Where's the '08 crowd?

[meowkat444]

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I *know* I'm not the only one lurking around here applying this summer. 2008 applicants introduce yourselves! With any luck we all might run into each other anyway... Where are you applying? What are you interested in?

 

[marctam86]

count me among the 2008 applicants! im a little overwhelmed now, with my mcat happening on the 25th. im interested in infectious disease research, among other areas. im also praying my lack of clinical experience doesnt doom my application. should be an interesting year!

oh, im a NY resident, dreaming about cornell, columbia, and nyu, but am planning to apply broadly

 

[mtlove]

I am most likely applying this year. I am taking the MCAT in a couple weeks, and then it is hard core application time. I have not finalized my list of schools yet, but I am applying broadly and to quite a few schools. I currently have no real preference on a school or location.

I am interested in MCB programs, and I will probably do something in this area with a neuroscience focus. I have not made an MD applicants profile yet, but here are the basics:

2006 graduate of a LAC with an average GPA

Research experience:
3 yrs of independent research at my college: have a few posters and no pubs. I will have a paper from it, but I do not think my PI has plans to start it in the near future (a major con of doing research at a small LAC).

2 yrs of independent research at NIH after graduation: I again will not have publications. My famous PI loves very risky projects, so I will not be getting a paper anytime soon. If I am very lucky, I might be writing a first author paper sometime in med school.

 

[Inuranic]

2008 applicant here as well - I'm looking at pharmacology/medicinal chemistry, but who knows.

I'm also currently stalling on finishing the AMCAS essays - MCAT next week, just had my last final (Orgo II) today, and want to relax.

NH resident, but I'm looking to go more southerly.

 

[solitude]

I *know* I'm not the only one lurking around here applying this summer. 2008 applicants introduce yourselves! With any luck we all might run into each other anyway... Where are you applying? What are you interested in?

I'm currently finishing up finals, writing my AMCAS essays, and frantically trying to finish some experiments this summer for a publication that is taking absolutely forever to write.

I'm interested in molecular genetics, and applying to schools across the country, but primarily in Cali and the Northeast (and a few back home in the Midwest).

Introduce yourself too!

 

[tbo]

Another 2008er here. Working hard to give the MCAT the smackdown in June. An older applicant (2000 grad) and went to get a Master's in Informatics. Been working in research since undergrad and have a few publications (1 first author) in the clinical space.

I'm interested in doing the PhD in Clinical Epidemiology and outcomes research - which has been discussed modestly in this forum. My stats need work, but I'm hoping my research experiences will help me in my cause. Good luck to you all.

 

[Inuranic]

I'm glad I'm not applying to the same schools as solitude, Jesus.

 

[1Path]

I'm glad I'm not applying to the same schools as solitude, Jesus.

Interesting. I was on my schools shuttle bus earlier today where a woman was lamenting about how her boyfriend with the 4.0 GPA and the 14, 14, 14 MCAT spread is on 5 waitlists with NO acceptances.

 

[Mountain Cow]

hey, look forward to this process. I'm sure this year will be interesting.

My research interests are in the realm of digestive disease/immunology/nutrition (basically gastroenterology). Preferably something of a combination.

 

[goldsonic99]

Another 2008 applicant here. Still not sure where I'm applying but hope to stay in California. UC Berkeley alum working on cancer/aging research and interested in molecular biology and genetics. Good luck to all of you taking the MCAT (I better get in this year or I'll have to retake) and with the application process. It sure looks like a lot of work right now, but we'll get through it.

 

[meowkat444]

glad i started this! I'm an '05 yale grad. i've done cognition research previously, with a few conferences and 1 first author. i've been doing teach for america since then, teaching chemistry. i'm excited but nervous about the application process-i've known i wanted to do research for a while, but the md addition is newish for me. it makes perfect sense, and i feel silly that i didn't figure it out sooner, but i'm diving in with a late mcat and not much clinical. i'm starting to work in a clinical neuro lab with a schizophrenia focus in the next month, so that is exciting.

i have a list of 26 schools right now, which is freaking me out.

good luck on mcat next week inuranic!

