Fencer's corner

[Fencer]

Today is the day when all programs must have at least a similar number of ACs as they expect to enroll. Unfortunately, the traffic rules are really guidelines for behaviors that are not enforceable when there is financial aid involved, such as fellowships/scholarships as seen in the overwhelming majority of all MD/PhD programs. However, there is peer-pressure and AAMC staff provides feedback and education to schools that seem to depart from the guidelines. [These are my personal observations/opinions]

Currently, we have 1757 MD/PhD applicants with cGPA (undergraduate coursework in US/Canada). Out of those, 684 have received at least one MD/PhD AC offer. The average cGPA of those w ACs is 3.86. There are also 1751 MD/PhD applicants with a MCAT with 683 having at least one MD/PhD AC offer. The average MCAT of those w ACs is 517.7 The overall applicant group is 1768 MD/PhD applicants with an average of cGPA of 3.73 and average MCAT is 514. The discrepancies are due to the fact that some MD/PhD applicants do not have undergraduate training in the USA/Canada, while some have not taken the new recent MCAT. Now, in prior years by the end of the cycle, we have had a total of 800 - 850 applicants who received at least one MD/PhD acceptance, which means that about 120 - 170 applicants with angst/anxiety who will receive a 2023 MD/PhD offer. Do not despair as of yet....

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[Fencer]

Tomorrow is the national residency match day.... start paying attention to how the 2023 graduates of MSTPs and large MD/PhD programs do. It tells you how well they train their students.

In other news, check this out:

Tormentor mentors, and how to survive them

Bad mentors can go absent, sap your energy or embroil you in their paranoia. Here are five tips for tackling a toxic relationship.

www.nature.com

 

[SurfingDoctor]

Tormentor mentors, and how to survive them

Bad mentors can go absent, sap your energy or embroil you in their paranoia. Here are five tips for tackling a toxic relationship.

www.nature.com

"Tormentor mentor"... totally stealing this. Thanks!

Apparently, this is part of a series. I had no idea.

Mentoring resources for scientists

Nature Mentoring is a collection of the best mentoring content from Nature Research journals, alongside real-life mentoring stories from Naturejobs' global community of scientists, offering advice and support to scientist mentors and their mentees.

www.nature.com

Thanks again!

 

[Fencer]

"Tormentor mentor"... totally stealing this. Thanks!

Apparently, this is part of a series. I had no idea.

Mentoring resources for scientists

Nature Mentoring is a collection of the best mentoring content from Nature Research journals, alongside real-life mentoring stories from Naturejobs' global community of scientists, offering advice and support to scientist mentors and their mentees.

www.nature.com

Thanks again!

Indeed, if you look at the writers there are some who are invited back. Ruth Gotian is the former administrative director of the Tri-I MSTP and while she was working as such, on the side, she obtained her EdD from Columbia. She has written a great book known as the Success Factor. She discusses interviews that she did with several highly successful physician-scientist. Jennifer Davila followed the same path at the South Texas MSTP.
Here is one from Ruth regarding her book: My lesson from successful scientists: success can be learnt

 

[SurfingDoctor]

Here is one from Ruth regarding her book: My lesson from successful scientists: success can be learnt

That was a good read. I found it to be very true actually. Of course, there's a hefty dose of just straight up luck that comes with that success (luck in finding the right job, the right people, the right environment, the right study section and so on and so on), but that's mostly out of a person's hands. What isn't out of a person's hands is picking something that you love to do, doing it to the best of your abilities, and continuing to do it despite failures. That's always been my attitude (though I don't know if I would consider myself successful in my career so much as just satisfied with how its turned out thus far).

Also, the most important thing in having a "successful" career was as that article stated, perseverance. Easily the most important piece of "artwork" in my office...

 

[Fencer]

As of 4/3/23, the national MD/PhD application cycle shows:

1,767 applicants
3.73 average cGPA
513 highest average MCAT

712 applicants w at least 1 MD/PhD AC
3.86 average cGPA
517.7 average MCAT

There are about 138 applicants who will be receiving a MD/PhD AC but haven't... I know your are experiencing a highly distressful state but historically, if you have 3 or more alternate offers, you are more likely than not to be part of this group.

