Was looking at Tri-I on CycleTrack because someone had got an interview invite on SDN. Saw they sent out a ton of rejections and only two interviews. Not sure whether they haven’t seen my application yet (submitted 7/21) or if I’m just in the pool of “not good enough to interview, good enough to keep on the backburner”
Graph here for reference
I would like to start this sharing session by emphasizing that I'm a bit of a delinquent. Good news to those who relate, you can still get into a pretty decent MSTP!
Perfunctory stats:
3.84, big public school
524
asian girlie, no gap year
submitted primaries on first day, submitted nearly all secondaries on last day..... aka october-november
research: 5750 when primary submitted (may 2025), 3200 projected
clinical volunteering (all high-touch, in-patient SDU, emergency department): 300
non-clinical volunteering (animal shelter / wildlife care facility): 320
shadowing: 35 hours
TA for class I loved: 300 hours
publications: one co-first preprint, one first-author review and a couple other papers cooking (included as submitted / new pub in secondary apps)
I loved all my letter writers, all were PI / prof. I think I had 6 total?
My takeaways:
Your values will drive you and molding yourself to fit an arbitrary premed standard will hurt your soul and probably your application.
I knew I wanted to apply to MSTPs going into college and did the whole one million premed clubs, get your EMT license, grind clinical hours thing. Huge waste of time. I found a lab with mentors I worked well with and a project with which I had some level of autonomy, and was able to get into it.
If you're interested in applying MD/PhD, research experience and your ability to talk about your project will always be the most important thing. Also, find mentors that are comfortable being brutally honest with you. It always helps.
I do think my application was polarizing to some programs because I explicitly stated an interest in becoming a surgeon-scientist. If this is not something you are sure you're interested in, I would recommend leaving it off. There are programs / people out there who do not believe in the concept.
hi! would anyone who has gone through the cycle be willing to chat + share some wisdom regarding their interview experiences? i have a couple coming up, all within two weeks of one another, and my social anxiety is going crazy u_u
I accidentally submit an application to a MD/PhD program where I called it an MSTP but it is not an MSTP. Will the school see this as a major slip up that I got the program name wrong even though they both are MDPhD programs?
Hi everyone, I’m an MBBS graduate and researcher currently looking for a paid postdoctoral research position in the United States that can provide J-1 visa sponsorship.
I have extensive research experience, particularly in cardiology/cardiovascular research, clinical epidemiology, and data-driven research, with experience in research methodology, statistical analysis, manuscript writing, and collaborative projects.
I would be very grateful for any advice on:
Labs or institutions currently recruiting postdocs
PIs who may be open to international candidates
Programs that provide J-1 sponsorship
Any leads, referrals, or personal experiences that could help me navigate the process
If you know of an opportunity or have advice, I would genuinely appreciate your help. Thank you!
Rising third year. I'll have around 1500 research hours by the time i apply, with another 1000 projected by the time i graduate. i was a goldwater institutional nominee last year, so i believe i have a decent chance of winning this year. issue is, my two current projects are clinical. they build off of murine studies in my lab. I am running the first two clinical studies my lab has ever done, but am afraid that mdphd programs won't like that almost all my independent experience is in clinical instead of basic science. i ultimately want to do translational research, so both wet and dry lab work. aiming for t5-t10 programs, i have 4.0 520+ and a LOT of EC experience outside of research. will me primarily having clinical research on my profile negatively affect me? I am thinking about asking to hop on one of the mouse studies currently going on in the lab to make up for it.
Hey everyone,
I’m a university student taking classes like Microbiology, Biochemistry, Biology, etc. Almost all of my professors teach directly from PowerPoint lecture slides, and our exams are heavily based on those slides.
I’m trying to figure out the best way to use Anki to study directly from my PowerPoints.
Ideally, I want something where I can upload/import my lecture PowerPoint or PDF and have Anki (or an add-on/AI tool) help me:
For example, if a Microbiology slide has a diagram of a bacterial cell or a Biochemistry slide has a metabolic pathway, I’d like cards that actually show that image and ask me questions about it instead of turning everything into text-only cards.
I have a lot of PowerPoints throughout the semester, so manually screenshotting everything and making every single card individually would take forever.
What setup would you recommend?
