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Princeton University Health Professions Advising

HPA Vitals: January 26

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Career of the Month Campus News & Events Post-Grad Opportunities Coming up @ HPA Local Area Announcements Educational Opportunities Student Group News Undergrad Internships

Question of the Week: Applying MD/PhD

Hi HPA – I’m about to apply to medical school but I’m still on the fence about MD versus MD/ PhD. Does anyone apply to both? How does the application process differ between the two? Is it more competitive to get into an MD/PhD program?

A: About 10-15% of our applicants in a given year apply MD/PhD; Princeton gives you a better taste of what it might be like to carry out independent research at the doctoral level than most colleges and universities, and many students develop a passion for inquiry within their discipline. That said, some of the students most passionate about their research also choose to apply MD only with plans to incorporate research into their four years in medical school. Students applying MD/PhD complete the same “common application” (the AMCAS), but some of the details are a little different:

 Essays: MD/PhD candidates write two additional essays: one about their rationale for pursuing the dual degree and the other detailing their research experiences.  Standardized tests: most programs will only require the MCAT, but some may ask for a GRE score – be sure to check your prospective schools’ requirements.  School Selection: your research interests will come into play as you decide where to apply. Some of our applicants choose to apply to some schools MD only and some schools MD/ PhD, depending on what a given medical school offers.  Letters of recommendation: some programs will ask for letters from each of your significant research experiences.  Interviews: most interviews will be over two days while MD only interviews are one day. You’ll meet with potential research mentors as part of the MD/PhD interview process.

Statistically speaking, the acceptance rate for MD/PhD candidates is not too different from MD- only candidates. In 2017, there were 1,858 applicants and 646 matriculants, so about 35% of students who applied eventually matriculated into an MD/PhD program, and we can assume (based on our experience with our own applicants) that a number of students who were not accepted MD/PhD joined MD only programs. MCAT and GPA metrics for MD/PhD were a touch higher than for MD only applicants nationally, and we’ve seen the same for our Princeton applicants, but we’ve also seen success for students from a range of academic metrics, from a 3.1 GPA supplemented with postbac science coursework, up to a 4.0, with MCAT scores from the 84th through 100th percentile (512-526). The commitment to research, as demonstrated through experience and supported by letters of recommendation, can make a significant impact on the success of an MD/PhD candidate. You can find more specifics in our Explore Careers: Physician Scientist page on the HPA website. This FAQ is particularly useful.

QOTW in 2016: Am I Cut Out to be a Doctor? QOTW in 2015: Summer Gen Chem II

HPA Career of the Month: Physician Scientist

HPA highlights a different health career each month, with information about preparing for it, the application process, what the schooling is like, and other useful information and links. Curious about a career as a Physician Scientist? Learn about the field, the people, sample curricula, and more!

Explore the health professions on HPA’s Website

HPA Sponsored Events and Announcements

Drop-in Hours Resume January 22

Pre-Health 101(for first-years and students new to pre-health) January 29 • 2:00pm - 3:00pm • Location TBA • Register

If not MD, Then What? January 30 • 2:00pm - 3:00pm • Location TBA • Register

Pre-Health 201 (for sophomores) February 2 • 11am - 12:00pm • Location TBA • Register

NEW Aspiring Docs Conversation Series February 14 • 6:00pm - 7:00pm • Wilson Private Dining Room • RSVP February 20 • 6:00pm - 7:00pm • Wilson Private Dining Room • RSVP February 27 • 6:00pm - 7:00pm • Mathey Private Dining Room • RSVP

Student Groups Events and Announcements

See additional pre-health related student groups on the HPA website.

Volunteer Opportunity: 2018 Princeton University Science Olympiad Invitational February 10 • 7:00am - 3:00pm

NEW Princeton MedHack: Princeton’s Premier Hackathon (Princeton, NJ) Sign up to serve as a speaker, judge, or mentor! April 20, 5:00pm - April 22, 3:30pm • 65 Olden Street • Register

Other Campus Events and Announcements

Wintersession 2018 Courses of Interest Connecting Service and Academics • January 29 • 10:00am - 11:00am Analyze Your Past to Prepare for the Future • January 29 • 10:00am - 12:00pm Your 2018 Career Resolution: Get LinkedIn! • February 1 • 10:30am - 12:00pm Planning Early for Academic Fellowship Opportunities • February 1 • 1:00pm - 2:00pm Active Listening 101: Learn to Listen, Not Just Respond • February 1 • 3:30pm - 5:00pm

The Month of Service 2018 (courtesy of Pace) Sign up to volunteer for any number of community engagement activities!

