MD / MBA Program Advice

[PCPrincipal]

Hello all -

New to SDN, was hoping for a bit of advice as a (very?) non-traditional student hoping to get into an MD / MBA program at a Top - 20 school.

A bit about me:

1. 30 years old
2. Graduated in 2013 with BBA in Finance & Information Systems (GPA 3.95)
3. Worked for 3 years for a Bulge Bracket investment bank (in M&A) & then an upper middle market private equity firm (with healthcare focus)
4. As early as 2014, I began steering my career toward healthcare to the extent possible because of a few personal healthcare challenges & clinical volunteer experience that I really enjoyed
5. Began taking post-bacc classes (4.0 GPA for all pre-requisites)
6. MCAT (8/9/2019) - 518 : 130/129/130/129

Volunteer Experiences (at various intervals over the 5 year period)

1. 150+ hours as a volunteer research associate in pediatric ED
2. 150+ hours as a inpatient volunteer and critical care volunteer (feeding patients, etc.)
3. 150+ hours as a Big Brother for BBBS NYC
4. 75+ hours as a volunteer research associate in the adult ED

What I was hoping to understand from anyone who may have some insight - I believe my stats make me fairly competitive for Top 20 medical schools, although my MCAT is at or near median. I left healthcare Private Equity to fully commit to the medical school journey because I discovered that the business side of things meant less to me than the clinical aspect; however, I'd like to pair both skill sets to help build an organization that can help patients on both sides of the fence.

My question: Does it make sense to apply to the NYU / Sterns, Penn / Wharton, HMS / HBS, Michigan / Ross, Feinberg / Kellogg, Pritzker / Booths of the world? I'm thinking that my banking / PE background helps on the MBA side of things but my stats might be a bit light (especially no real research) on the medical side.

Thanks for your help - since I'm new here, just give me a heads up if this needs to go into another forum.

-PCPrincipal

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[LookForZebras]

Yes - go for it! Your background is really interesting and you can definitely turn it into a compelling story for applications and interviews. This could more than make up for whatever your MCAT score is lacking.

 

[dpmgrad]

Those are great options. NYU / Stern program is nice since your 4 years (if you go to NYU Manhattan) or 3 years (if you go to NYU Long Island) medical school will be tuition free. Also, you can consider Cornell / Johnson program, where most (if not all) of the MD/MBA students attend Johnson tuition free due to available fellowship program for Cornell MD and Biomedical PhD students pursuing their MBA at Johnson.

 

[IlDestriero]

Your background will make you a competitive applicant and your goals are realistic and relatively uncommon. I think you’ll do well.

 

[PCPrincipal]

Thanks all! very helpful