Cons, Pros & money woes (masters program)

[Ashess]

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Ok here is my situation. I'm going to graduate school first to get my masters before medical school. My GPA isn't high enough on its own and doing post-bacc is too expensive for a girl who is her sole financial support. My family is struggling financial so my education has fallen into my own hands. I live in Florida so I have narrowed it down to two options and will list the pros and cons to these masters programs.

Barry University/USF SMP
Pros:
Designed to introduce you to medical school classes an gives you more experience as to what it's like
1 yr
Cons:
Barry is an hour away by drive and USF is in Tampa and I live in West Palm Beach
30-40k (remember I provide for myself)
I would have to move and I'm not sure I'd have enough for an apartment
The med school from my home school starts in the summer when these programs are still continuing

FAU masters in Biomed sciences
Pros
1 yr (I could start this summer and end in April)
Will end in time for the summer medical school
I don't have to move
Can keep my job and work per diem if I am ever in a bind for money
I unknowingly have 6 of the 30 credits for the masters successfully finished (I even have a LOA from said professor of the 2 classes)
It's cheaper
Con
It is geared for those entering professional health schools but not like Barry and USF ( I guess it's not a "true" SMP). I would take classes like physiology of the heart, clinical microbiology, etc)

So what advice would you give me? I am trying my best to stay afloat finically while pursuing something that I want to do. I have sacrificed and am sacrificing still to do this but I'm at the crossroads. I spoke to said medical school's admissions dept and they said either program is fine with them but I don't want to just take their word for it. I want to stand a chance so i want to pick the best out of the two and if barry is better then ill have to find a way to pay for it (idk how at the monent). Here is the outlined curriculum for Barry and FAU.

fau: http://med.fau.edu/education/graduate.php
Barry:
http://www.barry.edu/biomedical-sciences/about/medical-curriculum.html
Thank you everyone

 

[SN12357]

I don't understand why a post-bacc is too expensive but an SMP or a master's progam isn't. You could do a DIY post-bacc while working...wouldn't that be the cheapest option?

SMPs are very high risk and master's programs don't raise your ugrad GPA. If your goal is medical school you should only do them if it really doesn't make sense to do more undergraduate work.

 

[Ashess]

I don't understand why a post-bacc is too expensive but an SMP or a master's progam isn't. You could do a DIY post-bacc while working...wouldn't that be the cheapest option?

SMPs are very high risk and master's programs don't raise your ugrad GPA. If your goal is medical school you should only do them if it really doesn't make sense to do more undergraduate work.

I did some post bacc (hence the 6 hrs towards the masters) but doing it and working 30+ hrs a week didn't bode well for producing A's. With Financial aid, I could pay for school and focus completely on my studies (if i decide on FAU) and only work if I absolutely have to.

I understand it won't take the place of my undergrad GPA but I want them to see that I can be successful despite that GPA. What I did in undergrad isn't going to get erased but I want to prove I can rise above that (if it makes sense)

 

[xffan624]

Ok here is my situation. I'm going to graduate school first to get my masters before medical school. My GPA isn't high enough on its own and doing post-bacc is too expensive for a girl who is her sole financial support. My family is struggling financial so my education has fallen into my own hands. I live in Florida so I have narrowed it down to two options and will list the pros and cons to these masters programs.

Barry University/UNF SMP
Pros:
Designed to introduce you to medical school classes an gives you more experience as to what it's like
1 yr
Cons:
Barry is an hour away by drive and UNF is in Tampa and I live in West Palm Beach
30-40k (remember I provide for myself)
I would have to move and I'm not sure I'd have enough for an apartment
The med school from my home school starts in the summer when these programs are still continuing

FAU masters in Biomed sciences
Pros
1 yr (I could start this summer and end in April)
Will end in time for the summer medical school
I don't have to move
Can keep my job and work per diem if I am ever in a bind for money
I unknowingly have 6 of the 30 credits for the masters successfully finished (I even have a LOA from said professor of the 2 classes)
It's cheaper
Con
It is geared for those entering professional health schools but not like Barry and UNF ( I guess it's not a "true" SMP). I would take classes like physiology of the heart, clinical microbiology, etc)

