BS/MS or BS/PhD before MD?

[culturenmusic03]

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Is it a good idea to study under a BS/MS or BS/PhD program before applying to medical school? Or is this looked down upon by the medical school admissions committee?

 

[differentiating]

A PhD will likely be seen as a positive by most admissions offices, but it would obviously take many years of work to successfully complete one, so I wouldn't advise it for admissions alone. I'm not sure how much a master's would really be considered by med schools, so again, I'd only do it if you have a particular interest in it.

 

[Kardio]

Are you in highschool?

A master's degree (like an SMP) is only necessary for people who need to repair their transcripts.
A PhD is for people who want to do research.

Unless you happen to be very interested in the topics and want a master's or PhD for personal fulfillment, I would just go straight for a BA or BS.

 

[Lucca]

people only care about your degrees to the extent that they factor into your journey to medicine and whether or not you meet requirements and expectations for admission.

alternatively, getting a PhD before an MD is pretty pointless if you know you want the MD beforehand as an MD/PhD program will pay for your medical school unless you’re doing some kind of prestigious scholarship like Rhodes/Gates for the PhD