Are applicants with Masters degrees considered in seperate pool?

[amy73]

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Hi there,

Somebody recently told me that once you have a masters degree you are considered in the graduate pool of applicants as opposed to the undergraduate pool.. this is my first time knowing that and i was wondering what other sdners thought about that?

Thanks
Amy

 

[Jillianrae]

I've never heard that, and as far as I know, there is no separate pool for people with post bacc, masters, and PhD degrees. However, it may be possible that medical schools look at each of these programs a little differently.

 

[Pre-Dent-David]

I have never heard of that policy before. However I would not be suprised that if you successfully completed a (BCPM or other science) masters degree with a good GPA it would be looked favorably upon. Non sci masters degee with GPA wouldnt hurt, but it would not really be much of an indicator of how you handle high level sci courses.

 

[Moskeeto]

yeah I've also never heard of this. It may be something that an individual med school does. lump the undies away from the grads to maybe have a more legitimate way of comparing GPAs and research/publishings. good luck.

 

[VienneseWaltz]

Originally posted by Pre-Dent-David
I have never heard of that policy before. However I would not be suprised that if you successfully completed a (BCPM or other science) masters degree with a good GPA it would be looked favorably upon. Non sci masters degee with GPA wouldnt hurt, but it would not really be much of an indicator of how you handle high level sci courses.

There are reasons to get an advanced degree other than demonstrating your ability in high-level science courses. I have a master's in economics, which proved very helpful in this process. While some subjects are more relevant to medicine than others, having a graduate degree demonstrates a strong work ethic no matter the discipline.

To the OP, I think whoever told you about this "pool" is mistaken ... There no doubt are different expectations for grad versus UG students, but different pools implies that you don't compare one against the other, and we all know that isn't true, as they are competing for the same spots.

 

[pallhaco doce]

VienneseWaltz is correct. Just b/c you do not attend a graduate program in the sciences does not mean that it is marginally relevant to medical school admissions. Remember, physicians are not only technicians, and graduate level education in the humanities can help in areas like communication, understanding human behavior, or just having varied enough interests to carry on a non-scientific conversation with a patient or colleague.

However, I do not think that any of this will help you in some systematic way during the admissions process. All the more reason for us to do what we enjoy in life, rather than try to micromanage how other people will perceive us through our activities.

Good luck!
PD