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- Jun 27, 2011
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Hi,
I'm looking to apply to MD/PhD programs and I'm wondering if I could get some comments/criticism/advice on my current application profile.
My background:
-Non-trad: first degree was in Jazz Performance (officially B.M. Music Performance with a concentration in Jazz Studies)
-2nd-year Biochemistry/Biology double major at the local State University (both have a lot of degree requirement overlaps, and due to my prior credits, AP's from high school, etc, I can finish both in 3 years total)
-1+ year research experience (including 10 weeks last summer) in Physical Chemistry - on ionic liquids in binary chemical systems (quantitative studies with NMR, etc); 2 presentations at regional conferences (ACS and local academy of sciences), 1 upcoming at a national conference (NCUR); beginning work on a publication most likely next semester
-3 mos research experience in Neurobiology on olfactory bulb patterning in Drosophila
- ~25 hrs Shadowing (family med/DO, ER, general surgery)
Grade-wise I have performed decently up until this semester:
Chm 1: B+
Chm 2: A
Bio 1: A
Physics 1: A-
Physics 2: A-
Calc 2: B+
NMR Techniques: A
Research Credits: A (doesn't really count for the adcoms I imagine)
This has given me about a ~3.70 gpa. Unfortunately, this semester has been a bit rough due to some personal troubles and a lack of focus, so I'll be taking a slight hit:
-Orgo 1: expected B
-Genetics: expected B
-Microbio: expected B+
-Bio 2: expected B
-Research credits: A
The expected grades are pretty much the way things will end up provided I neither ace nor bomb my finals, either of which I'd expect to result in a half-letter grade change or so. This will give me about a 3.5gpa. I'm hoping to put my nose to the grindstone next semester and nail straight A's for once - this is something I know I can do if I focus. I'll be doing this:
-Orgo 2
-Cell Bio
-Advanced Microbio (OR Human Physiology, but it has no lab :/)
-Recombinant DNA techniques lab (6 hours of lab a week, no lecture
)
My own comments:
I absolutely love work in the lab. I've been managing work in both labs since about halfway through the semester, and it's actually helped me focus a bit more. While I feel fully committed to the ionic liquid project (and my PI has been an awesome mentor to me so far), I don't really feel the same way with the neurobio project. I enjoy the work, but I'm not sure its the right project or that the researcher is the right mentor for me. I'm considering switching to another lab before next semester starts, but this could be problematic.
I'm looking to apply to REU/SURF programs this summer, preferentially in Biochemistry/Molecular Bio/Microbiology. I was hoping to get letters of recommendation from both of my research mentors, which is why changing projects right now could be an issue for me.
I know I don't have nearly enough shadowing exposure. This break I'll be getting in contact with a regional hospital that specializes in long-term care for individuals with neurological disorders, a local community hospital with a good track record for setting up short-term extending shadowing experiences, as well as local gastroenterology and rheumatology clinics.
I don't have any significant long-term patient exposure or volunteering experiences. This needs to change, I know. Being busy and having conflicting priorities has limited me here, but those are excuses.
My scientific interests are mainly in nutrition, physiology, and microbiology. My ideal career revolves around studying the relationships between human microflora and auto-immune disorders, with a particular focus on the GI tract. There's a lab at my school that studies GI motility in zebrafish that is my top choice were I to leave the neurobio lab.
-------------------------------------------------
Sorry if this is a bit scatttered. I'm looking to apply to MD/PhD schools this upcoming summer if all goes well, the following summer if not. My backup, were these to fail, is a PhD program, however MD/PhD is more enticing to me than PhD because of the ability to work directly with patients. I want to be able to help immune-compromised patients by putting a lens onto the conditions of their individual microbiomes and get a better understanding of how our bodies and our personal "zoos" interact, both in harmony and discord.
Any particular advice or comments or what I could do to better prepare myself for this would be greatly appreciated.
I'm looking to apply to MD/PhD programs and I'm wondering if I could get some comments/criticism/advice on my current application profile.
My background:
-Non-trad: first degree was in Jazz Performance (officially B.M. Music Performance with a concentration in Jazz Studies)
-2nd-year Biochemistry/Biology double major at the local State University (both have a lot of degree requirement overlaps, and due to my prior credits, AP's from high school, etc, I can finish both in 3 years total)
-1+ year research experience (including 10 weeks last summer) in Physical Chemistry - on ionic liquids in binary chemical systems (quantitative studies with NMR, etc); 2 presentations at regional conferences (ACS and local academy of sciences), 1 upcoming at a national conference (NCUR); beginning work on a publication most likely next semester
-3 mos research experience in Neurobiology on olfactory bulb patterning in Drosophila
- ~25 hrs Shadowing (family med/DO, ER, general surgery)
Grade-wise I have performed decently up until this semester:
Chm 1: B+
Chm 2: A
Bio 1: A
Physics 1: A-
Physics 2: A-
Calc 2: B+
NMR Techniques: A
Research Credits: A (doesn't really count for the adcoms I imagine)
This has given me about a ~3.70 gpa. Unfortunately, this semester has been a bit rough due to some personal troubles and a lack of focus, so I'll be taking a slight hit:
-Orgo 1: expected B
-Genetics: expected B
-Microbio: expected B+
-Bio 2: expected B
-Research credits: A
The expected grades are pretty much the way things will end up provided I neither ace nor bomb my finals, either of which I'd expect to result in a half-letter grade change or so. This will give me about a 3.5gpa. I'm hoping to put my nose to the grindstone next semester and nail straight A's for once - this is something I know I can do if I focus. I'll be doing this:
-Orgo 2
-Cell Bio
-Advanced Microbio (OR Human Physiology, but it has no lab :/)
-Recombinant DNA techniques lab (6 hours of lab a week, no lecture
)My own comments:
I absolutely love work in the lab. I've been managing work in both labs since about halfway through the semester, and it's actually helped me focus a bit more. While I feel fully committed to the ionic liquid project (and my PI has been an awesome mentor to me so far), I don't really feel the same way with the neurobio project. I enjoy the work, but I'm not sure its the right project or that the researcher is the right mentor for me. I'm considering switching to another lab before next semester starts, but this could be problematic.
I'm looking to apply to REU/SURF programs this summer, preferentially in Biochemistry/Molecular Bio/Microbiology. I was hoping to get letters of recommendation from both of my research mentors, which is why changing projects right now could be an issue for me.
I know I don't have nearly enough shadowing exposure. This break I'll be getting in contact with a regional hospital that specializes in long-term care for individuals with neurological disorders, a local community hospital with a good track record for setting up short-term extending shadowing experiences, as well as local gastroenterology and rheumatology clinics.
I don't have any significant long-term patient exposure or volunteering experiences. This needs to change, I know. Being busy and having conflicting priorities has limited me here, but those are excuses.
My scientific interests are mainly in nutrition, physiology, and microbiology. My ideal career revolves around studying the relationships between human microflora and auto-immune disorders, with a particular focus on the GI tract. There's a lab at my school that studies GI motility in zebrafish that is my top choice were I to leave the neurobio lab.
-------------------------------------------------
Sorry if this is a bit scatttered. I'm looking to apply to MD/PhD schools this upcoming summer if all goes well, the following summer if not. My backup, were these to fail, is a PhD program, however MD/PhD is more enticing to me than PhD because of the ability to work directly with patients. I want to be able to help immune-compromised patients by putting a lens onto the conditions of their individual microbiomes and get a better understanding of how our bodies and our personal "zoos" interact, both in harmony and discord.
Any particular advice or comments or what I could do to better prepare myself for this would be greatly appreciated.
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