REUs Cancelled

[Goofy Goober]

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I was looking at about 1500 hours of significant research by the time of application, but my summer REU just got cancelled due to covid 19. I do not believe this will be enough experience to get an acceptance.
I plan on applying to MD/PhD as well as MD. So my question is... instead of taking a gap year, would it be sensible to matriculate into medical school and work on research at that institution the summer before and after MS1 only to reapply to their MSTP program that same year?
Any other suggestions? I'm in a rut.

 

[cavesnakess]

In my opinion, I think it's a question of the quality of your research experience. Can you convey in your application that you played an active role in design, etc. rather than just doing grunt work? Do you have presentations, papers (though papers are not at all a requirement) that show productive research? Can your LORs demonstrate your potential as a researcher? I'm sure adcoms + other more experienced people can comment more but I don't think 1500 hours will absolutely sink your application. Also, I think (hope) with the covid situation, schools will be more understanding. After all, you won't be the only applicant whose research got canceled or paused indefinitely.

In terms of the gap year, I'm a big fan of gap years. It's an opportunity to breathe and take a break before jumping into an extremely difficult 8 year journey. I also think that a gap year could make your application stronger (since you're worried about the research aspect).

 

[sourpatch fetish]

In my opinion, I think it's a question of the quality of your research experience. Can you convey in your application that you played an active role in design, etc. rather than just doing grunt work? Do you have presentations, papers (though papers are not at all a requirement) that show productive research? Can your LORs demonstrate your potential as a researcher? I'm sure adcoms + other more experienced people can comment more but I don't think 1500 hours will absolutely sink your application. Also, I think (hope) with the covid situation, schools will be more understanding. After all, you won't be the only applicant whose research got canceled or paused indefinitely.

In terms of the gap year, I'm a big fan of gap years. It's an opportunity to breathe and take a break before jumping into an extremely difficult 8 year journey. I also think that a gap year could make your application stronger (since you're worried about the research aspect).

I think OP meant that they were going to have 1500 with the REU; now that it's cancelled, they will have even less hours.

I think anything less than 2000 hours is not enough to inform you whether you should pursue a career as a physician-scientist. After all, there's a reason the average MD/PhD matriculant have ~3000-4000 research hours. I second recommending a gap year.

 

[Fencer]

While the average matriculant in an otherwise normal cycle has more than 2000 hours of research experiences, this particular upcoming cycle is substantially different. Programs will allow P/F in core courses, MCAT as late as August and September will be considered, and REU will also be assessed more in quality and LOR as compared to quantity.

Today, we received an email from AAMC indicating several things:

• Plan to open on May 4 for the 2021 cycle
• For MCAT examinations, they plan to ensure that "everyone who wants to test in 2020 can do so. To immediately help affected examinees, we are offering flexible rescheduling options and have waived all rescheduling fees for all 2020 MCAT exam dates until further notice."
• Adding new MCAT testing dates
• "The AMCAS Advisory Committee encourages schools to take these challenges into consideration when reviewing applications this cycle and screening for applicants."

There are a lot of people working very hard to help ease the disruptions that applicants, trainees, and graduates are enduring. Use the present challenge to increase your Resilience and Grit. These are necessary ingredients for successful physician-scientists.

 

[Goofy Goober]

Thank you all for the advice! I'll give the application a shot next year and if it doesn't pan out then perhaps a gap year.

 

[cavesnakess]

I think OP meant that they were going to have 1500 with the REU; now that it's cancelled, they will have even less hours.

I think anything less than 2000 hours is not enough to inform you whether you should pursue a career as a physician-scientist. After all, there's a reason the average MD/PhD matriculant have ~3000-4000 research hours. I second recommending a gap year.

Whoops! Thank you for pointing that out. In that case, I definitely recommend a gap year.