Stats for PhD acceptance vs MD

[BioBeaver]

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Does anyone know what's considered "good stats" for acceptance into PhD programs in Biological Sciences? For example, most people know the stats they need to get into MD programs (have a good GPA, decent EC's, and a good MCAT).

What's the formula for acceptance into a PhD program? I know the saying is that for a PhD it's "easy to get in, but hard to get out", but how easy is it really to get accepted?

 

[QofQuimica]

My experience (albeit applying in chemistry, not biology, and applying 15 years ago), is that significant UG research experience and a high GRE math subscore made the rest of the GRE subscores (and the UG GPA too) pretty irrelevant. Heck, I didn't even have a GPA (went to a hippie college with no grades or credit hours).

 

[Maebea]

Based on my experience, the mean values are:

MD-PhD: 95th percentile MCAT; 3.8 GPA; 3+ years of research
PhD: 75th percentile GRE Quant; 3.3 GPA; 2 years of research

Extra curriculars do not matter for the PhD. If you have a reasonable GPA and good research you will do fine.

 

[BioBeaver]

Are interviews common in the PhD application process?

Also, I've heard of PhD students doing "lab rotations" where you go through different labs to network and see different fields of research. Is this true? Or are you spending your time on your own research?

 

[Maebea]

Nearly all schools require an interview. A few PhD programs will admit you based on the application file and invite you for a recruiting visit. PhD progams usually cover your interview trip expenses.

Most life sciences PhD programs require that you do research rotations before selecting a lab. These last 1 to 4 months. This is less common in chemistry and physics. In those disciplines, you are recruited to a specific lab from the outset.

 

[Shifty B]

Based on my experience, the mean values are:

MD-PhD: 95th percentile MCAT; 3.8 GPA; 3+ years of research
PhD: 75th percentile GRE Quant; 3.3 GPA; 2 years of research

Extra curriculars do not matter for the PhD. If you have a reasonable GPA and good research you will do fine.

I'm not sure the OP was asking to compare MD/PhD programs or MD only programs.

In general, I think there is probably a lot less variation in the qualifications or people who matriculate to MD or MD/PhD programs compared to PhD only programs. The range from the top 25% at a top 25 medical school and the bottom 25% at a state medical school is not all that wide, despite the fact that the number of individuals is quite large. The pool of people interested in medical school is very large, so only a certain fraction of the top gets in. The rest, and including some very qualified people, spill over into DO programs, the caribbean, etc.

Students matriculating at the very best PhD programs are going to have similar qualifications to those in the top of the class at the best medical schools. However, the number of people interested in biological sciences PhDs is considerably smaller than those interested in medical school. For this reason, the dropoff may be quite steep. PhD candidates in mid to lower tier programs (or in less desirable locations) may have considerably less in terms of qualifications than those at the top.

To sum it up, it is considerably easier to get a low end PhD position than a low end MD or MD/PhD position. To get a high tier position is likely equally difficult for all 3.