<p><some do="" indeed="" that.="" but="" that's="" my="" point="" -="" not="" all.="" you="" are="" the="" one="" making="" blanket="" statements="" that="" true="" in="" all="" cases.="" exactly="" what="" i="" am="" getting="" at="" different="" programs="" have="" rules.=""></some></p>
<p>Huh? I am making a statement that applies to all cases. ALL med schools use the same application. This application requires a personal statement, recommendations, and a summary of extracurriculars and research experience. If some schools choose to ask for more, that's fine, but your statement that the schools don't ask for recs/ECs/SOP until second round is patently false.</p>
<p><huh? i="" am="" not="" aware="" of="" any="" grad="" school="" interview="" that="" is="" a="" guarantee="" anything.="" if="" it="" was="" guarantee,="" then="" why="" even="" bother="" having="" the="" interview?="" just="" admit="" guy="" and="" stop="" wasting="" everybody's="" time.=""></huh?></p>
<p>It's generally understood that if you have applied to a grad school program and get an interview, it's usually yours to screw up. They just want to see if they can get along with you. For MD and MD/PhD, they are looking at a lot more, and they invite more people than they have spots for.</p>
<p><now you="" really="" are="" quibbling.="" i'm="" sure="" know="" that="" for="" many="" schools,="" the="" md="" phd="" committee="" and="" comprise="" different="" people.="" yes,="" some="" people="" on="" will="" come="" from="" med-school,="" but="" point="" is,="" these="" with="" desires="" opinions="" than="" who="" sitting="" just="" committee.=""></now></p>
<p>You're not making any sense. If your point is that different people will see things differently, I suppose that's true. I'd also point out that even for two people interviewing for just the med school, they may be interviewed by different people. But you're not even going to get before the committee unless your stats are plenty high. The fact that they are different people is rather irrelevant - the people may be different, but I assure you they are all looking out for the same things. The med school people are looking out for the med school, and if you think that they're going to let in a substandard candidate, think again. Combined program or not, the med school's name goes on that person's degree, and they're not going to give a free pass to someone just because they would make a great PhD candidate.</p>
<p><to wit:="" i="" suspect="" that="" the="" average="" gpa="" for="" johns="" hopkins="" md="" phd="" program="" is="" above="" 3.7="" or="" above.="" but="" what's="" regular="" program?="" it's="" a="" 3.84="" (according="" to="" usnews).="" hence,="" if="" any="" conclusion="" can="" be="" drawn="" from="" that,...=""></to></p>
<p>Pure speculation, based on the fact that you speculated the median GPA for the MD/PhD program. How can you use that as an argument?</p>
<p><there are="" people="" who="" will="" find="" it="" actually="" easier="" to="" get="" into="" an="" md="" phd="" program="" than="" program.="" that's="" a="" point="" that="" i="" really="" don't="" think="" is="" disputable.=""></there></p>
<p>I believe it's absolutely disputable, and I think making a statement like that with arguments that haven't been substantiated on your part at all is silly. My husband, who himself is a soon-to-be graduate of a highly ranked med school and again has experience with all of this, says that there is no way a person would get into a combined program unless the med school accepted you first - in all cases, the med school comes first. This makes absolute sense when you think about it - why would a program that has very few spaces and many applicants accept substandard people to the med school based on their research when there are plenty of people that apply that have research AND great stats? It's nonsensical.</p>