PhD and Post doc experience

[kanu9]

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Hey guys,
I have a PhD in microbiology and 4 years of research expereince as a post doc, first in microbiology and then oncology. I am applying this year for 2008 Fall. My GPA is 3.76 and my MCAT is 27 (V-9,PS-8, BS-10) What do you guys think of my chances at getting an interview and are there people like me on SDN that can share their stats and experiences. I hav 3 months of ER work and 1 yar of suicide prevention work.

 

[drizzt3117]

Your MCAT is going to be a red flag. Adcoms may feel that someone with such extensive experience in the hard sciences should certainly be able to score better than 10 and 8 on the science sections.

 

[BlueCow]

Hey guys,
I have a PhD in microbiology and 4 years of research expereince as a post doc, first in microbiology and then oncology. I am applying this year for 2008 Fall. My GPA is 3.76 and my MCAT is 27 (V-9,PS-8, BS-10) What do you guys think of my chances at getting an interview and are there people like me on SDN that can share their stats and experiences. I hav 3 months of ER work and 1 yar of suicide prevention work.

Your application looks good. Just make sure you apply widely. Some schools will love you and some will discriminate you.

 

[efex101]

The MCAT is on the "lower" side and like another poster stated it may be a red flag. I would apply to as many schools as I could afford and go from there. Good luck.

 

[QofQuimica]

Hey guys,
I have a PhD in microbiology and 4 years of research expereince as a post doc, first in microbiology and then oncology. I am applying this year for 2008 Fall. My GPA is 3.76 and my MCAT is 27 (V-9,PS-8, BS-10) What do you guys think of my chances at getting an interview and are there people like me on SDN that can share their stats and experiences. I hav 3 months of ER work and 1 yar of suicide prevention work.

Definitely apply broadly; I think you have a reasonable chance of garnering some interviews and acceptances. Your MCAT is on the low side, but not so low that it will automatically disqualify you. Your GPA, if that's your UG GPA, is perfectly respectable. Your PhD and post doc experience is essentially a really nice EC. It won't turn your MCAT into a 30-something, unfortunately, but I think you should be all right if you apply to enough schools and choose the schools wisely. to you. 🙂

 

[QofQuimica]

Adcoms may feel that someone with such extensive experience in the hard sciences should certainly be able to score better than 10 and 8 on the science sections.

I'm not so sure that this is true. The MCAT ain't nothing like grad school, that's for d*** sure. 😉

 

[kanu9]

thanks guys., I am applying to UNMC,NY medical college, BU, Tufts (I worked there for 4 years) Univ.of Oklahoma, Albany medical college. Should I aim for higher schools where research is prioritized. What other schools do you suggest? My AMCAS went in Aug 28th, am I too late?

 

[njbmd]

thanks guys., I am applying to UNMC,NY medical college, BU, Tufts (I worked there for 4 years) Univ.of Oklahoma, Albany medical college. Should I aim for higher schools where research is prioritized. What other schools do you suggest? My AMCAS went in Aug 28th, am I too late?

The medical schools that place heavy emphasis on research are generally ones that have a very high MCAT averages so I wouldn't add those in any great numbers. Your research is not going to offset that MCAT. You should add schools that have lower MCAT averages. Check the MSAR and find a few.

 

[QofQuimica]

thanks guys., I am applying to UNMC,NY medical college, BU, Tufts (I worked there for 4 years) Univ.of Oklahoma, Albany medical college. Should I aim for higher schools where research is prioritized. What other schools do you suggest? My AMCAS went in Aug 28th, am I too late?

Are you a NY resident? If so, definitely apply to all of your state schools. You should also get a copy of the MSAR and pick out several other schools that sound appealing to you and that accept residents of your state. to you. 🙂

 

[kanu9]

No I am a Massachussetts resident. I am applying to Umass Medical. I have a paper in Molecular CELL with A national Science Medal winning and national academy of sciences member at Stanford.He is one of the pioneers of gene regulation. I was wondering if I should apply to Stanford using this contact.
I am applying to Chicago schools and just all over the place.

 

[Scottish Chap]

No I am a Massachussetts resident. I am applying to Umass Medical. I have a paper in Molecular CELL with A national Science Medal winning and national academy of sciences member at Stanford.He is one of the pioneers of gene regulation. I was wondering if I should apply to Stanford using this contact.
I am applying to Chicago schools and just all over the place.

Political connections help, but usually only after you've secured an interview. As others have pointed out, it's very hard to get past the initial screen at several schools. The raw numbers really are used to filter out many otherwise great candidates. It may not seem fair, but it's reality.

