MD/PhD Chances

[prco226]

Please let me know what you think of my chances considering that the majority of my research has been in psychology. I'm planning to apply to neuroscience programs because I'm interested in pursuing translational research in clinical affective neuroscience. I might also consider pursuing a PhD in psychology if the research leans on neuroscience.

Non-Prestigious Private University
Psychology Major and Philosophy Minor

State University
Just finished informal postbac pre-medicine program

Cumulative GPA: 3.98
Science GPA: 4.00
MCAT: 517 (130/127/130/130) kind of worried that the CARS will be seen as a weakness
GRE: 165 VR (96th percentile), 164 QR (87th percentile), AW 4.5 (82nd percentile)

Research:
1 group project part of psychology class, presented at small conference
1 semester as a research assistant in an eating disorder clinic (mostly data entry and contacting patients to do questionnaires, but I did a literature review for use by clinicians)
2 independent psychology research projects done in the same semester, both presented as poster presentations at a psych conference
1 summer as a research assistant for a counseling psychology professor (article searches, data entry, and reviewing literature)
1 year as a clinical research assistant in a behavioral pharmacology lab studying drug abuse (mostly doing patient screenings and follow-ups)
This past week, I just started as a research assistant at a neuroimaging lab for my upcoming gap year and will be studying data analysis of EEG and fMRI data. Not sure if this experience will be looked at as seriously though because I have not been there long.
No publications

Shadowing:
16 hours Family Medicine
8 hours Plastic Surgery
23.5 hours Psychiatry

Other Stuff:
SRNA/psych tech at psych hospital (560 hours)
President of campus National Alliance on Mental Illness for 1 year (60 hours)
Rape crisis hotline advocate (350 hours)
TA for Experimental Design and Analysis in Psychology class (50 hours)
Summer counselor for autistic child (350 hours)
Summer doing various volunteer housing building and renovation (60 hours)

I first entered college as a seminarian with plans to become a Catholic priest and enter a religious order. In my MD/PhD essay, I'll open with how my interest with the contemplative/active in religion is analogous with research/clinical practice as an MD/PhD.

I'm applying to both MD/PhD and MD-only programs.

Applying MD/PhD:
Baylor, Case Western, Columbia, Indiana, Stony Brook, UCSF, Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville, Maryland, UNC Chapel Hill, Wisconsin-Madison, WashU, UC Irvine, UC Davis, UCLA, Emory, U Penn, UAB, Pitt

Applying MD-only:
Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Loyola Chicago, NYU, Ohio State, Kentucky

Not surprisingly, I'm planning to have my specialty be in psychiatry. I'm worried that a lot of med schools will look down on most of my research experience being in psychology, and I don't want to be left with no MD/PhD offers and only slim chances at MD-only programs when my applications get referred to MD-only admissions late in the cycle. Feel free to be as honest as you like. Thanks!

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[grizzly1093]

Your GPA is obviously great, and your MCAT is good but could give you trouble at some programs like WashU or Penn--not sure about WashU, but the Penn MSTP has a rigid percentile cut-off. (This is according to an insider who would not disclose the exact percentile.) For most MSTPs, though, a 517 is right on par.

No programs will look down on psych research, but some do tend to favor applicants with extended (1-2+ years) experience in basic science. Long-term, in-depth research experience is by far the most important qualification, and my fear for you is that it seems like your research stints have been shorter and more superficial aside from maybe your pharmacology work. Your presentations demonstrate productivity, though, which is great. You'll need to convince adcoms that you have lived and breathed in your field and know what a life of research is like. This next year in imaging will help.

The religion slant is an interesting one--I'm also religious, and it was a topic of conversation/questioning in almost every interview. I frequently had to pass scientific "litmus tests" and discuss them in light of my religion--this was unavoidable since I attended an obscure college that is religious in both name and practice (my interviewers' curiosity was understandable). I had prepared to answer these questions, though (religion and science is even a favorite topic of mine), and things turned out alright. Others can perhaps provide better insight, but if you choose to write about religion, do so very carefully and understand that there will be questions and could be hidden judgment.