Local Area Events and Announcements

NEW Grand Rounds: Telling the Family Story: Understanding & Confronting Barriers to Patient- Centered Care at the End of Life (Plainsboro, NJ) January 30 • 8:00am - 9:00am • Schreyer Education Building, Conference Rooms C, D & E

Latino Medical Student Association Northeast Conference (Philadelphia, PA) February 17 • 8:00am - 8:00pm • Sidney Kimmel Medical College • RSVP

Undergraduate Internships & Job Opportunities

See additional clinical and research opportunities on the HPA website.

The Student Activities Funding Engine For students looking for funding for internships

Pasteur Foundation Undergraduate Internship Program (Paris) Application deadline: January 26

Summer Research Internship Opportunity at U Penn (Philadelphia, PA) Application deadline: January 26

CDC Public Health Scholars Internships (6 locations) Application deadline: January 31

Merck Summer 2018 Chemistry Internship Program (various locations) Application deadline: January 31

UCLA Public Health Scholars Training Program (Los Angeles, CA) Application deadline: January 31

Summer Institute in Biomedical Informatics at Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA) Application deadline: January 31

NYP Brooklyn Methodist Summer College Intensive Program (SCIP) (Brooklyn, NY) Application deadline: January 31

Child Mind Institute Clinical Research Program (New York, NY) Application deadline: January 31

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute Summer Scholars Program (Phila, PA) Application deadline: January 31

Penn State College of Medicine Summer Undergraduate Research Program in Cardiovascular Disease (Hershey, PA) Application deadline: February

Amgen Scholars Fellowship for students interested in the MD/PhD (Various locations) Application deadlines: February

Rutgers Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) (New Brunswick, NJ) Application deadline: February 1

UCLA Summer Program for Undergrad Research (Los Angeles, CA) Application deadline: February 1

UCSF Summer Research Program (San Francisco, CA) Application deadline: February 1

Stanford School of Medicine Summer Research Program (Stanford, CA) Application deadline: February 1

NEW Harvard-Amgen Scholars Program (Cambridge, MA) Application deadline: February 1

Short-Term Research Education Program to Increase Diversity in Health-Related Research (STRIDE) Fellowship at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (Bethesda, MD) Application deadline: February 1

Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship (Bethesda, MD) Application deadline: February 1

MMCRI Summer Student Research Program (Scarborough, ME) Application deadline: February 1

U Michigan Medical School Undergraduate Research Academy (Ann Arbor, MI) Application deadline: February 1

Overlook Summer Internship Program with Atlantic Health System (Summit, NJ) Application deadline: February 1

Einstein College of Medicine Summer Undergraduate Research Program (New York, NY) Application deadline: February 1

Memorial Sloan Kettering Summer Undergraduate Research Program (New York, NY) Application deadline: February 1

Mt. Sinai School of Medicine Summer Undergrad Research Program (New York, NY) Application deadline: February 1

Rockefeller University Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (New York, NY) Application deadline: February 1

Summer Research Program in Biomedical Big Data Science (New York, NY) Application deadline: February 1

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) (Cincinnati, OH) Application deadline: February 1

U Penn Summer Undergraduate Internship Program (Philadelphia, PA) Application deadline: February 1

Pediatric Oncology Education (POE) Program (Memphis, TN) Application deadline: February 1

Vanderbilt MSTP Summer Research Program for Undergraduates (Nashville, TN) Application deadline: February 1

Vanderbilt Summer Science Academy (Nashville, TN) Application deadline: February 1

Vanderbilt Undergraduate Clinical Research Internship Program (Nashville, TN) Application deadline: February 1

Vanderbilt University Medical Center LGBTI Health Internship (Nashville, TN) Application deadline: February 1

Cancer Research Summer Undergraduate Fellowship (Austin, TX) Application deadline: February 1

Baylor College of Medicine DeBakey Summer Surgery Program (Houston, TX) Application deadline: February 1

The Summer Medical and Research Training Program at Baylor COM (Houston, TX) Application deadline: February 1

MD Anderson Science Park Summer Program in Cancer Research (Smithville, TX) Application deadline: February 1

