BS/MS Program before Medical School?

[uclajolla]

Hi SDN, I searched around the old threads for a while, but I couldn't find anything similar.

I am a second year student at a strong research university in California. My university has a contiguous BS/MS program in biology, in which attaining the Masters degree is an additional year. Right now, I am on track to graduate with a BS in biochemistry in three years, and I'm hoping to enter to the BS/MS program to get a Masters in one year. So, ultimately, I would have 4 years of school under my belt by the time I hopefully matriculate to med school.

Do you guys have any thoughts on this plan? Here's what I've thought of so far:

Positives

• In-depth research. I love research.
• Get to know a professor even better through MS program, letter of rec?
• TA biology classes, get work experience.
• A year of advanced work, in the same 4 year time span as a normal bachelors degree.
• I hope to tie my research to a medical field/topic.
• From what I hear, provided that the lab and adviser are nice, masters work is quite a fun and unique experience.

Negatives

• I'd miss out on taking "fun" classes, since my time would be dedicated to taking requirements. After matriculating into the one year of Masters work, I can't take any undergraduate course work (there goes my planned music minor).
• Possibly more expensive, I'm not sure how financial aid would pan out. However, money is less of an issue.
• Less room for error, academically.
• I'm not sure how med school admissions would view the decision. Would they see this as indecisive? I want my thesis work to tie into a medical field.
• Much more work than a normal 4 years of college, guarantees no study abroad and less social activities (clubs, etc.).

Having said all that, I would appreciate it greatly if you guys could share any experiences or pieces of advice on this situation. I'm at a bit of a crossroads here. Thanks in advance!

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[equinsu ocha]

While it won't make up for a poor gpa or mcat, it will set you apart from other applicants in a good way, which is exactly what you want. Remember to have plenty of volunteering and medical experience also.

 

[NickNaylor]

Do it if you're genuinely interested in doing the additional work and you think you can handle the rigor of that curriculum. Whether or not it might benefit you in medical admissions shouldn't matter. I think the ultimate question is, "are you interested enough in a topic to warrant the additional work and necessary sacrifices to explore that topic in more detail?" If the answer is yes, then I say go for it.

 

[deleted261193]

i knew immediately you're a ucsd student before i even saw your username (just based on the title alone haha)

from my experience: ms doesn't really help that much. it's not a disadvantage but it's not a super advantage. for one thing, if you plan on matriculating immediately after your ms, then you won't even have much of your ms done at all when you're applying. second, it's kind of known that the grad courses lovingly give out a's so your master's gpa won't account for much, if anything (i'm pretty sure it doesn't even factor into your gpa on the amcas).

you should do it if you really want to. you'll work a lot of hours (basically full-time from what i hear) so you need to really enjoy research. you'll have to ask your PI for a LOR before you are already in the MS part of the program so i can't see that it will help much. TAing is tons of fun. and i'm pretty sure it subsidizes a huge part of the graduate tuition (but check with the bio office just to be sure -- from my friends who are in the ms/bs program right now, that seems to be the case).

depending on your time management skills, you should still be able to do fun activities, etc.

 

[leeyuhang]

UCSD!
From what I know you are guaranteed at least 1 quarter of TA position so as long as you have TA'd once before that you will get paid around 4k with tuition covered for that quarter. Get to know more professors so you can TA for them!! You can probably apply for financial aid as an independent since you are in grad school by then and there is a chance you can get a grant. Maybe your PI will be nice to you and pay you the same rate as a RA or something.

It seems like you're planning to do your undergrad in 3 and then 4th year for the masters? While that's totally doable, I don't really see the point. many people at sd use that 1 year of masters as a filler year for when they apply for med school. this way you can have more time for undergrad studies, take more fun classes, study abroad etc.

If you're serious about this thing go talk to the grad advisor in pacific hall. He's really nice and you can just walk in at anytime to chat.

 

[deleted357625]

save money thats all im saying

 

[rubisco88]

Like an above poster said, don't do it if your looking to do the masters in order to offset a low GPA. If you are genuinely interested in research, then go for it. I know someone who did the masters at UCSD and still had to go the Carribean route.

 

[deleted261193]

yah you might be better off doing what i did (graduated in three years, worked one year in a lab = still doing research but getting paid for it too). the hours are more flexible, and you get plenty of time to pursue fun activities (extracurrics, etc.)

 

[Cinclus]

Be careful with these types of programs; they can take longer than you'd expect. I did a combined BS/MS, where the MS part was only supposed to take 1 year to complete. My PI decided I wasn't done after my project my complete, however (my project took a year), and I wasn't set free for 2.5 years. As a grad student in sciences, cost should be less of an issue. They should give you a tuition stipend and salary if you're a TA. My program did give me tons of research experience though, which all the interviewers wanted to hear about.

 

[Lil Mick]

There's a few MD/PhD students at my school (and others I've met) who did MD/PhD after a BS/MS program. If you love research, I'd recommend doing the combined degree program (especially if you're thinking MD/PhD). You'll get into your work more quickly and more deeply than you would otherwise, especially at a state school.