 

[grizzly1093]

Also, for MD only, it'd be good to find some ongoing shadowing and clinical volunteering for this year. You current hours still scream "psychology."

 

[Lucca]

Your GPA is obviously great, and your MCAT is good but could give you trouble at some programs like WashU or Penn--not sure about WashU, but the Penn MSTP has a rigid percentile cut-off. (This is according to an insider who would not disclose the exact percentile.) For most MSTPs, though, a 517 is right on par.

No programs will look down on psych research, but some do tend to favor applicants with extended (1-2+ years) experience in basic science. Long-term, in-depth research experience is by far the most important qualification, and my fear for you is that it seems like your research stints have been shorter and more superficial aside from maybe your pharmacology work. Your presentations demonstrate productivity, though, which is great. You'll need to convince adcoms that you have lived and breathed in your field and know what a life of research is like. This next year in imaging will help.

The religion slant is an interesting one--I'm also religious, and it was a topic of conversation/questioning in almost every interview. I frequently had to pass scientific "litmus tests" and discuss them in light of my religion--this was unavoidable since I attended an obscure college that is religious in both name and practice (my interviewers' curiosity was understandable). I had prepared to answer these questions, though (religion and science is even a favorite topic of mine), and things turned out alright. Others can perhaps provide better insight, but if you choose to write about religion, do so very carefully and understand that there will be questions and could be hidden judgment.

Penn MSTP website lists that most applicants interviewed for their program had an MCAT above the 90th percentile. Unless they are lying or playing a pointlessly cruel practical joke, that’s probably the cutoff. Obviously, people accepted to Penn tend to have 97th percentile or better scores.

 

[rtn1]

Your GPA is obviously great, and your MCAT is good but could give you trouble at some programs like WashU or Penn--not sure about WashU, but the Penn MSTP has a rigid percentile cut-off. (This is according to an insider who would not disclose the exact percentile.) For most MSTPs, though, a 517 is right on par.

Oh f***, 517 is already the 96th percentile. What do you think the cutoff is? 97? 98? 99??

 

[grizzly1093]

Oh f***, 517 is already the 96th percentile. What do you think the cutoff is? 97? 98? 99??

I have no clue, but WashU and Penn both tend to average around 521. @Lucca might be right about the 90th, which would be around 513-514. I do know someone who was accepted at WashU MSTP but screened from Penn's MSTP based on the cutoff, though, so it must be pretty high...

 

[Lucca]

I have no clue, but WashU and Penn both tend to average around 521. @Lucca might be right about the 90th, which would be around 513-514. I do know someone who was accepted at WashU MSTP but screened from Penn's MSTP based on the cutoff, though, so it must be pretty high...

Yah I imagine the vast majority of people interviewed are closer to 98-99th percentile than 90th but it makes sense to have a more lax cutoff otherwise you can miss good candidates with lower stats.

 

[grizzly1093]

Yah I imagine the vast majority of people interviewed are closer to 98-99th percentile than 90th but it makes sense to have a more lax cutoff otherwise you can miss good candidates with lower stats.

You would think, but I've been surprised more than once by the priorities of adcoms...

 

[Lucca]

You would think, but I've been surprised more than once by the priorities of adcoms...

I'm talking about the rare diamond-in-the-rough; someone with "lower" stats (which for MD/PhD means like 3.7/515 lmao) with exceptional letters, research. We all know that numbers drive this game at the end of the day.

I'm still holding out hope though. Two cycles ago every matriculant at JHU MSTP had an MCAT above 521. This past year I know a couple of people who were accepted with 517s. Let's see if they show mercy my cycle.

 

[grizzly1093]

I could've sworn that the legendary @Lucca was faculty somewhere lol. I wish you and others in this thread the best for this cycle!