I'm considering applying to MD/PhD programs next year and was wondering if anyone who's applying this year could give me info about your experiences so far. Also, is there anyone who's applying to both MD and MD/PhD programs?
I have heard that this is a highly competitive program and hard to get into, but I am wondering if I would have a better shot at this type of program since I have more research experience rather than service experience.
Don't apply MD/PhD just because you think you have a better shot due to a lack of service experience. This is a really long path to take and definitely not the easy way out. That is the first thing you need to figure out. Start talking to people at your school who are MD/PhDs. I would guess by your screen name that you are a student at UCLA. If that is the case, you should talk to Kelsey Martin, the director of the MD/PhD program there. She is really nice and an MD/PhD herself. This application and interview process for MD/PhD is much more strenuous than for MD-only, so really the best advice I can give you is to do some soul-searching now and be firm in your decision by June.
Next, I personally wouldn't apply to both programs at once. You can put down that you want to be considered for MD if you are rejected for MD/PhD at most places and usually rejected MD/PhD applicants have good luck getting MD-only interviews. That's not to say that there aren't people who do apply to both. There are a few on this board who can share why they did that. I met a guy at one of my interviews as well who was several years into the program and told me he applied to MD-only, PhD-only and MD/PhD and then used the interview and application process to make up his mind. That sounds expensive....
In regards to my experience with the app process so far you can check out my MDApps for the stats. I have been very pleased. It seems to me that MD/PhD admissions, at least to get the interview, are somewhat less random than MD-only. There is a formula to getting the interview (not to say it works 100% of the time of course). In my opinion here's what it is:
35+ MCAT with nothing less than a 10 in a section
>3.7 GPA
Science major with good grades in upper division classes
1 non-science LOR
3-4 science/research LORs
Only minimal patient contact required
2+ years in the lab (the more the better)
Good research LORs from said lab
Strong essays about why MD/PhD
Posters/Pubs are great too but not required. This is something I was really worried about because I don't have any but I think I have done quite well without them. Other than that, the other thing that has served me well is interviewing skills. There is a subtle art to interviewing well. Basically, you have to be able to sell yourself without sounding like you're selling yourself. Make them want you and be prepared for anything. I once had an interview where we ended up discussing the philosophy of science and the meaning of what it is to write history for 30 mins (omg, the most fun I have ever had in an interview). But, I could see how some people would have been thrown off by that.
Anyway, good luck and feel free to ask more questions. We are a very friendly forum!
