HELP! Boston U. MAMS vs. Johns Hopkins Biotechnology??

[Plyfat]

Hi everybody. I was wondering if I could get your opinions/advice on picking a masters program to help improve my medical school application? I’ve been accepted to two pre-med post-bacc Masters programs for this coming fall and I’m trying to decide which would be the best program to choose for me to go where I want to go. I got into the Boston University Master’s of Medical Sciences program, and the Johns Hopkins AAP M.S. in Biotechnology program (not the Health Science Intensive one, but the regular one where you could do full-time, part-time, online, etc.).

I’ve heard different advices and opinions on this, so I’m really in a pickle here. I know that the BU MAMS program is the more traditional SMP type program that is designed for those who want to go into medical school, whereas the JHU MS Biotech program (non-HSI) is not as specifically tailored for pre-meds. I am thinking that pros for the JHU program would be: i) the school’s name recognition and ii) might be better in terms of back-up/alternate career path. At this point, medical school is definitely my primary goal though, and I’ll be applying for next year’s application cycle (2016). What do you guys think? Any help, advice, opinion, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Stats:
cGPA, ~ 3.4
sGPA, ~ 3.3
MCAT: 28 (9 BS/8 PS/11 V)

Have fairly extensive research/work experience: worked 2.5 years as a medical scribe, worked extensively in a lab during undergraduate, did some volunteering with medical nonprofit group, shadowed physicians, etc.

Fairly solid LOR’s

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[K1NG]

If your ultimate goal is medical school, I would go with the BU MAMS. It has a very solid reputation and strong curriculum. JHU's program is AAP which isn't as well regarded from what I've gathered. Also the curriculum is extremely flexible, which won't look good with the Adcoms.

 

[RubicStorm]

Statement from a current student of the JHU program. I'm inclined to believe them. A school like JHU has no reason to accept marginal candidate. Going to be a proven program where you know the staff is on your side seems a much safer bet.

Hi Paige. I am a current student at the Hopkins MS in Biotech with no concentration. I think whether this degree has value or not will depend on what you intend to do with it. Are you dead-set on going straight to medical school afterwards, or do you have any interest in working in the area of Biotech for a bit to build up your resume before medical school? I don't think it would be too helpful as a GPA booster.

There are a number of options through this program for you if you'd like to build up some impressive additional extracurriculars. The NCI Fellowship through the Drug Discovery and Molecular Targets concentration allows you to work as an employee for NCI/NIH Labs. You receive a tuition waiver and a stipend. This degree program also has the USAMRIID Fellowship under their Biodefense concentration, where you work for the US Army as a civilian employee (I believe you have a tuition waiver as well and a stipend). Those fellowships would certainly make you stand out more on med school applications, and would certainly be valuable experiences to have on the job market (applications for those fellowships close sometime later this month, April 2015). In addition, Maryland has a fairly sizable biotech industry, so if you move up here, you can get a job with a company if you'd like. You may also try to get a job with the Hopkins medical school in Baltimore while in this program and receive some tuition remission. Those fellowships are a two year commitment, I believe, so if you're simply looking for a GPA booster, to do a speed run through this program and apply to medical school directly after without doing too much of anything else, it may not be worth the cost. If you were denied the HSI post-bacc, it may be more helpful to enroll in an SMP, or take undergrad courses at your undergrad institution or a community college to boost GPA, depending on your circumstances. Work with a pre-med advisor to determine what's best for your situation.

I don't know what your circumstances are, but you should know that the grades you earn through a Master's degree program are not factored into your undergraduate GPA, it is considered its own (graduate) GPA. There is a certain level of mystery regarding how medical schools would view graduate GPA, and whether it would override undergraduate GPA. Some schools may use sorting algorithms to sort applicants by undergrad GPA and MCAT before having human eyes review other aspects of your application. The only way this degree would count is if you can get human eyes to look at your application, which may mean having a competitive undergrad GPA + competitive MCAT to begin with.

Personally, when I began this program, I was still debating whether I should go to med school or work in industry for awhile before going on to PhD. I've received pretty decent job offers since I've been here (entered Summer 2014) and I do believe this master's did help me with that, so I am happy with my decision to attend Hopkins in that regard. I'm just about halfway done with this degree by the end of this semester, so I do know a bit about this program.

You don't necessarily have to take all your courses at one campus or the other, it is entirely up to you which campus you want to attend, even if you chose one campus on your application, you can still enroll in classes online or at another campus.

If you have any questions, PM me or reply.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/johns-hopkins-hsi-2015-2016.1106075/