For those who do not make it, I am happy to talk via Zoom about how to improve your application between May and before June 10. PM me... There are programs that value persistence, grit and reapplicants.

 

[poptrop]

Hello, if your waitlisted at a program is it advised against to email the admin to ask about when they think they will start pulling from it? I have a special circumstance that I was hoping to get some idea of when I could hear back from that school. I don't want to rush them but it would be helpful to know when I could start hearing back from them.

 

[Fencer]

Every program has its own procedures. Requesting a zoom meeting for a candid conversation with the PD (about how likely in their experience would they get to you) is not too uncommon. If you happen to be high on their waitlist, they might actually have an interest on talking to you. However, if you are relatively low on the list, you might be seen as too pushy... We are all humans.

 

[ioniansea]

Hello Fencer. Question- is it common for programs to defer students for a reason like a Fulbright award? (Research not English teaching.) Or typically in your experience are deferrals not granted for such a reason?

 

[Fencer]

Every program has its own environment. A Fulbright Scholarship is an good excuse for asking for deferral for a future year. However, program directors are looking at their roster and number of slots. If you have admissions on-hand, make a decision on your school and start the discussion with your program director ASAP. They would be able to fill the slot for the current class. There is an element of critical mass for a class. That amount might vary in different locations.

 

[ioniansea]

Every program has its own environment. A Fulbright Scholarship is a good excuse for asking for deferral for a future year. However, program directors are looking at their roster and number of slots. If you have admissions on-hand, make a decision on your school and start the discussion with your program director ASAP. They would be able to fill the slot for the current class. There is an element of critical mass for a class. That amount might vary in different locations.

Okay, thank you!

 

[doubledoc712]

Hi Fencer , I was wondering if you could keep us updated on how the waitlists are moving on your end

 

[Fencer]

I am currently out of the office in a meeting in DC. As you can tell, some programs are opening slots from their waitlists as some accepted applicants withdraw due to alternate offers. In my program, I have intended to fill 8 slots and 6 of my accepted applicants have committed to enroll. Our deadline is 20 days prior to MD/PhD orientation within the AAMC traffic guidelines. My program has 2 waitlists, the priority, which is based upon historical statistics, and the regular waitlist. This year, I was conservative in extending our priority waitlist as we did a more intentional and deliberate 2nd visit. I have utilized my entire priority waitlist, and started considering regular waitlist. As I indicated, we respect student agency and those trainees have until the deadline specified by guidelines.

 

[lemon.slice]

Hi Fencer. If we do not hear back about WLs today, how safe is it to assume that there will no A coming from those WLs? Thank you!

 

[Fencer]

Monday is May 15th. While historically, some programs still try to fill a slot by someone who withdraws after May 15, the overwhelming majority of MD/PhD programs will accept their rosters as they are, and begin thinking about the following academic cycle.

 

[Fencer]

This is the last week of August, and it is when MD/PhD applicants need to reflect and see themselves in the mirror. If you have more than 5 MD/PhD interviews scheduled, you are in a terrific spot. If you are in the 2-3, you might want to reassess in a couple of weeks. However, if you only have 1 or less, you need to take a hard look at your application and consider adding MD/PhD programs.

My standard advice:
I tell applicants to be very open to applying broadly. Take AAMC table B-8 in excel from the AAMC FACTS tables webpage. Calculate number of applicants per matriculating slot of all programs. Select the list of MSTP programs from the NIGMS website. Arrange the spreadsheet by size of entry class. Examine table B-12 to see if a particular year was odd with more matriculants than it seems. Check their websites. For example, my program takes 7 applicants every year since 2018, we used to take 4-5 prior to that. We just received an Impact Score of top 5% in our T32 MSTP renewal, and we will be adding an extra slot per year (now 8/yr since 2022). Examine NIH funding tables at the Blue Ridge or NIH websites, particularly looking at funding from the NIH Institute of your area of interest (NCI, NIA, etc.). Depending upon your stats, you will group the 53 MSTPs by groups of 15-20, and select several from each group for your list... You have to have different levels of difficulty to make sure that you get into the best program for you (interest, fit, location, etc. low in the scale is USNWR ranking or perceived prestige). Choose at least 5-10 from each tier (more in top tier if you wish)... Apply early, if you need to triage interviews, that would be a good problem to have. If you follow my advice, you will get MD/PhD acceptance early from the bottom tier, and might end up in one of your dream schools by matriculation date.

