MD/PhD programs are highly competitive.
That’s what I’ve seen on YouTube 
or at least for PLME
You can’t get accepted if you don’t apply. And it’s nice to have goals. Understand that you might need to be a bit more flexible than what appears here. But that’s OK too.
Your chance of getting accepted to Brown PLME is like anyone else who applies…maybe 5% or so. Just present your best possible application.
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I know 
Worst case scenario my sibling and I sell the house and split the money. Fortunately, what I would get is enough to pay off all of my debt since we live in the middle of the Bay Area where a literal garage costs a million dollars 
I wouldn’t plan for your parents demise. But that said when it happens hopefully you are long past college and not paying off unnecessary debt and using those funds for a prosperous future and growing those for your kids to pass on as your families build generational wealth .
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That’s why I specified “worst case” scenario. But, obviously I’m not planning for my parents’ demise 
We have one paid-off house here and another house in southern California that isn’t paid off, and they don’t want to retire in the Bay Area.
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Yeah you’re not getting any need aid.
So you have to think about that or rather your parents do.
You could go to say, Truman State, for dirt cheap - then med school and it’s cold there. Just as an example of a well thought of inexpensive public school. Or an LAC like Hendrix for the price of a UC.
Just throwing out some more inexpensive ideas.
Sounds like your parents have enough money but with all these kids in private school who knows if they can afford this too ??
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Exactly
Something to keep in mind as you get closer to writing essays and doing interviews. There are adults who will see your enthusiasm for learning in a different light - as a lack of focus, if you don’t rein in some of the various tangential tracks you’ve brought up on this thread. For example, with PLME’s focus on public and community health, Brown is somewhat less of an MD/PhD Mecca than other top-ranked medical centers, so beware of taking the “give me everything” approach of mentioning an interest in public health AND mentioning a specific interest in a psychiatry residency (way too early to decide this) AND mentioning an interest in devoting at least 4 years of your mid-twenties to getting a PhD, etc. To a practicing physician (or any other adult reader of applications), this kind of maximalism may end up coming across as naive, unrealistic, presumptuous, scatter-brained, or simply exhausting. I tell you this NOT because I think you’re any of these things, but because I remember feeling how you did (“it’s all interesting to me!”) and I know now that the delivery of such excitement plays differently to different audiences. Good luck!
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Another major to consider would be Cognitive Science, which spans psych and neuroscience as well as adjacent fields like linguistics, philosophy, and computer science. Pomona and UCSD have strong cogsci departments.
Since you like Pomona, have you considered any of the other Claremont Colleges? The Pomona CogSci major is available to Scripps students, and Scripps has its own Neuroscience major and strong premed advising (they have a postbacc program in addition to the usual undergraduate premed population). You could potentially get up to half-tuition merit from Scripps, whereas Pomona does not give merit aid at all. (The cross-registration is seamless and widely utilized, so the only truly single-gender classes at Scripps are the three semesters of humanities Core.)
There’s a huge need for psychiatrists in general, and for those who are committed to addressing inequities in particular. The one thing that strikes me, though, is that if you choose a path that leaves you with a huge debt load, you may find that you can’t afford to work in the settings that serve the people most affected by inequities. The financial freedom to do what matters most to you is something to take seriously. You seem like someone who could attend virtually any reputable school, and get to where you want to go from there.
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Which world renowned hospital is letting you take patient vitals. I’m sorry if I sound suspicious but while your profile is very impressive there are some red flags. I would try to make sure your claims are well within a defensible boundary.
You should be competitive at all the schools you listed but some of your matches like UCSD and UCB are not really matches. They are reach for everyone in state.
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I kept things intentionally vague for privacy reasons, but I have all the evidence I need to back up my claims. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the Charité, a German hospital, but it is consistently ranked as a top hospital in Europe and worldwide. I did something called a “Schülerpraktikum” there, where you take people’s vitals, clean up after surgeries, etc. Obviously, nothing too fancy that requires in-depth medical knowledge.
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Yes, I’m familiar with Scripps 
Although, I don’t know how enthusiastic I am about attending an all-woman’s college. I have also considered Claremont McKenna, and I still am. Just not sure if I’m 100% excited about attending or applying. Thank you for your advice though. I didn’t know that a Cognitive Science major existed!
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Thank you so much for your advice! I never considered that I may come across this way. Obviously, I’m applying next cycle so I have a lot of time to get help from my college counselor and get feedback from other people, including physicians.
This isn’t something that will be obvious to a UC admissions officer. I would contextualize and better yet, avoid anything that can be construed as not being 100% honest.
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Are your parents willing to co-sign on the loans that would need to be taken out? (By co-signing, they are on the line for payments if you do not pay.) If not, you are limited to about $27k in loans for undergrad which won’t get you very far with most of the schools on your list.
How much is your family willing and able to pay for you on an annual basis for college? That’s the number that I would consider your college budget. As others have mentioned, costs for med school will be very high. You want to keep your costs as low as possible for undergrad, and with your record, you should be able to find significantly less expensive options. Also, I am unsure, but perhaps @WayOutWestMom knows…do med students have difficulty acquiring loans for med school if they are carrying too much debt from undergrad?
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There are some major down sides to MD/PhD programs-aside from being extremely competitive to get accepted into.
The combined MD/Phd program is 8 years long–which means 8 years while the interest on your undergrad loans will be accruing. Research track residencies (which MD/PhDs typically match into) tack on an additional 2-3 research years to the normal residency length–so instead of 4 years of psychiatric residency, you’re looking at. 6-7 years-- during which the interest on your undergrad loans will be accruing. Additionally, MD/PhDs in every specialty typically pursue a research fellowship–so add another 2-4 years to your training.
Academic medicine pays substantially less than private practice. Conservatively MD/PhDs earn several million dollars less over a career than a regular MD. (This includes opportunity costs for. all the extra years. that you’re not earning a physician’s salary due extended time in med school/residency/fellowship. Plus the extended time will skyrocket the interest on your student loans.)
And if you want to practice patient-centered medicine, then a MD/PhD is the wrong choice since research track academic physicians typically have.an 80-20 split between research (80%) and consulting on patients (20%).
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Yes, they do. Since federal direct student loans for medical students are capped at $40,500/year, any costs above that amount must either be covered by private loans (which will require a. credit-worthy cosigner) or thru Grad Plus loans. An student who is carrying “excessive” debt can be denied Grad Plus loans.
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Foreign medical experience is not considered by med school adcomms. Only experience in the US medical system.
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Interesting to know. A senior at my school who did the same got an interview at Case Western’s BS/MD, so I don’t think they hold no weight at all, but I can totally see and expect why domestic experiences count for way more. However, everything else on my list I have done in the US. I’m not trying to prove my skills or anything with this internship, just that I have clinical experience and understand what work in a hospital setting could be like.
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