MD WAMC? White Male, 3.99 GPA, 516 MCAT, 8 Publications

[Gastroenterology Joe]

I am from Arizona and I am super white and super male.

Schools I am thinking about applying to (I am open to suggestions):

• MD/PhD: UCSD, UCI, UCLA, Stanford, Mayo (Phoenix), OHSU
• MD: UT Southwestern, U of Arizona, U of Arizona (Phoenix), Kaiser Permanente, U of Cincinnati, UT San Antonio, Ohio State, U of Miami, UT Galveston, Georgetown, Loma Linda, U of Denver, UVA, Baylor

Cumulative GPA: 3.99
Science GPA: 4.0
MCAT score: 516 (131/126/130/129)
Clinical exposure:

• Medical Scribe for 2 gastroenterologists
• 800 hours by the time I apply
• 1,000 - 1,200 projected hours

Research experience:

• 2.5 years in an Analytical Chemistry lab
• 1,000 hours
• 8 publications:
  • 2 co-first author
  • 2 second author
  • 2 third author
  • 1 fourth author
  • 1 fifth author
• 2 posters

Clinical volunteering:

• Vocational rehabilitation volunteer at a state mental hospital
• 25 hours by the time I apply
• 75 projected hours

Physician shadowing:

• 100 hours
• Specialties I have shadowed: orthopedics, radiology, ophthalmology, gastroenterology

Non-clinical volunteering:

• 100 hours with the Boys and Girls Club
• 50 hours coaching a rec league volleyball team for 11-12 year old girls
• 200 hours of community service while living in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Other paid employment:

• Gen Chem and O Chem TA (800 hours)
• Care provider at a learning center for kids and teens with mental disabilities (400 hours)
• Customer service representative for a cooking thermometer company (550 hours)
• Shop hand at an antique truck restoration garage (480 hours)

Gap year plans:

• High school chemistry teacher at a public charter school
• 1,440 projected hours

Immediate family in medicine: I have an older brother who is a first-year med student at UT Southwestern and I would love to go there with him.

Happy Holidays!

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[Gastroenterology Joe]

@Goro I am not here for hugs and kisses. Let me have it.

 

[Gastroenterology Joe]

@LizzyM You are an expert. Please let me know what you think.

 

[LizzyM]

Your brother would know more than I do about applying to TX medical schools as an OOS student.
You have the credentials for MSTP provided you aspire to a 80-20 split between research and clinical care in your career.
You've clicked all the boxes although if you are gung-ho on being a physician-scientist, I'm not sure why you are choosing to teach in a charter school rather than go into a lab. If you really want MD/PhD, then you need to play the game to make your application attractive to PhD programs as well as to the MD side.

 

[Goro]

Your brother would know more than I do about applying to TX medical schools as an OOS student.
You have the credentials for MSTP provided you aspire to a 80-20 split between research and clinical care in your career.
You've clicked all the boxes although if you are gung-ho on being a physician-scientist, I'm not sure why you are choosing to teach in a charter school rather than go into a lab. If you really want MD/PhD, then you need to play the game to make your application attractive to PhD programs as well as to the MD side.

Agree 100% with the Divine Miss M.

 

[Gastroenterology Joe]

Your brother would know more than I do about applying to TX medical schools as an OOS student.
You have the credentials for MSTP provided you aspire to a 80-20 split between research and clinical care in your career.
You've clicked all the boxes although if you are gung-ho on being a physician-scientist, I'm not sure why you are choosing to teach in a charter school rather than go into a lab. If you really want MD/PhD, then you need to play the game to make your application attractive to PhD programs as well as to the MD side.

I appreciate the input. Thank you for taking the time to review my stats. I have looked into various research labs and opportunities and I am planning on continuing to do that during this next semester. If I may ask one more question, do you believe my school list lines up well with my application?

 

[LizzyM]

Your stats are fine. The publication list is impressive. Service, clinical, etc all adequate or better than adequate. Be sure you'd be happy going to any school on the list if it were the only school that admitted you.

 

[Gastroenterology Joe]

Your stats are fine. The publication list is impressive. Service, clinical, etc all adequate or better than adequate. Be sure you'd be happy going to any school on the list if it were the only school that admitted you.

Thank you for your time and thank you for sharing your expert opinion.

 

[radsisrad]

You are a rockstar applicant. If a school doesn't want you, good riddance to it.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I am from Arizona and I am super white and super male.

