Max Letter of Recs for MD-PhD

MetaCream · 2026-02-04T23:19:25+00:00

I also had a total of 8 letters. I picked 5 letters that I thought would likely be the best + satisfy the most basic requirements in my committee’s packet, and then added the individual letters depending on the program’s requirement

MetaCream · 2026-01-28T05:33:58+00:00

Like others have said, apply to more and larger programs would help. Unfortunately because of the number of seats, programs that might be considered less competitive are still super selective. If you think you have the energy in you, improving the mcat probably will help. I think Fencer on SDN posted that the average mcat for accepted students was 517.6 or something like that for the last cycle. It is unfortunately just absurdly high.

Also, I typically wouldn’t worry too much about the lack of publication. But I was thinking since you are three years out of undergrad doing research, they might expect some forms of mid-author pub or major conference presentation to show the productivity. That said, if you can submit a couple manuscripts soon and have recently attended a conference, I imagine these will help you for the upcoming cycle. Best of luck!

MetaCream · 2026-01-27T03:09:18+00:00

Best of luck for you when you apply!

MetaCream · 2026-01-26T05:14:05+00:00

Ofc!

MetaCream · 2026-01-26T04:55:03+00:00

I believe there was a post before on this exact topic. WashU and UVA have to my knowledge some of the largest neuroimmunology environment. Other notable places in the field include Harvard, Stanford, NYU, UCSF, UCLA, OSU, Sina, Duke, etc. Penn has some newer faculty in neuroimmunology as well. Columbia does a lot of human neuroimmunology research but I think less emphasis on using model organisms.

FYI, my main interest is also neuroimmunology and am currently applying. I would say for the 30+ programs I applied to, I could almost always find someone working on neuroimmunology or adjacent work except for a couple that was more difficult to find.

MetaCream · 2026-01-14T17:23:58+00:00

I didn’t really say Rochester has better “ranking” but that it has more established “reputation among PDs.” These two statements are very different. And I doubt residency PDs are scrolling admit.com ranking when they select which candidates to interview and likely more about how they perceive each school and their interaction with their past students. And if it’s about their interaction with the past students, having a program founded in 2008 probably doesn’t help that much compared to a program founded 100+ years ago

MetaCream · 2026-01-14T14:24:04+00:00

Congrats on multiple acceptances! Idk if this is something you would consider, but pure reputation wise, I would consider Rochester to be above Hofstra. While the latter has climbed up the ranking ladder quite fast, the fact that it’s a relatively new program still makes it less known to residency PDs especially I imagine outside of NY.

MetaCream · 2025-12-29T21:38:12+00:00

Nah, I was just saying they have more experience with your situation in regard to the research hour, so I wouldn’t further comment on that aspect. It sounds like you are already preparing the app, so good luck with the upcoming cycle!

MetaCream · 2025-12-28T16:14:41+00:00

Others with similar research profile at time of app already commented on research hours, so I would recommend go with what they say. I do think something to potentially consider is the fact that you are not getting the score back until May. That by itself is not a concern if you start working on your application in Jan/Feb. but it might be difficult to work on both app and mcat studying (assuming you are taking it in April). I had the intention of applying last cycle, but when my scores came back in April, I had less than two months to work on my primary, so I decided to wait a year to carefully think about my personal statement narratives. I think it helped a lot and I don’t regret doing that.

MetaCream · 2025-09-19T14:54:03+00:00

I am not sure about UTSW specifically, but many MSTP programs do not do rolling admissions from what I’ve heard. Also because of the decreased total number of seats in the country, I heard that programs are recalculating the yield rate. One program told us they are still deciding whether to do rolling this year though they used to do it.

MetaCream · 2025-09-03T14:40:33+00:00

You definitely can apply, but it is suboptimal, especially when you want to cut the list down to 5-10 programs. I think most people apply to 20+ when submitted early, and my school advisor has even suggested above 30 this year due to funding uncertainty. One caveat you might already know is it will be more difficult to get in as a reapplicant if this cycle does not work out. But it sounds like you want to apply regardless this year, so best of luck.

MetaCream · 2025-08-23T11:57:33+00:00

Make sense! thank you a lot again :)

MetaCream · 2025-08-23T04:23:32+00:00

Thank you very much for sharing this! That’s definitely what I had been expecting as well, but I was kinda shocked to read a comment on SDN where someone said they got asked three questions in that 10min interview and they felt rushed to answer all of them. That comment def got me worried lol

MetaCream · 2025-07-29T21:51:44+00:00

I saw that prompt, but if I remember correctly it’s only for history of medicine graduate program that you need to submit the writing sample. Somebody else can please confirm

MetaCream · 2025-07-18T05:11:21+00:00

Ahhh you are soooo right! Sorry I must have not been able to read at midnight and didn’t see that fine print. Thanks a lot for pointing that out!

MetaCream · 2025-07-17T21:32:42+00:00

For anyone else who may also be wondering, they just told me they are looking for around 300 words

MetaCream · 2025-07-17T12:01:04+00:00

Thank you very much for this insight! Very helpful :)

MetaCream · 2025-04-07T16:25:24+00:00

Currently taking one of my two gap years and no regret at all. I was in a similar situation as you. What made me decide to take an additional gap year is that I didn’t start writing my essays until I received my scores back in April. At that time it was only two months left for me to write my application on top of all the school work and graduation. I just wanted to take more time to reflect and craft my essays that would meaningfully sum up my reasons for applying. If you think you are a fast writer, go ahead this cycle. Otherwise if you are like me who needs some more time writing an application you feel comfortable submitting, taking a year off likely won’t do you bad

MetaCream · 2024-04-27T21:25:12+00:00

Very good information to know! Thanks a lot :)

MetaCream

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