Diversity Summer Health-Related Research Education Program (DSHREP) (Milwaukee, WI) Application deadline: February 1 (video)

JACK’s Summer Scholars Program (pediatrics) at VCU (Richmond, VA) Application deadline: February 1

Virginia Comm. University SOM Summer Academic Enrichment Program (Richmond, VA) Application deadline: February 1

Uganda Village Project Summer Internships (International) Application deadline: February 1, reviewed on rolling basis

AMPHS Clinical Practice Training Spring Session Application deadline: regular February 2

Summer Associate Position at Close Concerns (San Francisco, CA) Application deadline: February 2

NEW Colorado Undergraduate Summer Program (CUSP) (Denver, CO) Application deadline: February 3, reviewed on rolling basis

Georgetown Med ARCHES Summer Pipeline Program (Washington, DC) Application deadline: February 5

Harvard Chan School of Public Health Internship in Biological Sciences in Public Health (Cambridge, MA) Application deadline: February 5

2018 Regenerative Medicine Summer Internship Opportunities (various locations) Application deadline: February 5

Kidney Undergraduate Research Program (KURE) (Birmingham, AL) Application deadline: February 15

NEW Frontier Nursing University Courier Program (Appalachia, KY) Application deadline: February 12

Preparation for Graduate and Medical Education (PARAdiGM) (Birmingham, AL) Application deadline: February 15

Summer in Biomedical Sciences (SIBS) Undergraduate Research Program (Birmingham, AL) Application deadline: February 15

NEW Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) (Stratford, NJ) Application deadline: February 15

Vanderbilt University NSF- Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program in Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (Nashville, TN) Application deadline: February 15

Rutgers Neuroscience Summer Undergraduate Research Program (Piscataway, NJ) Application deadline: February 16

Center for Engineering Mechanobiology REU (St. Louis and Philadelphia) Application deadline: February 16

The 2018 CNF & PARADIM Summer 2018 REU Program (Ithaca, NY) Application deadline: February 21

Baltimore Health Immersion at Loyola University (Baltimore, MD) Application deadline: February 25

Tufts Adventures in Veterinary Medicine Program (North Grafton, MA) Application deadline: late February

National Institutes of Health Summer Internship Program (various locations) Application deadline: March 1

Detroit Mercy Dental Summer Enrichment Program (Detroit, MI) Application deadline: March 2

Camp Promise (Coventry, CT) Application deadline: March 5

Summer 2018 NSF-REU Internship in Nanobioengineering at ALSU (Montgomery, AL) Application deadline: March 9

U Mass Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity (North Worcester, MA) Application deadline: March 11

C.E.L.A. Belize (various locations) Application deadline: March 15

Cleveland Clinic American Center for Reproductive Medicine Summer Internship Program Application deadline: March 16

NYU ER Research Associate Internship Summer 18, Fall 18 - Spring 19 (New York, NY) Application deadline: for Fall 2018- Spring 2019 March 31

UVA Summer Medical Leadership Program (SMLP) (Charlottesville, VA) Application deadline: April 15

Project Horseshoe Farm Undergraduate Internships (Greensboro, AL) Application deadline: rolling

NEW Pre-Medical Internship Program at Dolhun Clinic (San Francisco, CA)

Summer Internship in Patient Storytelling at Planned Parenthood (Washington DC)

Cooper Academic Associate Program – Emergency Medicine (Camden, NJ)

Summer Internships at the Princeton Medical Institute (Princeton, NJ)

Summer Health Professions Education Program Rolling application deadline: Apply now!

Zoetis Internship Program Internships in Molecular Microbiology, Veterinary Services, Clinical Research and more…

Post-Graduate Job and Fellowship Opportunities

Also see post-grad job board on the HPA website.

NEW Post-baccalaureate Fellow Position at Yale Cancer Center (New Haven, CT)

NEW Medical Assistant: Gap Year Opportunity at Doctor's Office (Brooklyn Heights, NY)

NEW Clinical Research Assistant at Marks Colorectal Surgical Foundation (Wynnewood, PA)

NEW Medical Assistant in Dermatology Office (Alexandria, VA) Note: current medical school applicants (for 2018 matric) will not be considered

NIH Department of Bioethics Post-Doc/Post-Bac Fellowships (Bethesda, MD) Application deadline: January 30

Sports Medicine and Orthopedics: Clinical Research Opportunity at Hospital for Special Surgery (New York, NY) Application deadline: February 9

Project Horseshoe Farm Gap Year Fellowship (Greensboro, AL) Application deadline: February 10

Graduate Research Employment Program at Mayo Application deadline: March 16

NYU ER Research Associate Internship Summer 2018, Fall 2018 - Spring 2019 (New York, NY) Application deadline: for Fall 2018- Spring 2019 March 31

Children's Orthopaedic Center Clinical Research Internship (Los Angeles, CA) Application deadline: April 1, considered on a rolling basis, apply early!

