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Guest RageoftheDragon

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Guest RageoftheDragon

Hi all you others who are interested in 6-7 years of insane punishment,

 

I was wondering if there were stats. as to how many people apply for the double doctor whammy. Is there really a chance for those who only have a Bachelor's with some good research experience? Are there different standards for grades? Geez...all these questions on a Saturday nite...that's it, I'm going out! Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

 

RotD

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Guest peachy

Six to seven years? On average it's more like eight, but anyways... :)

 

The numbers that are stuck in my head from last year are roughly 60 (? less sure about this) applications, 24 interviews, and 7 new enrollments (6 to 1st year med, 1 to 2nd year med).

 

You definitely don't need a masters degree, if that's what you mean. Of the 6 of us in first year, only one or two have a masters, I think.

 

I don't know what you mean by different standards for grades. You need to be admitted to the MD program, separately from the MD/PhD program.

 

You can always ask the MD/PhD office if you have any questions - they're super nice. :)

 

There are some old threads (if you look back through this forum) that I found helpful when applying; it might be worth taking a look.

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Guest 2 plus 2 is 4

Hi Peachy,

 

Should you have a good sense of what field/lab you want to work in? I guess this question is more relevant to the interview aspect of the process (if I'm so lucky to get that far). Personally, I just don't know yet. There are definitely some fields that interest me, but I don't want to be too hasty in making a decision without really getting a good sense of all that's out there. But at the same time I wouldn't want to come across as not having given my decision complete thought. Thanks.

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Guest peachy

I haven't asked anybody else if they are doing sequential vs integrated, but I think nearly everybody does it the sequential route.

 

In terms of how specifically people know what research they want to do, it varies a lot. Some people come in knowing what lab they want to do their PhD in. Others have no idea what area they want to study. It's not a problem. :)

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Guest blinknoodle

For the MD/PhD applicaiton, it asks for a resume. Can we submit a research-oriented CV?

 

Do you think there is a length-limit for our resume we're submitting?

 

For those in the MD/PhD program now, how long was your resume/CV?

 

thanks,

-blinknoodle

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Guest peachy

I don't really know what you mean by a research-oriented CV. I have one two-page resume that I use for everything, and that's what I handed in. I doubt that there's a limit on the length. You could ask Sandy (her email address is on the md/phd website) these questions, though, if you're really worried!

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Guest blinknoodle

I figured that since there isn't much to the MD/PhD application, my CV should really sell me -- and be geared specifically towards the program (my resumes/CVs are always changed to reflect what I'm using them for). Thankfully, there isn't a limit to the CV, so I have space to include all my presentations, research experiences and my community involvement. I just had a panic attack yesterday when someone saw my CV and they commented that it looked long and they weren't sure the application people would read the entire thing. But everyone's ok, so I just thought I'd let everyone else know. :)

 

-blinknoodle

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And by the same token, don't worry if you're reading this and you handed in a 2-page resume either -- it's the content that matters. They're not going to count the pages. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

If you're interested in the MD/PhD program, you might want to check out this site. There's a bunch of general information about MD/PhD programs, plus one article about MD/Phd in Canada and in particular at U of T, and another written by a couple students in the Toronto program.

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Guest blinknoodle

So how does one pay to be in the MD/PhD program? Are there scholarships to cover all the students? When would you apply for those? Does UofT guarantee a base sort of funding? Does anyone know how much MD/PhD students typically pay from their pocket (considering that when you go to grad studies, you typically get a stipend of at least $15,000 a year)?

 

Thanks,

-blinknoodle

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Until last year, MD/PhD students paid MD tuition in the MD years, and then grad school tuition in the PhD years. We now pay a kind of blended tuition that's somewhere in between for the full 8-ish years of the program. This helps protect us from having the MD tuition skyrocket during our PhD's.

 

All MD/PhD students accepted into the program are guaranteed CIHR level funding (currently $20K/year, starting 1.5 years into the program), whether that's through the CIHR MD/PhD scholarships or through other scholarships, etc. They don't accept anybody they can't fund.

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  • 2 months later...
Guest blinknoodle
I haven't asked anybody else if they are doing sequential vs integrated, but I think nearly everybody does it the sequential route.

 

This is going back to an older post, but I was wondering how flexible the MD/PhD program is at Toronto. Why do students typically do the sequential route? How much integration is there with the sequential route? By the way the MD curriculum is currently organized, is there room for integration with graduate research at the same time?

 

Thanks for any insight! :)

 

-blinknoodle

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Guest Biochem10

Hi blinknoodle,

 

I'm a first year MD/PhD student here at U of T and I can tell you that most people choose the sequential route because it is virtually impossible to do research at the same time as med school. First year is EXTREMELY busy--I tried to have a part-time job and I had to quit due to time restraints. Also, most PIs would probably not be happy with a part-time grad student. Most students choose to do first year with the med school class, start in a lab in the summer after first year and do part-time grad work for first semester of 2nd year. After that you leave the med school class and do full-time grad studies until you get your PhD, which can be anywhere from 3-5 yrs. That being said, U of T is flexible and I've heard of people leaving the class whenever they feel they want to, as long as all the requirements are met. Trying to do both at the same time is a rarity and will depend on what kind of research you're interested in and your supervisor.

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Guest Biochem10

Thanks BlueyR6 I hadn't seen that and, in fact, I hadn't thought too much about residency yet. I'm not sure what the programs are like but hopefully by the time I graduate (in 2010) there will some changes in the amount of people pursuing the combined degree and therefore some residency spots catered to more research oriented goals.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Guest ANTROPOV80

for the md/phd, 3 criteria are used.

 

1) marks

2) mcat

3) publications & abstracts.

 

I believe all three criteria are equally weighted and a candidate needs to do well in all three to be considered (ie: having good marks but no publications or vice versa doesn't help.)

 

just my 2 cents...

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Guest Biochem10

ANTROPOV80,

 

I'm not sure whether or not you are actually an MD/PhD (Edited: sorry, I just read one of your other posts and realized that you are applying this year) student, but I don't believe publications are an essential part of the MD/PhD applications, at least as far as things at U of T go. From my experience I know that they are looking for research experience, including summer projects, independent honours projects and Masters degrees. For most undergrads a summer project doesn't usually warrant enough time for a publication (unless you're the 8th author or something), so don't discount yourself if you have no publications. I certainly didn't. Second, I think the MCAT is a cut-off, so it doesn't really matter whether you scored a 13 or a 9 on a section. Third, grades do matter, but I believe it is the overall package--references, grades and research experience that really determines whether you make the cut. Hope this helps.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest blinknoodle

Hi there,

 

I had my interview a couple weeks ago (end of January), and I heard there was a second MD/PhD interview day sometime this week. I'm not sure if there is another interview day.

 

Good luck! Maybe you'll hear from the MD program instead.

 

-blinknoodle

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