r/mdphd

Im a little worried about applying to MSTPs, I know there are non MSTP programs that are great but ideally I would love to be at an MSTP. I guess Im looking for some guidance/ insight on how to be a successful applicant with my stats

My profile:

MCAT 505->512

3.6 GPA (upward trend 3.4->3.8)

SES disadvantaged

8000+ hours of research across 3 labs

5 posters all first author (1 at national conference others at home institution research symposiums)

2 submitted papers (1 second author and 1 mid author)

150 hours shadowing wide array of specialties

1000 hours of non clinical volunteering

250 hours of clinical volunteering

Really good leadership experience 3 years as a president of a volunteer organization

6 strong LORs from PIs, professors and mentors

3 competitive research scholarships/awards

1 prestigious federal fellowship/award

Any insight would be helpful :) thank you all in advance

for current trainees, graduates, working physician-scientists etc: if you could go back and had the choice between a program that was the perfect fit for your goals, great match results, in a tolerable location, vs a program where you had to seek out opportunities to fit your goals more clearly but was in the perfect location that you want to stay at for residency with a support system, which one would you choose and why? hoping this gives me some clarity on my decision. thanks so much!

hey! i am a trad applicant looking to apply this cycle. however, my research profile is a bit disorganized, so i was wondering if anyone has any advice on how to present such a profile.

my primary research commitment is in a basic science wetlab (4500 hrs currently). this has little to do with anything clinical and any applications would be a stretch (concern #1) and did not really yield much in terms of output (concern #2). i have a 3rd author paper in an IF ~10 journal - a project that was finishing up when i joined my lab and was able to contribute a bit to (NOT a significant role). however, my main work has been leading an independent project which has, mostly, failed for the past 3yrs. i started undergrad with high hopes of publishing a 1st author but was led down a lot of dead ends and the more i discovered about the phenomenon, the more i found out how difficult it is to study. i have a few posters and a few orals related to this work, as well as some cool internal awards (only given to a few people at a t10 ug), but no national awards or real output aside from that one paper my freshman year (which i wasn't even involved in conceptualization for).

because i knew my project was screwed but was learning a ton and didn't want to abandon it, i looked for other ways of getting output, including:

• collaborating with a PH group to do data analysis for a few papers in mid journals
• 2 clinical case reports (1 first author) in not great journals
• had a nice idea for a computational project that i executed + published (genomics), then published 2 follow ups (sole author 3x in a mid journal)

i'm wondering how my profile overall will be evaluated and how i even begin to tie together my work. it just feels all so backward because the bulk of my output comes from projects i didn't spend much time on, while the work i poured all my time into for 3yrs didn't yield much.

i really want to emphasize my main wetlab project since it is my main commitment. but idk how bad it looks to not have much output from my main experience, and i also don't know if having 3 sole author papers is a red flag (not knowing how to work with people...)

anyway if anyone has done a mishmash of projects pls lmk how you went about it :) or if anyone has been in my position of, like, dedicating a lot of time and failing.

note: for reference, the rest of my profile is pretty strong (3.95/525/medtech r&d/emt/considerable volunteering). i just have no idea how research (the main part) will be evaluated.

I’m heavily considering an MD-PhD, but I don’t know where I stand since I haven’t really started thinking about it until recently. How does my application look?

Demographics: F, ORM, NY resident. 1 gap year

Stats: 520, MCAT, 3.88 GPA (4.0 non-sci, 3.75 sGPA)

Clinical Experience: 2000 hours as a PCT, 100 hours unpaid at a clinic.

Research: 1900 hours (3 posters, 1 pub) in one lab. 150 hours in a different lab.

Adjunct Biology Instructor for 1 year

Non-clinical Volunteering: 250 hours at a soup kitchen, 250 hours hospital volunteering

Shadowing: 100 hours between 3 specialties

Leadership: Longitudinal teaching assistant experience for 4 different science classes (800ish hours). Low-stakes leadership role in a club for a year.

A few questions:

First, if I am in a post-bacc undergrad science class that I self-enrolled in, then I imagine those credits count towards my sGPA… But then if I get into a formal post-bacc program for research (non-degree granting), and take courses at a graduate level, is this now a separate grad GPA despite it not technically being a grad program?

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More context:

Right now I have a lower GPA. I’m in one post-bacc undergrad science course wrapping up soon, which I took in order to get all my pre-reqs met. Fortunately it’s looking like I will get an A.

If I took 4 more credits at a UG level and aced them, I would be able to bump my sGPA up to a 3.5, but this would be a lot of money (and significant financial issues are part of why my GPA was lower in the first place).

Now, I have also applied to post-bacc programs to get more research experience. A lot of these programs have the opportunity to take courses at a graduate level for free. Wondering if I should try to take 4 more credits over the summer before the program to boost up to a 3.5 sGPA? Or, if my program let me pay for an undergraduate course, would this still contribute to my sGPA even if I already started grad courses?

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My cGPA will be a 3.6 regardless, just a higher 3.6. I would have to take a lot of credits to get it up to a 3.7 (switched my career goals from social sciences), which I wouldn’t be able to afford. Just wondering if that 3.5 sGPA may be beneficial for me, or if I should save the money and just focus on my grad GPA. I’m a re-applicant and just trying to improve however I can.

hello!

ik there are some similar posts abt this but i wanted to ask again for my specific situation!

i’ve lived in america all my life but im on a visa and will be on a f1 visa during my undergrad (so that i can work) with little chances of getting my greencard before 21. i was always really interested in doing an mdphd bc i love research and medicine and i knew i wanted to pursue both in my career.

however, as an intl student ik it’s exceptionally difficult to get into med schools in america, which is why i def want to take gap years before applying (also for the life experiences lmao). i don’t qualify for mstp funding and mdphd funding for intl students isn’t guaranteed.

my plan as of right now is to pursue my phd in neuroscience after my undergrad that way i have time to do more research and immerse myself in neuroscience and then apply to med school afterwards. my undergrad is at my state school on a full ride and phds are typically fully funded, so if i don’t get any funding for med school, i/my parents would have some money saved up for med school.

is this a good plan?? i would love to get others opinions on it! is there any difference btwn how physician-scientists are treated when they have an mdphd vs md and phd separately?? idk if this is the right sub for this question, but is it harder to get into md or mdphd as intl student (or are they around the same)??

i have a long way to go before applying to med school but i’m just a planner! ik a lot of people say to rethink applying to med school as an intl student but im a firm believer that unless it’s a 0% acceptance rate you will always have a chance small or big, and if there are intl students getting admitted even just a few then it’s not impossible. be optimistic!! thank you!

I absolutely love research but I am afraid of job security issues with a PhD alone, I love the idea of going to medical school and learning and applying that to the clinic but research is so huge for me, and I know that’s something you can pick up with a MD alone. I could see myself in school for a lot more years if that means I will be challenging myself and doing a lot of what I love. I do lean a bit more into research but just the industry scares me a bit to go full into.

I am about to turn 26 and I have all the prereqs except my mcat, and I am currently undecided to go down with doing all the MD or MD/PhD application stuff or applying as a PhD. My age kind of scares me too :(.

I'm almost done with my cycle, so the point is moot. However, my school does committee letters, and the advisor had suggested that my PI write the committee letter. Will this still be viewed as a letter from my PI?

Would this be viewed negatively?