Schools I am thinking about applying to (I am open to suggestions):

• MD/PhD: UCSD, UCI, UCLA, Stanford, Mayo (Phoenix), OHSU
• MD: UT Southwestern, U of Arizona, U of Arizona (Phoenix), Kaiser Permanente, U of Cincinnati, UT San Antonio, Ohio State, U of Miami, UT Galveston, Georgetown, Loma Linda, U of Denver, UVA, Baylor

Cumulative GPA: 3.99
Science GPA: 4.0
MCAT score: 516 (131/126/130/129)
Clinical exposure:

• Medical Scribe for 2 gastroenterologists
• 800 hours by the time I apply
• 1,000 - 1,200 projected hours

Research experience:

• 2.5 years in an Analytical Chemistry lab
• 1,000 hours
• 8 publications:
  • 2 co-first author
  • 2 second author
  • 2 third author
  • 1 fourth author
  • 1 fifth author
• 2 posters

Clinical volunteering:

• Vocational rehabilitation volunteer at a state mental hospital
• 25 hours by the time I apply
• 75 projected hours

Physician shadowing:

• 100 hours
• Specialties I have shadowed: orthopedics, radiology, ophthalmology, gastroenterology

Non-clinical volunteering:

• 100 hours with the Boys and Girls Club
• 50 hours coaching a rec league volleyball team for 11-12 year old girls
• 200 hours of community service while living in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Other paid employment:

• Gen Chem and O Chem TA (800 hours)
• Care provider at a learning center for kids and teens with mental disabilities (400 hours)
• Customer service representative for a cooking thermometer company (550 hours)
• Shop hand at an antique truck restoration garage (480 hours)

Gap year plans:

• High school chemistry teacher at a public charter school
• 1,440 projected hours

Immediate family in medicine: I have an older brother who is a first-year med student at UT Southwestern and I would love to go there with him.

Happy Holidays!

As an MSTP applicant, I'd be interested in why you want to do MD/PhD and what you see yourself doing with that combination of degrees. You can also do research as an MD student, especially at top tier programs with research-oriented curricula and opportunities which you are a very strong applicant. (UTSW and UTSA have an MSTP, so why just MD to them?)

What is your strategy for picking the schools that you have? I can see the sibling ties with your brother at UTSW, and as long as he's doing well in school, I think you should get an II from them if you apply properly for TMDSAS/AMCAS (MD/PhD). Seriously why apply to one MSTP If you can't apply to all of them? Do your homework on the departments and ask about student support if you do MD/PhD, especially if you're going to commit to being a student for 8 years.

As a researcher, I don't really care about the middle author positions but I do like to count them for applicants. It's not easy getting published for anyone, especially undergraduates. Your research mentor's LOR should be unequivocally supportive of a career in research. Make sure all of your LOR's are lined up and in order by the time you submit your application.

 

[Gastroenterology Joe]

As an MSTP applicant, I'd be interested in why you want to do MD/PhD and what you see yourself doing with that combination of degrees. You can also do research as an MD student, especially at top tier programs with research-oriented curricula and opportunities which you are a very strong applicant. (UTSW and UTSA have an MSTP, so why just MD to them?)

What is your strategy for picking the schools that you have? I can see the sibling ties with your brother at UTSW, and as long as he's doing well in school, I think you should get an II from them if you apply properly for TMDSAS/AMCAS (MD/PhD). Seriously why apply to one MSTP If you can't apply to all of them? Do your homework on the departments and ask about student support if you do MD/PhD, especially if you're going to commit to being a student for 8 years.

As a researcher, I don't really care about the middle author positions but I do like to count them for applicants. It's not easy getting published for anyone, especially undergraduates. Your research mentor's LOR should be unequivocally supportive of a career in research. Make sure all of your LOR's are lined up and in order by the time you submit your application.

To clarify, what "top tier programs with research-oriented curricula and opportunities" are you thinking of?

To answer your questions: Since posting this in December I have given more thought to my school list and will also probably apply to the MSTP programs at UTSW, UTSA, and a few others, because you make a great point. Also, I chose the MSTP programs at the schools listed above, because my wife is either from the area or has family close by to all of those schools. I know I would be very happy as an MD or an MD/PhD, but 8 years is a long time to be anywhere, so I want to make sure that if I am lucky enough to be accepted into an MSTP program, it is somewhere where my wife would be happy and have extensive familial support. Does that make sense?

Otherwise, thank you so much for the advice! I will definitely make sure I have all of my LORs and every other aspect of my application ready for the day applications open!