|
Bryce Mendelsohn is a senior at Emory University and will graduate in May 2002. He has applied to and interviewed with MD/PhD programs at Washington University, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia and Johns Hopkins Universities, among others, and is a seasoned interview veteran. He received a Pfizer Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship for Molecular Biology to continue work with Dr. Judy Fridovich-Keil in the summer of 2001. We will announce his final destination as soon as he makes his final decision. Bryce can be contacted by email at bamende@LearnLink.Emory.Edu.
You can download this article in printer-friendly PDF format. You will need the Abode Acrobat Reader in order to view this document.
Table of Contents:
-------
What's this MSTP thing I keep hearing about?
MSTP stands for Medical Scientist Training Program. These are MD/PhD programs, and are specifically funded by the NIH. Schools with these programs are usually among the best, but don't discard a school as being beneath you just because it isn't MSTP. There are around 39 MSTP schools right now. The number changes a lot. Go to http://www.nigms.nih.gov/funding/mstp.html to see a list of NIH funded MD/PhD programs.
The other main difference between school-sponsored and NIH sponsored (MSTP) MD/PhD programs is that with MSTP, usually all of the MD/PhD candidates receive free tuition and a stipend (although this is not universal). For school-sponsored MD/PhD programs, be sure and check how the school funds its candidates. Sometimes no one gets funding. Sometimes everyone does. Sometimes you get funding while in grad school, but not while in medical school. Look into it. The University of Cincinnati has compiled some of this information. Go to http://www.med.uc.edu/pstp/2k/mdphdprograms.stm, which has information about a number of other programs. http://www.med.uc.edu/pstp/2k/fundingothers.stm also at the University of Cincinnati is a good place to look at funding.
AMCAS starts accepting applications in June, but when should I submit mine?
Right away! The advantages are tremendous. Your AMCAS application can be turned in anywhere from the beginning of June until around October 1. Submit it as soon as humanly possible. You'll have plenty of time to work on it in April and May.
The same goes for your secondaries. Some schools give you a deadline of a few weeks after you receive the secondary, but most give you months. Turn them in quickly, within 2 weeks if possible. By turning all your applications in early, you...
- will get your secondary applications earlier, and can finish most of them before school starts, which will save you more headaches than you can imagine.
- are somewhat more likely to be accepted, since many schools operate on a rolling admissions process. They will have many more spots open if you apply early, and you will be among the first they interview, instead of in the middle, or last.
- can find out what kind of applicant you are early in the game. If you're not sure whether you'll get interviews everywhere or nowhere, applying early will tell you this quickly. Based on the responses from schools, you can decide to drop some schools, or schedule your top choices earlier. Or, if you don't get many interviews, you're more likely to get into the school you do interview at, and you can initiate backup plans (such as taking a year off) sooner.
- save yourself so much inconvenience with interviews. The sooner you get offered interviews, the more flexibility you have to schedule them.
- might even get accepted in October, and be able to relax, or at the very least, withdraw from some schools and save yourself a lot of flying and interviewing.
How does applying differ from regular medical school?
The backbone of the applications process is the same. Here is a rough timeline:
| Freshman, Sophomore, Junior Yr. |
August before Junior Yr., or Apr. of Junior Yr. |
Apr. – June of Junior Yr. |
June after Junior Yr. |
Aug. – Oct. of Senior Yr. |
Oct. – March of Senior Yr. |
| Take required classes; do research |
Take MCAT |
Think about personal statements, collect letters of rec. |
Submit AMCAS |
Do secondaries |
Interview |
The important differences are as follows:
- Some schools want you to submit an application for their MD/PhD program around the same time as AMCAS, which is in early June. The only two I know of like this are UVA and U of IL at Chicago. If a school wants the MD/PhD application this early, they will usually let you know when they receive your AMCAS. Still, if you aren't sure, ask the school. Their web pages are helpful.
- Usually beginning in July or August, when you begin to receive secondary applications, the schools will already have included the MD/PhD application, which you should fill out. This especially applies to MSTP schools. Make sure you fill out an MD/PhD application for every school. They like to hide them. Sometimes you have to call and request one. Sometimes they're online.
- Get letters of recommendation from everyone you've ever done research with (at least in college). A lot of schools say, "if you tell us about a research experience, we require a letter from your mentor."
- Make sure the people writing your letters of recommendation know you are applying to MD/PhD programs. (For info on letters of recommendation, go to the career center.) If relevant, suggest that they talk about your interests in both science and medicine, or in teaching, leadership, etc. For example, if your rabbi, priest, minister, etc. writes about what a great doctor you would make, it would be better if they also mentioned your critical thinking skills, etc., which apply to science.
- Many programs require that the MD/PhD application be sent to a different address from the secondary. Also, they often want different sets of letters. E.g. the regular medical school will want letters from your professors, and the MSTP or MD/PhD program will want letters only from your research mentors. Make sure to tell the career center which letters go where.
- Be nice to the career center, but be firm. Make sure they send your letters correctly.
- Interviews: MD/PhD interviews are usually two days, or sometimes a whole weekend (Thu. – Sun.). Others are just one day. Most interviews include a Thursday, although a few schools (Stanford and Mount Sinai come to mind) do the interviews on Mondays or Tuesdays. Because of the length of the interviews, you won't be able to string a whole bunch into one week. Keep this in mind when deciding how many schools to apply to, and how to schedule your interviews. Also, bring a couple of shirts and ties (or equivalent female formal attire) so you look a little different from day to day.
- Sometimes you will get an offer for an interview at a school, but it won't mention the MD/PhD program specifically. This is probably and offer for the medical school alone, meaning that your MD/PhD application hasn't worked its way through the system yet. Ask the school if a decision has been made on your MD/PhD application, and ask about interview scheduling.
- Most if not all MSTP schools do the medical school and MD/PhD program interviews in the same trip. Non-MSTP schools may or may not be this nice. You might have to go there twice.
How about my essays and my personal statements?
There are several essays you will have to write. The Practice Vision (What do you want to be when you grow up?) and the Personal Statement are common to all medical schools that take AMCAS (which is all of them except Columbia, NYU, the schools in Texas, and a few others). My only advice for these is to make sure you depict your interests both in medicine and science.
The MD/PhD applications will have their own essays. Some are creative, but most are a variation of: "Why do you want to be an MD/PhD, what research have you done, how does this all fit together into what you want to do with an MD/PhD?" In general you can recycle your MD/PhD essays for each school, but be sure you make the necessary changes, since they are all just different enough that you can't say exactly the same thing.
[<< Previous] [Next>>]
|
