I'm thinking about doing an MS in Biostatistics before going to medical school. Does anyone know which biostatistics programs are really strong? I live in NC so UNC chapel hill would be an obvious place to apply, but I don't know anything about their program or any other program for that matter. How competitive are these programs? I love that UNC would give me in state tuition, but I kind of want to live somewhere else other than the triangle area for a while.
Also, does anyone know how helpful an MS degree would be in getting into medical school? I know science gpa/mcat are the most important factors, but I figured with the MS I could get more publications in and get more training in the research that I'm interested in. Plus it would give me an extra summer to study for the MCAT.
Thanks! Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Good luck in your path to med school. An MS won't help your GPA, for getting into med school. It will help your personal statement since you will have more academic experience to talk about than someone with just a BS. It will also help in the interview. It won't really help you get to interview, per se, however. If your GPA is around the avg of admitted applicant, than an MS will help you, otherwise it will not compensate for deficient GPAs.
The desire to publish is comendable...but don't assume it will automatically happen with an MS, especially an MS in Biostatistics. This degree is course-intensive compared to some of the traditional (medically-related) MS degrees I know of (like an MS in Cancer Biology)....therefore, you may or may not publish....whereas with an MS in Immunology for example, they will actually pressure you to publish your thesis results.
Anyways, re: Biostats programs, I'm not sure how familiar Medical Schools will be with the strength of the various Biostats programs, but I'm sure they have a basic idea. Regarding competition, they look at your pre-requisite courses (Calc 1,2,3, Linear Algebra, Stats, etc.) and the Q score of the GRE. All of these areas should be very strong to be considered competitive. Unless you have succeeded in these areas, you will not succeed in a Biostats program. Keep in mind also that Stats is quite different than Math. Also keep in mind that a "Biostats" degree is essentially a "Stats" degree. Don't let the "Bio" fool you....they're just focusing on data related to health care, medicine, etc.
UNC is one of the top Biostats programs in the country. I would highly recommend you go there! Aside from there, some of the better known programs are Minnesota, Berkley, UCLA, Harvard, Washington, Columbia, to name a few. Not all are contained within a School of Public Health though. Many are within the Department of Statistics. The prestige our strength of the program won't really help you get into med school though.
Just kill the MCAT, and your MS....all the best