Stanford University Neuroscience New Grad Job Opening (Palo Alto, CA)

Full-time Associate Positions at Close Concerns /the diaTribe Foundation (San Francisco, CA)

UCSF Post-Bacc Research Opportunity – Dr. David Toczyski (San Francisco, CA)

Clinical Research Position in Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine (Chicago, IL)

Clinical Outcomes Research Assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, MA)

Clinical Research Assistant BU School of Medicine (Boston, MA)

Kuchnir Dermatology Bridge Year Program (Marlborough, MA)

Surgical Tech Position with BW Furlong, Equine Veterinarian (Oldwick, NJ)

Full-time Research Assistant Position at Princeton Medical Institute (Princeton, NJ)

Medical Assistant Position at New York Dermatology Group (New York, NY)

Education Research Assistant at the Hospital for Special Surgery (New York, NY)

Gap Year Research Assistant Position at CUMC - Orthopedic Surgery (New York, NY)

Research Assisant, Rheumatology/Arthritis/Total Joint Replacement, Hospital for Special Surgery (New York, NY)

Clinical Research Coordinator at Penn (Philadelphia, PA)

Educational Opportunities

Calling for Submissions to Stanford Journal of Public Health Submission deadline: January 26

Hopkins School of Nursing Open House (Baltimore, MD) January 27 • 9:00am - 12:00pm • 525 North Wolfe Street

2018 Volunteer Forever College Travel Scholarship Scholarships awarded quarterly for educational international travel! Application deadline: January 31

SOPHAS Virtual Fair January 31 • 9:00am - 9:00pm • Register

HMS Summer Institute in Biomedical Informatics (Cambridge, MA) Application deadline: January 31

MS Bioethics at Washington University (St. Louis, MO) Application deadline: January 31

Information Session: St. George’s University School of Medicine (New York, NY) February 1 • 6:30pm - 9:30pm • The Westin New York at Times Square

NEW AAMC Virtual Medical School Fair February 15 • 11:00am - 8:00pm • Register

NEW Student DO/DMD Day at ATSU (Kirksville, MO) February 20 • 8:00am - 5:00pm • 800 W. Jefferson Street

PharmD: Touro College of Pharmacy Application deadline: March 1

NEW Predental Day at UTHSC (Memphis, TN) March 24 • 7:45am - 5:00pm • Spring Hill Suites Memphis Downtown • Register by February 24

MS Medical Sciences in Immunology at Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA) Application deadline: international April 1, domestic June 1

GHIC 2018: Global Health & Innovation Conference (New Haven, CT) April 14-15 • Yale University

MS Environmental Health at Johns Hopkins (Baltimore, MD) Application deadline: April 15

Biomedical Sciences Lab Summer School (Bristol, UK) Application deadline: April 30

Destination Vet Summer School (Bristol, UK) Application deadline: April 30

MS Degree Programs at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (Albany, NY) Application deadline: for Fall 2018 May 1

MPAS Master of Physician Assistant Studies at Creighton University (Omaha, NE) Application deadline: September 1

The MCAT: Additional MCAT resources on the Standardized Test Page of the HPA website.

Kaplan MCAT Free Prep Week Classes begin January 27

NEW NextStep Test Prep 10% off Discount on MCAT Exam Products

MCAT Essentials for Testing Year 2017 (pdf) (courtesy of AAMC)

Tutor the People MCAT Prep Discount and Pre-Med Scholarship

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Vitals is a weekly newsletter sent out to interested pre-health students, alumni, and campus collaborators. The newsletter will include campus events, internship/job postings, the Question of the Week, and other important news items. We encourage those of you involved in health-related work/organizations on campus to share information that you think will benefit pre-health students.. Please email us by Wednesday at 5pm if you would like any information included in Vitals.

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