 

[JustAdocInBox]

Man, I feel like a little kid around you guys! Am I the only one applying MSTP right out of undergrad?

Well, I'll be graduating in December. 2 years of research with 3rd author paper submitted, 2nd author abstract, 1st author abstract, and 2nd author paper in the workings. I have a strong interest in biomedical nanotechnology and biophysics research. I majored in physics.

Is anyone else feeling down about this whole application process? I mean, I've spent the last 3 years working hard and getting good grades just to get to the point where I have a good chance at getting into MD/PhD programs but now that its here, I'm kind of nervous and not too excited about applying!

 

[marctam86]

Man, I feel like a little kid around you guys! Am I the only one applying MSTP right out of undergrad?

Im applying out of undergrad too, and am similarly depressed about applying, especially given how talented all the applicants seem to be

 

[j-weezy]

woooo! 2008! I too am applying. Besides the vague notion of cancer biology, I have absolutely no idea where I want to go - hence I'll probably apply to about 20 places (at least initially) and just go from there. Anyone know of good cancer biology programs that aren't necessarily top-ranked medical schools?

Let's see....I have my PS written, my MD/PhD essay written, and am about half done with the research essay. None of them have been extensively edited (I've only had one other person besides myself read them). I took the MCAT last august so I'm good there. I gave myself a deadline of asking for the rest of my LORs by this friday (eep!). Other than all that, I'm looking forward to a summer of research and applications which unsarcastically enough, I think will be really really relaxing compared to my last 3 summers.

-j

 

[Mountain Cow]

revaldo29 and marctam86,

No need to be depressed that you are undergrads. At least in my case (and I assume the same for some others) I didn't set my sights on MSTP until a couple years ago. You have probably been pushing toward the same goal for just as long as many of us.

 

[j-weezy]

Do people really despise Texas? Why is it that people completely ignore UT Southwestern? It's an excellent school - lots of money and great research. Is it the location that keeps people from even applying?

Sorry for the short rant. It's just that after looking at people's mdapplicants info, I noticed no one even mentions UT Southwestern.

 

[mtlove]

Do people really despise Texas? Why is it that people completely ignore UT Southwestern? It's an excellent school - lots of money and great research. Is it the location that keeps people from even applying?

Sorry for the short rant. It's just that after looking at people's mdapplicants info, I noticed no one even mentions UT Southwestern.

UT Southwestern is on my list of 20+ schools right now; they have a lots of research in my area of interest. Are you a current student there?

Their website mentions you have to have a rec from all of your research mentors. Does anyone know if it is possibility to get around this requirement? I have had four mentors including one from a summer program, and I would like to leave the summer one out since my time there was relatively short. If anyone has experience with this, that would be great.

 

[meowkat444]

my understanding is that nontrad mstp is less common than nontrad md. so actually, i bet most of you are undergrads still?

as for texas... yeah, location is the problem for me. too hot, among other reasons. current list is:

UCI
UCLA
UCSD
UCSF
Dartmouth
Duke
Emory
Harvard
Hopkins
Northwestern
Oregon
UPenn
UPitt
Rochester
Stanford
Vanderbilt
WashU St. Louis
WashU Seattle
Yale
Case Western
UChicago
Columbia
Cornell Tri-I
NYU
Mt. Sinai
USC
UMDNJ

but i'm looking to cut and don't know how to do it. suggestions? i don't want to give up on my reaches, but i'm afraid of cutting more realistic choices...

but all of us who are nervous--we'd be crazy not to be. so it's normal, i think. it's scary as hell to start something you're not sure will work out, i worry about it a lot. but that doesn't justify not trying, does it?

no one else is taking the july mcat?

