What can I do to guarantee T5 MD/PhD acceptances?

[NapoleonBonaparte]

I'm currently a junior and will be applying the next coming cycle. I am aiming to get into a T5 MSTP program and I am hoping to make sure my app is prepared for it by June. I know that interviews and luck matter, but I hope to work on the factors I can control. In general, I'm not sure how much ECs matter for T5 MD/PhD programs compared to equivalent top MD programs. Is it really only about research? Any advice appreciated in terms of what I could improve.

Stats: 4.0 at Ivy; MCAT going to be taken in Jan. (aiming for mid-520s)
Demographics: ORM, traditional/no gap year

Clinical Experience

• Hospital volunteering (250 hours)
• Hospital quality assurance research committee (50 hours)

Non-clinical volunteering

• Our school’s Habitat for Humanity chapter (250 hours)

Research

• Started in my main lab, which focuses on leukemia, since sophomore year of HS (3000-4000 hours; not sure of exact number)
• 6 publications with them (including 1 first author review, Nature Medicine, and Cell)
• 3 other publications of my own from my social sciences research
• My second lab (two summers’ worth) is a collaborator’s lab

Shadowing

• 120 hours with 3 different surgeons (orthopedics and neurosurgery)

Extracurriculars

• Editor-in-chief of our school’s science publication
• Student government member supervising of all of our school’s 50+ volunteer organizations
• Board member of Habitat for Humanity chapter
• Deputy editor of a national undergraduate science publication
• Board member of intramural running club
• Vice president of table tennis club
• Co-founder and CEO of a startup tackling substance abuse relapse; wins several school funding awards and accumulated total of $150,000. About to test in clinics and hoping to publish a paper here of our own.

Recommendations

• 2 science professors with whom I’ve taken smaller, upper-level classes
• Main PI (part of Cornell MD/PhD admissions)
• 2nd PI (used to be part of Harvard MD/PhD admissions)
• 1 humanities professor with whom I had a seminar class

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[Lucca]

Your app is competitive for the tier of programs you mentioned. Beyond that, there are no guarantees. Just make sure your app is well-written and cohesive

 

[TheJooce]

You're fine for ECs and really every other factor TBH. The best thing you can do is kill the MCAT. And then for interviews, I would apply broadly and put your target schools towards the middle of your interviews. It took me 3 or 4 schools to really land on good answers for most of the questions you encounter.

 

[Maebea]

What's the obsession with a Top 5 MD-PhD program? The rest aren't worthy of consideration? You would refuse an offer from Number 6? The NIH apparently thinks differently about these things as they are now funding 50 MD-PhD programs.

 

[navy kenzo]

As you interview you'll realize research fit and quality of life matter much more than any supposed rankings.

 

[Fencer]

In my area of expertise, I am so sorry for you if you choose a T5 USN&WR program, only one of them is T5 while another is T10, but the other 3 are outside of T10.

To further @Maebea's point, NIH study sections gave terrific scores that led to funding to MD/PhD applicants for F30 awards in 76 MD/PhD programs.

Another fact for perspective is that every year, about 5-8% of MD/PhD applicants with a MCAT of >99% are REJECTED and DO NOT GET INTO ANY MD/PhD program. Why? By far, this is because of a personality issue. About half of them are not invited to the limited number of schools that they apply (too elitist - T10 or T5 schools, unmasked by their LORs) while the other half act as jerks in interviews unmasking themselves.

 

[Lucca]

As you interview you'll realize research fit and quality of life matter much more than any supposed rankings.

Word. It’s fine to have dreams, but you’ll def be surprised once you’re on the trail. There will be many medical schools who are not so high in the rankings with potentially T10, 5 quality research in your field of interests and at the end of the day that’s more important to us innit.

Take a look at many of the ppl with several interviews on this board. Even then, none of us I don’t think have interviews at ALL the “top” schools. This is a very competitive process and even if you do everything right you are never guaranteed to bat a thousand.

 

[TheJooce]

I get what everyone is saying, and I agree with you all—if OP's priority is becoming a physician scientist (as it is for me and, I assume, most others applying).

But I recognize that that's not everyone's goal. If OP wants to go into pharma, consulting, finance, or anything that's not academic medicine, then picking the straight up highest-ranked school may indeed be the best option. Now it's a totally separate conversation whether MD/PhD is the best route to go for those different career paths, in addition to the ethical question of whether it's okay to take over a half mill in stipend/tuition/benefits to do anything other than academic medicine, but I didn't want to assume anything about OP's goals. I gave the advice she/he asked for.

 

[mega_]

1. It appears you dont have clinical/medical LOR

2. If you are interested in oncology, many, many schools are excellent

3. Don't invade Russia in the winter

 

[Walter Raleigh]

Your app is competitive for the tier of programs you mentioned. Beyond that, there are no guarantees. Just make sure your app is well-written and cohesive

This. There are lots of very qualified applicants. There are very few guarantees; to boost his chances much more he'd need some truly insane ECs: MacArthur Genius Grant, first-author Nature paper or two...or an eight-figure donation. Or something yet more outlandish, like the Nobel Peace Prize or something insane like that.