I had a lot of luck, but wasn't able to make much sense of the pattern of schools I got pre-interview rejections, waitlists, and acceptances from, especially the CA schools. Luckily I got an early MSTP acceptance at UVA that made the whole process considerably lower stress. I'm sure I got a big boost from my MCAT; I had great letters and wrote a good statement but I doubt they would have been read without it. The process has a huge random component, so think of that when you're deciding where to apply. I had my heart set on one place, and it was broken (single tear...) by the whims of fate. Luckily I ended up in a similarly awesome place. Apply early, appeal decisions you don't like (I did this for UCSF's pre-interview MSTP rejection, with success ... at least in getting an interview), and claim to be a human being during interviews. Most of your interviewers will be too, so you'll at least have that in common.
If you're on the fence about doing MSTP (I was the spring before I applied) then I think the application process is a great way to help you decide. You meet tons of physician-scientists when applying, and spend days and days talking about research. The whole process is exciting, but it's also tiring, expensive, time consuming and wasteful. I'm not sure I have a way to do it better, but be prepared for a lot of travelling.
Basic Chronology:
Oct. - UVA interview. Nov. - UVA MSTP accept., Vandy interview, UCSF MSTP pre-interview rejection, appeal, granted. Jan. - Vanderbilt MSTP accept. Harvard, Tufts, UCSF, Duke, UNC, and Brown MSTP interviews, Yale MD interview. Feb. - UNC MSTP accept. Mar. - Harvard MSTP accept. Duke, UCSF, Yale MD waitlist. Apr. - May - Held out to the bitter end for UCSF's MSTP waitlist.
Headed to Harvard MSTP! Yay!
Applied, Withdrew
University of California, Irvine
Applying for combined PhD/MSTP? No
Submitted: Yes
Secondary Completed: No
Interview Invite: No
Interview Attended: No
Waitlisted: No
Accepted: No
Rejected: No
Summary of Experience:
Withdrew pre-secondary after UVA accept.