 

[GradTX]

Count me in, too. I graduated in 2003, but took time of to get a master's and work full time in a lab. I have two second authored biophysics pubs, one "co-first" that's being written (that is if my old PI ever gets around to looking at the manuscript), and a project that I'm currently working on that's about wrapped up which will lead to another first authored pub. My grades are a mess because my first two years of college were done while I was still in highschool. I'm so glad to see other people here who took some time off! Good luck to those cramming for the May/June MCAT. That's what I should be doing right now instead of SDN.

Is there any benefit to holding your application until you get a manuscript submitted? Or is it better to notify schools later?

 

[j-weezy]

it's scary as hell to start something you're not sure will work out, i worry about it a lot. but that doesn't justify not trying, does it?

Truer words have not been spoken (written?).

You could always cut your list down by location - more so than just Texas.

What's funny is that I'm from Texas but don't want to stay here....I just think there should be more Texas-love.

Oh, and I can vouch for myself and solitude - still undergrads.

 

[marctam86]

for some levity:

how do you make a hormone?









dont pay her.

i laugh every time

 

[j-weezy]

for some levity:

how do you make a hormone?









dont pay her.

i laugh every time

haha - i can't wait to retell that one.


sidenote: rain + ****ty apartment = wet floor, just hope i don't lose power while i 'study'

 

[tbo]

Is there any benefit to holding your application until you get a manuscript submitted? Or is it better to notify schools later?

GradTX - you've got company. Our backgrounds sound similar (although you've got 3 years of youth on your side). From what I've heard, applying early is far more beneficial to your candidacy than one accomplishment, however big. If you think about it, them bringing you in for an interview likely does not sway on one publication particularly since you have others. Submit and update is the way to go.

my understanding is that nontrad mstp is less common than nontrad md

I imagine that most MSTP applicants are straight out of school or 1 year out doing research full-time during that break. Does any body know if that puts nontrads at an advantage (solid idea of what we're looking for in a career in research) 😎 or a disadvantage (old fogeys who might get run around in circles by these young'ins) 😉 ?

 

[angelstar0614]

2008 applicant here! Currently junior, graduating in '08, chemical engineering & biology double major, medical humanities minor and 07 Goldwater scholar. I took the MCAT in August, but retaking in July (I know, a bit late!) to up the verbal score mainly. Some clinical experience (not a lot, but sufficient according to my advisor).

By graduation, I will have 1 semester tissue eng. research + 1 year fuel cell (ChemE) research + 2 summers immunology research + 2 years biochemical engineering (Alzheimers) research. Couple of presentations/abstracts so far. Hope to finish a paper by the end of the summer on the immunology front, and another paper for my current chemE research by December + a honors senior thesis.

I'm a SC resident, and looking mainly to MUSC, Duke, Emory, UNC, UVA, UPenn, UPitt, Cornell, JHU, WashU, Vandy, and a few others depending on MCAT. I'm strongly leaning towards an MD/PhD in immunology. Going to start work on my essays after exams are over next week - I have a good idea for what my personal statement will have but other than than clueless...

 

[Kraazy]

Applying 2008 for MSTP in Epidemiology, hoping to focus on infectious diseases. I don't have a set list of schols yet, but seeing as not too many schools offer MSTP in Epi, I sometimes feel like i'm just shooting myself in the foot. It's what I want, though, so I guess it's worth a shot.

I have a slightly below-ave GPA for MSTP (I think), ~2 yrs bench research and almost yr clinical research. Taking the MCAT in a week!

 

[OncDoc19]

Another 2008 applicant here! Right now I'm busy with finals and then I'm off to Germany till the end of May. I'm hoping to get quite a bit done on my essays while I'm there. Haven't started any of them yet, but I know what I want to write about so that's good. My research interest is the History of Medicine. One or two LORs left to tie up, but then again I need a lot because of the program I am applying to (I have to apply to the history department as well and they don't really care about my science research). I'm planning on submiting my AMCAS in mid-June. See my MDApps for where I'm applying. My research is also outlined there but here it is in brief:
1 summer of lymphoma research
2 history of medicine research projects with papers - not published but I need them for writing samples for history school (1 for a semester and the other for 8 months)
2 years protein crystallography research
1.5 years in cancer clinical trials office
1 year of neonatology clinical research (ongoing)
This summer - pre-MD/PhD program with research on the molecular epidemiology of asthma

It is really strange to actually be starting the application process, especially since its something I knew was coming since high school. I've done the best I could to prepare myself so I guess its time to see how I really measure up . Good luck to everyone!

