Active-Duty Military, Online Master's Degree?

[andyv500]

First-time poster! I'm an active-duty Coast Guard officer looking to switch into the reserves and matriculate into medical school (D.O.) in 2024. I have a 3.35 undergraduate GPA (not the best, I know, working on that solid MCAT score). I would have never considered a Master's program, but I've gotten really into personal training and think a Master's in Sports Medicine would be both interesting and potentially give me an edge in my application. It's pretty tricky to attend a B&M school with my work schedule, so I'm considering an online degree. Do you think this is a good idea?

Pros:

• Opportunity to show an upward trend in my grades
• Affordable (trying to save the G.I. Bill for medical school)
• Flexible class schedules, allows me to study while working full-time
• Most courses are 8 weeks long, which will allow me to finish the degree before I apply in 2023 (as opposed to taking semester-long courses part-time)
• If I don't get into med school in 2024, I can try to work as a personal trainer or nutritionist as I reapply (good back-up plan)

Cons/Questions:

• Online schools are frowned upon (though I hear Covid has changed this somewhat)
• I don't want my degree to be seen as one from a diploma mill
• Rigor of courses may not be what admissions committees are looking for
• I'm not sure how seriously they'll consider a Master's degree in Sports Medicine
• I'm deciding between Sam Houston State / Liberty University / American Military University. Thoughts?

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[LugubriousAlchemist]

Hey, also an active duty O forced into looking at an online options for post-bacc, so done a lot of searching around for info.

So the big thing is that if your goal is GPA repair, a masters is not something you want to look at, unless it is an SMP (which we wouldn't have time for being AD). Adcoms don't place much value In masters GPA

Although time constraints are a thing, if you can do undergraduate classes at a B&M school, that'd be your safest bet. It seems the verdict is still out there for online classes as a whole for Med School. Yes there have been numerous success stories for people getting accepted with online classes, and COVID has done plenty to push it's acceptance, I still have only really seen it beneficial for career changers that Haven't taken pre-recs yet. I haven't seen many people use online classes for gpa repair yet, and with that bias still there of online classes being 'easier" we can't really leave much room for doubt.

Still personally for me, I'm going to try for an online GPA repair with places like UNE online and UCBX out of necessity being overseas. I'm still going to do an SMP upon getting out to try to leave nothing to doubt.

Cheers, and I hope the best of luck for ya

 

[andyv500]

Hey, also an active duty O forced into looking at an online options for post-bacc, so done a lot of searching around for info.

So the big thing is that if your goal is GPA repair, a masters is not something you want to look at, unless it is an SMP (which we wouldn't have time for being AD). Adcoms don't place much value In masters GPA

Although time constraints are a thing, if you can do undergraduate classes at a B&M school, that'd be your safest bet. It seems the verdict is still out there for online classes as a whole for Med School. Yes there have been numerous success stories for people getting accepted with online classes, and COVID has done plenty to push it's acceptance, I still have only really seen it beneficial for career changers that Haven't taken pre-recs yet. I haven't seen many people use online classes for gpa repair yet, and with that bias still there of online classes being 'easier" we can't really leave much room for doubt.

Still personally for me, I'm going to try for an online GPA repair with places like UNE online and UCBX out of necessity being overseas. I'm still going to do an SMP upon getting out to try to leave nothing to doubt.

Cheers, and I hope the best of luck for ya

Hey! Thank you for your response, always good to run into another officer.

I think you have solid advice. I'm looking for GPA repair, but I also want to prepare for a back-up job in the case that I don't get into medical school on my first try when I leave the military. I think working as a nutritionist (my B.S. is in Nutrition) with a master's in Sports Medicine could set me up really well on the outside as I reapply. Lots to think about. Thank you!

 

[LimpSpatula]

First-time poster! I'm an active-duty Coast Guard officer looking to switch into the reserves and matriculate into medical school (D.O.) in 2024. I have a 3.35 undergraduate GPA (not the best, I know, working on that solid MCAT score). I would have never considered a Master's program, but I've gotten really into personal training and think a Master's in Sports Medicine would be both interesting and potentially give me an edge in my application. It's pretty tricky to attend a B&M school with my work schedule, so I'm considering an online degree. Do you think this is a good idea?

Pros:

• Opportunity to show an upward trend in my grades
• Affordable (trying to save the G.I. Bill for medical school)
• Flexible class schedules, allows me to study while working full-time
• Most courses are 8 weeks long, which will allow me to finish the degree before I apply in 2023 (as opposed to taking semester-long courses part-time)
• If I don't get into med school in 2024, I can try to work as a personal trainer or nutritionist as I reapply (good back-up plan)

Cons/Questions:

• Online schools are frowned upon (though I hear Covid has changed this somewhat)
• I don't want my degree to be seen as one from a diploma mill
• Rigor of courses may not be what admissions committees are looking for
• I'm not sure how seriously they'll consider a Master's degree in Sports Medicine
• I'm deciding between Sam Houston State / Liberty University / American Military University. Thoughts?

Maybe @Goro will respond, but I don’t think the online degree in SM will help. I think the most important piece would be doing well on your MCAT. Is it possible for you to take some night courses in anatomy, advanced chem/biology?

 

[andyv500]

Maybe @Goro will respond, but I don’t think the online degree in SM will help. I think the most important piece would be doing well on your MCAT. Is it possible for you to take some night courses in anatomy, advanced chem/biology?

It would be pretty tricky--sometimes I work regular 8-hour days, sometimes I'm on 12-hour shifts on top of that. I could probably take 3-4 courses in the next year or two, but it would have to be one at a time. How many courses do applicants usually take at a B&M before applying?

 

[LimpSpatula]

It would be pretty tricky--sometimes I work regular 8-hour days, sometimes I'm on 12-hour shifts on top of that. I could probably take 3-4 courses in the next year or two, but it would have to be one at a time. How many courses do applicants usually take at a B&M before applying?

Honestly I’m way too far out from that process to give specifics on undergrad classes. Whatever you do, just make sure you get As. I’m not sure what B&M stands for. I do know that as a veteran your application is going to stand out, and if you have a solid enough MCAT then your overall application would be good to go. I could be wrong though.

 

[andyv500]

Honestly I’m way too far out from that process to give specifics on undergrad classes. Whatever you do, just make sure you get As. I’m not sure what B&M stands for. I do know that as a veteran your application is going to stand out, and if you have a solid enough MCAT then your overall application would be good to go. I could be wrong though.

Sorry, B&M = brick and mortar, or a school that has a physical location. Thank you for the advice!