Another piece... Apply initially for 5 schools as you submit your Primary application. Apply early and get your transcripts (and LORs) uploaded Once the verification process by AMCAS occurs (takes 4-6 weeks), programs receive your application, which triggers Secondary applications. If you were applying to 30 schools, that is a lot of secondary applications at once. Schools monitor how quickly you reply to secondary applications (one week or so is fine, two weeks are ok, but 30 at once might take you more than that). Here is my suggestion, if you apply 5 additional schools every week, they appear into the respective school portals within a couple of hours. That is, you are able to apply early and stage your secondary application delivery as most are automatically triggered by computers. Adding 5 schools per week means that within 3 weeks (+/-1 day), you can apply to 20 MD/PhD programs and be more responsive to secondaries. My school has no secondary (no added fees/barriers, just adding a school)....

 

[Sunrizon]

This is the last week of August, and it is when MD/PhD applicants need to reflect and see themselves in the mirror. If you have more than 5 MD/PhD interviews scheduled, you are in a terrific spot. If you are in the 2-3, you might want to reassess in a couple of weeks. However, if you only have 1 or less, you need to take a hard look at your application and consider adding MD/PhD programs.

My standard advice:
I tell applicants to be very open to applying broadly. Take AAMC table B-8 in excel from the AAMC FACTS tables webpage. Calculate number of applicants per matriculating slot of all programs. Select the list of MSTP programs from the NIGMS website. Arrange the spreadsheet by size of entry class. Examine table B-12 to see if a particular year was odd with more matriculants than it seems. Check their websites. For example, my program takes 7 applicants every year since 2018, we used to take 4-5 prior to that. We just received an Impact Score of top 5% in our T32 MSTP renewal, and we will be adding an extra slot per year (now 8/yr since 2022). Examine NIH funding tables at the Blue Ridge or NIH websites, particularly looking at funding from the NIH Institute of your area of interest (NCI, NIA, etc.). Depending upon your stats, you will group the 53 MSTPs by groups of 15-20, and select several from each group for your list... You have to have different levels of difficulty to make sure that you get into the best program for you (interest, fit, location, etc. low in the scale is USNWR ranking or perceived prestige). Choose at least 5-10 from each tier (more in top tier if you wish)... Apply early, if you need to triage interviews, that would be a good problem to have. If you follow my advice, you will get MD/PhD acceptance early from the bottom tier, and might end up in one of your dream schools by matriculation date.

Another piece... Apply initially for 5 schools as you submit your Primary application. Apply early and get your transcripts (and LORs) uploaded Once the verification process by AMCAS occurs (takes 4-6 weeks), programs receive your application, which triggers Secondary applications. If you were applying to 30 schools, that is a lot of secondary applications at once. Schools monitor how quickly you reply to secondary applications (one week or so is fine, two weeks are ok, but 30 at once might take you more than that). Here is my suggestion, if you apply 5 additional schools every week, they appear into the respective school portals within a couple of hours. That is, you are able to apply early and stage your secondary application delivery as most are automatically triggered by computers. Adding 5 schools per week means that within 3 weeks (+/-1 day), you can apply to 20 MD/PhD programs and be more responsive to secondaries. My school has no secondary (no added fees/barriers, just adding a school)....

This year seems to be running slow, does this still stand? I have only 1 interview but from a T5 and I have seen only one of the other schools on my list offer an interview to someone else on SDN here. Basically radio silence everywhere for the rest of my schools with regards to me and other people on reddit and SDN except for regular MD. Guess I am trying not to freak out?

