University of Michigan MS in Physiology program

[Alejo43]

anyone applying to the cycle of 2013-2014 ?

I applied. Have not yet heard back, but I was accepted to Cincinnati and Regis earlier.

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[deleted289061]

...

 

[Dr Turkelton]

Any updates on this program? Interested to see how people doing in it.

 

[samisab786]

Hi, I have a question: are MS in physiology programs usually always completed by people as a precursor to going into medical school? I am a pharmacy major about to graduate and I'm looking into doing a public health degree, however, I stumbled upon some MS physiology programs which I think I would be interested in if considering to pursue a research or teaching track to also compliment my current degree. Curious to know if an MS in physiology could be a sought out route for this kind of thing

 

[HabisY]

I'm in the program now, and can tell you that 4 of 6 of last years students were accepted to professional school (3 medical and 1 dental). They did not tell us whether this meant MD or DO, etc. so take that for what you will. In the program now, I know a few of us have been accepted, including myself, with one individual receiving acceptance into UM Med.

A word of caution: I believe our success, and success in a postbacc programs in general, is a testament to the quality of STUDENT and not necessarily the quality of the PROGRAM. If you're looking for a way to get into UM Med school by doing the program, I think you're making a mistake. If you're a highly-motivated student who's got a great application and is looking to shore up some academic missteps AND is willing to put in the work, then you're on the right track. Volunteering or Clinic Time doesn't come with tuition. The program does a nice job setting you up with faculty, but you need to be the one trying to make connections.

One thing that sets this program apart from any other post-bacc program out there: the Research Track option. You have an opportunity to have a MEANINGFUL research experience with esteemed faculty in either a basic science or clinical department that's actually written into your program currriculum. I'm pretty sure no other school in the country offers this. We all know how well research is looked upon by medical school admissions committees, so this program offers a great way to establish graduate sGPA AND get research experience. Pretty awesome.

But as I said, I'm in the program and thankfully am also into medical school for next year. Feel free to message me with questions if you have any..

I just got accepted to this program and I'm waiting to hear from mentors, but I was wondering what you thought of it after it was over. Did you get any funding or did you have to pay for the whole tuition? Did you apply to med schools the year you applied, if so, did it really help you with your applications or did you apply after finishing the program?

Thanks! I would really appreciate a reply.

 

[DNUMich]

I just got accepted to this program and I'm waiting to hear from mentors, but I was wondering what you thought of it after it was over. Did you get any funding or did you have to pay for the whole tuition? Did you apply to med schools the year you applied, if so, did it really help you with your applications or did you apply after finishing the program?

Thanks! I would really appreciate a reply.

I was in the program with Pirates1992; I'm fairly certain that I know who he is because I've never met such an avid Pens/Pirates fan.

The program is extremely rigorous regardless of which track you choose to take. The coursework track is generally more of a bear during the first semester (18 credits hard science) while the research track seemed to demand a lot more during the second semester. Many (including myself) were in the middle of the professional school app cycle during most of the program. I don't believe a majority of those students got in, again including myself, but there were a few who had success. After completing the program and re-applying, I am now accepted to 3 IS schools and will likely attend Wayne State with a decent scholarship. I chose the coursework track because I had fairly competitive ECs and MCAT, but my undergrad GPA was not in the ballpark (I did not receive a secondary from Wayne State during my first application cycle). the only difference between my two apps was this program. The coursework track packs a lot of upper-level science creds into a short time frame, allowing the prepared student to shore up that section of the app if needed.

I believe this program in particular gives you the chance to have a large impact on your application in a relatively small amount of time. You are also able to choose what type of impact you wish to have by pursuing either the research or coursework tracks. It is definitely a very intense program, though. We were told during orientation that it is designed to (at times) demand more than you may be able to give. it was extremely frustrating and exhausting at points, but I don't know know anyone who worked had and then failed to have success after the program.

In short, this program gave me the chance to get myself into medical school.

I hope this was marginally helpful. Good luck in choosing!

