Should I try again?

[Dr. Breyean]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I applied to several MD/PhD programs a couple years back as soon as I finished my undergrad degree. I applied quite late and did much worse on the MCAT than I thought I would...only 29. I ended up not even getting an interview.

I really like research, so I thought MD/PhD was the thing for me. I have a lot of research experience. Two years of bioinformatics research as an undergraduate. And now I am working on my master's degree in (plant) molecular biology. Should be finished in August. My undergraduate degree is in Biochemistry. Undergraduate GPA was 3.75 and graduate GPA is 3.90.

I have been tossing around the idea of of applying to straight MD programs this year, becuase the more I've talked to people, the less I think I need the PhD. The biggest problem is that I have very little clinical experience, becuase I was focused on getting research experience for MD/PhD. I also have arelatively low MCAT. Should I go ahead and apply this year or wait another year and get some clinical experience and improve the MCAT score? Would I even have a shot if I applied this year?

 

[Mobius1985]

Your GPAs are very good. The research experience is great. At some schools, and depending on your home state, you might have a reasonable chance of an admission with an MCAT of 29, except for the paucity of clinical experience. Could you specify what clinical experience you do have? Do you have ongoing community service? Leadership? These other elements are considered to be fairly important, if not essential, for an MD-only acceptance.

 

[Dr. Breyean]

The only thing even close to clinical experience is shadowing. I shadowed the same doctor for a total of about 16 hours over the course of a week. And that is all I have. Definitely the biggest weakness in my application.

In terms of ongoing community service, I do volunteer at a local homeless shelter for a few hours every other week. Been doing that for about 8 months or so now...

 

[Mobius1985]

I see a rare posting here on SDN about folks getting admitted with minimal clinical exposure. I see more postings from high stat folks who didn't get in anywhere due to a lack of this unwritten requirement. If you can get in some intense clinical hours starting ASAP, maybe you'd have a shot if you continue to send in update letters about ongoing involvement during the application year. But your application dollars are less likely to be wasted if you spend a year buffing up your application to make it the best it can be, by putting in the traditional 3-4 hours per week volunteering in a clinical environment (or two) and adding more shadowing time. Don't forget the leadership expectation. I'm glad you've had some ongoing community service. If you do decide to try this coming cycle, at least your application won't reek of a last-minute decision to do so. If you are going to invest the extra year in preparation, you might consider retaking the MCAT if there's a chance you could score higher.

What is your state of residence? If you do have the aforementioned lenient schools, you could take a middle road of just applying there as you improve your resume for the following year.

 

[Dr. Breyean]

I'm an Ohio resident. Quite a few schools here.

 

[GoSpursGo]

How long ago was your MCAT? Make sure it hasn't expired...

 

[drizzt3117]

I applied to several MD/PhD programs a couple years back as soon as I finished my undergrad degree. I applied quite late and did much worse on the MCAT than I thought I would...only 29. I ended up not even getting an interview.

I really like research, so I thought MD/PhD was the thing for me. I have a lot of research experience. Two years of bioinformatics research as an undergraduate. And now I am working on my master's degree in (plant) molecular biology. Should be finished in August. My undergraduate degree is in Biochemistry. Undergraduate GPA was 3.75 and graduate GPA is 3.90.

I have been tossing around the idea of of applying to straight MD programs this year, becuase the more I've talked to people, the less I think I need the PhD. The biggest problem is that I have very little clinical experience, becuase I was focused on getting research experience for MD/PhD. I also have arelatively low MCAT. Should I go ahead and apply this year or wait another year and get some clinical experience and improve the MCAT score? Would I even have a shot if I applied this year?

IIRC the average stats for MD/PHD matriculants are ~3.83/35.4, so I don't think that would be very fruitful for you. Applying MD only would be a better idea, unless you can retake and get a much higher score. And yeah, work on your clinical experience.

 

[dynezxice]

If clinical research and being a doctor is your calling, you can do either one of 2 things:

1. Retake MCAT to improve your score to 35+, have a little more clinical exposure (depending on how much you have already), and apply MD/PhD.
2. Retake MCAT and if score is 30+ but below 35, do a little more clinical exposure, and apply MD. You can always conduct research while doing your M.D. and there are schools that have programs where you can either transfer into their MD/PhD program in the second year or have research fellowships for a few years while doing the M.D. track.