What are top MD/MBA programs looking for?

[nikolai521]

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What would be some major things that a top MD/MBA (e.g. Harvard, Penn, Duke) would be looking for?

 

[mward04]

what do you define as a top MD/MBA program? Top 10 or top 25 or...

 

[Heal&Teach]

I think it's a lot easier to get into a dual degree program once you get into the medical school since you have to apply to both programs separately (you'll apply for the MBA program once you're accepted to med school and you've taken the GMAT).

 

[mward04]

I definitely agree, for the most part. Most schools feel that it is more difficult to get into med school and if you can get in there, b-school should be easy. However, I don't necessarily agree with their logic since the two schools are entirely different...different work styles, different kinds of intelligence. But yes, it is generally easier to get into the b-school once you are accepted to the medical school. They usually lower their work requirements for med students as well.

However, at some of the top schools i.e. U.Penn, I've heard it's not a guaranteed admission. I'm not intimately involved with Penn so I can't comment first hand on it. Maybe someone in the dual degree can?

My experience at Emory was that if you are accepted to the med school (keep in mind this is not an official dual degree), show sincere interest and some outside experience, are professional and have decent GMATs, you shouldn't have any problem.

 

[Aucdoctobe]

It doesn't really matter where you get your MBA. The simple fact that you have an MD will open many prestigious doors for you as long as your MBA is accredited. An MD shows that you have brains.

Unless you have a rich hookup (usually family member), you will have to earn your respect in the business world.

This is done through competition and partially through academics.

 

[MDMBA5610]

Hi everyone,

I am an MD/MBA from Penn. Of course, I am not speaking officially about my program, but here are my impressions.

It is definitely not a guaranteed admissions process to Wharton from PennMed. Just like with any other competitive graduate program, I think Wharton likes to see that the student not only has the credentials necessary for admissions regardless of the MD, but that they also have a good "story." It is important for prospective dual degree students to have a good understanding of how they want to use the MBA in their career, and to be able to express that in their essays and interview.

At Wharton, MD students have to take the GMAT, write tons of essays, interview, and everything else that every other MBA candidate does. The MD is just another credential. I think it is just as competitive for us to get into the program as it is for any other over-achiever in the general population 🙂

If anyone has further questions, I'd be happy to talk more about this -- just reply to this message. Also, at Penn there is a nice community of MD/MBA's floating around in each class. If you visit, just ask us for advice and we'd be happy to help 🙂

 

[MDMBA5610]

By the way, folks...
quick plug for www.md-mba.org.
Please check it out-you will find lots of opinions on topics such as those discussed here.

 

[Heal&Teach]

That's a great website! I see why MW has it in his sig. 🙂

 

[mward04]

It doesn't really matter where you get your MBA. The simple fact that you have an MD will open many prestigious doors for you as long as your MBA is accredited. An MD shows that you have brains.

Unless you have a rich hookup (usually family member), you will have to earn your respect in the business world.

This is done through competition and partially through academics.

For the most part, I agree with your statement that it does not matter where you get your MBA from. I do agree that you have to earn respect through your experiences. However, I think that some schools (not necessarily big name schools) offer unique advantages. For one thing, networking. This obviously depends upon what you decide to go into but if you have a well established MD-MBA program i.e. Penn, Jefferson etc. you are already dialed into this community. Plus, and I've learned this from going to a school without a dual degree, if you go to a school with an established program, they have resources for you to support your endeavor. Finding good opportunities while you are still in school, newsletters, funding for projects, and even help in interviewing (i.e. how to present the MD/MBA to residency programs).

Even people in traditional top 5 MBA programs could agree with this statement because (of those that I've spoken to, and have previous business education i.e. BBA) they say that the classes are worthless, it's the networking that is most important to them.

But ultimately, it's what you do with the MBA and how you earn respect in the business world that will matter most.

 

[aliraja]

What would be some major things that a top MD/MBA (e.g. Harvard, Penn, Duke) would be looking for?

Since you've already gotten the Penn response, I'll give you the Duke one. If you go to med school at Duke, you can go to B-school at Duke. Period. We all apply during our second year and then spend two years at Fuqua getting our MBA after which we return to the med school to finish off the MD.

There's been a few cases where people's GMAT scores weren't that high - they asked them to study and retake the test and then they let them in. You've gotta come up with a good reason and write some essays and go through all the paperwork - but it's an unspoken guarantee.

 

[mward04]

Do you add an additional 2 years to your total (total of 6 years) or is the MBA done over 2 years-but you only end up adding 1 year (total of 5 years)?