 

[Fencer]

Congrats on T5 interview! Depending upon the time of your secondary submissions, you could consider re-assessing in 2 weeks. A mid-ground hedging strategy would be to add 5 MD/PhD programs utilizing the strategy discussed above. If by mid-September, you are not at 3-4 interviews, you will then add another 5 programs. By the end of September, your interview chances begin to drop significantly. Keep in mind that the process of reviewing an application takes 4-6 weeks after submission of secondary. Your ability to meaningfully improve your chances during an application cycle includes sending updates (if substantial and allowed) and adding more schools. Every year, I see some individuals who were too elitist. Any MSTP gives you a reasonable opportunity of eventually becoming T5 faculty. My data shows that clearly.

 

[ioniansea]

This is the last week of August, and it is when MD/PhD applicants need to reflect and see themselves in the mirror. If you have more than 5 MD/PhD interviews scheduled, you are in a terrific spot. If you are in the 2-3, you might want to reassess in a couple of weeks. However, if you only have 1 or less, you need to take a hard look at your application and consider adding MD/PhD programs.

Whoa, that seems like a lot of interviews. I thought it was good to have 3 interviews, period. Obviously the more you have the better your chances, but last cycle I had 1 II by the end of August. It worked out for me with 8 II by the end of January. I definitely stuck to your method for applying broadly though.

 

[Fencer]

Thank you for sharing your personal experience, and congratulations on your success. I share averages, but in any curve with data, there are examples on each side of semi-gaussian distribution.

At this moment, we have only extended 25% of interview slots. Next week, we will send another batch of invites.

 

[Purple&Gold8]

I know you say that we should aim for 3 interviews by the mid-end of September, but is there a certain amount of interviews we should be "aiming" for? Of course it only takes one, but do you know any stats on the average amount of interviews per acceptance for an applpicant? Does that make sense?

 

[Fencer]

While AAMC keeps track of the number of acceptances received by each applicant, that is because Schools have to use the system to formally offer an Acceptance. In contrast, the admission status of interview is not used frequently (not required by AMCAS), but also primarily due to the fact that MD/PhD program leaders are rarely the posting admission officer updating the AMCAS system for their school.

Having said that, most MD/PhD programs tend to interview between 3 - 9 times the number of matriculants. Therefore, I would calculate around 4,000-5,000 interviews divided among 1000-1100 applicants, to accept 850 applicants and eventually matriculate 750-760 MD/PhD first-year students. The more competitive schools tend to have less X times per matriculations (i.e. Interview slots per matriculant).

 

[Fencer]

LAST CALL for 2024 applications...
My MSTP has a deadline of November 1 for primary application. We don't have a $econdary application, and we still have ~40 interview slots for Jan/Feb 2024. What we do is keep all applications that were deemed meritorious in a folder that gets reviewed monthly for the next group of invitees. The next set of invitees will be released in late Nov., so consider applying.... (PM me if questions).

I plan to be attending in-person the SACNAS and ABRCMS conferences over the next few weeks, and I am happy to chat about the MD/PhD application process in general. I can't discuss with people their application to my program, but only in general terms due to conflict. During May and early June, prior to our program receiving applications, I often meet with potential applicants and provide one-on-one advice about their applications.

 

[ranmasaotome]

@Fencer last year around this time you were surprised to not see any AC posts despite 15 being out there. I haven't seen or heard of any ACs yet this year. Is the number of national ACs around the same or is it lower right now compared to past years?

Incidentally there is one A listed on CycleTrack for Pitt, but that's the only one I've seen looking around this cycle.

 

[Fencer]

We have extended a few ACs and half of them had other ACs. People aren't sharing as of yet. Now the AMCAS Admission Action Summary for MD/PhD national pool of applicants has not yet provided data, but using another AMCAS source, I am only able to tell you that the size of the pool of MD/PhD applicants this cycle is about 5% larger (as compared to 2023) but still shy of 1800 applicants at this moment. Similar national stats.

