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Unique Situation
- Thread starter yungin
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dooige houser did it
I'm not trolling. Serious, non-hypothetical question. So I'd appreciate serious, non-hypothetical replies.
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It's not a good question. You should pursue what you want to pursue and not make your decision based on some incorrect assumption of programs (once you are in your mid-twenties, no residency will care if you are 24 or 27- it depends on you and not your age). No one here can answer what would be a "higher chance" for MD or MD/PhD because the data does not exist. The chances would quite likely be very similar. If you are mature enough that the program knows you can handle the material and interact with patients, you should be ok. Fewer programs would chance it if you are significantly below 18-19, though.
This is by no means a unique situation: there are several younger applicants to MD and MD/PhD programs every year. I was in my late teens when I applied to both MD and MD/PhD programs. I never met any others, but I heard about them on the interview trail...
My personal experience was that my age did not make a difference in either MD or MD/PhD applications. No interviewer at either type of program ever brought my age up (though I might have looked older than my age). Admissions committees are full of busy people: they don't have time to pay attention to everyone's birth date. Therefore, whether you apply MD or MD/PhD, expect to be evaluated on the same criteria as everyone else: grades, research, etc.
Thus, as mentioned previously, chances would probably be identical if someone that was 19 had the same application as someone that was 22, because applications depend on the applicant, not the applicant's age.
The only issue I ran into with MD/PhD applications is that I always had to turn down alcohol at interview dinners!
My personal experience was that my age did not make a difference in either MD or MD/PhD applications. No interviewer at either type of program ever brought my age up (though I might have looked older than my age). Admissions committees are full of busy people: they don't have time to pay attention to everyone's birth date. Therefore, whether you apply MD or MD/PhD, expect to be evaluated on the same criteria as everyone else: grades, research, etc.
Thus, as mentioned previously, chances would probably be identical if someone that was 19 had the same application as someone that was 22, because applications depend on the applicant, not the applicant's age.
The only issue I ran into with MD/PhD applications is that I always had to turn down alcohol at interview dinners!
Thanks for the replies. My main interest is being an MD, but I would have done an MD/PhD if it meant a higher chance of getting in. The reason I asked was really to invalidate my concerns about my age being a significant deterrent to adcoms if I applied MD-only.
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Unless you have far more research experience than clinical experience, it is almost always harder to get into an MD/PhD program than an MD only program.
I also question your maturity, if you're willing to base your decision to enter either program on something so trivial. Since your main interest is in clinical work, a PhD makes no sense. (The financial benefits are highly overrated.) You do realize you're talking about staying in school four years longer than you need to, just for what? A higher ranked school? That's crazy.
I'm really deciding whether MSTP would fit my career goals, which I am not too sure about, as opposed to an MD only. The higher chance of getting in is just a factor I was considering. I have an interest in basic science research and I really enjoy the work I'm doing in the lab now but I'm debating on whether 4 extra years is worth it. I know I wasn't really clear in my OP but thanks for the helpful replies.
I actually think it would be harder to get in for MD/PhD. It is already in my opinion a bit harder to get into MD/PhD over MD, but as well if you think about it an MD/PhD committee has to really ensure that the applicant they select is likely to go through with a career in biomedical research so that their investment of often 200k+ in tuition and stipends is not spent in vain. I think there is a certain stereotype of people in their teens being fickle and indecisive, and so you need to really be able to convince the interviewers that you are concrete in the MD/PhD path.