 

[VCannon]

Currently in the program (coursework track), figured I'd throw in my 2 cents for people considering attending. I'll try to relay a general feel for the program as well as my specific experience.

First semester:

• You take a mixture of upper-level undergrad courses (Immunology, Physiology, Biochemistry, Cell/Cancer Biology) a few Master's level courses (Biostatistics, Human Physiology laboratory) and possibly a PhD level course if you place out of some of the other classes (I did this for a physiology course and it ended up being my favorite class). The workload can be quite intense (17-18 credits), though it's definitely not the same as taking M1 courses at a Georgetown or Tufts.
• Everyone takes a bi-weekly seminar course, though the point of this course is to attend lectures around the medical campus and write 1000-word reviews of the presentations (in-class exercises involve a variety of discussion topics. Some on the point, others not so much). It becomes a decent tool for helping your scientific writing skills.

Second semester:

• Lighter workload (15-16 credits). You take the seminar course again, as well as an Anatomy course (Histology if you've taken Anat before) and then three Master-specific courses: Translational Physiology, Pathophysiology, and Integrative Neuroscience. The Neuroscience course is a survey course with some of the more difficult exams I've taken, but is quite enjoyable, run by a great prof, and more similar to a PhD type of course. Patho and Translational Physiology are (at least currently) taught by one of the course directors using similar formats (essentially survey courses of a wide variety of material). You have projects in both (you perform a case study for patho, present a utilized technology in translational), and have a couple exams. Much more like a typical grad-school semester than a med-school simulator (which the first semester represents).

Last 2 months

• What I'm currently doing: a project on a topic of your choosing, you write a 30-40 page report on some area of physiology and then give a presentation at the end.

Pros:
- Intense workload that pushes you while not being an M1 simulator
- Access to incredibly experienced people/professors in physiology, medicine, neuroscience, etc.
- Access to UMich med school (for shadowing, lab jobs, etc.)

Cons:
- Not (at this time) great individual mentorship
- Most of the opportunities have to be self-found (no pairing with an MD, no direct access through the program to med school admissions)
- As a young program, still working through a fair amount of kinks in regards to program structure, teaching.

Personal note:
I did this program after working for a year while applying (MD) and not getting in. (Not sure if it matter's but I'm also a MI native and UM undergrad). I came in with the expectation of getting my grades up (easily my biggest weakness) and was able to accomplish that. However, through this program I also realized how much I actually want to go into research and why a PhD will be more useful to me than an MD. This is a result of numerous factors, however the program did play a big role in it. As evidenced by coursework AND research tracks, this program's goal is not to be an emulation of G-Town, Tufts, or any of the other true pre-med school SMP's. It is designed to provide you with the ability/knowledge of a Master in Physiology first and foremost. That said, I know multiple people who got into med/dental schools who applied during the program (I can return next cycle and report back on the rest), as well as those who applied during and did not get in. Take that for what you will, though I do know from some of the people that got in they felt the program definitely helped (interestingly, during the interview in one case).

I'll end this by saying it appears people who have completed the program over the past few years have been pretty successful in getting into a pre-professional school (includes MD, DO, Dental schools), with most getting into Michigan-based schools and then some others spread out around primarily the Midwest. They are compiling statistics, and I'll ask if I can post them here.

Hope this helps someone make a decision

 

[dolfans1088]

What are the gpa/mcat of people that have been accepted to the coursework program?

 

[VCannon]

What are the gpa/mcat of people that have been accepted to the coursework program?

I think it says on their site somewhere, from what I remember an average of 3.4/28. I could be somewhat off though. I got in with a 3.2/30

 

[Cache20]

Currently in the program (coursework track), figured I'd throw in my 2 cents for people considering attending. I'll try to relay a general feel for the program as well as my specific experience.