 

[neuro_tick]

I would calculate around 4,000-5,000 interviews divided among 1000-1100 applicants, to accept 850 applicants and eventually matriculate 750-760 MD/PhD first-year students. The more competitive schools tend to have less X times per matriculations (i.e. Interview slots per matriculant).

@Fencer It sounds like there's a mean of 5 interviews/interviewees, but I think you've also mentioned that ultimately 40% of matriculants only received 1 acceptance. Is that due to low acceptance rates post-interview or the product of a small minority of interviewees receiving most of the interviews?

Additionally, at this point is there anything we can do to improve our chances of getting an interview (assuming that we've already reevaluated and added programs)? Are letters of intent or update letters impactful at this stage?

 

[UniCrys]

@Fencer, I was wondering how many interviews we should have at this point of the application cycle. I know you mentioned in the past that if you have 5 MD/PhD interviews in August you are in a great spot, but what about this stage of the cycle. What is an acceptable amount of interviews that you'd say is safe to have?

 

[Fencer]

To be comfortable, 5-6 at this point. On average, about 70-75% of interview slots have been given already. We are one of the few MSTP programs with about 40 interview slots still unselected. Application deadline is Nov. 1st. In total, the nation's MD/PhD programs offer about 4200-4500 interview slots and eventually accept 850 applicants out of the 1800 total pool of applicants giving about 2200 acceptances. We matriculate about 760 MD/PhD first-year trainees... Now the 2200 MD/PhD acceptances while divided among the 850 applicants, 35-40% only get a single MD/PhD acceptance. In recent years, less than 10 applicants receive 10 or more MD/PhD acceptances. On these calculations, MD-only acceptances are NOT included.

 

[Fencer]

As per the national MD/PhD admissions actions summary sync last night (11/17 --> 11/18), there are 121 applicants out of 1,837 (the national dashboard indicates 1,842 applicants) who have received at least one MD/PhD acceptance. These applicants have mean Science GPA of 3.83 and cGPA of 3.87, with total MCAT of 516.6. These numbers are similar to recent admissions cycles.

The discrepancy between the national MD/PhD admissions actions summary and the dashboard is due to some applicants not having a new MCAT or no undergraduate coursework within US/Canada. So, the actual total pool of MD/PhD applicants for the 2024 cycle is 1,842 as of yesterday. This is slightly more than 2023 but less than in 2021. The pool of MD/PhD applicants has been relatively flat over the past decade except for one COVID year with a small increase.

 

[neuro_tick]

At this point, would it be advisable to assume that we won't receive additional IIs? And as far as you are aware, are there any programs that this year (or historically) still have significant numbers of unreleased interview spots at this point?

Additionally, what advice would you have for anybody at this stage with fewer than the recommended 5-6 IIs? Is it helpful for program directors at the post-interview stage if we signal intent to matriculate if offered an acceptance, and would doing so improve our probability of acceptance?

 

[Fencer]

Most programs have a MD/PhD AdCom meeting in December that typically addresses this issue. In our case, we are one of the later programs and we still have a single round of interviews available (not selected) for first week of February. They will be released next week. After that our MD/PhD AdCom will be making the regular pool rejections (~35% of applicants). This is the harder group because decisions are based upon research experiences, research mentor letters, essays, best use of their opportunities, and mildly influenced by academic benchmarks. Our initial review is blinded to many things precisely to evaluate RESEARCH potential. We already did a round of rejections for those below our 2024 academic benchmarks (~25% of applicants).

 

[orangesweatpants23]

@Fencer, I was wondering if you had any input about holding MD/PhD acceptances. I currently have two acceptances. One to a program across the country and one to a program close to home. I am almost certain that I would prefer to attend the program across the country, but I am wondering if I should hold off on rejecting the closer program in case unforeseen circumstances arise (ex. needing to be closer to home). Outside of the deposit for holding the seat, which is not a consideration, are there any downsides to holding onto this acceptance for the time being until I hear back from other schools I have interviewed at?

One thing I am worried about is MD/Ph.D. admissions talking to each other about who they accepted and if I could risk losing an acceptance at an even more desirable program because I have these 2 acceptances. Thanks for any input.

