MD/PhD Essays

[boogiecousins94]

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I am applying to mostly MD schools, but was planning on applying to a few for MD/PhD that review you for both MD and Md/PhD concurrently (so essentially no harm done in applying for both). With that said, I was about to submit and when I added these two schools I saw the MD/PhD essays. For some reason I thought these were all parts of secondaries not the primary so as of now I have nothing written for them. Am I able to submit my app to my MD only schools and then add these MD/PhD essays later and still submit to these places? I saw a post from 2008 that said I could(idk if outdated), but I would like to submit my app now as I realize it'll probably take another week for me to finish the MD/PhD essays and I would like to start my verification process ASAP as my app is done otherwise

 

[880cylon]

All the essays are part of your application. I doubt you can add the MD/PHD ones later, just like you can't add the personal statement later.

 

[boogiecousins94]

so it essentially means once you submit to some MD schools you can't add any md/phd schools at all?

 

[880cylon]

I guess not since you wont have any md/phd essays.

 

[boogiecousins94]

You can submit your AMCAS once so it must be complete before you do that. You cant add your MD/PhD essays later. I would also that your surprise at finding these essays on the AMCAS application would suggest you have not researched this process nearly enough. Applying to MD/PhD is not something done on a whim and then spending effort rather late to first developing the essays. You may be better off using your time and energy working on secondaries and not on a long shot, "what the hell I got nothing to lose" attitude for MD/PhD

I completely agree...the reason it seems "on a whim" is that my research is the strongest part of my app by far, the weak point being my GPA around 10-20%ile accepted and MCAT around 75-90%ile accepted. I wasn't planning on applying to MD/PhD as I didn't think I was competitive enough even thought I have been interested in the research portion for a while. I know they are a lot harder to get into than normal MD, and since some of my stats are lower, I didn't want to purposely make it harder to get into an MD program in general by applying to strictly MD/PhD. I was just interested in programs that considered you for both regular MD and MD/PhD simultaneously so I would not be disadvantaged if I got rejected in october etc. and got added to the regular MD pool that late

Also, I just checked but it actually does let you add those essays after you submit it as long as it's to a new school

 

[wholeheartedly]

I completely agree...the reason it seems "on a whim" is that my research is the strongest part of my app by far, the weak point being my GPA around 10-20%ile accepted and MCAT around 75-90%ile accepted. I wasn't planning on applying to MD/PhD as I didn't think I was competitive enough even thought I have been interested in the research portion for a while. I know they are a lot harder to get into than normal MD, and since some of my stats are lower, I didn't want to purposely make it harder to get into an MD program in general by applying to strictly MD/PhD. I was just interested in programs that considered you for both regular MD and MD/PhD simultaneously so I would not be disadvantaged if I got rejected in october etc. and got added to the regular MD pool that late

Also, I just checked but it actually does let you add those essays after you submit it as long as it's to a new school

be advised that while you can apply to some school's MD and MD/PhD programs concurrently, it does still put you at a major disadvantage for those that consider you for MD after they decide you don't make the cut for the MD/PhD, which seems to be quite a few of them. The reason is, the cycle runs later for the dual degree and by the time you get rejected from MD/ PhD the MD cycle is already far along with lots of the spots filled for rolling programs esp.

 

[boogiecousins94]

be advised that while you can apply to some school's MD and MD/PhD programs concurrently, it does still put you at a major disadvantage for those that consider you for MD after they decide you don't make the cut for the MD/PhD, which seems to be quite a few of them. The reason is, the cycle runs later for the dual degree and by the time you get rejected from MD/ PhD the MD cycle is already far along with lots of the spots filled for rolling programs esp.

yea thats the part that I was wary of because I want to maximize my chances for any MD school....just out of curiosity, do most people who apply to MD/PhD apply to regular MD as well at other places? I feel like since most MD/PhD programs take so few people it would be a disadvantage in general to apply to solely those and not any regular MD even if you are an outstanding applicant

 

[fdgjfg]

The previous replies are not correct.

If you only apply to MD schools, then you will only be able to fill out the normal personal statement. If you submit and are verified, and then decide to apply to a new MD/PhD program later, you will be prompted to fill in the MD/PhD essay and the research essay. (As long as you have not already added the school and specified it as "MD only".

I know because I have submitted and been verified, and only have a personal statement. If I add a school to my list and specify MD/PhD, it gives me a message stating "This program requires additional essays which must be completed before submission." The MD/PhD and research essay text boxes then appear in the essay section and can then be filled in.

So there would be no problem with submitting now to a school that you were going to apply to MD only, and then doing your other essays while you wait to be verified.

 

[wholeheartedly]

yea thats the part that I was wary of because I want to maximize my chances for any MD school....just out of curiosity, do most people who apply to MD/PhD apply to regular MD as well at other places? I feel like since most MD/PhD programs take so few people it would be a disadvantage in general to apply to solely those and not any regular MD even if you are an outstanding applicant

There is a whole forum on here for physician scientists. That would be a really good place to spend some time as these questions are common. Please check it out (just don't cross post the same questions here and there as that's a violation of the terms of service here).

Also, I can move this thread there if you'd feel that's a better place for it.