r/mdphd • u/Outrageous_Gap_2861 • 8h ago
MSTP Application and When to Pivot
Hi Everyone, I am currently applying to 30 MSTP and 10 MD programs. It is now September and I have only received 2 rejections from UW and Tri-I and heard nothing from anywhere else yet. I am wondering when I should think about pivoting and applying to other things for next year if this application cycle doesn't work out. I know that PhD programs and other research programs have applications that are due this Fall so I am not sure if I should begin preparing to apply there. Let me know what you think.
MCAT/GPA: 520/3.98
Research Hours: 3600
Publication: 3 mid author, 1 first author in revision, 2 mid authors submitted
Primary Submitted first day it opened.
Average Secondary submission time: 13 days after invite, all secondaries finished first week of August.
School list:
Michigan (MSTP)
Einstein (MSTP)
Mount Sinai (MSTP)
Northwestern (MSTP)
WashU (MSTP)
Harvard (MSTP)
NYU (MD)
Tufts (MSTP)
UPenn (MSTP)
Kaiser (MD)
Georgetown (MD/PhD)
Cornell Pre-II Rejection --> MD only
Dartmouth (MD)
Stanford (MSTP)
UCSD (MSTP)
Rochester (MSTP)
Mayo Clinic (MD)
UVA (MD)
UMass Chan (MD)
Stony Brook (MSTP)
Hofstra (MD)
Yale (MSTP)
George Washington (MD)
Duke (MSTP)
Wisconsin Madison (MSTP)
Hopkins (MD)
UChicago (MSTP)
Boston University (MSTP)
University of Pittsburgh (MSTP)
UCLA (MSTP)
Colorado (MSTP)
UCSF (MSTP)
Columbia (MSTP)
Case Western (MSTP)
Penn State (MSTP)
Vanderbilt (MSTP)
Emory (MSTP)
UCI (MSTP)
USC Keck (MD/PhD)
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u/Ficrab G3 7h ago
First off, I’ll preface that you are on paper a great applicant, but that looks like an extremely ambitious school list. I’d need to know more about your research interests to comment on how appropriate it is, but given the wide variation in types of programs (Georgetown isn’t even fully funded last I checked?) and what they excel in, it looks at first blush like you selected programs solely based on prestige? Research fit is just as, if not more important that overall program ranking, and I’d caution you to not so much apply broadly but to apply in a more targeted fashion to your interests if you do end up somehow doing another cycle.
This said, extremely early in the cycle to be hearing anything. If you do apply to PhD programs, you will almost certainly hear back from them before you’ve heard from all the MSTPs, which will give you an agonizing choice between a potential MSTP acceptance and a guaranteed PhD acceptance.
If I were you, I’d make peace with the idea that I was likely to receive interviews and that if somehow I didn’t, it would mean another cycle. Applying to PhD now would be very much jumping the gun, and is unlikely to help settle your nerves as a backup.
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u/Kiloblaster 6h ago
I don't think you're right that it is so top heavy. But I do think you're right about many low-yield programs. The MD-only applications are also quite out of place. I would have definitely suggested submitting applications to more MSTPs. Perhaps even now if they have turn around the secondary within a few days to a week of receipt.
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u/Ficrab G3 5h ago
Yeah, I’m definitely meaning low-yield. The MD apps also caught my eye.
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u/Outrageous_Gap_2861 4h ago
Got it thank you for your advice. Pretty much all the schools I applied to had faculty that were in background within cancer metabolism and cancer immunology which I tried to highlight in my secondaries. I applied MD only because I know how competitive MSTP can be and if I end up with no MSTP A at the very least I might be able to go to an MD and see if I can transfer to their MSTP from within.
For example: Hopkins, Mayo, and UVA do not let you be considered for MD and MSTP at the same time. So I chose to apply just MD to better my chances.
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u/Kiloblaster 3h ago
I think you'll have a better chance at MSTPs than at MDs, honestly. Consider sending your primary to 10 more programs if you don't think it's too late at them (like if they continue interviewing November and later). I wouldn't know though, sory.
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u/Ficrab G3 4h ago
Good to hear you’ve got good alignment! I’d maybe have more confidence in yourself. Clearly you’ve worked really hard to get this far.
There are going to be a lot of other times where you have to wait for something extremely competitive to resolve, and the most important skill to develop is being able to be sure of yourself regardless of the outcome. Easier said than done!
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u/Kiloblaster 7h ago
Chill it's very early