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MD Applicants

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  • idontevenknow

  • Application cycles: 06/16/2015
  • Demographics: Female, 31, Caucasian
  • Home state: Colorado
  • Last Active: 04/21/2016
  • Brief Profile: Decided to do MD/PhD summer before my senior year, then decided to wait a cycle and take a gap year to make sure everything didn't feel rushed. Spent the rest of the summer studying for the MCAT (poorly, I got sick and my score was lower than it should've been but I decided not to retake, also there was no writing section on mine). Worked a lot on my personal statements, kept up my GPA, talked a lot with professors who I wanted letters from. Took a long time making a list of schools. My research interests are very chemistry oriented so that crossed a lot of schools off. I had all MSTP schools and got some advice to add a few non MSTP just for diversities sake. They are usually smaller, and interview less, but also generally get lower application numbers as well. I took the advice, but honestly I was looking for a big established program because I felt that was what would fit me best. I also got the advice that if money wasn't too much of an issue to apply to more rather than less. It's a lot easier to withdraw an application than it is to send one in last minute if you change your mind.

    Basically, I had no idea what I was doing or what I really was looking for. I thought I did, but by the end of the cycle I definitely had a shifted and more concrete idea of what I was doing MD/PhD for and what I wanted out of a program. There is no ranking for these types of programs so you have to go by word of mouth and MD rankings and name recognition and such, but in the end that really isn't as important. Each MD/PhD program will offer different things, and you have to ask yourself, what is it that I really want. You don't necessarily need to know a specialty or research focus (although that definitely helps), but more nebulous things. You are going to be there for 7-8 years, so you better enjoy the experience or you're kinda stuck. My cycle is a story of someone who pretty much went in blind, and didn't even know what I didn't know.

    There's not as much information out there for people applying MD/PhD so I hope this profile helps!

    Major: Chemistry with a Bio minor
    MCAT: 34
    GPA: 3.9
    Shadowing: 50hrs
    Research: 1 summer in a plant bio lab, 2+ years in an organic chemistry lab
    Plublications: 1 in a journal of ~13 impact
    Volunteering: Tutoring at local schools through college
    Other: Philanthropy work for pediatric cancer, sorority, school ambassador, peer mentor, organic lab TA, front desk worker
  • // Applications //

    Application Cycle One: 06/16/2015

    • Undergraduate college: Midwest State School
    • Undergraduate Area of study: Physical Sciences
    • Total MCAT SCORE: 516
    • MCAT Section Scores: B/B 130, C/P 129, CARS 127  
    • Overall GPA: 3.90
    • Science GPA: 3.90

    Summary of Application Experience

    Overall I think it went pretty well. I tried to outline my though process throughout to help future MD/PhD applicants because it can be harder to figure out what programs will fit you best. I was invited to interview at 10 schools, about half of what I applied, which I was happy about considering my MCAT score was on the low end. I had some top schools interview me and some lower ranked ones reject me so I figure I was competitive enough that it ended up being a more subjective thing. Like, I'm pretty sure Mayo rejected me because my application did not portray me as very translational, which is true, and it probably wouldn't have been the best fit. There are a few schools I just shouldn't have applied to (loyola, connecticut, minnesota) and a few I really wish I had (wash u, u chicago), but honestly when I started this I really didn't know very much, and it all ended up okay so no regrets.

    I got a lot of compliments on my letters of recommendation during interview. I'm pretty sure they are the reason I had a good cycle.

    Decided to matriculate to Tri-I! So excited!

    Applied, Rejected

    University of Washington

    Application Complete, Rejected

    University of Michigan
    University of Massachusetts
    University of California, Los Angeles
    University of Pittsburgh
    Johns Hopkins University
    University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
    Mayo Medical School
    University of Cincinnati
    University of California, San Diego
    Stanford University

    Invited for Interview, Withdrew

    University of Wisconsin
    University of Colorado

    Attended Interview, Rejected

    University of Pennsylvania
    Pennsylvania State University

    Attended Interview, Withdrew

    University of California, Irvine

    Attended Interview, Waitlisted, Withdrew

    Vanderbilt University
    Loyola University Chicago

    Accepted

    University of Connecticut
    Cornell University
    Northwestern University

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