I need some advice for reapplying

[mercaptovizadeh]

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Hi all, I was wondering if you could give me some advice for applying to MD/PhD programs.

Well, I applied in 2003 to 17 schools, all MD/PhD, and nearly all among the top 20. I got interviews at two schools; one went rather poorly, the other went rather well, so I ended up getting waitlisted, and never got off. So, I guess there must be things that I can do to strengthen my application for 2005.

I was a physics & biochemistry double major at an Ivy school, nineteen years old right now (18 when I applied last time). My overall GPA is slightly above a 3.5 and my science GPA is roughly 3.5 as well (3.491). I've taken the MCAT twice: 1st time I got a 34R (P11,V9,R,B14) and 2nd time most recently, I got a 40T (P13,V14,T,B13). I think the recent MCAT score is probably good enough for MSTP programs, even if the GPA is relatively low.

Extracurriculars: one club, a hospital volunteering experience, a fellowship group, several music ensembles at varying times, no athletics or leadership, a volunteering/shadowing experience in rural South Asia.

Research: worked for roughly a year in a basic research lab; got some interesting results but never published; I wasn't too enthusiastic about the work, the research topic didn't interest me too much. I got two recommendations out of this, I plan to pull one though.

Right now I am doing a masters in biophysics/chemistry. I won't have any academic classes, though - it will all be research. I hope to get two more recs out of this and maybe a paper or two.

I was wondering, does anyone have any advice about the sorts of other things I could do to strengthen my MD/PhD application? Can the GPA in some way be diluted? What about taking a GRE subject test in chemistry or physics or biochem and aceing it? Would extracurriculars (music groups, volunteering in a hospital, habitat, etc.) help, or do MD/PhD programs care only about research? Will the masters help, even if nothing gets published by the time I apply?

 

[BDavis]

Hi all, I was wondering if you could give me some advice for applying to MD/PhD programs.

Research: worked for roughly a year in a basic research lab; got some interesting results but never published; I wasn't too enthusiastic about the work, the research topic didn't interest me too much. I got two recommendations out of this, I plan to pull one though.

Right now I am doing a masters in biophysics/chemistry. I won't have any academic classes, though - it will all be research. I hope to get two more recs out of this and maybe a paper or two.

I was wondering, does anyone have any advice about the sorts of other things I could do to strengthen my MD/PhD application? Can the GPA in some way be diluted? What about taking a GRE subject test in chemistry or physics or biochem and aceing it? Would extracurriculars (music groups, volunteering in a hospital, habitat, etc.) help, or do MD/PhD programs care only about research? Will the masters help, even if nothing gets published by the time I apply?

Just glancing at your post, how strong are those letters of recommendations for your research (or at least did the people give you an impression that you would get a very strong recommendation)? You mention that you were not interested in the topic and also may pull 1 of the letters; do you think that 1 of those letters could of hurt your application? It seems like one thing you could do is mention more about your Master's research (since doing your masters) because many MSTP candidates have 2+ years of research. I think research experience is important to MSTP committees because they want to see if you are serious about committing to a 7-10 year MD/PhD program and pursuing a career in research. I don't know about taking the GREs; my opinion is that it would not help. Publications give you an advantage, but if you don't have any then it is not a big problem (you can always mention things like presenting at national meetings).

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

Just glancing at your post, how strong are those letters of recommendations for your research (or at least did the people give you an impression that you would get a very strong recommendation)? You mention that you were not interested in the topic and also may pull 1 of the letters; do you think that 1 of those letters could of hurt your application? It seems like one thing you could do is mention more about your Master's research (since doing your masters) because many MSTP candidates have 2+ years of research. I think research experience is important to MSTP committees because they want to see if you are serious about committing to a 7-10 year MD/PhD program and pursuing a career in research. I don't know about taking the GREs; my opinion is that it would not help. Publications give you an advantage, but if you don't have any then it is not a big problem (you can always mention things like presenting at national meetings).

Thanks for replying. I had only one substantial research experience (the other one was a short summer-term thing, I'm not counting it as part of the 1+ year), and I got two recommendations out of it. I have a sense that one of them may have been less strong than I needed, which is why I will pull it. Also, remember that a lot of schools require three research recommendations, and I didn't have a third one last time I applied.

So, would you say that the best things I can work towards right now, for MD/PhD programs, are recommendations and publications?

 

[Habari]

So, would you say that the best things I can work towards right now, for MD/PhD programs, are recommendations and publications?

right, it would be research/recs/publications (the latter being more optional). i would forget about your college gpa - it will be viewed as perfectly acceptable (hard majors at an assumably challenging school) once you have the research needed for these programs. your mcat will make most programs think carefully about your application, and i would guess that you will be much more successful the next time you apply.

finally - make sure that you have a coherent reason for the dual degrees, because for many programs (mine included), those essays are of highest importance, with gpa/mcat, others factors following.

 

[BDavis]

So, would you say that the best things I can work towards right now, for MD/PhD programs, are recommendations and publications?

I think your higher MCAT score combined with more substantial research/better recommendation letters should land you more than 2 interviews out of 20 programs. You might also practice interviewing if you feel uncomfortable in interviews (you said 1 of them didn't go very well); keep in mind that the medical school at some programs have to admit you before the MSTP can consider you for admission.

 

[leechy]

nineteen years old right now (18 when I applied last time).

Wow, you are so young! you must have started college at fifteen or so... that's amazing. Good luck to you this round... I think with your higher MCAT score you will stand a great chance of admittance.