WAMC MD vs MD/PhD

[BurtFBIMacklin]

I’m a re-applicant and non-trad, and made several mistakes in my first cycle, the biggest one being only applying to 5 schools. I received one interview and was waitlisted that cycle. Since that time I think I’ve improved my application significantly and will be applying to at least 20 schools this upcoming cycle.

I was a non-science major, completed a DIY post-bacc, and had no research experience on my last application. I only started volunteering in a research lab this past October and several months ago was hired in an adjacent lab as a research assistant. I never anticipated that I would like research, but I can’t imagine a career without it now.

I have nothing concrete to show for my research, just possibly a school-wide poster before June. I’m working on getting more data for a paper that should be submitted in the late summer, but of course I’ll have submitted my application before then.

To get to the point, I’d like to know whether it would be worth applying MD/PhD or if I should just apply MD. It seems to me that I don’t have the research chops yet to apply MD/PhD, but I now foresee myself wanting to run a lab someday on the basic-translational side of research and would like to have the dedicated, sustained time for research that a PhD allows. I don’t want to wait another year to get more research experience because my MCAT will no longer be accepted at most schools at that point.

Here’s how my GPA/MCAT/experiences size up:

ORM
CA resident
GPA: 4.0
MCAT: 521
Clinical experience: ~600 hours
Shadowing experience: 60 hours (primary care, oncology, and cardiology)
Non-clinical volunteering: ~1400 hours
Research: 1000 hours (see above, no papers, posters, or abstracts yet)
Extracurriculars (marathon running): ~1500 hours

Both PIs I’ve worked under have said they will give me great letters.

TLDR: I will be applying this cycle and have less than one year of research experience, but I can’t imagine a career without research now. Should I apply MD or MD/PhD?

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[Goro]

It's hard for me to advise on Md/PhD, but from what I've seen on SDN over the years, from people int he know, is that one thing these programs look for is evidence of research productivity.

You can do plenty of research as an MD.

Aside from the marathoning, what non-clinical ECs do you have that are in service to others less fortunate than yourself? Medicine is a service profession, after all, and if you wish to aim high as your stats and the rest fo the app merit, your entire app has to be high.

I suggest:
ALL UCs (UCR ONLY if you're form the Inland Empire)
NYU
Baylor
Vanderbilt
WashU
Yale
JHU
U Chicago
U Penn
Northwestern
Columbia
Harvard
Stanford
Mayo
Cornell
Sinai
BU
U VA
Duke
Baylor
Case
U MI
Albert Einstein
Hofstra
Ohio State
Pitt
U Cincy
USF Morsani
Dartmouth
Rochester
USC/Keck
Western MI
Emory
Jefferson
Miami
SLU
Tufts
U IA
U VM

 

[BurtFBIMacklin]

Sorry I was somewhat purposefully vague about my activities @Goro, but my 1400 non-clinical volunteering hours were spent largely helping immigrant populations and low-income families.

I keep telling myself that I'll be able to do plenty of research as an MD, but I work with many PhDs and MD/PhDs now and they have been pushing me towards MD/PhD. I do think I'd appreciate the dedicated research time in the PhD, and I've been told it would be easier to set up a lab with the PhD as well. Not to mention MSTP funding would be very nice.

If I thought I had a good chance to be accepted MD/PhD, then I'd apply for that, and I think I'd prefer that path. However, I'd be very very happy to just do an MD.

 

[Goro]

Sorry I was somewhat purposefully vague about my activities @Goro, but my 1400 non-clinical volunteering hours were spent largely helping immigrant populations and low-income families.

I keep telling myself that I'll be able to do plenty of research as an MD, but I work with many PhDs and MD/PhDs now and they have been pushing me towards MD/PhD. I do think I'd appreciate the dedicated research time in the PhD, and I've been told it would be easier to set up a lab with the PhD as well. Not to mention MSTP funding would be very nice.

If I thought I had a good chance to be accepted MD/PhD, then I'd apply for that, and I think I'd prefer that path. However, I'd be very very happy to just do an MD.

Now, given your app, It's worth a shot. At the worst, you'll simply get thrown into the regular MD pool.

 

[BurtFBIMacklin]

Okay, thank you for your advice @Goro!