PhD to MD: Advice needed please

[Dr.TexPhD]

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Hi all, I am currently applying this cycle to medical school and was wondering what the general feel for my chances of getting into medical school are. Here are my stats below:
I am a 27 year old Female Hispanic, Texas resident (willing to go to med school in any state), 3.7 undergrad GPA, 2-3 years worth of clinical volunteering and about 200 hrs of non-clinical volunteering, I have a lot of shadowing experience with a few different specialties but around an average of 200hrs of shadowing, I just obtained a PhD in molecular medicine from Dartmouth (GPA is unclear since we were given High Pass, Pass grades but the majority of mine are HP), I have numerous leadership positions in undergrad and grad school with the most notable being president of bio honors society in undergrad and being a student rep on the program/admissions committee in grad school, I have 3 publications with one being 1st author and another in review, I also was awarded a grad student NIH F31 grant so I am a NIH Fellow.
My only draw back is a predicted 498-502 MCAT score next week when I take it (unfortunately this is a retake with my first score being 487).....it is very hard studying for the MCAT while finishing a PHD program.

What are my chances of getting into medical school and specifically those that take a holistic approach to the application? Are these schools that take a holistic approach really good at evaluating the entire applicant or is it just a false hope for those of us with a low mcat score?
Any advice is appreciated 🙂

Thank you,
Dr. Tex

 

[ppushpak]

Some MCATs are automatically disqualifying. I think you should delay your MCAT until you are scoring comfortably in the 507-511 range. Your projected MCAT is sufficient enough for DO schools potentially

 

[gyngyn]

Do not take the MCAT!
Multiple weak scores are far more damning than a single one.

 

[deleted972488]

I agree with the above. I took the MCAT while finishing my PhD. You’re right that it’s difficult, but you need to do better than what you’re projecting to get into medical school. It’s better to take your time and do well, even if that means taking some time off between the PhD and the MD. I’m doing a brief postdoctoral fellowship, for what it’s worth.

 

[Changeoplans]

Admissions comms are gonna love you, please know that!
IMHO, please wait a year to apply in order to raise the MCAT to a 510+, so you can get the full ride you deserve.

 

[Dral]

Echo what others are saying. Take mcat only when ready. I did it while finishing up a molecular genetics PhD. I took Kaplan and actually did better than predicted (37 old test).

You have the advantage of urm over me. If you can just get that mcat score you should be golden.

 

[futuremdforme]

Another person urging you to wait until you get a stellar MCAT. Waiting will get you into a better school which will pay off.

 

[DokterMom]

As a Texas resident, you have many fabulous and very affordable in-state MD options that you'll want to take advantage of -- IF you don't blow it with a sub-par MCAT. (Your one low attempt could potentially be explained away IF you don't double down with a second low score.)

With your current strong credentials and the kind of score you're currently predicting, you might be able to get into an out-of-state DO school, but that will cost you an extra $40,000 per year -- yes, seriously -- for a degree that is likely to offer you fewer options down the road.

Delay that MCAT until you're confident of a 510+.

 

[StarDancer]

I did my MCAT after my PhD and got quite a good score. It was worth delaying it.

Having said that, when I looked at the range of MCAT scores for the accepted students at Vanderbilt, someone got in with a score under 500, but I bet that person has a nobel prize or some charity of his/her own. (I know I'm exaggerating) But I agree with what the others said, you'd want you MCAT to be a lot better. You don't need it to be excellent as you're otherwise very competitive. But you want a few weeks/months of just cramming for the MCAT.

 

[PipetteDreams]

My only draw back is a predicted 498-502 MCAT score next week when I take it (unfortunately this is a retake with my first score being 487).....it is very hard studying for the MCAT while finishing a PHD program.

Agreed with the above - when are you intending to take the MCAT? What are you weakest points? Have you looked for advice regarding how you're studying or approaching the exam?

I'm an M1 now. When applying to medical school, I approached my PhD mentor and asked her for a month with minimal research duties (not 0, but still great) so I could focus on studying. Fortunately she said yes, and I was able to use that 'dedicated' time to study. Perhaps consider finding a chunk of time to focus on the MCAT (between PhD and a short post-doc, for example).

Good luck!

 

[Dr.TexPhD]

Hi all,
thank you so much for all of your feedback. I ended up taking the MCAT as I did not cancel in time and got the predicted score. I went ahead and applied this cycle because I figured now or never right (that and it's been my dream to be a physician and I could not stand to be delayed any further....if it's meant to be it will be, as simple as that).
Well despite my low MCAT score, I got in to medical school here in Texas 🙂 when schools say holistic approach they really do mean it, they forgave my MCAT score because of the PhD and my high undergrad GPA.....it also helped that my ECs were filled with leadership roles.....but I am beyond excited.

I was all set to re-take the MCAT and re-apply since I have this year off and have been doing nothing but studying (score is now 510 on practice exams for what its worth) but now I don't have to (Thank God)

I hope this will bring encouragement to any of y'all who are still applying or waiting to apply.....If I can get in so can you....what I learned through this process is that it is all about heart and showing the admins who you truly are behind all of the stats.

thanks again for the advice,

Future Doc....Dr. TexPhD to Physician