WAMC for T20 MD/PhD programs?

[morak]

Hello! I created a WAMC post on the general premed thread a couple months back. I received some great feedback there, and after some irl discussions with mentors and peers, I think I’m settling on the MD/PhD path (contrary to the direction I was leaning in the original WAMC thread). I’m planning on applying in the 2025-26 cycle, so I’m looking to build my school list. At the moment, the list of MD/PhD programs I’ve considered looks like a close copy of a T30 med schools list. So, I’d like to ask: how do I look for admission to a T20/30 program? Which parts of my application should I improve?

Here are my answers to all the WAMC questions; please let me know if you need additional details!

1. cGPA and sGPA as calculated by AMCAS or AACOMA: cGPA: 3.99, sGPA: 3.92 (not exact, haven’t created an AMCAS profile yet)
2. MCAT score(s) and breakdown: 527 (132/132/132/131)
3. State of residence or country of citizenship (if non-US): New Jersey
4. Ethnicity and/or race: ORM, Male
5. Undergraduate institution or category: T20 Ivy
6. Clinical experience (volunteer and non-volunteer): 1100 hrs as a volunteer 911 EMT-B crew chief in a fairly busy regional service that hits at least 4-5 calls/day. I’ve personally attended ~270 calls and ran ~185 of those as the primary caregiver.
7. Research experience and productivity: ~2000 hrs in a systems + synthetic biology lab where I research microbiomes and microbiological drug delivery. I currently have a 3rd author CNS paper in review and am in the process of writing a first-author paper that will likely be published in a mid-impact CNS-family journal. I have a college-provided research scholarship for funding and 3 first-author posters at college symposiums.
   1. My continuing research interests lie in this field too. I think I’d be happy to be trained in any systems, synthetic, or microbiome biology lab.
8. Shadowing experience and specialties represented: 80 hrs primary care/IM, 50 hrs GI, and 30 hrs (projected) oncology.
9. Non-clinical volunteering:
   1. 120 hrs as a Red Cross DAT Officer (Disaster Action Team; I connect with people affected by disasters, figure out their needs, and coordinate a Red Cross response). During the recent Florida hurricanes, I took on more regional coordination/ leadership roles since senior leaders were flying south to assist in the hurricane response.
   2. 40 hrs as a reading/literacy mentor for underserved elementary school students
   3. 35 hrs in a local community food pantry supporting the homeless
   4. 60 hrs as a 1:1 tutor/mentor for FGLI students
10. Other extracurricular activities (including athletics, military service, gap year activities, leadership, teaching, etc):
    1. 325 hrs as a private independent tutor (paid) for high school students (STEM, English, History, college counseling, ACT/SAT) and MCAT.
    2. 50 hrs organizing events and leading a drama troupe in my religious organization (not sure if this is non clinical volunteering)
    3. Several hundred hours playing 3 different instruments, though I’m not in a formal band/orchestra so I’m not sure if this counts.
11. Relevant honors or awards
    1. Aforementioned research scholarship (very selective)
    2. Dean’s List every semester
12. Anything else not listed you think might be important
    1. LORs from my PI, EMS captain, primary care shadowing doc, 1 science prof, and 1 non-science prof will definitely be very strong. My other science letter might be average at best.

Thanks in advance for your help!

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[Neuronix]

What is your concern?

 

[morak]

What is your concern?

Pretty much just 2 things: 1) How are my non-clinical volunteering hours and extracurriculars for MSTP programs, and 2) What can I improve over the next 6 months before I apply?

I know my stats and clinical hours, as well as my research, are mostly set, but these two points were raised in the original premed WAMC thread, so I wanted to get opinions from the physician-scientist forum as well (according to Mr. Smiles' suggestion).

 

[Neuronix]

I'm not really that interested in expanding your extracurriculars as an MD/PhD adcom. I think you've ticked those boxes.

You wrote that you are "in the process of writing a first-author paper that will likely be published in a mid-impact CNS-family journal."

Hurry it up. I have little interest in submitted or in review papers, and you only have six months which isn't a lot of time. I'm also not that interested in third author manuscripts or undergraduate conference presentations. If you have serious research experience, the cherry on top is your own demonstrated project leadership. This is not mandatory, but it's what you can do to improve for top tier programs.

 

[morak]

I'm not really that interested in expanding your extracurriculars as an MD/PhD adcom. I think you've ticked those boxes.

You wrote that you are "in the process of writing a first-author paper that will likely be published in a mid-impact CNS-family journal."

Hurry it up. I have little interest in submitted or in review papers, and you only have six months which isn't a lot of time. I'm also not that interested in third author manuscripts or undergraduate conference presentations. If you have serious research experience, the cherry on top is your own project leadership.

Thank you for your feedback. I'm further along in the paper process now, and I've talked to my PI about potentially submitting to an ACS-family journal instead of CNS-family for quicker review times. I'll see how it pans out. That said, the chances of my paper being in publication in 6 months are slim to none, though it should at least be in review by then. I've heard from advisors and my PI that as long as I have a paper out in pre-print after submission (eg BioRxiv), it should still "count" as a publication, although not to the same extent as an officially published paper, of course. What are your thoughts in this?

Also, to clarify (not sure how much it matters), I am the third author after 2 co-first authors on the paper that is being published in CNS shortly. The authorship list is 20+ long.

 

[Neuronix]

There are no standards for how these things are viewed by adcoms.

I view a pre-print the same way I view a submitted paper, which is not considered. Unless your work is in my area, I have no idea how to evaluate it, and even then I don't have time to read a paper to evaluate your application. Others may feel differently.