Advice - MS --> Med School

[mms9]

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Will pursuing a graduate degree help me get into medical school? I have a passion for cancer research and have been accepted into a grad program. My mentor is the PI for the university's cancer lab. I want to become a pediatric oncologist in the future. I didn't do so well (stats below) but I truly feel this is what I want to pursue and I am willing to work for it. I want to pursue a grad degree for personal reasons and interests. But I want to know if this will also help my application when I apply to med school after completion of the program.

Stats
- GPA = 2.8
- sGPA = 3.0
- MCAT = 506

Experience/EC - I have done summer internships in Pediatric public health @ a top residency program, Emergency Medicine research @ lvl 1 trauma unit, and immunotherapy research at MD Anderson Cancer Center (Paper pending, 2nd Author). I have done shadowing (MD and DO), ~300hours doing something volunteer related, held a couple leadership positions while in undergrad, and was a lab tech for my UG university for 4 years. Currently working as the lab coordinator for a university as well as an adjunct faculty member (teaching a genetics lab).

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

You need to fix your undergrad GPA before thinking about med school. Your grad program will most likely not help much if it's not an SMP.

 

[gamieg]

I agree with the above poster. your GPA would be the biggest obstacle, even for osteopathic medical schools. many have 3.0 cumulative cutoffs and competitive ones have higher cutoffs.

while a masters would be nice for experience in research, it wouldn't benefit your GPA very much. grade replacement may be worth it for osteopathic schools, and depending on how many science units you've taken, taking additional science units would be advisable.

 

[bigindian4891]

I had about the same stats coming out of undergrad, did an SMP and did very well. My overall GPA did go up a little bit, but the factor that got me acceptances was retaking the MCAT after the first year, and doing exemplary. Its an uphill battle, but if you do well in a noteworthy SMP and improve yourself, it makes for a great story getting into medical school.

 

[mms9]

Thanks for the input!

 

[Goro]

Nope. Research coursework is not considered rigorous enough, and you're expected to do well anyway in these programs, so there's a lot of grade inflation.

DO schools will consider MS GPAs, but MD schools don't.

Suggest a post DIY -bac or an SMP.

The fastest path for you to become a doctor will be to retake all F/D/C science coursework, do well on MCAT, and apply to DO schools.

IF you're boning for the MD degree, there are MD schools that reward reinvention. You'll need to ace all the classic pre-reqs, and ace either a post-bac (which can be DIY) or a SMP, ideally one given at a med school. Then also ace MCAT (513 or better, 33+ on the old scale).

Do not apply until you have the best possible app. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Med schools aren't going anywhere, and, in fact, by the time you apply, several more schools will have opened their doors.

Will pursuing a graduate degree help me get into medical school? I have a passion for cancer research and have been accepted into a grad program. My mentor is the PI for the university's cancer lab. I want to become a pediatric oncologist in the future. I didn't do so well (stats below) but I truly feel this is what I want to pursue and I am willing to work for it. I want to pursue a grad degree for personal reasons and interests. But I want to know if this will also help my application when I apply to med school after completion of the program.

Stats
- GPA = 2.8
- sGPA = 3.0
- MCAT = 506

Experience/EC - I have done summer internships in Pediatric public health @ a top residency program, Emergency Medicine research @ lvl 1 trauma unit, and immunotherapy research at MD Anderson Cancer Center (Paper pending, 2nd Author). I have done shadowing (MD and DO), ~300hours doing something volunteer related, held a couple leadership positions while in undergrad, and was a lab tech for my UG university for 4 years. Currently working as the lab coordinator for a university as well as an adjunct faculty member (teaching a genetics lab).

 

[mms9]

Nope. Research coursework is not considered rigorous enough, and you're expected to do well anyway in these programs, so there's a lot of grade inflation.

DO schools will consider MS GPAs, but MD schools don't.

Suggest a post DIY -bac or an SMP.

The fastest path for you to become a doctor will be to retake all F/D/C science coursework, do well on MCAT, and apply to DO schools.

