D
deleted703118
Hi everyone. I have been teetering on going from MD to MD/PhD. Long story short, I applied to MD schools this year but applied late and let the pandemic get to me and this cycle is mostly going to be a bust for me. That being said, I had some time to reflect on everything going on in my life and realized that I want to do MD/PhD instead. I've been wracking my brain in anxiety for the past few days to see if this route is actually feasible. I initially went MD because I felt unsure about whether or not I wanted to be a PI. But, with Covid and my time in industry, things have changed. So, my question is whether or not I can do this. With MD apps going so badly for me this year, I would love to get your thoughts on whether or not I will be qualified to apply to MSTP programs. I will be applying early next time. My goal is to ultimately work in academic medicine and be a PI (that's a new goal) and work as a liaison to industry to help guide their various platforms. I want to study gene therapy and do my PhD in Biomedical Engineering. So, I guess, here is my app. I am looking into feedback on what schools to apply for and if I need to find more experiences somewhere.
Undergraduate Major(s)/Minor(s): Biomedical Engineering (BME)—> 3.67 GPA, 3.78 Science GPA+ BME (Master's) —> 4.0 GPA (my stats are low guys. I got mentally lost my junior year and my gpa suffered that year.) —> 2020 grad (#covidgrad)
MCAT Score(s): 508/511/515 (final score). I'm really worried about the three retakes. I'm over thinker.. hence the anxiety.
Research Experience: I worked in research all through undergrad. My first lab, I did about 2 years. I ended up leaving because my grad student left and then I was kind of left without anyone to work with. The first lab, I got on a paper (basically last author) —> total hours (~1200). The second lab I did my master's thesis work in and started as an undergrad. I would say here, I did about ~1800hrs just because of the amount of work I did and how much time I spent working. I have a published thesis and contributed to another paper. In the middle of these experiences, I worked as an intern in research at a biotech startup. It was a co-op, so it was 7 months, so thats about (~1120 hrs). It was amazing and really broadened my eyes to what's out there.
So, then I graduated, the pandemic hit and I was unemployed (had a job offer pulled last minute) and I got hired back to company I worked for as an associate scientist in research. So far, I love the science I do and it has helped me decide what I want to study as a scientist and how I want to work with patients. I will working here for two years full-time, so I'm estimating my hours to about (~4200hrs). So, overall, my total research hours comes to about ~8300hrs.
Publications/Abstracts/Posters: 2 middle author publications, one published thesis, 4 first author posters. I have couple more on the way with my current job. I won my school's research fair. Not sure that really makes a difference.
Clinical Experience: Volunteering: Hospice (covid is getting in the way - End of Life Doula - 200 hrs); Health Screenings in College (100 hrs); Patient Navigator (maybe 15 hrs); Currently getting my EMT cert and planning to work as ED tech part-time (I'm estimating my hours out to matriculation so about ~1000)
Physician Shadowing: ~120 hours in a few different specialties, eshadowing (just started - hopefully will have another 50 hrs by next year)
Non-Clinical Volunteering: Ronald McDonald House Family Room (~500 hrs), Food Pantry (Hope to have 50hrs), Women's Homeless Shelter (~200 hrs), Red Cross Blood Drives (~150 hrs), Medical reserve Corp volunteer (~100 hrs - in my home town). I also volunteer at my religious organization but it varies.
Other Extracurricular Activities: I was president of a public health group in college, a member of the community service leadership group at my school, a Resident Assistant, a Teaching Assistant for three classes. I was also in the school's BME honor society and had a leadership role in that. I won a graduating senior award for my department. I'm a huge fitness person so that's my hobby. I also like to paint and doing crafts.
Schools: I am interested in studying gene therapy and drug delivery for my PhD. I haven't had a chance to look at schools and I would love your suggestions. I literally made this decision after talking to one of my mentors this week and having an epiphany.
For me, MD/PhD is a scary endeavor and pursuing this might be the scariest thing I have done. I would love your feedback on whether this is something I can do and if admission committees will see me as a capable. It also scares me that I have not received a single MD interview this cycle, so will MSTP programs, a more difficult program, think I'm good?
Thank you in advance for your help everyone!!!
Undergraduate Major(s)/Minor(s): Biomedical Engineering (BME)—> 3.67 GPA, 3.78 Science GPA+ BME (Master's) —> 4.0 GPA (my stats are low guys. I got mentally lost my junior year and my gpa suffered that year.) —> 2020 grad (#covidgrad)
MCAT Score(s): 508/511/515 (final score). I'm really worried about the three retakes. I'm over thinker.. hence the anxiety.
Research Experience: I worked in research all through undergrad. My first lab, I did about 2 years. I ended up leaving because my grad student left and then I was kind of left without anyone to work with. The first lab, I got on a paper (basically last author) —> total hours (~1200). The second lab I did my master's thesis work in and started as an undergrad. I would say here, I did about ~1800hrs just because of the amount of work I did and how much time I spent working. I have a published thesis and contributed to another paper. In the middle of these experiences, I worked as an intern in research at a biotech startup. It was a co-op, so it was 7 months, so thats about (~1120 hrs). It was amazing and really broadened my eyes to what's out there.
So, then I graduated, the pandemic hit and I was unemployed (had a job offer pulled last minute) and I got hired back to company I worked for as an associate scientist in research. So far, I love the science I do and it has helped me decide what I want to study as a scientist and how I want to work with patients. I will working here for two years full-time, so I'm estimating my hours to about (~4200hrs). So, overall, my total research hours comes to about ~8300hrs.
Publications/Abstracts/Posters: 2 middle author publications, one published thesis, 4 first author posters. I have couple more on the way with my current job. I won my school's research fair. Not sure that really makes a difference.
Clinical Experience: Volunteering: Hospice (covid is getting in the way - End of Life Doula - 200 hrs); Health Screenings in College (100 hrs); Patient Navigator (maybe 15 hrs); Currently getting my EMT cert and planning to work as ED tech part-time (I'm estimating my hours out to matriculation so about ~1000)
Physician Shadowing: ~120 hours in a few different specialties, eshadowing (just started - hopefully will have another 50 hrs by next year)
Non-Clinical Volunteering: Ronald McDonald House Family Room (~500 hrs), Food Pantry (Hope to have 50hrs), Women's Homeless Shelter (~200 hrs), Red Cross Blood Drives (~150 hrs), Medical reserve Corp volunteer (~100 hrs - in my home town). I also volunteer at my religious organization but it varies.
Other Extracurricular Activities: I was president of a public health group in college, a member of the community service leadership group at my school, a Resident Assistant, a Teaching Assistant for three classes. I was also in the school's BME honor society and had a leadership role in that. I won a graduating senior award for my department. I'm a huge fitness person so that's my hobby. I also like to paint and doing crafts.
Schools: I am interested in studying gene therapy and drug delivery for my PhD. I haven't had a chance to look at schools and I would love your suggestions. I literally made this decision after talking to one of my mentors this week and having an epiphany.
For me, MD/PhD is a scary endeavor and pursuing this might be the scariest thing I have done. I would love your feedback on whether this is something I can do and if admission committees will see me as a capable. It also scares me that I have not received a single MD interview this cycle, so will MSTP programs, a more difficult program, think I'm good?
Thank you in advance for your help everyone!!!