MD/PHD questions urgent

[jamesq]

Hi,

I have a couple of questions about the research essay for MD/PHD. How long should the research essay be. Mine is 10,000 characters but my uncle said that it was too long and to keep it under 2 pages? Secondly, can we add a bibliography at the end to cite references (should we) or assume its common knowledge. Finally, how bad is it to have a subpar mcat. I have a 29 MCAT score but I was told that MD/PHD admissions look more at your research experience which I have a lot of. I am retaking MCAT but if you could give me some indication of where i stand that would be great (29S, 3.87 GPA).

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[gstrub]

Just write "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" over and over again for the entire length of the essay. Write a small Haiku for the bibliography about how you couldn't decide how long to make the bibliography (although it will be a Haiku...that will really trip them out.) Then take your MCAT score sheet, fold it into an elaborate Origami structure, and include it in a small box with your uncle's picture on it. That should get them to ignore your low MCAT score.

 

[magwi11]

Just write "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" over and over again for the entire length of the essay. Write a small Haiku for the bibliography about how you couldn't decide how long to make the bibliography (although it will be a Haiku...that will really trip them out.) Then take your MCAT score sheet, fold it into an elaborate Origami structure, and include it in a small box with your uncle's picture on it. That should get them to ignore your low MCAT score.

Where'd that come from?

I think I came in 2 characters under the limit. Use the space AMCAS gives you. You don't need to cite references.

Your GPA is fine. You MCAT is less than fine. You might have some luck, but you will likely have trouble getting interviews with a score like that. Programs do focus on research, but the average MCAT for MD/PhD students is still higher than MD only. Stellar research and great letters will help you some, but taking it again would be wise, and I would put a good bit of effort into preparing. You really want to bump up into the mid-30s to keep it from holding you back. Nobody can really say where you stand overall without knowing more about your research etc.

 

[Neuronix]

I have a couple of questions about the research essay for MD/PHD. How long should the research essay be. Mine is 10,000 characters but my uncle said that it was too long and to keep it under 2 pages?

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J68fKEHGNg[/YOUTUBE]

Who is your uncle, and what does he do?

...

IT'S NOT A TUMAH!

...

Secondly, can we add a bibliography at the end to cite references (should we) or assume its common knowledge.

Anything you write should be simple enough to understand without references. Minimize your field specific jargon and briefly explain the significance of unfamiliar terms. Don't include references.

I have a 29 MCAT score but I was told that MD/PHD admissions look more at your research experience which I have a lot of. I am retaking MCAT but if you could give me some indication of where i stand that would be great (29S, 3.87 GPA).

It's pretty bad. It's one thing if it's low. That's really low. It happens but it's not common. Please put it in perspective. MD/PhD programs, especially MSTPs and fully funded programs, have higher accepted stats than straight MD admissions. Yours is lower than the average for MD-only students. I hope your retake score is much higher. When will your score come in? I might recommend you delay your AMCAS app until you get that score, assuming it's higher, so you aren't auto-rejected by a lot of programs. There's no guarantee they'll pick your app back up when you send them the new score if they've already seen your 29.

 

[jamesq]

im sorry, my uncle used to be on the md/phd admissions committee and thus I thought his advice was valid. Thanks for the candid responses, hopefully my retake will be higher. So is there a way to just send the MD essay and not the MD/PHD essay, but then submit it at a later date. I was told by another MD/PHD student that the mcat is important but its not the determining factor, so that gives me a ray of hope.

 

[Neuronix]

im sorry, my uncle used to be on the md/phd admissions committee and thus I thought his advice was valid.

His advice may be very valid. Different adcoms always have different opinions on things and his is as valid as other adcoms. The thing is you just said your uncle told you to do x. How do we know who your uncle is? Is he an alcoholic UPS driver like my uncle? A bitter, life hating ex-high school teacher like my other uncle? Oh, he's an MD/PhD himself. Ok, sounds good. He might be commenting that yours is too long. It may indeed be. I don't know without seeing it (sorry I don't have time to read essays these days). The general advice I recommended might shorten it up?

So is there a way to just send the MD essay and not the MD/PHD essay, but then submit it at a later date.

I was suggesting not submitting your primary until you have the higher MCAT score. There is no way to submit some things now and other things later. The question is: how late would your primary be? A late primary, but not so late as to knock you out of contention at most places, with a 35 is going to do a lot for you. It's risky though, because if your score doesn't improve you've just made yourself a late applicant which is going to hurt you further. This is something you need to decide for yourself. You do have a ray of hope. I don't want to make it sound like you aren't going to get in with your 29. You may not though.

 

[Ariodant]

Personally I would suggest you to hold off a year and beef up. The application process is time and $$ consuming, you don't want to enter it unless you are ready. Even if you submit now you won't be anyway near early, I was finishing up my secondaries and getting interview invitations this time last year.

 

[gstrub]

Are you an URM? A 29 might put you at the top of that pile.

 

[Neuronix]

 

[jamesq]

thanks, I think my best bet right now is to concentrate on getting a higher mcat.

However, are you sure there is no way to submit MD/PHD essay later.
This thread seems to suggest otherwise:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=538146

 

[Neuronix]

However, are you sure there is no way to submit MD/PHD essay later.
This thread seems to suggest otherwise:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=538146

Hmmm... Nice pickup. I don't know how to approach this one. This part of AMCAS has changed since I applied. It seems the trick is to submit your AMCAS MD-only then add MD/PhD programs later. That's a pretty good idea... This way the MD/PhD programs won't get your primary until your scores are back but your primary gets certified. Strong idea

 

[jamesq]

Hmmm... Nice pickup. I don't know how to approach this one. This part of AMCAS has changed since I applied. It seems the trick is to submit your AMCAS MD-only then add MD/PhD programs later. That's a pretty good idea... This way the MD/PhD programs won't get your primary until your scores are back but your primary gets certified. Strong idea

Your advice is much appreciated, thank you.