International Student: Help with MD/PhD school list?

[Randomize]

Hello everyone, I'll love some help with my school list. My stats are 4.0/38/1.5 years of research (ongoing with summer fellowship, and a senior honors thesis next year), no publications. I'm pretty worried about my chances for MD/PhD as I'm an international student. I have made a list for the schools I'm applying to. Should I add more MDs, or look into any other schools?

MD/PhD
Albert Einstein
Baylor
Boston University
Pennsylvania State University
University of Pennsylvania
University of Chicago
University of Virginia
Vanderbilt
University of Washington in St. Louis
Dartmouth
Emory
Tufts
Weill Cornell
Medical College of Wisconsin
Saint Louis University
State University of New York Upstate
University of Kentucky
University of Minnesota

MD

Case Western Reserve University
Rosalind Franklin University
Columbia
Harvard
Johns Hopkins
Northwestern
Yale
Duke
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Brown
New York University
University of Pittsburg

Thank you so much! 🙂

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[ValentinNarcisse]

How did you come up with this list? Some very strange choices in here.

 

[Randomize]

I made the list by looking at the admission stats from MSAR, and also from talking to some med students. 🙂

 

[ValentinNarcisse]

I would recommend applying MSTP to all the programs that have one (move Columbia, Yale etc into the MD/PhD pile). I would apply MD to a handful of places with less established MD/PhD programs like Brown and Dartmouth. I would drop the random state schools (Kentucky, Upstate, MCW) since you are an international applicant.

 

[StIGMA]

I would move all of the MD schools with MSTPs into MD/PhD. MSAR doesnt necessarily tell you whether the program accepts internationals because they must matriculate to count. You may end up with an MD acceptance from one of your MD/PhD applications. If your goal is to simply get in somewhere this cycle even if it is not an MD/PhD program, add some less competitive MD programs that dont care about state residence.

 

[LADuck00]

I would recommend applying MSTP to all the programs that have one (move Columbia, Yale etc into the MD/PhD pile). I would apply MD to a handful of places with less established MD/PhD programs like Brown and Dartmouth. I would drop the random state schools (Kentucky, Upstate, MCW) since you are an international applicant.

MCW isn't a state school. It has an MSTP now too.

 

[Member011]

I would apply MD to a handful of places with less established MD/PhD programs like Brown and Dartmouth.

Don't recommend Dartmouth. They've had trouble getting support from the admin for the program, so I don't imagine they will have very many slots, and likely less for an international.
http://thedartmouth.com/2014/02/21/news/geisel-reverses-m-d-p-h-d-application-suspension

 

[plumazul]

Hello everyone, I'll love some help with my school list. My stats are 4.0/38/1.5 years of research (ongoing with summer fellowship, and a senior honors thesis next year), no publications. I'm pretty worried about my chances for MD/PhD as I'm an international student. (snip ... ) 🙂

An international student who applied this current cycle was kind enough to leave a complete record of his experience. You can learn a lot here.

 

[Randomize]

Thank you so much for all your advice! Mynameistoolong's record is a very sobering read, and from reading all the other forums here, would it be better for me to switch the ratio, and apply to majority MD schools for a better chance to just get into a med school? Thanks!

 

[pipettequeen]

I would do more research on which MD/PhD programs take international students and how programs consider MD/PhD applications (MD/PhD and MD simultaneously vs. either MD/PhD or MD only). If you are very sure about pursuing MD/PhD, I think applying majority MD/PhD this cycle is worth it. If it doesn't work out, you can strengthen your application during a gap year and apply MD only next time. There are many routes to becoming a physician-scientist, but I think the benefits of MD/PhD is worth risking a gap year.

 

[StIGMA]

Thank you so much for all your advice! Mynameistoolong's record is a very sobering read, and from reading all the other forums here, would it be better for me to switch the ratio, and apply to majority MD schools for a better chance to just get into a med school? Thanks!

If you are set on MD/PhD, I would recommend what I wrote earlier in the thread: Apply more widely to MD/PhD programs (25+) and include less competitive MD programs that accept significant proportion of out-of-state students as a backup. You are a competitive applicant (despite borderline to average research experience, can't really distinguish based on your limited description).

 

[ValentinNarcisse]

Don't recommend Dartmouth. They've had trouble getting support from the admin for the program, so I don't imagine they will have very many slots, and likely less for an international.
http://thedartmouth.com/2014/02/21/news/geisel-reverses-m-d-p-h-d-application-suspension

Hence why I said to apply MD-only there.

 

[Brunox13]

Are you a Canadian? If not, NYU will not accept you.
http://school.med.nyu.edu/md-admissions/how-apply/admissions-requirements-selection-criteria

To see more details on schools where internationals are eligible to apply, check out
http://premedusa.blogspot.com/2014/06/US-Medical-Schools-for-Internationals-Updated.html

 

[Juggs Gotcha]

I would move Mt Sinai to the MD-PhD pile since they accept and fund international students regularly.

I would remove UChicago, Dartmouth, and most of the state schools from the MD-PhD list unless you've confirmed that they accept internationals. I'd keep Yale and Columbia in the MD pool.

This past cycle Cornell and Penn said that they accepted international students but I'm not sure if they actually interviewed/accepted any, may be worth calling them.

FYI Mayo Clinic and U Maryland accept Canadian students with funding into their MSTP's.

 

[Brunox13]

I would move Mt Sinai to the MD-PhD pile since they accept and fund international students regularly.

I would remove UChicago, Dartmouth, and most of the state schools from the MD-PhD list unless you've confirmed that they accept internationals. I'd keep Yale and Columbia in the MD pool.

This past cycle Cornell and Penn said that they accepted international students but I'm not sure if they actually interviewed/accepted any, may be worth calling them.

FYI Mayo Clinic and U Maryland accept Canadian students with funding into their MSTP's.

I agree with Mt Sinai
Dartmouth does accept internationals for MD-PhD (confirmed over the phone), and so does Columbia (confirmed in person). Yale does not, it's on their website. (http://medicine.yale.edu/mdphd/admissions/FAQ.aspx - 1st question)
Cornell accepted 2 internationals last year; UPenn admitted 4 (MSAR).

 

[SBR249]

UT Southwestern MSTP accepts international students as well though the medical school will not accept international MD students and it uses a different application. But it's worth a shot especially since there's no secondary app and no secondary app fee.

 

[foreign4life]

I'm also an international student in the same position with 3.5 GPA and 39 MCAT. 3+ years of research and 1 publication. Here's my list:

Albert Einstein
Baylor
Harvard
UPenn
Emory
Mount Sinai
University of Pittsburgh
Medical College of Wisconsin
UT Southwestern
Vanderbilt
SUNY Upstate
University of Kentucky
Rosalind Franklin
Stony Brook
Pennsylvania State
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson
Northwestern
University of Minnesota

 

[jjmack]

I had a bunch of international MSTP friends at vandy. Your GPA is a little on the low side, but with solid research you might have a chance.

I'm also an international student in the same position with 3.5 GPA and 39 MCAT. 3+ years of research and 1 publication. Here's my list:

Albert Einstein
Baylor
Harvard
UPenn
Emory
Mount Sinai
University of Pittsburgh
Medical College of Wisconsin
UT Southwestern
Vanderbilt
SUNY Upstate
University of Kentucky
Rosalind Franklin
Stony Brook
Pennsylvania State
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson
Northwestern
University of Minnesota