 

[theridgespamms]

@Fencer, I was wondering if you had any input about holding MD/PhD acceptances. I currently have two acceptances. One to a program across the country and one to a program close to home. I am almost certain that I would prefer to attend the program across the country, but I am wondering if I should hold off on rejecting the closer program in case unforeseen circumstances arise (ex. needing to be closer to home). Outside of the deposit for holding the seat, which is not a consideration, are there any downsides to holding onto this acceptance for the time being until I hear back from other schools I have interviewed at?

One thing I am worried about is MD/Ph.D. admissions talking to each other about who they accepted and if I could risk losing an acceptance at an even more desirable program because I have these 2 acceptances. Thanks for any input.

speaking on behalf of every other current applicant - if you are not interested in a program and have an acceptance in a program that you'd much rather be in. there is no reason for you to hold on to multiple. It would be more favorable to your future colleagues if you turned down the second offer. Congrats on your two offers though!

 

[Fencer]

Holding two offers until 2nd visits is ok and professional. Holding four or more is only clogging the system. However, if you pretty much decided that one of those two programs is a way better fit for you, there is no real benefit for you to hold that "lesser fit" program for you, and it does help some of your other peers who see that program as their "best fit" for them.

 

[Fencer]

UPDATE - as 12/10/2023 - 2024 MD/PhD cycle
The overall number of MD/PhD applicants is 1,852 w cGPA of 3.75 and MCAT of 513. As it is usual at this time of the cycle, those applicants w at least 1 MD/PhD acceptance are a bit more competitive, with 241 accepted, w 3.86 cGPA and 517 MCAT. These numbers are on-track to recent prior cycles.

 

[sillygoose69]

UPDATE - as 12/10/2023 - 2024 MD/PhD cycle
The overall number of MD/PhD applicants is 1,852 w cGPA of 3.75 and MCAT of 513. As it is usual at this time of the cycle, those applicants w at least 1 MD/PhD acceptance are a bit more competitive, with 241 accepted, w 3.86 cGPA and 517 MCAT. These numbers are on-track to recent prior cycles.

For clarification, are there currently 241 accepted students or 241 acceptance decisions? I’m
curious on how students with multiple acceptance are counted

 

[Fencer]

Accepted applicants (people)... eventually, we will have ~850 accepted MD/PhD applicants (people) and about 2200-2400 MD/PhD acceptances.

 

[sillygoose69]

Thanks! Are you able to share how many acceptances decisions have been released as of now? I’m just curious

 

[Fencer]

I have seen stats of "total acceptances" along the period for the past 4 cycles. These are not provided to us on a daily basis as the other stats that I shared. They are only presented to us in national meetings by AMCAS. The number of applicants with at least an acceptance are updated daily during the "acceptance and matriculation" portion of the cycle.

 

[foregoingfun]

Hey, Fencer. Should we anticipate any more interview movement this late in the cycle?

 

[Fencer]

Not likely at this point....

 

[neuro_tick]

Hey, Fencer. Was just curious about waitlist turnover. It seems that many programs will only issue acceptances equal to their total number of spots. Do you have any idea how many acceptances schools issue in order to fill their classes? And should we expect to see the most movement off of waitlists after/around April 15th and 30th?

 

[Fencer]

Every year, there are 300+ MD/PhD acceptances (out of 2000+) given after March 15, the AAMC Traffic Guidelines deadline for having at least the same number of current ACs than it is the number of spots the program expects to matriculate for the cycle. At least for 100+ of those applicants (out of the ~ 850 who eventually receive at least 1 MD/PhD AC), it is their first MD/PhD AC.

 

[liketb12]

Sorry to clarify, do programs accept more spots than they have seats for or only give out the same number of acceptances that they have seats?\

I was under the impression programs hand out 1.5-2.5x the amount of seats they have in acceptances.

 

[Fencer]

It depends... each program has a historical yield for acceptances. Even the top 5 get declines after acceptance.

I am away down and under for 3 weeks and I will be unresponsive...

