WAMC MD/PHD at t30 school as a reapplicant

[earthychinchillas22345]

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Hello everyone,


Thanks in advance for your time. I plan on applying for the next cycle in 2026. I applied to programs in the 2024 cycle under the advisement of my mentors; however, I definitely did not have the hours or experience required. I decided to take some time and apply again in 2026 after talking with others. I want to know your opinions on my application—specifically, what areas could reasonably be improved over the next year, and whether T30 schools are a realistic target. I also wanted to mention that i posted this on the MD forum before i realized that there was one for md/phd, so my bad.

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cGPA and sGPA: 3.98 and 3.98
MCAT: 524 (132/128/132/132)
State of residence: NC
Ethnicity/Race: Asian Male
Undergraduate institution: T30 school

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Clinical Experience (volunteer and non-volunteer)

• EMT, 1500 hours
• Medical assistant at a private primary care and geriatrics practice, 300 hours (unpaid internship)
• Volunteer at a program mentoring and leading exercise classes for cancer patients undergoing or post-treatment – 50 hours
  (Unsure if this counts as clinical experience or leadership/teaching)

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Research Experience and Productivity

• Paid position at a cancer research lab for 4+ years – 3500 hours
• 1 first-author publication in a journal with IF >10
• 1 first co-author publication in a journal with IF >10
• 8 total conferences/presentations:
  • 1 international poster
  • 2 national posters
  • 2 oral presentations at the university level (non-undergrad)
  • 1 poster at the university level (non-undergrad)
  • 1 poster at a university undergraduate conference

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Shadowing Experience

• ENT/Head and Neck Surgeon – 100 hours
• Radiation Oncology – 40 hours
• Primary Care – 30 hours

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Non-Clinical Volunteering

• Red Cross: helped establish and support new college-level clubs, organized outreach events (e.g., disaster relief aid, blood drives), facilitated communication between clubs in my state – 150 hours
• Harm reduction program: educated homeless and low-income individuals on safe drug use and first aid (e.g., injection safety, overdose response, fentanyl testing, CPR), and distributed resources (e.g., Narcan, test strips, CPR masks, clean needles, alcohol wipes) – 30 hours
• GED and literacy tutor for low-income individuals – 60 hours
• Tutor at a program providing free after-school tutoring and meals for children facing food insecurity and literacy challenges – 40 hours

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Relevant Honors/Awards

• 2 university-funded research grants

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Anything else not listed you think might be important
In my last cycle, I didn’t get any interviews. After talking to others, I realized my application lacked a lot of clinical experience and direct patient interaction. On top of that, although I had presentations, I didn’t have any publications at the time, which definitely didn’t help. I was basically told that my extracurriculars were the biggest issue—not enough time or variety. This was mostly because I applied during my sophomore year of college (I was graduating a year early), and I now realize how little time that is compared to when most applicants apply. In hindsight, I realize that applying the first time was premature, especially given my limited experience at the time. My mentors heavily pushed me toward applying regardless, so what’s done is done. I’m wondering how reapplying may affect adcom perceptions. My ECs and clinical experience have definitely improved a lot since then, with all this being new:

• All of my clinical experiences (EMT and medical assistant) are new
• Both of my publications and 3 of the posters are new
• The harm reduction volunteer work and both tutoring experiences are new
• One of the research grants is new
• Shadowing in radiation oncology is new
• My total research hours have also increased (I applied with ~1500 hours the first time)

But I am intrested in hearing your thoughts.

My top school choices are Duke and Yale, so I would really appreciate your opinions on these programs in particular and whether they are realistic. I'd also love help crafting a school list.

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TL;DR:
What parts of my app need improvement?
What are my chances (WAMC) for getting into a T30 MD/PhD program, especially Duke or Yale?
Should i dedicate my time elsewhere/ would it be better spend voulnteering elsewhere?

 

[ophthoaspirant]

Definitely have excellent chance at UNC, good chance at Duke and Yale as well.

 

[trilobites10294814]

Keep doing what you are passionate about and apply broadly. Maybe 20 schools from the T30, 10-12 schools from T30-T80 and I think you have a good shot.