What schools should I be looking at with my scores? (MD/PhD)

[markovchn123]

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Hi everyone,

I plan to apply to MD/PhD programs next year as soon as I graduate with a B.S in biochemistry from a small liberal arts school. My plan is to go for a masters in biomedical or chemical engineering while I wait for responses. My question however is what schools am I reasonably competitive for with a 3.9 GPA and a 516 MCAT?

Note: I have two years of research experience so far in a bio lab ( sophomore year) and a computational chemistry lab (junior year and forward). I will have three total years by the time I apply. I did one independent summer research project at my school where I designed and set up the entire experiment mostly without supervision. I just want to know what schools I would have a good shot at and maybe some schools I could reach for?

Thanks

 

[eteshoe]

Shadowing? Volunteering?

I would suggest a MS in BME over ChE because that will be a bit more relevant (I was a ChE). You seem like a very solid applicant and you realistically have a shot at most programs. A common breakdown would be the following:
5-8 top tier
5-8 mid range
all your state's programs

 

[markovchn123]

Shadowing? Volunteering

I would suggest a MS in BME over ChE because that will be a bit more relevant (I was a ChE). You seem like a very solid applicant and you realistically have a shot at most programs. A common breakdown would be the following:
5-8 top tier
5-8 mid range
all your state's programs

Thanks for the response!

I currently have 150 hours of volunteering, currently looking for a shadowing opportunity but where I live it's very difficult to get shadowing without knowing someone. I will have an opportunity in the summer to shadow however and I'm hoping for about 50-100 hours. By the time I apply I should have 200+ volunteering hours, more like 300 because I don't see myself stopping volunteering for the next year. I'm a bit worried about my MCAT score because it's not top tier and I don't know if schools look at small mid tier school GPAs as less impressive than big name school applicants GPAs.

 

[eteshoe]

Thanks for the response!

I currently have 150 hours of volunteering, currently looking for a shadowing opportunity but where I live it's very difficult to get shadowing without knowing someone. I will have an opportunity in the summer to shadow however and I'm hoping for about 50-100 hours. By the time I apply I should have 200+ volunteering hours, more like 300 because I don't see myself stopping volunteering for the next year. I'm a bit worried about my MCAT score because it's not top tier and I don't know if schools look at small mid tier school GPAs as less impressive than big name school applicants GPAs.

You should be solid. Where you went to school doesn't really matter - you just have to be able to clearly articulate your research experiences, skills you've gained, and motivation for going down this path. Your MCAT score is in the 95th+ percentile - how much more top tier do you need? Just continue what you're doing and you should have a pretty successful application cycle once you've nailed down the specific programs.

 

[markovchn123]

You should be solid. Where you went to school doesn't really matter - you just have to be able to clearly articulate your research experiences, skills you've gained, and motivation for going down this path. Your MCAT score is in the 95th+ percentile - how much more top tier do you need? Just continue what you're doing and you should have a pretty successful application cycle once you've nailed down the specific programs.

Thank you for the responses you helped me a lot!

 

[eteshoe]

Thank you for the responses you helped me a lot!

No problem that's what SDN is about.