MD/PhD Do I have a chance?

[hellohelpwithfuture]

Undergraduate cGPA: 3.89 (small not well-known school)
Master's GPA: 4.0 (only one semester so far)
Didn't take the MCAT yet (but I am not a good test taker)
Took the GRE twice and got below average

Currently my 2nd semester getting my masters in biomedical science at a medical school. I plan to apply this summer to an MD/PhD program. I am considering getting my PhD first and than applying for an MD later in life if I don't get accepted.

Undergrad
involved in a small research project and did a senior thesis
some volunteering at a hospital for a summer
and some other extracurricular activities (athlete/clubs/volunteering)

Master's
going to do/working on a master's thesis
currently student assistant in a lab- but not doing research just taking care of lab animals
planing to get more clinical shadowing/ volunteering

I think that I have strong letters of Recommendations

I wish that I did more research but there is no time now because I am using all my time now to work on my thesis. Do I have any chance in the world to get in? I have a good background story for why I love research and medicine. I know that I am slacking in a lot of categories. Has anyone gotten in with limited research?

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[Lucca]

Undergraduate cGPA: 3.89 (small not well-known school)
Master's GPA: 4.0 (only one semester so far)
Didn't take the MCAT yet (but I am not a good test taker)
Took the GRE twice and got below average

Currently my 2nd semester getting my masters in biomedical science at a medical school. I plan to apply this summer to an MD/PhD program. I am considering getting my PhD first and than applying for an MD later in life if I don't get accepted.

Undergrad
involved in a small research project and did a senior thesis
some volunteering at a hospital for a summer
and some other extracurricular activities (athlete/clubs/volunteering)

Master's
going to do/working on a master's thesis
currently student assistant in a lab- but not doing research just taking care of lab animals
planing to get more clinical shadowing/ volunteering

I think that I have strong letters of Recommendations

I wish that I did more research but there is no time now because I am using all my time now to work on my thesis. Do I have any chance in the world to get in? I have a good background story for why I love research and medicine. I know that I am slacking in a lot of categories. Has anyone gotten in with limited research?

Does your master's thesis not involve research?

For these programs demonstrating a sustained commitment to research is important. You are unlikely to be admitted anywhere without at least a year of sustained experience. Ideally you would have two years or more with other evidence of productivity (strong research LORs, posters and conferences, publications not necessary but helpful).

Undergrad GPA is more than fine, but two low GRE scores and no MCAT yet worry me. It also makes me wonder if you have completed all of the mandatory prerequisite coursework for medical school.

Have you started studying for the mcat? This is not a test you take cold. People prepare for 3-6 months with varying degrees of intensity to score reasonably well on this test and to be competitive for MD/PhD you should do exceptionally well. 513+ is acceptable but ideally you are 516+, I.e scoring above 95% of all other test takers.

 

[redrover44]

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[JoaoMoutinho]

Why do you believe you're a good test taker if you got below average on the GRE twice? The MCAT is a much harder test than the GRE

Didn't take the MCAT yet (but I am not a good test taker)

I think that OP said that s/he wasn't a good test taker.

 

[CerseiLannister]

I would invest a lot of time in MCAT prep/ do not take until consistently scoring target on practice

 

[Chimpoid]

I would invest a lot of time in MCAT prep/ do not take until consistently scoring target on practice

Keep in mind that Kaplan/ Princeton Review practice tests are typically more difficult than the real MCAT to artificially show improvement. I think consistent scores of 510-512+ on practice tests would result in an acceptable score on the actual test.

 

[Lucca]

Keep in mind that Kaplan/ Princeton Review practice tests are typically more difficult than the real MCAT to artificially show improvement. I think consistent scores of 510-512+ on practice tests would result in an acceptable score on the actual test.

This was my XP with TPR

 

[CerseiLannister]

average of AMCAS official practices ~ actual score

 

[OxToCA]

Preparing for the MCAT while you're in a full-time MS will be difficult, which may rule out applying to MD/PhD programs this Summer. Since most PhD programs want >50% on each GRE section, and it requires less preparation than the MCAT, you could probably manage that better; depending on how you do, you can also decide whether to apply to medical school during the Summer of 2018.