 

[henge]

Originally Posted by j-weezy:
Do people really despise Texas? Why is it that people completely ignore UT Southwestern? It's an excellent school - lots of money and great research. Is it the location that keeps people from even applying?

I know this isn't a political site and I know Texas is a big, diverse state, but the public face projected by Texas' political institutions is not inviting to agnostics, atheists and others with non-traditional beliefs. Consider:

The Republican Party of Texas Platform 2004
"The Republican Party of Texas affirms that the United States of America is a Christian nation … Our Party pledges to exert its influence to restore the original intent of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and dispel the myth of the separation of Church and State."
http://www.texasgop.org/site/DocServer/RPTPlatform2004.pdf?docID=121

Article I, Sec 4 of the Texas Constitution
"No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being."
http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/txconst/sections/cn000100-000400.html

 

[j-weezy]

Originally Posted by j-weezy:
Do people really despise Texas? Why is it that people completely ignore UT Southwestern? It's an excellent school - lots of money and great research. Is it the location that keeps people from even applying?

I know this isn't a political site and I know Texas is a big, diverse state, but the public face projected by Texas' political institutions is not inviting to agnostics, atheists and others with non-traditional beliefs. Consider:

The Republican Party of Texas Platform 2004
"The Republican Party of Texas affirms that the United States of America is a Christian nation … Our Party pledges to exert its influence to restore the original intent of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and dispel the myth of the separation of Church and State."
http://www.texasgop.org/site/DocServer/RPTPlatform2004.pdf?docID=121

Article I, Sec 4 of the Texas Constitution
"No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being."
http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/txconst/sections/cn000100-000400.html

haha maybe I'm completely ignorant, but I haven't even thought about the political atmosphere of the states/schools to which I'll be applying. I guess I just thought that most medical schools and higher institutions are more liberal - I know UTSouthwestern is (at least the faculty, less so the medical students).

 

[skillmatic]

Jesus, you guys are so accomplished. Anyways, I am joining the '08 crowd as well. I will have had 4 years of research experience by the time I matriculate (if I am so lucky.) The list of schools I'm applying to is on my mdapps page. Right now, I'm all about structure and function/ molecular biology, but who knows what I'll be interested in later. By the way, anyone going to the RNA conference in June? ****, I'm a total nerd.

 

[j-weezy]

Jesus, you guys are so accomplished. Anyways, I am joining the '08 crowd as well. I will have had 4 years of research experience by the time I matriculate (if I am so lucky.) The list of schools I'm applying to is on my mdapps page. Right now, I'm all about structure and function/ molecular biology, but who knows what I'll be interested in later. By the way, anyone going to the RNA conference in June? ****, I'm a total nerd.

I'm not going, but people in my lab are going and giving presentations....the one in Wisconsin right? Man, I wish I was going - I even have fellowship money to go..... have fun! And if you're a nerd, well I guess you're in the right place....haha

 

[OncDoc19]

Originally Posted by j-weezy:
Do people really despise Texas? Why is it that people completely ignore UT Southwestern? It's an excellent school - lots of money and great research. Is it the location that keeps people from even applying?

I know this isn't a political site and I know Texas is a big, diverse state, but the public face projected by Texas' political institutions is not inviting to agnostics, atheists and others with non-traditional beliefs. Consider:

The Republican Party of Texas Platform 2004
"The Republican Party of Texas affirms that the United States of America is a Christian nation … Our Party pledges to exert its influence to restore the original intent of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and dispel the myth of the separation of Church and State."
http://www.texasgop.org/site/DocServer/RPTPlatform2004.pdf?docID=121

Article I, Sec 4 of the Texas Constitution
"No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being."
http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/txconst/sections/cn000100-000400.html

I am with you on this point. UTSW doesn't have the program I want, but even if it did, I'm not sure I could survive in Texas for 8 years. The location of the school and the people who live there are really, even more so for MD/PhD because of the length of the program.