First semester:

• You take a mixture of upper-level undergrad courses (Immunology, Physiology, Biochemistry, Cell/Cancer Biology) a few Master's level courses (Biostatistics, Human Physiology laboratory) and possibly a PhD level course if you place out of some of the other classes (I did this for a physiology course and it ended up being my favorite class). The workload can be quite intense (17-18 credits), though it's definitely not the same as taking M1 courses at a Georgetown or Tufts.
• Everyone takes a bi-weekly seminar course, though the point of this course is to attend lectures around the medical campus and write 1000-word reviews of the presentations (in-class exercises involve a variety of discussion topics. Some on the point, others not so much). It becomes a decent tool for helping your scientific writing skills.

Second semester:

• Lighter workload (15-16 credits). You take the seminar course again, as well as an Anatomy course (Histology if you've taken Anat before) and then three Master-specific courses: Translational Physiology, Pathophysiology, and Integrative Neuroscience. The Neuroscience course is a survey course with some of the more difficult exams I've taken, but is quite enjoyable, run by a great prof, and more similar to a PhD type of course. Patho and Translational Physiology are (at least currently) taught by one of the course directors using similar formats (essentially survey courses of a wide variety of material). You have projects in both (you perform a case study for patho, present a utilized technology in translational), and have a couple exams. Much more like a typical grad-school semester than a med-school simulator (which the first semester represents).

Last 2 months

• What I'm currently doing: a project on a topic of your choosing, you write a 30-40 page report on some area of physiology and then give a presentation at the end.

Pros:
- Intense workload that pushes you while not being an M1 simulator
- Access to incredibly experienced people/professors in physiology, medicine, neuroscience, etc.
- Access to UMich med school (for shadowing, lab jobs, etc.)

Cons:
- Not (at this time) great individual mentorship
- Most of the opportunities have to be self-found (no pairing with an MD, no direct access through the program to med school admissions)
- As a young program, still working through a fair amount of kinks in regards to program structure, teaching.

Personal note:
I did this program after working for a year while applying (MD) and not getting in. (Not sure if it matter's but I'm also a MI native and UM undergrad). I came in with the expectation of getting my grades up (easily my biggest weakness) and was able to accomplish that. However, through this program I also realized how much I actually want to go into research and why a PhD will be more useful to me than an MD. This is a result of numerous factors, however the program did play a big role in it. As evidenced by coursework AND research tracks, this program's goal is not to be an emulation of G-Town, Tufts, or any of the other true pre-med school SMP's. It is designed to provide you with the ability/knowledge of a Master in Physiology first and foremost. That said, I know multiple people who got into med/dental schools who applied during the program (I can return next cycle and report back on the rest), as well as those who applied during and did not get in. Take that for what you will, though I do know from some of the people that got in they felt the program definitely helped (interestingly, during the interview in one case).

I'll end this by saying it appears people who have completed the program over the past few years have been pretty successful in getting into a pre-professional school (includes MD, DO, Dental schools), with most getting into Michigan-based schools and then some others spread out around primarily the Midwest. They are compiling statistics, and I'll ask if I can post them here.

Hope this helps someone make a decision

Thanks so much for the detailed post!! By any chance you have any updates on the statistics the school has been compiling?

 

[apr27]

Graduate from the inaugural class here.

How has this program worked for everyone since then? Any graduates or current students here? Is there another thread for this program? I wouldn't mind staying up to date. UMich was a great experience for me.

 

[AK30892]

I think it says on their site somewhere, from what I remember an average of 3.4/28. I could be somewhat off though. I got in with a 3.2/30

Thanks for all the interesting feedback. Currently in the process of reviewing MS programs and UM seems the most attractive based on the curriculum set up. However, I would be applying with a GRE score rather than MCAT. Do you (or does anyone) know of any students who applied with their GRE score and what the variation was like?

 

[Chemist1985]

Thanks for all the interesting feedback. Currently in the process of reviewing MS programs and UM seems the most attractive based on the curriculum set up. However, I would be applying with a GRE score rather than MCAT. Do you (or does anyone) know of any students who applied with their GRE score and what the variation was like?

I would like to know if there are others who experience just applying with the GRE and not the MCAT.