u/iheartdarwin

Thoughts on Phd before MD? I’m finishing up my masters (research based) right now. I’m not stupid, I know my stats aren’t good enough to get me into MD PhD dual program. 3.4 undergrad gpa (though AMCAS shows 3.2?), 4.0 masters 520 MCAT. I am very interested in completing a PhD in evolutionary genetics, (focused on the role of regulatory elements and their role in disease evolution in humans), which is just not a lab found in any MD PhD MSTP program rhat i’ve seen… and i’m not willing to compromise my research interests just to go to a dual program. Also, I probably wouldn’t get in. I was thinking of doing PhD before MD. My stats are good enough to get me into a good PhD program. I have 8000+ research hours, 5 publications (3 first author), NIH research internship for 2 years, 3 additional summer research internships 1 of which was with Hopkins, 13 conferences attended with a couple of awards, extensive leadership, 500+ volunteer hours, 500+ clinical hours (will have more accumulated over duration of PhD of course), 100 shadow hours. The whole 9 yards. Just not willing to get caught in a cycle of applying and being rejected due to my undergrad GPA when I could just be actively working on PhD. Thoughts? I would of course continue to be clinically involved during my PhD and hope to hit the 1-2000 range of clinical hours, and gather more volunteer hours. I would have to retake MCAT because it’ll expire but i’m more than confident in my ability to secure a score similar to my current 520.

Hi all! I have been in contact with a PI for a little while now about potentially joining their lab as a research fellow. I actually reached out quite early so I was told they couldn’t give me a decision right away but they do think i’m a great applicant and said numerous times they planned to offer me the position unless other things became an issue like funding. It’s been a few months but they said to keep in touch. I was wondering if you’d recommend I reach out with just some general updates on things i’ve done since? I’ve published a couple papers and attended some conferences since we last spoke. I don’t want to be annoying but also don’t want my silence to be interpreted as disinterest!! Do you think it’s okay to check in or would that be annoying?

What are my chances? Should i keep going for MD PhD or do i have no shot? I don’t care about going to a top school, just care about getting the education

I would prefer to hear from other low stat applicants who’ve gotten in, or those who know of low stat applicants who’ve gotten in.

uGPA/ sGPA: 3.12
grad GPA: 4.0
MCAT: 521
I do plan on explaining the uGPA. All of the bad grades were in general ed courses or very introductory science courses years and years ago. Some of them were dual enrollment when I was in high school. I’m currently graduating with a 4.0 in a thesis masters, so that is current. All of my upper level courses in undergrad are As. What happened is that I got very sick from covid in late 2021 throughout 2022. I already had heart issues, this worsened it. I ended up with right sided heart failure and was always in and out of doctors appointments and hospitals. At the time i was too dumb to ask for help or know that medical withdraw was an option. I’ve since grown and my lapse in judgment is a regret i’ll always live with. Additionally, i was having to work 7 days a week to pay for tuition after my father died right before college. It was a struggle but i made it out. Again, all upper levels are As including genetics, biochem, physics, biophysics, micro, etc.

Research:
~8000 hours over 4 years.
Intense thesis masters with 2 thesis chapters (in a very well known lab)
Large amount of research skills in terms of wet lab techniques

Poster presentations:
12 total
Oral presentations: 2
Conference awards: 2

Undergrad research projects:
4 major projects over long periods of time, 2 ended in publication.

Leadership:
President of an international research club 2+ years
President of a university research club 2+ years
Organized an international research symposium myself with attendance from across the world
Student mentor 3+ years
Graduate TA for 2 years
Served on academic and integrity board at my university for a year

Clinical volunteering:
600 hours (mainly hospice volunteer and went to patient homes and made meaningful connections with patients)
I also did retreat camps for pediatric hospice patients.

Non clinical volunteering:
700 hours, environmental conservation work and soup kitchen

Shadowing:
100 hours

Publications:
2 co author (1 in ASM and 1 in IJMS)
2 first author (1 in micro pub and 1 in American journal medical genetics with johns hopkins)

Internships:
3 research internships including johns hopkins summer internship that was extended to last almost 2 years for good performance

NIH post-bacc fellowship for 2 years after masters to continue working on research and attend more conferences

Letters of rec: I know these will be great bc i’ve made great connections with my profs

Is it possible to overcome low uGPA? I have to believe that a mistake i made 6 years ago can’t dictate my future forever! Especially given my circumstances.

Hey guys — I’ve wanted to pursue an MD-PhD for years. I’ve spent undergrad building research experience and am now doing a thesis-based master’s to deepen that training. On paper, I feel fairly qualified, but my PI has never supported my MD-PhD goals and has recently made me question myself.
I keep getting stuck on the question “Why MD-PhD instead of an MD or PhD?” To me, the answer is simple- I genuinely want both. I want research to be a major part of my career, particularly in developmental genetics and pediatric genetic disorders, but I also want to treat patients and see my research directly translate into better outcomes. An MD wouldn’t give me the depth of basic science research training I want, while a PhD wouldn’t allow me to practice medicine.
Is that reasoning actually flawed? Who is the MD-PhD really meant for? Do you need to be exceptionally gifted to successfully do both? My PI has really shaken my confidence lately, and I’d appreciate some perspective because I’m starting to question whether I’m being unrealistic.

TLDR: I want to know whether my reasoning for MD PhD is stupid and if i should do one or the other.

Not necessarily MD PhD specific but just wondering what attire is recommended for lab tours? I know researchers / academics are generally a little less formal and normally wear jeans and a nicer shirt but if you were invited by a PI to come tour their lab and have 1:1 talks with all of them members / lunch, what would you recommend to wear? Very formal such as a button up, dress pants and shoes or more casual? I’m a female btw

What are the MD Phd programs that review holistically? Like… actually. Some schools say they review holistically and are just looking to inflate their ranks by only accepting perfect stat applicants regardless of experience. What schools truly favor research experience over GPA/MCAT? (obviously assuming you’ve done okay on both of those)

99th percentile mcat scorer but lower undergrad GPA (sub 3.5) but 4.0 grad GPA with yearsss and years of extensive research. Looking to make my school list for next cycle heavily centered around MD PhD programs who don’t just care about GPA/MCAT. Won’t be applying to specific FL schools lol.