grayjay

I was thinking of applying to US med schools and Canadian PhDs. My GPA from the last 2 years of undergrad comes out to a 3.75. My current gap-year master's program also calculates grades but I'm guessing those may not factor in too much into the decision? But good grades will hopefully at least give a good impression. As for the process... I was thinking of taking the general GRE this November, MCAT in March/April, retake MCAT in July/August if necessary, and taking the psych subject GRE in Sept/Oct, while doing med school apps over the summer and grad school apps in the fall. Right now I just can't figure out which I have a better shot at (US MD vs. Canadian PhD. I suppose I could apply to some US PhD's too if citizenship vs funding isn't too much of an issue). I definitely do not see myself having much of a chance at any Canadian med school at this point.

I see. Thanks for all the info. What are people's thoughts on applying to both MD and PhD at the same time? (Given that I will not consider MD/PhD, and that I would be genuinely happy in either). I've come across some people who are extremely opposed to it, and others who see it as do-able.

Thanks for your extra info. All the stuff you mentioned about the legal aspect sounds really interesting to me, actually. A lingering question that I do still have about psychiatrists vs. clin psychologists is the patient follow-up. Which tend to start out with a patient and stick with them long-term through to the "end"? I would be really interested in following through with cases and seeing progress over time. I worry that psychiatry is mainly appointments for med tune-ups without a deep connection/ interaction with the patient beyond their biological needs. As for populations, I am interested in all types of disorders really, perhaps with a bias towards mood, and would be interested in more severe cases. I am perhaps more drawn to adults than children. What I like about clin psy though is the opportunity to work in lots of different settings, i.e. prisons or forensic departments really appeal to me as well (do psychiatrists get these opportunities too?) or even non-practice settings such as think tanks and policy. P.S. I also love substance abuse topics

Thanks for your perspective @PsycUndergrad. I am having a really difficult time with this decision. I used to be really interested in many areas of medicine, but as time went on, I became less and less so. But I wonder if it would be worth it to make it to psychiatry in the end, and yes you do mention a good point about the salary. On top of everything I mentioned, I'm not super confident with my ability to get into a good MD school. My undergrad GPA is around a 3.5, and hopefully my current 1-year master's can help a little if I do well (I know they may not take master's grades into account numerically, but hopefully an upward trend would at least create a good impression?). I see that you're in Canada. I'm a Canadian citizen who just finished undergrad internationally. In a real pickle because I can't meet the Canadian med school high GPA cutoffs, but my citizenship will work against me in the US where I might have a higher chance with being viewed as more "well-rounded." Anyways. I wonder if with more psych research I will have a better chance at PhD compared to MD. At this point, I know both are super crazy hard though.

Thanks for your responses! They were very encouraging. I just started in a lab (literally just started, haven't done anything yet and still getting trained) where I will be conducting phone interviews with participants, shadowing counseling sessions, and working on a manuscript. The work seems really interesting and I think I will enjoy it. I considered applying for Fall 2019 but realized that I probably couldn't get my GREs and rec letters and statements together in time for this December... it just wouldn't be enough time for me to build up enough work to talk about in interviews and enough of a rapport with my PI to ask for a letter... I am a little disappointed about having to wait another year but I'm hoping it will be for the best. I am on the fence between applying to PhD vs. applying to MD and pursuing a career in psychiatry. I am very clear on the differences and similarities between the two, so any other insight would be so appreciated. My main issue is that I am really into drugs and meds and I would have a hard time letting that go if I were to go into a PhD. But I realize that there are research topics in psychopharmacology that I could pursue with the PhD, and the job flexibility is attractive to me (professor, practice, lots of options it seems). My background has pretty much set me up for applying MD, apart from not having taken the MCATs yet. Wonder if anyone else had to make this decision?

I just graduated from undergrad this past May, with majors in biology and psychology. I worked in a lab at my university's medical school for all 4 years; however, the lab was a lot of benchwork and pipetting. I'm now doing a gap year (or two) and working in a psych lab for the first time--if I'm lucky, hopefully I'll be able to get a psych publication under my belt. I also just spent the summer volunteering in the psych dept of a hospital. If I apply to clinical psych PhD programs (still on the fence between PhD and MD), will my 4 years of bio research go totally to waste? I know the two fields have very different research approaches but will my hard-earned research experience transfer in any way or show any skills that could make me desirable to a clin psy PhD program? How much more psych research would I need to be a viable applicant? I did very well in my psych undergrad classes but I know that's not the bottom line. Thanks in advance.

I'm also a Canadian student, looking into both the US and Canada. What PsycUndergrad said sums it up pretty well; however, another difference I noticed in application process is that most Canadian programs seem to require the GRE Psych subject test, while in the US it's not a must/ is becoming increasingly less popular. P.S. I'm a Canadian, but just finished undergrad in America