 

[darkamgine]

Sorry to clarify, do programs accept more spots than they have seats for or only give out the same number of acceptances that they have seats?\

I was under the impression programs hand out 1.5-2.5x the amount of seats they have in acceptances.

Most programs do give out considerably more acceptances than the final class. We had about 2x the students for revisit than we expect for the incoming class. Maybe the top programs can admit a bit less if they have higher historical yield but every program will admit more than they want for the final class.

 

[neuro_tick]

I tried looking this up online but got a bit confused, so asking here. Theoretically, could it ever hurt us to use the "choose your medical school" tool? If I'm accepted to a few programs but waitlisted at others that I prefer, do the schools that I'm waitlisted at know that I hold an acceptance? Will they know if I select that I am planning to enroll somewhere? It seemed like schools might get aggregated/anonymous data until April 30th, at which point they get specific, individual-level data. Does this mean that it's to my advantage to not "plan to enroll" until I hear back from all schools I'm waitlisted at (assuming that those schools are less likely to accept a student already holding an acceptance)? Also, how seriously do program directors take "plan to enroll" status students? Does PTE signal to schools I'm waitlisted for that I'm unlikely to attend their program if accepted, and on the flip side do programs start to pare down their waitlists if a large portion of their accepted students PTE?

 

[Fencer]

Only after April 30 (actually until May 1 when the actions from the prior day sync in), the schools where you are waitlisted will they know whether you hold an acceptance or not. After May 1, your CYMS status could affect their acceptance behavior, but they would not know where you are accepted. My own practice is to call the next person with the characteristics that I need from our ranking (i.e.: I can't have 8 cancer biologists in the class).
Prior to May 1, we don't know who, where, or how many for that individual, only in aggregate. For example, out of my 8 slots, I suspect that I am leading in 6 out of those races.... but things will likely change. I often don't know my class until mid-May.

 

[Fencer]

Update as 3/26 - 2024 MD/PhD cycle
For the 2024 MD/PhD cycle, there were 1857 MD/PhD applicants. At this point, 725 of them have received at least one MD/PhD acceptance. In prior cycles, we reach about 850 applicants with at least one MD/PhD acceptance. While the algorithm changed for the reports from the cycle, it shows slightly more and slightly less information than years prior. I can't no longer tell how many of those are actively holding a MD/PhD acceptance. However, we can say that at least 188 of them have withdrawn from one of their MD/PhD acceptances (i.e. withdrawn after MD/PhD acceptance or WA). This means that the highly successful applicants are still holding multiple MD/PhD acceptances with a substantial number who haven't done a single withdrawal. Based on final results of prior cycles, that number should exceed 500 applicants who do at least one WAs... (for example, 2023 had 1758 applicants, 845 w at least 1 MD/PhD AC, 768 MD/PhD matriculants, and 525 applicants WA from at least 1 MD/PhD AC).

 

[Beautiful-Wrangler82]

Update as 3/26 - 2024 MD/PhD cycle
For the 2024 MD/PhD cycle, there were 1857 MD/PhD applicants. At this point, 725 of them have received at least one MD/PhD acceptance. In prior cycles, we reach about 850 applicants with at least one MD/PhD acceptance. While the algorithm changed for the reports from the cycle, it shows slightly more and slightly less information than years prior. I can't no longer tell how many of those are actively holding a MD/PhD acceptance. However, we can say that at least 188 of them have withdrawn from one of their MD/PhD acceptances (i.e. withdrawn after MD/PhD acceptance or WA). This means that the highly successful applicants are still holding multiple MD/PhD acceptances with a substantial number who haven't done a single withdrawal. Based on final results of prior cycles, that number should exceed 500 applicants who do at least one WAs... (for example, 2023 had 1758 applicants, 845 w at least 1 MD/PhD AC, 768 MD/PhD matriculants, and 525 applicants WA from at least 1 MD/PhD AC).

Is this still the case even up to today? I know looks can be deceiving on SDN, but it looks like I'm not seeing many others report new acceptances ( I would have expected more with the first April 15th deadline being yesterday). Or maybe that movement is more pronounced after April 30th? Thanks Fencer.