Personally, I think you have a decent chance at all 4 state schools in NY (especially SUNY SB which has unusually strong research for a state school) and even SUNY Syracuse (which gives zero preference to in-state applicants). After that, apply to the usual spread of schools where your MCAT average is close to the school's mean. Also apply to Albany, Vermont, and Rosalind Franklin in Chicago. Private schools (barring the usual elite squad) often are a little more forgiving with regard to the MCAT. This was my own experience. It may be that their agenda is a little different from the generic state schools which is heavily-subsidized and usually mandated to pump out a number of docs who will hopefully serve the state. Thus, state schools can be a little less forgiving and they want the assurance that you'll not fail out if they admit you. This reasoning is not personal opinion but comes right from the Dean of an anonymous allopathic medical school who is now the CEO.

If you are set on an allopathic medical school, I know several PhD-to-MD applicants who have been accepted to GW with numbers like yours, and they all did very well. In fact, one of them was the attending on a case I scrubbed in on the other day. He entered GW in his late 40's. BTW, I was a 'premed postdoc'. I'm a MSIII now. Publications matter more than a Ph.D. or postdoc in my humble opinion; PhD's entering medical school are not as rare as everyone thinks and you really must shine as brightly as your equally-dedicated and talented contemporaries who are applying right out of undergrad.

Don't let others discourage you - just be sensible about where you apply - and try to keep your application package as consistent with your past endeavors as possible. While a change of heart is often closer to the truth for many PhD-to-MD applicants, you must make this transition look like a logical step for you. Good luck.

 

[kanu9]

Political connections help, but usually only after you've secured an interview. As others have pointed out, it's very hard to get past the initial screen at several schools. The raw numbers really are used to filter out many otherwise great candidates. It may not seem fair, but it's reality.

Personally, I think you have a decent chance at all 4 state schools in NY (especially SUNY SB which has unusually strong research for a state school) and even SUNY Syracuse (which gives zero preference to in-state applicants). After that, apply to the usual spread of schools where your MCAT average is close to the school's mean. Also apply to Albany, Vermont, and Rosalind Franklin in Chicago. Private schools (barring the usual elite squad) often are a little more forgiving with regard to the MCAT. This was my own experience. It may be that their agenda is a little different from the generic state schools which is heavily-subsidized and usually mandated to pump out a number of docs who will hopefully serve the state. Thus, state schools can be a little less forgiving and they want the assurance that you'll not fail out if they admit you. This reasoning is not personal opinion but comes right from the Dean of an anonymous allopathic medical school who is now the CEO.

If you are set on an allopathic medical school, I know several PhD-to-MD applicants who have been accepted to GW with numbers like yours, and they all did very well. In fact, one of them was the attending on a case I scrubbed in on the other day. He entered GW in his late 40's. BTW, I was a 'premed postdoc'. I'm a MSIII now. Publications matter more than a Ph.D. or postdoc in my humble opinion; PhD's entering medical school are not as rare as everyone thinks and you really must shine as brightly as your equally-dedicated and talented contemporaries who are applying right out of undergrad.

Don't let others discourage you - just be sensible about where you apply - and try to keep your application package as consistent with your past endeavors as possible. While a change of heart is often closer to the truth for many PhD-to-MD applicants, you must make this transition look like a logical step for you. Good luck.

Hello Scottish chap, thanks very much for your input. I appreciate it. I am applying to 4 schools in NY I will add SB to my list. I have 5 publications 3 first author, 1 seond and 1 third. I will have two more in this postdoc. My reccommender is going to mention that in her LOR. She is also faculty at the medical school I am applying to. I am also getting a LOR from my previous employer who was the Head of Dept. at the medical school and just retired 4 months ago. When I told the admissions officer that she was one of my reccommenders he said he knew her very well. I have done volunteer work and also suicide prevention for 1 year. I was wondering if I sent you my essay would you give me your opinion on it.Thanks again.

 

[gmoneytalks]

kanu,

i feel like we're siblings separated at birth. by the time of matriculation i'll have a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering (with applications in health physics). i just got my mcat back: 14 PS, 10 BS, 6 😱 VR (30 O). I know, I know. Another engineer that can't read. I'm ok with the overall score but worried about the spread. The 6 VR is the lowest I've ever gotten on any MCAT test, practice or otherwise. The adcoms wont know this though so who cares.

Anyway, my BCPM GPA is a 3.82 and AO is somewhere in the 3.7 - 3.8 range (as is my Tex GPA). I've already applied to a good number of schools and every school in my home state of texas. Realistically, what are my chances? Thanks.

 

[Engineer2MD]

Hey gmoneytalkes,
I have an M.S. in nuclear engineering (2002) with apps in Health Physics. I can't read either!

*hypothetical high five* !!!

 

[kanu9]

kanu,

i feel like we're siblings separated at birth. by the time of matriculation i'll have a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering (with applications in health physics). i just got my mcat back: 14 PS, 10 BS, 6 😱 VR (30 O). I know, I know. Another engineer that can't read. I'm ok with the overall score but worried about the spread. The 6 VR is the lowest I've ever gotten on any MCAT test, practice or otherwise. The adcoms wont know this though so who cares.

