I a Biology major with a 3.25 and 26 MCAT and want to know some possible postbacc programs I would have a chance at in order to inc. my gpa. Also, I wanted to know if there is any benefit of doing a 2 year thesis masters in biology vs a postbacc program.
3.25 gpa 26 mcat
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A master's program won't help you get into med school.
Your best possible chance is doing an informal/unstructured post-bacc at a local univesrity (e.g. through an extension program). You want one where you have a good amount of science classes to choose from.
Your best possible chance is doing an informal/unstructured post-bacc at a local univesrity (e.g. through an extension program). You want one where you have a good amount of science classes to choose from.
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Med schools can't draw any conclusions about you as a candidate by looking at your performance in a traditional graduate program. Traditional grad work isn't standardized, at all, and figuring out whether a curriculum or thesis is any good requires WAY more time than a med school is going to spend on an individual candidate.
By comparison, med schools can look at undergrad GPA, couple it with an MCAT score, and know that this is a reasonable metric across the country. It's not bulletproof, but it's a reasonable basis for comparing candidates.
An SMP, in contrast to traditional grad work, is hosted at a med school, with med school faculty vouching for a student's capabilities against the M1 curriculum. That carries weight with med schools - it's an audition for med school, in med school. Unfortunately the term "SMP" is applied to programs that meet no such criteria, in conversations in this forum, which muddies the waters here but has no effect whatever on med school admission folks' opinions.
Best of luck to you.
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Dr. Midlife I really appreciate your advice. I guess now I would like to know if it would be more beneficial for me to take upper level classes at a local university or enroll in grad work program that gets people into med school? Would there be a difference?
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I suggest that more undergrad would be appropriate since your MCAT needs work. Getting that good MCAT score might take another go-round on one or more of the prereqs. Also, a good SMP isn't a likely option until you have a solid MCAT. You may need to do both more undergrad and an SMP, as well as improving your MCAT into competitive range, to get into a US MD school.
Also keep in mind that with up-the-middle stats, toward which you seem to be headed, a well-rounded and interesting application is critical. Don't give away your seat by cutting corners.
Best of luck to you.