 

[aliraja]

Duke's MD program (which, I might add, was copied a few years ago by Penn 😛 ) is only 3 years long with a year of research to round it out to 4 like everyone else's. We just use the research year as our first year at the b-school, then do a summer internship, finish b-school, and do the fifth (and final) year at the med school.

 

[mward04]

hey you two...take that outside...there'll be no Duke-Penn fights here. Besides, both of your basketball teams are jokes anyway. Go Terps!

Other than that...thanks for the response 🙂

 

[nikolai521]

Hi everyone,

I am an MD/MBA from Penn. Of course, I am not speaking officially about my program, but here are my impressions.

So, do you have an AIM sn I can IM you at? 🙂

 

[youngin]

Wow finally found some good information thru that site u gave. Just wondering tho, I will prolly finish school with a double major in econ and bio. However I have and plan to do mainly research or volunteer work during the summers rather than work. Is it as crucial in the combined programs to have been working from your experiences?

 

[mward04]

Wow finally found some good information thru that site u gave. Just wondering tho, I will prolly finish school with a double major in econ and bio. However I have and plan to do mainly research or volunteer work during the summers rather than work. Is it as crucial in the combined programs to have been working from your experiences?

Glad you liked the site. To answer your question, it depends upon the programs you are applying to. Some programs will admit you as long as you are in the med school and have completed the application and you take the GMAT. Others i.e. Penn have more stringent requirements. You can speak to MDMBA5610 about them.

In general, I suggest you contact the MBA folks at your school to gauge what they want to see in an applicant. They'll be very honest with you and tell you whether you have to have experience prior to applying.

However, I encourage getting some real world experience whether it's for the MBA or even just med school. That way you're not just seeing medicine from an eternal student's perspective.

 

[ortho-mdmba]

I had a different path to the MD/MBA, I attended a medical school with no business school (you can do some narrowing down) then took a leave of absence to pursue an MBA after my third year. Will return to to medschool when I am done with the MBA thus it will take me a total of 6 years. Obviously, not the best way to go BUT still works.

I took the GMAT during my ob-gyn rotation bcos I felt an honors in this wouldn't help me in ortho anyway (might even hurt me 🙂). I applied to five schools (Harvard, Penn, Duke, Columbia, UCLA). I applied to schools with MD/MBA programs because I felt they had more experience evaluating a medical student's application.

Thus for me, entrance was not obviously not guaranteed and I was competiting against their own but you never know, they might just want someone with another background/school plus the school gets an extra year of tuition from me 🙂.

Academically, medical students are usually more qualified than business students but there is slightly less emphasis on it in the b-school application. The GMAT is "easier" than the MCAT but it is a different BEAST as is b-school versus med-school.

In your application, try to strike a balance between emphasizing that you are tha BOMB and someone who thrives in teamwork enviroments. Because some of your classes in b-school can have as much as 60% of your grade based on team assignments (yes, I said 60%!! for medical students it takes some getting used to especially when some of your classmates are there to network/for vacation/everything else but academics). I know what you might be thinking.... stop it.... teams at my school are randomly assigned. Enjoy it. Its fun! Plan to convince my medical school to incorporate some teamwork in the curriculum because I believe its needed in medicine.

At my MBA program, I am essentially treated as one of their MD/MBA students.

Contact me privately for specifics.

 

[biotechpharma]

Hi everyone,

I am an MD/MBA from Penn. Of course, I am not speaking officially about my program, but here are my impressions.

It is definitely not a guaranteed admissions process to Wharton from PennMed. Just like with any other competitive graduate program, I think Wharton likes to see that the student not only has the credentials necessary for admissions regardless of the MD, but that they also have a good "story." It is important for prospective dual degree students to have a good understanding of how they want to use the MBA in their career, and to be able to express that in their essays and interview.

At Wharton, MD students have to take the GMAT, write tons of essays, interview, and everything else that every other MBA candidate does. The MD is just another credential. I think it is just as competitive for us to get into the program as it is for any other over-achiever in the general population 🙂

If anyone has further questions, I'd be happy to talk more about this -- just reply to this message. Also, at Penn there is a nice community of MD/MBA's floating around in each class. If you visit, just ask us for advice and we'd be happy to help 🙂

Thank you very much for your insightful first hand experience. I am looking forward to hopefully enroll in a medical school and then apply to MBA in another school during my first year of college. I am applying straight from college with strong extracurricular, theme, GPA, but not MCAT. I was wondering if you could have your perspective on the application process to top MBA programs from a mediocre medical school and anything I should be preparing for or expecting. Any information will be greatly appreciated.