 

[j-weezy]

In order to move past all of this slander (just kidding) - let's change the topic. How is everyone deciding where to apply for safeties? Do safeties even exist for MD/PhD?

 

[JustAdocInBox]

I have the exact same question. Should I apply to places that I don't really want to go as back ups? I don't really want to spend 8 years at program that has very limited choices (my state school).

 

[OncDoc19]

I don't think there are too many safety schools for MSTP. Some schools have MD/PhD programs that are funded, although not by the NIH, such as UIUC Med Scholars. I am applying there because 1) its funded and 2) they are supportive of my interest in history of medicine and have several people in that area for their PhD portion. The UIUC medical school is not highly ranked as far as I know, so I guess it is my safety school. Other than that, I can't think of any other school on my list that is a safety except maybe my home school UIowa but even that is a top 30 program.

I am struggling with the same question as revaldo, although I won't say about which schools. In my situation though (non-trad PhD) I feel I have to apply everywhere that will let me do such a thing and give me funding for it and since there are only 16 of those places that's where I am applying.

Anybody else have thoughts on this?

 

[Mountain Cow]

I was thinking along the same lines for UIUC. Although I guess if we all apply there it might not be a safety school any more 😀

 

[Dr.Watson]

I am with you on this point. UTSW doesn't have the program I want, but even if it did, I'm not sure I could survive in Texas for 8 years. The location of the school and the people who live there are really, even more so for MD/PhD because of the length of the program.

Oh, I'll defend Texas (and I'm not even going there for MSTP).

The major metropolitan cities in Texas (like Dallas and Houston) are hardly distinguishable from many other major, non-new-england (you do need a car), metropolitan cities in the US. People don't have accents, Chili's and Starbucks are ample, and the malls have all the familar stores. It's hardly a foreign country. It's not a barren desert (that's west TX), hot weather in the summer is made bearable with ample AC (seriously, 85F in limited-AC NE was more uncomfortable for me), and people are genuinely friendly. I know more NE people pleasantly suprised by the South and staying longer than expected (ie half the people I interview with) than the reverse.

UTSW and Baylor both have amazing programs with THE top people in certain research areas. I'd definitely go ahead and check their boxes off on AMCAS rather than pre-judge them now. UTSW didn't have a secondary and Baylor's was minimal if I remember correctly. The MSTPs do draw from all over the country, so you'll have a chance to grill a Texas-transplant from your neck-of-the-woods.

Also, don't write Texas off because of George W. The Bushes are an established east coast family. HW - born in MA, Philips Academy, then Yale. W - born in New Haven, Philips Academy, Yale, Harvard Business. They claim Texas as home because of oil $$ opportunities and prime brush clearing photo-ops as near as I can tell. And accents? SO affected.

 

[jlamacc1]

Hello 2008 MudPhud Crowd!
I'm a (rising) senior at the University of Tennessee. My research is in structural protein chemistry, specifically X-ray crystallography. I do a lot of protein purification via HPLC, and right now I'm doing some fluorescence stuff for a kinetics study. Overall, it's fairly interesting work, although my PI is more of a physicist than a biochemist, which gets kind of frustrating at times.
The programs I'm interested in include the following:
Emory
Stanford
Duke
Ohio State
Penn

I look forward to the possibility of running into some of you guys/gals during interview season!

John

 

[ThatOne]

In my situation though (non-trad PhD) I feel I have to apply everywhere that will let me do such a thing and give me funding for it and since there are only 16 of those places that's where I am applying.

Anybody else have thoughts on this?

Apply to as many places as you can while remaining sane, seriously. My priorities and perspective changed a lot over the year long process, and my top choice at the end of all the interviews was a place that I almost didn't even fill out the secondary for. You might end up finding that the "place you wouldn't want to be for the next 8 years" ends up being the place you are most enamored with by the end of the process -- it certainly happened to me.

