PhD before MD

[Loula]

Does anyone know how someone with a PhD be more competitive than a Masters or postbac, considering a low undergrad GPA 2.6.

Consider this Scenerio:

Undergrad:GPA :2.6
Grad Masters GPA: 3.8
Grad PhD GPA:3.8
4 publications

These are just before the interview, after the interview it's a piece of cake considering all the research and teach and vol. experience!

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[zep]

It really depends on the rest of your application. What is your PhD in?

 

[tofurious]

PhD GPAs are greatly inflated, so I wouldn't count on it making your overall GPA better. THere's no MCAT score so it's hard to say how much you have improved your chances.

 

[sweatybrain]

It all depends....

-what your undergrad major was in (physics? engineering? CS? or something more soft core)
-what school you went to (MIT or Harvard-Yale-Princeton vs. lower-tier state school)
-The "quality" of your undergrad and grad courses
-circumstances (e.g., I can empathize if you had a family, worked 40 hours a week, and went to the school at the same time.)

Of course, the 2.6 will need to be mitigated, and the 3.8 will need to be validated, preferably through acing the MCAT. The personal statement, ECs, and awards (particularly publications and *especially* the recommendation from your PhD advisors) will also go a long way in determining the outcome.

I think a good LOR is one advantage a PhD has over postbacs and masters. A PhD is a research oriented degree, and your advisor (hopefully) got to know you really well. Just make sure you "coach" your advisor and make sure that the LOR fits into the theme of your app.

Good luck.

 

[Loula]

It really depends on the rest of your application. What is your PhD in?

Bachelor's Chemical Engineering.
Master's Mechanaical Engineering (Biomedical Eng Stream)
PHd Chemical Engineering(Biomed Eng Stream)

 

[Ottercreek]

I took a PhD in Oncology, and am entering Med School in August.

I would say, based on a marginal undergraduate GPA (3.1), that the PhD, and the related publications, invited talks, and the relevant area of focus really helped my admission (the dean told me this as well).

Of course my graduate level grades were 4.0, but these are inflated, and had less effect on my admission. Far more weight was given to the MCAT score, and the fact that I spent quite a bit of time in clinical oncology settings where I got to know the academic clinical oncologists quite well and got excellent letters of recommendation from them, in addition to my committee.

So, I think a PhD definitely gives you an advantage, but don't neglect the MCAT!

 

[TTSD]

A PhD can take a LOOOOONG time.

 

[Ottercreek]

Yes, I agree....If you want to be in Medicine, a PhD is probably a waste of time (unless you get the MD/PhD funded completely). Competent and intuitive MDs can learn research without spending 4-7 years preparing a dissertation...

 

[youngin]

I must say if you went and got ur bs, ma, and ur phd and now want an MD, i have to commend you on going through school that long. Wow that's sumthing i could never do.

 

[tofurious]

Bachelor's Chemical Engineering.
Master's Mechanaical Engineering (Biomedical Eng Stream)
PHd Chemical Engineering(Biomed Eng Stream)

Hard to believe that you could get into a quality ChemE graduate program with a sub-3 GPA (I was a BioE undergrad with ChemE emphasis in college and I knew many ChemE grads who went on to grad school with much more impressive undergrad GPA)

 

[zep]

I must say if you went and got ur bs, ma, and ur phd and now want an MD, i have to commend you on going through school that long.

This has a down side as well. Unless your personal statement and your recommendations make it clear that you truly want to be physician (and for the right reasons), then you run the risk of appearing unfocused, and some people on the admissions committees may question your motivation to be a physician. I don?t doubt your intentions ? I?m just telling you what admission folks told me before I applied to medical school with a PhD (neurobiology). Since your graduate work was in engineering, you will have to tell a good, convincing story as to why now, after all this work and time, you want to go into medicine.

And like others in the thread have said, your MCAT is going to be huge. If you bomb that, then the PhD is not going to buy you much. If on the other hand you nail, then committees are more apt to not focus so much on your undergrad performance.

Best of luck!

 

[Loula]

Hard to believe that you could get into a quality ChemE graduate program with a sub-3 GPA (I was a BioE undergrad with ChemE emphasis in college and I knew many ChemE grads who went on to grad school with much more impressive undergrad GPA)

My real Transcript GPA is 2.98 From my undergrad school.
This 2.6 is based on AMCAS I calculated, could be higher though!

 

[pathdr2b]

My real Transcript GPA is 2.98 From my undergrad school.
This 2.6 is based on AMCAS I calculated, could be higher though!

Hopefully, the username tells you EVERYTHING you need to know!

Back to your original question, it's possible I may do the same as you, that is get the PhD in Pathology before med school because my current research is going far better than I EVER expected. And like me over the years on SDN, I'm sure you'll hear all kinds of similarily crass comments about it, your educational achievements/goals.

I think if you can somehow tie in your ChemE background into medicine you'll do fine. And like others have said, you'll need to do well on the MCAT. Good Luck!

PS- Congrats on getting into grad school with the sub-par GPA! I know a little something about that and I think it speaks volumes about your ability to overcome adversity!