So what advice would you give me? I am trying my best to stay afloat finically while pursuing something that I want to do. I have sacrificed and am sacrificing still to do this but I'm at the crossroads. I spoke to said medical school's admissions dept and they said either program is fine with them but I don't want to just take their word for it. I want to stand a chance so i want to pick the best out of the two and if barry is better then ill have to find a way to pay for it (idk how at the monent). Here is the outlined curriculum for Barry and FAU.

fau: http://med.fau.edu/education/graduate.php
Barry:
http://www.barry.edu/biomedical-sciences/about/medical-curriculum.html
Thank you everyone

Don't know whether you're confused about the program or the school, but UNF is in Jacksonville (no idea that it even existed until today). USF is in Tampa, perhaps that's what you're referring to..?

 

[Ashess]

Don't know whether you're confused about the program or the school, but UNF is in Jacksonville (no idea that it even existed until today). USF is in Tampa, perhaps that's what you're referring to..?

I corrected it. It was USF. My apologies.

 

[knv2u]

I don't understand why a post-bacc is too expensive but an SMP or a master's progam isn't. You could do a DIY post-bacc while working...wouldn't that be the cheapest option?

SMPs are very high risk and master's programs don't raise your ugrad GPA. If your goal is medical school you should only do them if it really doesn't make sense to do more undergraduate work.

This. 👍

 

[xffan624]

I corrected it. It was USF. My apologies.

Which program is it at USF that you are considering? There is one with considerable linkage that would allow you to start the year following at medical school. High risk, yes, but high reward.

 

[Ashess]

The reason why I'm shying away from a post-bacc is because I tried to take some classes and work but because I was juggling too much, my post-bacc classes weren't up to par (I didn't fail or anything). I took immunology (c+), biology of cancer (c+), biochem 2 (B), biochem 1 (C), Biological basis of behavior (C+) and molecular and cell biology (c+), psychopharmacology (B). So because I worked so many hours to pay for school (i dont make that much) and night and bit off more than I could chew, I ended up screwing myself. I wanted to find a way to just focus on school because working has become a hindrance (those B's are a product of me cutting my hours by just 1 day but at a cost of taking more time to pay off school). It also didn't help that each semester I had to enroll mid semester because I had to pay off classes from the previous semester and I couldn't enroll until I did. After enrolling mid semester I had straight F's (i missed quizes, assignemnts and even tests!) and in those weeks enrolled before the semester ended , I brought those grades from F's to what I listed. I did the best I could be the results are not nearly good enough.


I'm just trying to figure out what is best and it seems that getting my masters is a way to get help to pay for school so I can focus only on school.

This. 👍

 

[Ashess]

Yes. Barry University has one but I listed the pros and cons of me attending those schools so I am at a loss as to how to go about everything....

Which program is it at USF that you are considering? There is one with considerable linkage that would allow you to start the year following at medical school. High risk, yes, but high reward.

 

[knv2u]

The reason why I'm shying away from a post-bacc is because I tried to take some classes and work but because I was juggling too much, my post-bacc classes weren't up to par (I didn't fail or anything). I took immunology (c+), biology of cancer (c+), biochem 2 (B), biochem 1 (C), Biological basis of behavior (C+) and molecular and cell biology (c+), psychopharmacology (B). So because I worked so many hours to pay for school (i dont make that much) and night and bit off more than I could chew, I ended up screwing myself. I wanted to find a way to just focus on school because working has become a hindrance (those B's are a product of me cutting my hours by just 1 day but at a cost of taking more time to pay off school). It also didn't help that each semester I had to enroll mid semester because I had to pay off classes from the previous semester and I couldn't enroll until I did. After enrolling mid semester I had straight F's (i missed quizes, assignemnts and even tests!) and in those weeks enrolled before the semester ended , I brought those grades from F's to what I listed. I did the best I could be the results are not nearly good enough.


I'm just trying to figure out what is best and it seems that getting my masters is a way to get help to pay for school so I can focus only on school.

I am conflicted about how to advise you on this. Were you not eligible for financial aid? Did you take the post-bacc because your grades were low or because you didn't have all of the required courses? How recently did you finish your post-bacc?I'm not going to lie to you, that your post-bacc could be problematic for you. Given your grades in your undergraduate biology courses above, I fear that you might not be able to handle a SMP. If you enroll in a SMP or similar masters program and do poorly, it will more than likely be the kiss of death to your application. At this point, I think you should try more undergraduate work even if you only take a couple of courses at a time, and them maybe consider a SMP. I'm sorry I cannot be more helpful without more information.

