Apply after 2 years of research or take a gap year?

[idemandeuphoria]

Recently changed from pre-PhD to pre-MD/PhD. I will be finishing my sophomore year in April. Let me know if it would be advisable to apply in a year or if I should wait 2 years and take a gap year.

My research experience so far:
- Almost one year in my lab (~300 hours). Poster presentation. Oral presentation. Won a $3000 research grant through my university.
Future things: presenting a couple more posters this semester. presenting at national conference in Fall 2020. Taking on a LOT more leadership roles. Potentially will be a low level author on published paper (it’s unfortunately a very political decision so I’m not sure)

I also JUST started some volunteer experiences. I have a lot of teaching experience (teaching is a huge passion of mine), but my volunteering (both clinical and non-clinical) are low.

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[OHCA]

If you have >3.8 and get >514 on MCAT, sounds like you should be good to go with applying as long as your lab is in the same field as your eventual PhD and you show research productivity. Your research hours is pretty low for a 1 year experience, try to aim for >500 hours this year. I am assuming the grant is for a specific project so take ownership of that and be as productive with as possible. You must show that you can do research, not just do someone else's research

 

[idemandeuphoria]

If you have >3.8 and get >514 on MCAT, sounds like you should be good to go with applying as long as your lab is in the same field as your eventual PhD and you show research productivity. Your research hours is pretty low for a 1 year experience, try to aim for >500 hours this year. I am assuming the grant is for a specific project so take ownership of that and be as productive with as possible. You must show that you can do research, not just do someone else's research

I currently have a 3.98 and I doubt my GPA will drop below a 3.9 in the next year. I work 4-8 hours/week in the lab, which is why my hours are kinda low. This summer I will be essentially running the lab and working more like 10-20 hours/week.

My lab is definitely the perfect lab for the subject of my PhD. Most of the PhDs I looked into use the same techniques that I do even if I want to study slightly different topics within the field.

No one in my lab really does their own project because of the nature of our lab work (we aren’t just doing classic mmbio techniques). I think this should be ok... as long as my letter of recommendation is strong about my ability to do research... I hope so anyway! I’d love to receive advice about that as well.

 

[mdphd_applicant]

Seems like you're doing fine enough to apply straight through.

 

[CaliforniaAsian]

I currently have a 3.98 and I doubt my GPA will drop below a 3.9 in the next year. I work 4-8 hours/week in the lab, which is why my hours are kinda low. This summer I will be essentially running the lab and working more like 10-20 hours/week.

My lab is definitely the perfect lab for the subject of my PhD. Most of the PhDs I looked into use the same techniques that I do even if I want to study slightly different topics within the field.

No one in my lab really does their own project because of the nature of our lab work (we aren’t just doing classic mmbio techniques). I think this should be ok... as long as my letter of recommendation is strong about my ability to do research... I hope so anyway! I’d love to receive advice about that as well.

I don't believe in aiming for an arbitrary number of research hours to apply with. However, 300 hours of research is pretty scant. I would reevaluate your position in a year when you have a more concrete picture of your application. If you want to apply next year, January/February 2021 still gives you plenty of time to decide to prepare to apply or make gap year plans.