Help on Prep for Medical School

[IM11]

I’m in a bit of a dilemma on how to proceed with my current situation. I completed a U.S. Bachelor’s Degree in Biology many years ago and worked in medical research there (cardiovascular and cancer) for a couple of years, with publications, before immigrating to Canada. I had begun a health care MSc in Canada but had to leave after a year due to a family situation (and the rules at the time that did not allow a change of status to part-time). I had to work outside of the field for a few years to support family as that was the only thing I could find as I had to stay in the country. I lost my job some time ago and haven’t found steady work since. I have recently begun a journey back to the medical/health care field which was always my intention.

I wanted to get back into studying and see if I still had it in me. I started doing continuing education undergraduate courses in psychology (which could lead to a certificate) and have done well so far (current cert. GPA 4.11). My main reasons for doing this subject initially is that the MCAT has expanded to include more psychology and the continuing education school did not have certificate programs in science, just individual courses. To get funding you had to be enrolled in a certificate.

I’ve also volunteered at a hospital for the last couple of years. I really didn’t know where to turn as there weren’t any post-baccalaureate programs here and not a lot of encouragement for non-traditional students.

I have been looking into finishing the masters for a long time. I applied on a whim to LSHTM and to my surprise I got in. It’s only for the distance certificate to start but I really would like your advice on whether this is worth pursuing, and how it would look to admissions committees. I'm really interested in going to medical school in North America, preferably in the US or the Caribbean if I have to.

Any advice on the following questions would be greatly appreciated!

1. Will an unfinished master’s degree jeopardize my chances of getting in to medical school? Would it be better to finish it as quickly as possible by finding a program that would accept transfer credits, or do a grad certificate like the one at LSHTM? Or would it be better to do undergraduate courses or a post-baccalaureate program/special masters in the US to strengthen my application?

2. Some schools like to see applicants who advocate for certain diseases. How would I look to admissions committees having done a biology undergrad, research in cardiovascular diseases and cancer (with publications), taken psychology courses and now considering a graduate program in infectious diseases?

3. Do I need current publications and research experience or will the past ones be enough?

4. Would it go against me to leave something unfinished e.g. the masters, or a certificate, etc.?

Thanks!

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[GreenDuck12]

1. Master's degree, while interesting, most likely won't play into the admissions decision that much. If they ask why you didn't complete it ,explain.

2. You would like look an applicant with relevant research experience. This will differentiate you from other applicants but will not play as heavily as mcat or gpa.

3. Most med students do not have many publications. Any publication to your name seems fine.


The big thing you need to have is 1) solid GPA 2) solid mcat score 3) shadowing/clinical experience. All other factors will come into play after the first 2 points.

 

[IM11]

Thank you GreenDuck12!
When you say GPA do you mean undergraduate overall/undergrad science? For boosting GPA I guess only undergraduate courses would count?
Having been out of school for an a while the other concern is letters of recommendation. Would you recommend doing a post-baccalaureate program that offers full support for applicants and linkage programs? Thanks.

 

[GreenDuck12]

You mentioned that you have an undergraduate degree in biology. Most likely, you have already completed all of the standard pre-recs. What is your undergraduate GPA and how long ago did you graduate?

 

[IM11]

Yes I did do all of the pre-reqs but that was more than 10 years ago. My GPA was 3.4.

 

[GreenDuck12]

Your GPA is a little low for MD schools right now but is right in the range for DO schools. To your question about post bacs, most formal post bac programs with reputable linkages are for applicants who have not taken any of the pre-req classes. Additionally, they usually only admit between 30-60 students per year and are extremely expensive. As you have already taken the pre-med courses, this route is largely unnecessary.

The first thing you need to do is take a look at what schools you would like to apply to and determine what their criteria is for admission. Some schools are extremely strict with pre-med coursework being completed within a certain time frame (usually 5 years) while others do not care. If a school requires all coursework to be completed within a certain timeframe, you would need to retake all of those classes at a CC or university. Get a copy of the AAMC MSAR to help you determine what the requirements are for the schools you are targeting. Next, you WILL need to take some classes to show you are a capable student and to refresh the material before taking the MCAT. Upper division biology and chemistry would help (repeating gen chem/organic chem/bio if you have low scores wouldn't be a bad idea but only if this applies to you). Best bet is a couple semesters of high academic achievement while taking 2-4 courses at a time . This will show that while you have a history of decent academic achievement, you are capable of achieving at a much higher level and can handle the rigors of medical school. After this, you need to take the mcat and earn a competitive score.

You also should learn the difference in DO and MD medical schools. You could be a competitive DO applicant for the next cycle if you do well on the MCAT. If you are interested in MD schools, you most likely will need the next 1.5 years to put together a strong application. I say strong application because when I offer advice, I recommend the path that will require some additional time/effort with the hope of only going through the application cycle once. Over 50% of medical school applicants are not admitted each year and, as non trads looking to start medical school, we have to respect our competition.