Hi everyone,
I have applied to MD programs for the past two cycles. I was not successful two cycles ago, and I had one interview and waitlist this cycle. Though I have previously applied MD, I have decided to pursue an MD/PhD because I want to continue doing research. I have been doing full-time clinical research in my 2 gap years since graduation, and this is more in line with what I want to do as a career.
Since I have previously applied twice and don't want to have to re-apply a fourth time, I'm not sure if I should re-apply this cycle (I have already drafted essays) or if I should wait another year to make further improvements to my application:
23 ORM female.
3.9 GPA and 516 MCAT
5000+ research hours (3 summer internships, 1 year part-time during undergrad, 2 years full-time post-grad)
1 first-author preprint, 1 first-author senior thesis, 1 middle-author publication (submitted to journal), 10 presentations (2 at national conferences)
Letters of rec: 2 PIs, 2 professors
~900 clinical volunteer hours (600 as EMT, 300 at local hospital)
~100 shadowing hours
~600 non-clinical volunteer hours
President of 3 clubs in college
TA for biology class
I would really appreciate any advice. I'm not sure what more I should do to strengthen my application. Re-applying has been a huge financial burden, so I want to make sure I'm putting my best foot forward when I do.