 

[solumanculver]

Hey 2008 crowd... I'm applying as well. I'm applying to 18 different schools, all MD/PhD, but I'm beginning to think about adding a couple MD-only safety kind of schools. I'm kind of old and don't really want to risk not getting in somewhere. Not to mention some beaurocratic problems that a non-acceptance would cause with the army... Solidarity
Soluman

 

[vector07]

my understanding is that nontrad mstp is less common than nontrad md. so actually, i bet most of you are undergrads still?

as for texas... yeah, location is the problem for me. too hot, among other reasons. current list is:

UCI
UCLA
UCSD
UCSF
Dartmouth
Duke
Emory
Harvard
Hopkins
Northwestern
Oregon
UPenn
UPitt
Rochester
Stanford
Vanderbilt
WashU St. Louis
WashU Seattle --> it's University of Washington, different!
Yale
Case Western
UChicago
Columbia
Cornell Tri-I
NYU
Mt. Sinai
USC
UMDNJ

but i'm looking to cut and don't know how to do it. suggestions? i don't want to give up on my reaches, but i'm afraid of cutting more realistic choices...

but all of us who are nervous--we'd be crazy not to be. so it's normal, i think. it's scary as hell to start something you're not sure will work out, i worry about it a lot. but that doesn't justify not trying, does it?

no one else is taking the july mcat?

Your list includes almost every school I applied to last cycle!

Location is a good reason to shorten your list. For example, while I love visiting NY, I couldn't live there for more than a week 😉 So I didn't apply to any of the NY schools. Dartmouth, on the other hand, is VERY isolated. There's no airport closer than ~ 2 hours away. The town is small, etc etc. If this isn't a place you could see yourself, don't apply there. (I did apply there, loved it).

Also, research is another reason. Make sure that the places you apply are pretty strong in whatever field you're interested in. You'll find that explaining (in essays OR interviews) why you want to go to their school is challenging and superficial if their research isn't strong in the field you intend to pursue.

If you have more specific questions (you, or anyone) about the app process at particular schools, I bolded the ones I applied to from your list above. Plus, here are the few others:

Univ. Wisconsin
Univ. Michigan
UNC-Chapel Hill

edit: I'll throw in a response to this one too:

I have the exact same question. Should I apply to places that I don't really want to go as back ups? I don't really want to spend 8 years at program that has very limited choices (my state school).

Here's the thing. There is a long discussion on this forum--somewhere--about MSTP "backup" schools versus MD-only at top-notch schools. I think one example mentioned was Rochester MSTP versus Harvard (or Yale?) MD-only. As I recall, the consensus is that you will be MUCH better served (academically speaking) by attending the MSTP. Additionally, I don't think you can say whether you like a school or not until you visit. What do you mean by limited choices? Does your state school lack researchers in your area of interest?

 

[GliaGirl]

EDIT: Ignore me, I read the thread title incorrectly. I'm not class of '08. Goodbye and good luck to you all!

 

[seraph524]

Hi there!! Welcome to the forums!!

And I think you should post in the '09 crowd instead 😉 This was last application year's thread 😉

Anywhoo, enjoy hanging around here, ask lots of questions, and enjoy the application cycle (as much as one can humanely do)!

Also, MDApps is an online portfolio thing where you can list what schools you have applied to, interviewed at, waitlisted at, accepted at, etc etc etc... It's not necessary to have one, but I dunno, most people have one.

 

[j-weezy]

yes, where are we?

 

[seraph524]

Hi everybody, I'm an applicant for the incoming class of 2008. My likes are long walks on the beach, ice cream, and eskimo kisses. My dislikes are dishonesty, bad BO, and abrasive people.

Am I too late to apply?

 

[j-weezy]

My dislikes are abrasive people.

Obviously we should never meet

 

[seraph524]

Obviously we should never meet

Maybe that's why we never met again after my first interview...