 

[SN12357]

I am conflicted about how to advise you on this. Were you not eligible for financial aid? Did you take the post-bacc because your grades were low or because you didn't have all of the required courses? How recently did you finish your post-bacc?I'm not going to lie to you, that your post-bacc could be problematic for you. Given your grades in your undergraduate biology courses above, I fear that you might not be able to handle a SMP. If you enroll in a SMP or similar masters program and do poorly, it will more than likely be the kiss of death to your application. At this point, I think you should try more undergraduate work even if you only take a couple of courses at a time, and them maybe consider a SMP. I'm sorry I cannot be more helpful without more information.

I feel similarly. The main issue I look for when people are trying to do a grade turn-around is what are you going to do differently this time. Are you SURE that the reason for your bad grades was working? What happened during undergrad? Were you a full-time student then?

It's important to know your own limits and course-correct if things are going poorly. To have so many poor grades in a post-bacc means you didn't stop or change when things weren't working properly. It calls into question your judgment as much as your academic ability. Whatever the reasons, do not attempt an SMP without rock-solid confidence that you can do better, knowing that med school classes are going to be much more difficult than your undergrad work. If you do poorly in an SMP you will be up to your eyeballs in debt, unable to ever get into medical school, and won't even have a marketable degree to show for it.

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

What kind of overall GPA and sGPA are we talking about here? Maybe your best option would be re-taking a few courses and applying to DO schools.

 

[Ashess]

Non degree seeking students do not get financial aid so if you don't pay for it yourself...you don't go to school.

It was a mix of both why I took those few. I did not have biochem and I wanted to help my undergrad GPA.

I stopped taking classes last semester (fall 2013). I had to because I needed to catch up in paying for the fall semester and I didn't want to take more and have the same thing happen again where I had to enter late and set myself up for failure because I would have less time to catch up and miss work like the previous semester.

I know I can handle a masters. I'll be applying for financial aid and going per diem at my job so that I can focus on school. If I enrolled half way through a semester with missing quizzes, tests, and assignments which left me at an F and managed to pull them up to those grades...I know I can do it.


It's fine. I know that no one can give me all the answers but any advice is helpful.

I am conflicted about how to advise you on this. Were you not eligible for financial aid? Did you take the post-bacc because your grades were low or because you didn't have all of the required courses? How recently did you finish your post-bacc?I'm not going to lie to you, that your post-bacc could be problematic for you. Given your grades in your undergraduate biology courses above, I fear that you might not be able to handle a SMP. If you enroll in a SMP or similar masters program and do poorly, it will more than likely be the kiss of death to your application. At this point, I think you should try more undergraduate work even if you only take a couple of courses at a time, and them maybe consider a SMP. I'm sorry I cannot be more helpful without more information.

 

[Ashess]

I graduated with a 2.8 because jr yr I had a bunch of C's and failed organic. Outside of junior yr my GPA was a 3.4 or better. I ended my senior yr with B's and a 3.4 that extra summer I took some classes (I also worked my entire senior year). I won't give excuses for my jr year because I know I was lazy and let college, family issues an my personal life get the best of me and as much as I tried to pull myself back up it wasn't enough so here I am.

I intend on doing an SMP and trying for both DO and MD. I spoke to a pre-med advisor and laid my life on the table. He said I still had a chance because I started out well and didn't end badly. I also told him about work and my personal life currently. He told me to try an SMP and ace it. If I do and explain myself well enough then I have a shot. Once I get in, I'll get financial aid, leave me job and do what I must to get in.

What kind of overall GPA and sGPA are we talking about here? Maybe your best option would be re-taking a few courses and applying to DO schools.

 

[knv2u]

I graduated with a 2.8 because jr yr I had a bunch of C's and failed organic. Outside of junior yr my GPA was a 3.4 or better. I ended my senior yr with B's and a 3.4 that extra summer I took some classes (I also worked my entire senior year). I won't give excuses for my jr year because I know I was lazy and let college, family issues an my personal life get the best of me and as much as I tried to pull myself back up it wasn't enough so here I am.

