I'm currently a rising senior, planning on taking a gap year (so applying next cycle, not this current one). I'm 100% set on going into research, so I'll be applying to MD/PhD and PhD programs only. I would obviously prefer to go to an MD/PhD program, but I'm unsure about whether my relatively low GPA would be prohibitive in being accepted to a strong program. I've listed most of my stats below, but can include additional information in comments if necessary.
cGPA: 3.40
sGPA: not really sure, but it should be roughly the same
MCAT: 523
GRE: I don't know if any MD/PhD programs even look at this, but... 170Q/166V/5.0W
Volunteer service: ~200 hrs at hospital.
Shadowing: None yet, planning to start soon. Should be able to get a significant number of hours by the time I apply.
Research: Been in the same cancer-related BME lab at my school since freshman year, including one summer full time. Contributed to quite a few projects there. One summer of research at top 3 institution in BME (lab is the leader in its specific area of research). PI here was also a professor at the affiliated medical school. This summer + fall (taking the semester off, still graduating on time) I'm at a top 3 institution in neuroscience (lab here is also the leader in its specific area of research). Should have strong letters from all three of my PIs. Oh, and I (along with a couple of friends) also started up a research project independently from a lab and managed to raise ~5000 dollars by presenting the idea to various faculty. That project is on hold for the summer, but is going well and should be complete by the time I apply. Also planning on working as a research assistant/tech during my gap year.
Publications/presentations: One publication out already, another submitted. Potentially a third one submitted/published by the time I apply, but no guarantees there. Extensive poster presentations, including national conference, received a couple of awards from presentations at undergraduate-only events.
The fields I'm looking at for my PhD are neuroscience>cancer biology>developmental biology. So my questions regarding my application: Are my chances of getting into an MD/PhD program good? Are my chances at a top MD/PhD program good? What can I do to improve my application over the next year? Any other advice? Thanks in advance!
cGPA: 3.40
sGPA: not really sure, but it should be roughly the same
MCAT: 523
GRE: I don't know if any MD/PhD programs even look at this, but... 170Q/166V/5.0W
Volunteer service: ~200 hrs at hospital.
Shadowing: None yet, planning to start soon. Should be able to get a significant number of hours by the time I apply.
Research: Been in the same cancer-related BME lab at my school since freshman year, including one summer full time. Contributed to quite a few projects there. One summer of research at top 3 institution in BME (lab is the leader in its specific area of research). PI here was also a professor at the affiliated medical school. This summer + fall (taking the semester off, still graduating on time) I'm at a top 3 institution in neuroscience (lab here is also the leader in its specific area of research). Should have strong letters from all three of my PIs. Oh, and I (along with a couple of friends) also started up a research project independently from a lab and managed to raise ~5000 dollars by presenting the idea to various faculty. That project is on hold for the summer, but is going well and should be complete by the time I apply. Also planning on working as a research assistant/tech during my gap year.
Publications/presentations: One publication out already, another submitted. Potentially a third one submitted/published by the time I apply, but no guarantees there. Extensive poster presentations, including national conference, received a couple of awards from presentations at undergraduate-only events.
The fields I'm looking at for my PhD are neuroscience>cancer biology>developmental biology. So my questions regarding my application: Are my chances of getting into an MD/PhD program good? Are my chances at a top MD/PhD program good? What can I do to improve my application over the next year? Any other advice? Thanks in advance!
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