Hi all,
Sorry if this is too long...
I am an 8 year Army veteran. sGPA/cGPA ~3.0. My GPA in the specific prereqs is 3.87. All done while on active duty. I have a lot of undergrad credit hours so it is pretty much impossible for me to significantly raise my overall GPA. I applied to a few Masters programs. I think this would be the best way to boost my application. I have narrowed it down to two. I am in Texas and I cannot relocate at the moment. There are no SMPs near me.
I do not care about the MD/DO debate. I am planning on applying broadly.
1. Johns Hopkins online Master of Arts in Public Health Biology. I received a call from the director of the program, it was kind of like a phone interview I guess, and he said I turned a definite no into a yes. I am worried about how it will look going to an online program (although nothing on the transcript will say online) and the ability to get LOR from professors. But then again there is the 'prestige' of Johns Hopkins. I am not sure how many students are admitted each year into the program.
2. The second program is an MS in Immunology and Infection. This is an on-campus program, heavily researched based. I have not been formally accepted yet, so I hope I'm not counting my chickens, but again I received a phone call from the program director. They said my application had thus far got positive responses. They justed wanted to talk to me and get a sense of who I am and why I have such a rocky past. This would be a great opportunity for research and exposure to the med school that is attached. I should be able to get strong LORs. Only ~25 students are admitted into the program.
I know ADCOMs do not weigh masters programs as heavily as undergrad stats or even SMPs. One other factor is I will be working full time. I do not have the financial option to quit as of right now. I wasn't expecting to get into either program really so it was a shock to receive phone calls from both program directors, I guess my applications were stronger than I thought!.
I am so lost as to what to do... suggestions?
Sorry if this is too long...
I am an 8 year Army veteran. sGPA/cGPA ~3.0. My GPA in the specific prereqs is 3.87. All done while on active duty. I have a lot of undergrad credit hours so it is pretty much impossible for me to significantly raise my overall GPA. I applied to a few Masters programs. I think this would be the best way to boost my application. I have narrowed it down to two. I am in Texas and I cannot relocate at the moment. There are no SMPs near me.
I do not care about the MD/DO debate. I am planning on applying broadly.
1. Johns Hopkins online Master of Arts in Public Health Biology. I received a call from the director of the program, it was kind of like a phone interview I guess, and he said I turned a definite no into a yes. I am worried about how it will look going to an online program (although nothing on the transcript will say online) and the ability to get LOR from professors. But then again there is the 'prestige' of Johns Hopkins. I am not sure how many students are admitted each year into the program.
2. The second program is an MS in Immunology and Infection. This is an on-campus program, heavily researched based. I have not been formally accepted yet, so I hope I'm not counting my chickens, but again I received a phone call from the program director. They said my application had thus far got positive responses. They justed wanted to talk to me and get a sense of who I am and why I have such a rocky past. This would be a great opportunity for research and exposure to the med school that is attached. I should be able to get strong LORs. Only ~25 students are admitted into the program.
I know ADCOMs do not weigh masters programs as heavily as undergrad stats or even SMPs. One other factor is I will be working full time. I do not have the financial option to quit as of right now. I wasn't expecting to get into either program really so it was a shock to receive phone calls from both program directors, I guess my applications were stronger than I thought!.
I am so lost as to what to do... suggestions?