I intend on doing an SMP and trying for both DO and MD. I spoke to a pre-med advisor and laid my life on the table. He said I still had a chance because I started out well and didn't end badly. I also told him about work and my personal life currently. He told me to try an SMP and ace it. If I do and explain myself well enough then I have a shot. Once I get in, I'll get financial aid, leave me job and do what I must to get in.

I would advise against doing the SMP/master's program at this time. A cumulative GPA in the 3.4 range or so (giving you the benefit of the doubt and excluding the failed junior year classes) will not be helpful to your application either. Those that do get accepted to medical school with lower GPAs tend to have strong upward trends or strong grades in a post bacc that convince the admission committee that the student can handle the rigorous medical school curriculum. The problem is a downward trend in your grades and poor post bacc grades, which actually raise doubt about your ability to handle medical school. Based on your current academic credentials, I am not convinced that you will do well in a SMP and a lackluster performance will hurt you. SMPs are high risk and doing poorly or receiving mediocre grades can be the kiss of death to an application as you would be confirming that you cannot handle a rigorous scientific course load. I would not advise you take the risk.

My advice to you would be to do a post-bacc, whether it is a formal program or an informal program/second bachelor's degree. Additional undergraduate coursework can improve your undergraduate GPA for both MD/DO applications, and if you retake the courses that you did poorly in, the DO programs will allow you to use the second grade to replace the first grade (MD programs will consider both grades). I know you expressed concerns about financing this, but either you need to investigate any potential financial aid opportunities available to you or you should take some time off and save up some money to take classes. If you can obtain employment in a job that provides clinical experience that would be ideal, and would help your resume as well as helping you financially. If you do not want to work for a while first, it is noteworthy that if you are 24 or older and/or have a second bachelor's degree, you are classified as an independent student for federal financial aid purposes meaning that the lifetime undergraduate cap for Stafford Loans is increased so you may be eligible for more aid than you think. If you do this, I think you have three options:

1. Use the grade replacement benefit of DO admissions and apply only to DO programs;
2. Apply to MD programs after having completed substantial amounts of undergraduate coursework to raise your undergraduate;
3. Apply to MD programs after doing additional undergraduate coursework and then do a SMP.

I think #1 and #3 are your best bets (in that order).

 

[knv2u]

Non degree seeking students do not get financial aid so if you don't pay for it yourself...you don't go to school.

I just saw this part of your post and it is worth commenting on. You do not need to do a FORMAL post bacc; you can do this informally as a second bachelor's degree. Typically this can be completed in a year or two. You would be eligible for federal Stafford Loans for a second bachelor's degree. See my post above.

 

[Ashess]

I would advise against doing the SMP/master's program at this time. A cumulative GPA in the 3.4 range or so (giving you the benefit of the doubt and excluding the failed junior year classes) will not be helpful to your application either. Those that do get accepted to medical school with lower GPAs tend to have strong upward trends or strong grades in a post bacc that convince the admission committee that the student can handle the rigorous medical school curriculum. The problem is a downward trend in your grades and poor post bacc grades, which actually raise doubt about your ability to handle medical school. Based on your current academic credentials, I am not convinced that you will do well in a SMP and a lackluster performance will hurt you. SMPs are high risk and doing poorly or receiving mediocre grades can be the kiss of death to an application as you would be confirming that you cannot handle a rigorous scientific course load. I would not advise you take the risk.

My advice to you would be to do a post-bacc, whether it is a formal program or an informal program/second bachelor's degree. Additional undergraduate coursework can improve your undergraduate GPA for both MD/DO applications, and if you retake the courses that you did poorly in, the DO programs will allow you to use the second grade to replace the first grade (MD programs will consider both grades). I know you expressed concerns about financing this, but either you need to investigate any potential financial aid opportunities available to you or you should take some time off and save up some money to take classes. If you can obtain employment in a job that provides clinical experience that would be ideal, and would help your resume as well as helping you financially. If you do not want to work for a while first, it is noteworthy that if you are 24 or older and/or have a second bachelor's degree, you are classified as an independent student for federal financial aid purposes meaning that the lifetime undergraduate cap for Stafford Loans is increased so you may be eligible for more aid than you think. If you do this, I think you have three options:

1. Use the grade replacement benefit of DO admissions and apply only to DO programs;
2. Apply to MD programs after having completed substantial amounts of undergraduate coursework to raise your undergraduate;
3. Apply to MD programs after doing additional undergraduate coursework and then do a SMP.