Anyway, my BCPM GPA is a 3.82 and AO is somewhere in the 3.7 - 3.8 range (as is my Tex GPA). I've already applied to a good number of schools and every school in my home state of texas. Realistically, what are my chances? Thanks.

HI,
I think your VR is a little low, but your GPA and the sciences definetley make up for it to a certain extent. Apply.

 

[kanu9]

Are you a NY resident? If so, definitely apply to all of your state schools. You should also get a copy of the MSAR and pick out several other schools that sound appealing to you and that accept residents of your state. to you. 🙂

Hello again.
My AMCAS has been verifies. My GPA actually went up to 3.8 from 3.76. my BCPM is 3.81 but my non science is 3.5 with an overall GPA of 3.8. what do u think of my GPA,PhD, 5 publications, 4yrs of postdoc MCAT of 27 0.

 

[gmoneytalks]

Hey gmoneytalkes,
I have an M.S. in nuclear engineering (2002) with apps in Health Physics. I can't read either!

*hypothetical high five* !!!

holy crap 😱. i have a B.S. in nuc. Where'd you go to school?

 

[efex101]

Again, the MCAT may get you "screened" out of some schools so you need to apply BROADLY. There are just too many applicants with outstanding credentials and things are getting more and more competitive. So again, apply to as many schools as you can to maximize your chances. Good luck.

 

[teh t]

you will get some interviews, mcat will not help you but is more of a screening tool... apply to all schools in your home state. I have a phd in chem, 2 yrs postdoc, 1 year private sector, 34 mcat... applied to 6, interviewed at 6, and accepted to 5.

your phd and postdoc are excellent assets (much more than an extracurricular activity). people will be impressed with this at your interviews! However, be prepared to explain why you are interested in medicine over your basic science. It came up at every interview

 

[kanu9]

HI ,
I have UNMC interview in one month. Did anyone have an interview, if so can you give me some feedback, questions, comments etc.I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

 

[kanu9]

Hi I have an interview at UNMC in Nov. Has anyone interviewed there yet? what was your impression? how was the interview? please let me know

 

[Quix]

Hey gmoneytalkes,
I have an M.S. in nuclear engineering (2002) with apps in Health Physics. I can't read either!

*hypothetical high five* !!!

But you see, that's the problem - you can know either the position or the velocity of his hand, but not both...

 

[neulite]

Similar situation here. No post-docs (of course) but I am working on my dissertation and will be graduating in 2009. I posted some "what are my chances" with a PhD threads and got some encouraging replies. I too have a low end MCAT (28P, 10V 9PS 9BS). I have a 3.4 overall, 3.5 science because I messed up back in like 1998 and it's been difficult to bring up ever since. I think you'll (PhD in micro person) be fine since your area of study is microbiology. Mine, however, is in experimental psychology (behavioral neuroscience). This actually complements my interests very well since I later want to go into a neurological field of some kind, but still...

I am hopeful as both a nontraditional student and a research-oriented person that I'll get in somewhere. As you can see on my MDapps profile I have a good deal of clinical work including a degree so I hope that will work to my advantage.

The only disadvantage I can see for you (aside from an MCAT screening) is having to explain a change in career. I read this in a pre-med book and it said that you'll need to convey your reasons for switching. Other than that I think you will get in somewhere...take the advice of the previous posters and apply broadly.

 

[kanu9]

Similar situation here. No post-docs (of course) but I am working on my dissertation and will be graduating in 2009. I posted some "what are my chances" with a PhD threads and got some encouraging replies. I too have a low end MCAT (28P, 10V 9PS 9BS). I have a 3.4 overall, 3.5 science because I messed up back in like 1998 and it's been difficult to bring up ever since. I think you'll (PhD in micro person) be fine since your area of study is microbiology. Mine, however, is in experimental psychology (behavioral neuroscience). This actually complements my interests very well since I later want to go into a neurological field of some kind, but still...

I am hopeful as both a nontraditional student and a research-oriented person that I'll get in somewhere. As you can see on my MDapps profile I have a good deal of clinical work including a degree so I hope that will work to my advantage.

The only disadvantage I can see for you (aside from an MCAT screening) is having to explain a change in career. I read this in a pre-med book and it said that you'll need to convey your reasons for switching. Other than that I think you will get in somewhere...take the advice of the previous posters and apply broadly.

Thanks, I have applied broadly and waiting. I got my first interview last week at UNMC. I have also passed the pre screening at Loyola. Although I have weeded out some competition I still have long way posted. Ditto to you for all your efforts.If I get in this year then u can add me to your positive stats. Hope for the best.Pray for me.

 

[Lanieou]

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