Is there an Anki add-on, AI tool, workflow, or feature that can take PowerPoint/PDF lecture slides and create good Anki cards while preserving/using the images from the slides?
Also, if you use AI to generate cards from lectures, what workflow has worked best for you without creating a bunch of low-quality cards?
Thanks!
What’s up Docs (and Docs-to-be)!
Any advice on what to look out for while picking supervisor? I’ve heard both testimonials and horror stories that have made me really cautious about this.
How did you navigate your selections?
For those who got great ones, how has that affected your research?
As well as the terrible ones? Have you had to confront them about their negativity? How did they react?
Baseline question: What made you know you and your supervisor were compatible/incompatible?
could you share your stats or Indiana connections if so?
Dr. Fauci being held in contempt attacks the credibility of all public health experts – a continuation the Trump Admin’s war on science and spread of disinformation. Sign your support for our experts & Dr. Fauci at the link: https://zurl.co/2P2md
I’m in the process of submitting secondaries now, and I realized that my fellow group member from my research team actually published a paper and I didn’t know about it because I haven’t been able to attend research meetings recently. Fortunately, there is a place to upload documents, but is this gonna raise eyebrows? What should I mention when I send this update?
Hi everyone,
I might be overthinking this,
Does anybody know exactly how many letters we should submit for the Keck MD PhD application?
On the MD PhD website, it says: "In addition to the standard medical school application, two letters of reference should be provided from individuals familiar with the student’s research potential."
But the MD website details: "The Keck School of Medicine of USC participates in the AMCAS Letter of Recommendation Service. A committee letter is sufficient. Alternatively, 2 or 3 letters from professors, PI’s or work experience are acceptable. Do not send more than 3 letters if you choose the individual letter option! Applicants are required to send their letters through AMCAS. DO NOT send any letters of recommendation to the Office of Admissions, as they will not be accepted."
So does this mean we can send a max of 5, or is it a max of 3, with 2 from PIs?
Hi,
Current applicant here. Submit most of my secondaries between 7/20 and 8/1. So far I've only heard back from 1 out of 25 schools (Hofstra) for an interview invite. On admit.org it looks like a lot of schools are starting to send out interviews, but I'm not sure if these are for MD or MD-PhD. I am probably being super neurotic, but does anyone have any insight? Thanks
Hi, I have a bachelor's in Pharmacy from India and MS in Pharmacy from USA. Can getting into an MD program be possible?
My gpa in Masters was 3.5. I will be giving my MCAT in January 2027
Would I get any return on investment, as an international student?
I am in need of any guidance on what would be a good decision considering the current situation.
This may be neurotically specific, but when writing secondary essays:
Should I cater more to the mission statement of the medical school as a whole or the mission statement of their md/phd program?
I graduated this past spring (2026) with a BS in Neuroscience and minors in Chemistry and Chinese. I'm first-gen, so I've been figuring all of this out on my own, and lately I can't shake the feeling that I'm falling behind. A lot of people I graduated with already have something lined up, and I'm still searching. What I really want is a lab or research assistant role where I can keep growing before I apply to MD/PhD programs, and I'm especially drawn to neurotech and anything at the intersection of neuroscience and tech.
My experience runs across both bench and clinical work. I've done imaging and expansion microscopy on brain tissue, immunostaining, and built image analysis pipelines in ImageJ and CellProfiler. On the clinical side I ran patient interviews for a hospitalist study and was promoted to a senior role within a year, and I've also done qualitative research on end-of-life care. I have a preprint and a few conference presentations too.
Here's what keeps stopping me. My GPA is a 3.51, and I've talked myself out of applying to so many postings because I'm scared it isn't good enough and I'll get screened out before anyone sees the work I've actually done. So for anyone who's been through this or hires RAs: are these roles usually open to recent grads and post-bacc applicants, and does a 3.51 really matter that much next to hands-on experience?
Any honest advice, or even a lead on a place that hires post-bacc RAs, would mean the world right now. I'm trying to stay hopeful.
Hey guys! I’ve attached a picture with all the information about the app.
In short:
I’m a PhD student, and I originally made this app for myself. I then thought it might be useful for others, so I decided to publish it on the AppStore.
There’s absolutely no commercial motive. The app is completely free, and I just want to help my colleagues.
