Should I enroll in this master's program?

[Wolverine93]

I graduated with a 2.86 cumulative GPA in 2014. My science GPA was a 2.55. My major was Neuroscience. I've taken the MCAT twice and I got a 23 the first time and a 20 the second time.

For the 2014-2015 school year I did post-baccalaureate work. I took upper level science classes and some retakes. Some classes I took were immunology, microbiology, genetics, etc. I did my best to tackle the reasons why I did not do well in undergrad. For 24 credits my post-bacc GPA is a 3.67. I'm taking another four credit class currently.

In undergrad I worked in a cardiovascular pharmacology lab for about 2.5 years and I have good leadership experience. I'm also shadowing a doctor and working with patients in a rehabilitation center.

I got accepted to a graduate program in psychology at Boston University for the upcoming fall. I want to do psychiatric clinical research there. I also want to use my time there to get more experience in the medical field, possibly through a scribe job. The program is flexible and I can take medical related courses, like neuropharmacology also.

The program is expensive for me, about 66,000 for the whole year. I'm concerned about the money and I'm not sure if it will really help me get to medical school. I'm ok with taking my time to make the best application possible for when I apply to medical school. I'm just wondering if a psychology graduate degree will help.

I know I need to retake the MCAT also. I'm burnt out and I don't think I can prep and get a good score in the near future. Several people have advised me to take the MCAT when I'm ready to apply.

I appreciate any advice or opinions for what I should do regarding the program. If anyone has another option for me for how I can improve my chances that would also be good!

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[gyngyn]

Do not enter a Master's program with the idea that it will help a medical school application.
Do it because you are interested in the content.

You could look into DO grade replacement and talk to a learning specialist.

 

[Wolverine93]

I'm not going into psychology to help with apps. I've always been interested in it. I regret not taking more psychology classes in undergrad. I made the mistake of picking neuroscience because I thought it would help with my apps. The psychology classes I took I liked very much and excelled in.

I've learned my lesson now. You're right, a student should only enroll in a program if they are interested in the content.

 

[Snivellus]

Not worth it. You'd rather get a job as a research assistant for a psychiatry study if that's what you are interested in.

 

[Shjanzey]

Don't bother taking postbac/masters courses if you cannot address the deficiency of your MCAT. No school is going to give you a chance with a drop in performance that you have had. Getting a 20 shows an extreme lack of fundamental knowledge, so the best way to improve your application is to take 3 - 6 months, and if you plan to invest then go with a guided program like Kaplan, where they will hold your hand the whole way and guarantee a score increase. After you do that, then think about other ways you can improve your application, because your greatest hole right now is the MCAT.