hi everyone, in the app cycle stressed out and wanted some input:

the good:

- T20 uni (no med school though)

- 5 lab affiliations (my uni, cleveland clinic, case western, university college london (studied abroad)... many concurrent with eachother

- 2 pubs w/ cleveland clinic (one second author primary paper, one later author review)

- 2 conference poster awards

- research prize from case western

- deans award for research from my uni (2 of us presented at grad, the schools most prestigious award)

- neuroscience research award for my major (2 of us also at grad)

- graduated from dual honors programs (meaning two distinct and defended theses)

- worked as a bartender/server and at the gym for side money

- TA'ed five different classes, across 6 semesters. TA'ed a total of 8 times

- currently in gap year as a research assistant fro an MD-PhD PI (new institution from previously stated)

- research hours are much above average. clinical hours are good (volunteered at local hospital throughout school), non clinical volunteer hours a bit low

- reason to believe (hopefully) my letters of rec are quite strong

the not so good:

- 3.56 cgpa (upward trend), 506 mcat mostly brought down by *cars (126/*123/128/129)

MD-PhD school list is: michigan state, case western, ohio state (from ohio myself), cincinnati, loyola, rosalind franklin, university of illinois chicago, university of illinois urbana-c, arizona, indiana university, louisville, oregon health and science uni (gap year), colorado, kentucky.

just not in a financial spot right now to retake the mcat, get a masters, or add more schools.... let me know if you think theres hope here & would love to talk with any current students

As I write secondaries, I keep freaking out whenever I have to re-disclose my legal/IA history, and I'm wondering if anyone with multiple infractions has gotten into an MD/PhD program and, if so, where?

I have one misdemeanor for weed possession and an IA for a separate drug-related incident. These events are both over 3 years old, and I don't use drugs anymore, but that doesn't really matter.

My stats are decent (if you ignore the past behavioral stuff):

3.9 GPA / 520 MCAT

3000+ hours of research

Two co-first-author manuscripts submitted, one accepted after primaries

300+ clinic hours

800+ volunteering hours

TN resident

Is this workable? I would love stories from people who had similar disciplinary issues and got in, but would also appreciate realistic feedback. Also, if you know of any schools that might look past these issues and recognize growth, that would be great.

I submitted my primary to one school for verification purposes (anticipating getting verified in the next few days) but am getting cold feet about following through with this app cycle vs taking another year to do research + retake mcat:

3.83/514, T20 undergrad
CA resident, ORM
2000 research hours (starting a research gap year now), two middle author papers, one first author paper hopefully this fall
handful of poster presentations (little under 10)
500 clinical hours
strong rec letter from PI + science profs
can talk more about background/PS via dm, just don’t want to dox myself

looking at average stats for pretty much all md phd programs I fall below the median, or barely at it - any advice?? id prefer not to take another gap year if possible but i worry about being a reapplicant

Hey fellow masochists. Does anyone have a good consensus on when (or if) one should email PIs, as the PhD-only applicants do, to express interest? Currently applying to a variety of MD/PhD programs in the US. I know some secondaries have a place to talk about research and PI interests (my app is not yet verified - got too busy with a research program and didn't submit until 6/30, rip - but Tufts sent me a secondary that does include a question like that). Is that enough or should I also email? Thanks!!

Hi all! I wanted to ask the community what the optimal placement for publications/presentations is in a CV. Is there generally a preference to keep publications/presentations in the section of the corresponding lab they were completed in, or should they be placed in a dedicated "PUBLICATIONS/PRESENTATIONS" section?

I've heard mixed opinions. Some research faculty I've asked say it's good to keep it cohesive and place it at the bottom of a research experience description, while others have said they prefer seeing all of the research productivity independently in its own section. Curious to see what your consensus is.

Thank you!

I was wondering if anyone else who's applied to skmc at thomas jefferson has gotten their secondary. Mine looks like it's an md-only application and I want to confirm before submitting that I'm not missing md/phd specific essays

I’m a second year undergraduate interested in applying to MD/PhD programs. One of the specialties I’m most interested in is plastic surgery, which is notoriously competitive to match into. Does being a graduate from an MD/PhD program increase your odds of matching/make you a more competitive candidate?