u/KaleidoscopeLow6802

Hi!

I am an international student (Korean) hoping to apply for Duke-NUS medical school MD-PhD course.

I was wondering if I stand a chance!

Age : 30

Military : finished (alternative military service at industry)

Undergrad GPA : 3.8/4.0 (US State school, non-flagship, Biology+CS)

Masters GPA : 3.57/4.0 (Korean, top engineering school, research field in AI)

Publications : 4 first authored on medical AI, 2 more undergoing on top venue journals. Current total citations on my papers is 80+

References : 4 (all of whom I researched with, medical school professor, my MS advisor, company supervisor, and professor whom I researched with)

GAMSAT score (in lieu of MCAT score): 68(92nd percentile, 55/72/73). I read that average MCAT score for 25 entering class was 513, which is 86th percentile according to AAMC. I wonder if my GAMSAT score can be translated to 92nd percentile MCAT score? I can retake GAMSAT this September though. Should I retake GAMSAT for better score?

Shadowing : 30 hours at liver surgery operating room. However, I cannot issue certificates or some sort. Should I do more shadowing? Would shadowing at Korean big hospital count as effective experience?

Volunteer : 140 hours education volunteering @ central Asian country

Leadership : student council vice president

Experiences : 3+ years as medical AI researcher in industry.

Any helps or advices would be appreciated!!

Thanks

Hi everyone,

I’m an international applicant planning to apply for EE PhD programs, with a research focus in medical AI.

I’m trying to decide when to start emailing potential advisors. I have one manuscript that will likely be submitted soon, and a couple of other projects that may be submitted later in the summer. My question is:

Should I start contacting professors now with my current CV and briefly mention ongoing manuscripts, or should I wait until more papers are submitted / under review?

I’m mainly asking about timing and etiquette for contacting PIs before PhD applications, not profile evaluation or admissions chances.

Thanks!

Hi all.

I am re-applying for 2027 Fall PhD admission this year.

I am an international student from Asia (one of Japan, Korea, China)

My research interests are, but not limited to : medical+AI

Here are my stats

First undergrad : Asian university, top5 in my home country CS major

GPA : 3.3/4.0

Second Undergrad : US state University (non-flagship) Biology major
GPA : 3.9/4.0

Masters : One of top 3 engineering schools in my home country, Global top 10 in AI field, AI major
GPA : 3.6/4.0

Experience : Start-up and big tech in my home country, AI research engineer 3+ years

Publications (All below are first authored, all closely related to my research interest):
- JCR top 1% journal, under review
- JCR top 1% journal, under review
- JCR top 5% journal, under revision (minor)

-----------------------------------------------------
- 2 JCR top 10%~15% journal papers published
- 2 international conference papers published

IELTS : 7.5 (I can retake)

Rec letters : Professors whom I researched with. All from my home country.

I found below schools fit my research interest

I also found 2~3 PIs who are closely related to my research interest for each program.

Cornell ECE
JHU ECE
UCSD ECE
Duke ECE
Columbia EE
UCLA ECE
Princeton ECE
MIT EECS
Harvard EE or Bioengineering
Stanford EE
Berkeley ECECS
Penn BE or ESE
Caltech Medical Eng.
Harvard-MIT HST
GT-Emory BME
U.Michigan BME
U.Michigan ECE
U.Michigan DCMB
UW-Madison BME
UW-Madison BMI
Northwestern HSI or BME
Yale BME

I know that my profile is much well suited to biomedical informatics, or bioinformatics, but I read that those majors/programs are heavily dependent on government fundings which requires recipients to be permanent resident, or citizen of US.

I also avoided CS-heavy programs because 1) I don't have top conference paper 2) Competitive programs not only for internationals but also for US citizens.

How is my list? Should I broaden my choices? Any help would be appreciated!