The biggest problem is: it’s extremely difficult to get the app in front of people. Most communities don’t allow app promotion, and obviously I can’t afford to pay for advertising.
So, I’d really appreciate it if you could share it with other people.
I’m open to all kinds of feedback, positive or negative, so please be honest.
If there’s a feature you’d like to see, let me know. I may be able to add it in the next few days.
Thanks a lot!
I recently got a role as a clinical research assistant. I was considering MD/PhD before the funding cuts. I know I want the MD for certain but I can’t rule out MD/PhD yet. I’ve gained about 557 hours of bench research, I dont have any publications but I presented my work and the story and letters of rec behind my research are strong. I have a 3.69 cGPA and 3.67 bcpmGPA. How strong is a clinical research assistant role for MD/PhD admissions with this in mind?
Hi all,
I will be completing a PhD in a quantitative biomedical science from a prestigious US program within the next 2 years. Although I’m aware that is a bit of time, I need to begin considering options for what’s next. When I was younger, I always thought I wanted to be a physician although when I arrived at undergrad I started working in research and one thing after the other has led me to where I am today.
I now find myself having worked for 5+ years behind the scenes in a research hospital doing clinical pharmacology. Although I find this career interesting, the day-to-day can get dull as it is essentially a statistics job within the pharmacotherapy space. I have been questioning lately whether it may be worth attending medical school and becoming a physician to make the research work I do, feel more gratifying and establish that connection with the patients. All of my work has been in oncology clinical pharmacology and cancer drug development, so initially my thinking is a career in academic oncology may be a gratifying path to choose. I do understand, though, that these things change as you progress through medical school.
Clearly this is a big decision, and not one I take lightly as it would completely alter the trajectory of myself and my fiancé. I am here looking for advice from you established physicians, students that were in a similar situation to myself, or folks who considered it but didn’t take the leap and still lurk on the subreddit.
The major hesitations are: age (I will be 30 upon completion of my PhD); major alterations to current projected WLB, earning, debts, and career progression (as it currently stands I could probably get a good job as a clinical pharmacologist in big pharma, earn around ~175-200 TC starting, climb to 400-500 within 1-2 decades and work 50-55 hours per week tops with a hybrid schedule given the quantitative nature of my field and with minimal debt being only 15k from undergrad); impact on fiancé and future family (my fiancé is everything to me, she is the most supportive woman I know and also has an incredible career of her own as tenure-track teaching professor at a large R1 university. Although we don’t want kids anytime soon, we think late 30s isn’t an unreasonable time for that)
Both my fiancé and I are workaholics – we take pride in what we do and our careers really are the bedrock of us as people. I know folks say that isn’t always the healthiest, but we do have hobbies and other things we like to do together. My point being my career is incredibly important to me and my happiness as a person – Although I love my field of oncology clinical drug development and the role I play in it as a clinical pharmacologist, I don’t know that staring at R all day is what I see myself doing for the next 30-40 years. I need a personal connection. Is it worth staying in a comfortable career where you aren’t incredibly stimulated, or postponing comfort to find a career where you can combine your interests?
Thanks for listening to my rant, hope everyone enjoys their weekend if they aren’t working (I won’t be lol)
Hi everyone, I am currently an undergraduate studying Biomedical engineering at the University of Utah. My goal for the future is to end up in a high paying job in biotech, preferably in design or R&D. I have always felt that it would be a good way to contribute positively to the world, and I like working on projects that I can feel invested in. Because of this, my plan was to go to grad school after my undergrad and get a PhD. However, I recently figured out that MD's also often go into industry, and more often than not land higher paying jobs (in more clinical settings I am sure). I know I don't want to be an MD, as a lot of what I want to do (the whole project I can be excited about thing) would be negated by that. However, I am also a very sociable person, and could see myself loving clinical setting as well. All this to say, what would you guys recommend? A PhD is much less schooling time, especially without counting residency. I would be totally okay with a lower starting pay, but would there be a lower celling as well if I went the PhD route? And given a drier economy than would be preferred, is having the MD as a backup worth it? I feel like most of the time people get PhD MDs they hope to start their own lab in academia, is it worth it otherwise? And given I am hoping to go into industry, would residency be something I should do as well? Any advice helps. Thanks!