IF you're boning for the MD degree, there are MD schools that reward reinvention. You'll need to ace all the classic pre-reqs, and ace either a post-bac (which can be DIY) or a SMP, ideally one given at a med school. Then also ace MCAT (513 or better, 33+ on the old scale).

Do not apply until you have the best possible app. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Med schools aren't going anywhere, and, in fact, by the time you apply, several more schools will have opened their doors.

Goro I always love to read your comments...full of insight!

 

[parpar2222]

Your MCAT seems pretty solid. I would honestly go for an MPH in either Epi of Biostats. Medical schools seem to really value an MPH because of the knowledge you can bring forth with public health interventions as a future medical student. At least if you are applying to solely DO, since they seem to be more forgiving and are really interested in everything you can bring as an applicant, rather than just scores and gpa. Plus, if you get an interview, having an MPH gives you an edge when answering the questions. Every interview I have had, the interviewers really, really valued my MPH. Just my two cents.

 

[chibaddie]

DO schools will consider MS GPAs, but MD schools don't.

Can you (and others welcomed haha) provide more insight as to why exactly?

I find so many differing viewpoints on whether the MS is just a glorified bachelor's degree or whether it actually holds weight. Granted it also depends on what one gets a MS in but regardless, I'd like to know more. I understand why a handful of schools use the MS as a stepping stone for granting an interview to their med school, but further insight on this would also be helpful. So data, links to pubmed, and witty anecdotes would be much appreciated!

P.S. I miss the cat, Goro.

 

[Goro]

Haven't a clue. Perhaps to not rule out otherwise talented candidates?

Can you (and others welcomed haha) provide more insight as to why exactly?

Not all Master's degrees are created equal. The SMP is not a research degree; it's an audition for med school, because the coursework is identical to med school. Research MS degrees will have coursework like "DNA Methods" or "Neuroscience Symposium"


I find so many differing viewpoints on whether the MS is just a glorified bachelor's degree or whether it actually holds weight. Granted it also depends on what one gets a MS in but regardless, I'd like to know more. I understand why a handful of schools use the MS as a stepping stone for granting an interview to their med school, but further insight on this would also be helpful. So data, links to pubmed, and witty anecdotes would be much appreciated!


Look carefully inside the tree!
P.S. I miss the cat, Goro.

 

[deleted244469]

Haven't a clue. Perhaps to not rule out otherwise talented candidates?

Can you (and others welcomed haha) provide more insight as to why exactly?

Not all Master's degrees are created equal. The SMP is not a research degree; it's an audition for med school, because the coursework is identical to med school. Research MS degrees will have coursework like "DNA Methods" or "Neuroscience Symposium"


I find so many differing viewpoints on whether the MS is just a glorified bachelor's degree or whether it actually holds weight. Granted it also depends on what one gets a MS in but regardless, I'd like to know more. I understand why a handful of schools use the MS as a stepping stone for granting an interview to their med school, but further insight on this would also be helpful. So data, links to pubmed, and witty anecdotes would be much appreciated!


Look carefully inside the tree!
P.S. I miss the cat, Goro.

It's cold/raining and I'm bored. Don't judge me!

 

[chibaddie]

It's cold/raining and I'm bored. Don't judge me!

Haha no judgment, this actually was great. So thank you!

 

[BudgieDO]

Hey y’all,

I’ve been lurking for a while but I had to break the silence! It sounds like OP is passionate about that grad program even beyond just improving academics for admissions, and I’m looking at kind of a similar situation… If the stats were a little higher (definitely above the cutoffs), would research exp and passion help at all even if the program wasn’t specifically an SMP, or is it just not worth it?

If you take the SMP route and don’t do well, it sounds like you’re just screwed after that. It feels like such a risk. Can you use that for anything like a backup plan besides getting into medical school? We’re not all made of money over here

I had an advisor tell me an MPH was not helpful for getting into medical school since it doesn’t have enough hard science classes?

Sorry to hijack OP, I hope this helps you too maybe!