Hi everyone,
I was accepted into Columbia’s Biotechnology MA program (traditional masters program) and Mount Sinai’s Biomedical Science MS program (special masters program), and I’m torn between the two.
Some background info, I got a bio degree from an engineering school, and got a cGPA of 3.06 and a sGPA of 2.93. A combination of covid and mental health issues led to a horrible dip in my GPA, with an upward trend my senior year. I only did research my senior year and it was just literature review stuff. I kind of gave up on the idea of going to med school so after graduating, I started working as an Associate Scientist (remote) at a biotech company. After a couple years of working though, I realized I’d regret not at least trying to apply to med schools. Given my low GPA and lack of hands-on lab research experience, I knew I needed to do a masters or post bacc. I decided a masters would be a better since I already have my foot in the door in the biotech industry so a masters would be more beneficial in that regard if I don’t get into med school.
Now, going back to the programs I got into, I know the general advice on SDN/reddit is to do a SMP rather than a traditional masters. However, the Mt Sinai MSBS doesn’t have any special linkages or conditional acceptances/interviews with the med school, so it’s not necessarily a strong SMP. On the other hand, it does have support for med school applications and the MCAT built into the program. I know support at Columbia for that kind of stuff would be minimal to none. Another thing is that I know that SMPs are very “high risk, high reward”, in that if I do well, then I really boost my chances for med school, but if I don’t do well then I basically ruin my chances for med school and am left with a masters degree that doesn’t translate well to industry. The last thing is that the Mt Sinai program doesn’t allow students to work while in the program, but I could work full time if I do the Columbia program, which would obviously help with loans and such.
TLDR: I’m torn between Columbia’s Biotech MA and Mt Sinai’s MSBS, because the Mt Sinai program offers a better “boost” if I do well but worse consequences if I don’t, and the Columbia program allows me to work full time and has better applications towards industry if I don’t get into med school.
Any advice or feedback anyone has to offer is greatly appreciated!!
I was accepted into Columbia’s Biotechnology MA program (traditional masters program) and Mount Sinai’s Biomedical Science MS program (special masters program), and I’m torn between the two.
Some background info, I got a bio degree from an engineering school, and got a cGPA of 3.06 and a sGPA of 2.93. A combination of covid and mental health issues led to a horrible dip in my GPA, with an upward trend my senior year. I only did research my senior year and it was just literature review stuff. I kind of gave up on the idea of going to med school so after graduating, I started working as an Associate Scientist (remote) at a biotech company. After a couple years of working though, I realized I’d regret not at least trying to apply to med schools. Given my low GPA and lack of hands-on lab research experience, I knew I needed to do a masters or post bacc. I decided a masters would be a better since I already have my foot in the door in the biotech industry so a masters would be more beneficial in that regard if I don’t get into med school.
Now, going back to the programs I got into, I know the general advice on SDN/reddit is to do a SMP rather than a traditional masters. However, the Mt Sinai MSBS doesn’t have any special linkages or conditional acceptances/interviews with the med school, so it’s not necessarily a strong SMP. On the other hand, it does have support for med school applications and the MCAT built into the program. I know support at Columbia for that kind of stuff would be minimal to none. Another thing is that I know that SMPs are very “high risk, high reward”, in that if I do well, then I really boost my chances for med school, but if I don’t do well then I basically ruin my chances for med school and am left with a masters degree that doesn’t translate well to industry. The last thing is that the Mt Sinai program doesn’t allow students to work while in the program, but I could work full time if I do the Columbia program, which would obviously help with loans and such.
TLDR: I’m torn between Columbia’s Biotech MA and Mt Sinai’s MSBS, because the Mt Sinai program offers a better “boost” if I do well but worse consequences if I don’t, and the Columbia program allows me to work full time and has better applications towards industry if I don’t get into med school.
Any advice or feedback anyone has to offer is greatly appreciated!!
