essays) at some of the higher tiers like Duke/Columbia/Pitt but I would recommend the majority of your schools be in the Dartmouth/Minnesota/BU/Florida range. I think you should include some "lower-tier" MD/PhD options as well, like USF/Rutgers/Drexel, where you are statistically most likely to get an interview. Of course, you should also base your list on geographic preference, research strength, program size, etc as well.

Good luck!

 

[Fencer]

This is what I recommend... Examine your list against these resources on MSTP competitiveness and your Research area of interest. You should begin by making a list of matriculants/applicants of all MD/PhD programs by downloading the AAMC Table B-8 excel spreadsheet from this AAMC link. Then, highlight all of the currently funded MSTP programs. This exercise gives you an idea of how competitive some MSTP programs are relative to others. You will be surprised that some schools with significant name have marginal MD/PhD programs. You seem to already have selected your dream schools, now I suggest to only apply to programs that have at least 5 or 6 first-year slots among MSTPs that are less competitive (i.e.: less applicants/slot). We have to report to NIH (in our training tables) our applicant and matriculant Undergraduate cGPA range and mean. To have choices, you should have 10 dream programs (perhaps top 20 overall but with terrific program in your area of interest), another 5-10 match programs that are less competitive but have outstanding program in your area of interest. You should include a few, perhaps 5 of the less competitive MSTPs with class size of 5 or larger. You will have choices....

MSTPs are fully funded. Some programs like BU are not. Some school have a very high number of applications per slot, for example BU & USC.

 

[Latteandaprayer]

Your GPA is quite good, even for MD/PhD programs. Is the 3 LORs including your PI LOR? Your clinical/non-clinical volunteering hours are good but a little cookie-cutter, as you said (though there's nothing inherently wrong with that, especially for MD/PhD, where more emphasis will be placed on your research experience which seems okay). Your caregiver experience sounds very important and formative, so I hope you are able to highlight what you learned from it!

List-wise, I would definitely recommend every one of your in-state MI options! Beyond that, I don't think it would unwise to apply anywhere. You have a realistic shot (assuming compelling essays) at some of the higher tiers like Duke/Columbia/Pitt but I would recommend the majority of your schools be in the Dartmouth/Minnesota/BU/Florida range. I think you should include some "lower-tier" MD/PhD options as well, like USF/Rutgers/Drexel, where you are statistically most likely to get an interview. Of course, you should also base your list on geographic preference, research strength, program size, etc as well.

Good luck!

Thank you! This was helpful. Yes, PI LOR is included; he was my professor for a couple classes, too, so he's seen me in both roles. I understand this is less than ideal, which makes me nervous, too.