Struggling in undergrad-chances of getting into an MD/PHD program

Pre-Med & Medical School Multiple Degree Programs
1

Hi,

I am currently an undergraduate studying neuroscience. I am interested in dysfunction associated with brain injury and neurodegenerative disorders. I would like to clinically be able to work with people and diagnose disorders, but also research better treatments for them. However, I am a bit concerned that I would ever be accepted into a program based on my experiences in undergrad so far.

I was ill in high school and was only able to complete freshman year. After that I completed a GED and took classes at community college. I did well at CC, but I did have to drop a semester due to illness again. I was able to transfer to a respected university, but the transfer was difficult for me. I had a lot of anxiety around choosing a school (I got into all five I applied to) and I also questioned my major because I did not have much exposure to it at CC, I just took some prerequisite classes. I ultimately did not do well in my first semester in university due to my anxiety. My grades ranged from A-D. The D being a core class for my major. My school has a co-op program, and I decided to go on co op to gain experience and help solidify my goals for school. It gave me a lot of clarity and I now know that I absolutely love neuroscience and the things I previously described are something I am passionate about. This is now my second semester and while I am on an upward trend, my grades still won’t be perfect this semester. I am looking at 2 As (in core classes), 1 B, and a C (also in a core class). I still continue to have a lot of anxiety because now that I have a better understanding of what I want, I am concerned that my past performance in academics may prevent this, and I just want to be realistic.

I have four semesters left and if I ace all the semesters, my GPA will be a 3.63. If I re-take the classes I got the C and D in, my GPA could be a 3.75 but I may not be able to due to financial and time constraints. I know either GPA is still low for the programs I am looking at. I know that post-bacc and master programs are always an option as well to show that I can handle the rigor of medical school, but I would prefer not to do that.

I have 2 years of research experience, and despite my grades, I have already been accepted into two labs at my university. I was also heavily involved in the STEM community in the school I transferred from. My co-op was working with brain injured children in a school. I can do two more and I hope to focus on research and maybe even work under an MD/PHD, which would give me an additional year of research experience. I have been a volunteer for Americore. I also plan on doing a 140 hour program at a major hospital where I can volunteer and also shadow doctors.

So, I guess my question is, if my grades continue to improve, I do well on the MCAT, and given my experiences, would I ever have a chance of getting into an MD/PHD program? I also believe that I will be able to get good letters of recommendations. I hope that admission committees would see my improvements and a pre-med advisor has told me that they would understand my illness and not doing well my first semester of transferring. It just concerns me because extraordinary applicants get denied all the time, so I wonder how I would be perceived to a committee.

2

As a FYI, grade replacement is not allowed by AMCAS or AACOMAS. Both the original grade and the retake will be listed and included when GPA calculations are made.

Assuming you’re going to ace every single class for the next 2 years is a pretty big assumption. Acing everything from here on out is easy to say, but much, much hard to do. So it’s too soon to say how competitive you’ll be for a MD/PhD. You have way too many “ifs.”

For MD/PhD applicants, your research experience will be very important. You need to hold positions of increasing responsibility in your research lab and if at all possible have your own research project–like an independent senior research thesis.

AAMC Table B-10: MCAT Scores and GPAs for M.D.-Ph.D. Applicants and Matriculants to U.S. Medical Schools, 2016-2017: https://www.aamc.org/download/321548/data/factstableb10.pdf

The mean sGPA for MD/PhD matriculants in 2016-17 was 3.75; the mean cGPA was 3.78.

I strongly recommend that you seek counseling to learn to deal with your anxiety. Mental health issues are the #1 reason why med students fail to complete med school. Med school is intense. It’s physically & emotionally demanding. The stress can break even healthy students.

3

@WayOutWestMom gives really good advice, esp about the anxiety.

Doing the work that you did in your co-op- the one that gave you clarity about neuroscience- does not require an MD/PhD. Most medical researchers have only an MD or a PhD- or a Masters. There is nothing magical about an MD/PhD itself - depending on the uni you usually do 1-2 years of med school, then do a phd, then go back and finish med school, then do residencies. It’s long, hard slog.

About 20,000 students start medical school in the US each year.
About 650 students start MD/PhD programs in the US each year.

Rather than working yourself up about how you are going to get perfect grades to pursue your dream career path, focus on learning about the reality you are working toward. It’s easy to fall in love with what looks like a glamour degree or an impressive job. But figuring out what the bits are that are the most satisfying to you and identifying different ways to get there is both hard and, in the end, essential. Although most of the more interesting things in neuroscience require post-grad work, a Masters, MD or PhD can get you all of the pieces you have mentioned above- an MD-PhD is not the only route.

For example, I know a pediatric neurological physical therapist (so, a PhD in Physical Therapy) who does both research and clinical work, but tips very much toward the clinical side; somebody else in his program tipped much more to the research side. The important thing is figuring out which is for you, b/c irl, just about everybody finds themselves drawn more to the research side or the clinical side. During your lab work and other co-ops, watch for whether the clinical side or the lab side pulls you harder. You don’t have to make a hard and fast choice, but knowing which way the balance is will help you fine-tune your plan.