How would you rank the weight of the different parts of the MD/PhD application?

[kalewhale]

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As an upcoming applicant, I am curious if anyone with knowledge can rank the following by importance for MD/PhD applicant consideration (I know different people will have different opinions). A rating if 1-10 would also be useful if ranking them is impossible:

-GPA/MCAT
-Research production
-Personal Statement + MD/PhD
essays
-Secondary Responses
-Letters of Recommendation
-CV of letter writers
-Volunteering
-Clinical Experience
- Interview Performance
-Undergraduate Institution

Any answers could be helpful to those of us hopefuls who have very little clue about the process and what we should focus on as we prepare to apply!

 

[Lucca]

I don’t think anyone will be able to give you exactly what you’re looking for. The way applications are evaluated is unlikely to be this cut and dry. What is known is that in this process, unlike for MD-only: Research > Clinical experience, PI LORs > other LORs.

MCAT and GPA are important up to a point but where that point is depends on the program you are applying to. MCAT is always more important than GPA but both are evaluated together, in context.

Where you go to UG matters everywhere to some extent but matters the most at top programs; in particular, it is significant to work in a famous or prestigious lab which tend to be concentrated at elite institutions. Publications help, higher author and better journals help more, but are absolutely not by any means a requirement to be competitive.

You have to be able to sell yourself and your work on your application or no one will give you an interview. However, after you get the interview invitation, your performance at the interview and demonstrated fit and interest in the program are more important than anything in your app or secondaries. This is not to say the primary is unimportant, indeed getting the II is the biggest bottleneck in this process, after that you basically have between a 1 in 3 and 1 in 4 chance of being accepted, on average, by the end of the cycle.

If you’re applying this summer, there’s not much else you can do to improve your app except write a good application, prepare a good school list, and pick the best possible letter writers. If you’re earlier along in the process and you are thinking about how to best spend your free time then the answer is always more research.

 

[evasive fish]

You have to be able to sell yourself and your work on your application or no one will give you an interview.

Could you expand on this? Is it like proving that your research has been productive? Or is it about convincing programs about your school fit in secondaries? Or something else?

 

[Lucca]

Could you expand on this? Is it like proving that your research has been productive? Or is it about convincing programs about your school fit in secondaries? Or something else?

It’s about showing that you understand what being a scientist is and why you think you want the MD/PhD path specifically as opposed to other ones in addition to showing you are a good fit for the program. There’s two parts to this: reflection, which is conveyed through how convincingly you write about your motivations goals, and credibility which comes in the form of your CV/W&A and LORs.

 

[EvoMed]

It’s about showing that you understand what being a scientist is

What do you think that being a scientist is?

 

[Lucca]

What do you think that being a scientist is?

100 tabs open at once, 50 are stack exchange and 50 are papers but only 3 are related to what you are working on at any given moment. Casual alcoholic.

 

[EvoMed]

Can I attach this to my application?