I think #1 and #3 are your best bets (in that order).

I would advise against doing the SMP/master's program at this time. A cumulative GPA in the 3.4 range or so (giving you the benefit of the doubt and excluding the failed junior year classes) will not be helpful to your application either. Those that do get accepted to medical school with lower GPAs tend to have strong upward trends or strong grades in a post bacc that convince the admission committee that the student can handle the rigorous medical school curriculum. The problem is a downward trend in your grades and poor post bacc grades, which actually raise doubt about your ability to handle medical school. Based on your current academic credentials, I am not convinced that you will do well in a SMP and a lackluster performance will hurt you. SMPs are high risk and doing poorly or receiving mediocre grades can be the kiss of death to an application as you would be confirming that you cannot handle a rigorous scientific course load. I would not advise you take the risk.

My advice to you would be to do a post-bacc, whether it is a formal program or an informal program/second bachelor's degree. Additional undergraduate coursework can improve your undergraduate GPA for both MD/DO applications, and if you retake the courses that you did poorly in, the DO programs will allow you to use the second grade to replace the first grade (MD programs will consider both grades). I know you expressed concerns about financing this, but either you need to investigate any potential financial aid opportunities available to you or you should take some time off and save up some money to take classes. If you can obtain employment in a job that provides clinical experience that would be ideal, and would help your resume as well as helping you financially. If you do not want to work for a while first, it is noteworthy that if you are 24 or older and/or have a second bachelor's degree, you are classified as an independent student for federal financial aid purposes meaning that the lifetime undergraduate cap for Stafford Loans is increased so you may be eligible for more aid than you think. If you do this, I think you have three options:

1. Use the grade replacement benefit of DO admissions and apply only to DO programs;
2. Apply to MD programs after having completed substantial amounts of undergraduate coursework to raise your undergraduate;
3. Apply to MD programs after doing additional undergraduate coursework and then do a SMP.

I think #1 and #3 are your best bets (in that order).

 

[Ashess]

Hm. I would try number 3 first if any. The advisor said to go straight into an SMP yet I see many people on here pushing post bacc work. A residency student I am friends with said 1/3 of his class were masters students but a lot of people here don't speak highly of them. I guess this boils down to:
1) what I feel comfortable doing
2) what will work with my financies
3) what is more lucritive

I want to ask more people in the college of medicine and also find others who had my situation to see what they have done. I really appreciate your help and for all I know, you could be right with me continuing with a post bacc. I am schedule to take a trip back to my home university and I need to sit and decide because my deadlines are coming. A summer SMP deadline is march or if I choose post bacc, classes start in may.

I would advise against doing the SMP/master's program at this time. A cumulative GPA in the 3.4 range or so (giving you the benefit of the doubt and excluding the failed junior year classes) will not be helpful to your application either. Those that do get accepted to medical school with lower GPAs tend to have strong upward trends or strong grades in a post bacc that convince the admission committee that the student can handle the rigorous medical school curriculum. The problem is a downward trend in your grades and poor post bacc grades, which actually raise doubt about your ability to handle medical school. Based on your current academic credentials, I am not convinced that you will do well in a SMP and a lackluster performance will hurt you. SMPs are high risk and doing poorly or receiving mediocre grades can be the kiss of death to an application as you would be confirming that you cannot handle a rigorous scientific course load. I would not advise you take the risk.

My advice to you would be to do a post-bacc, whether it is a formal program or an informal program/second bachelor's degree. Additional undergraduate coursework can improve your undergraduate GPA for both MD/DO applications, and if you retake the courses that you did poorly in, the DO programs will allow you to use the second grade to replace the first grade (MD programs will consider both grades). I know you expressed concerns about financing this, but either you need to investigate any potential financial aid opportunities available to you or you should take some time off and save up some money to take classes. If you can obtain employment in a job that provides clinical experience that would be ideal, and would help your resume as well as helping you financially. If you do not want to work for a while first, it is noteworthy that if you are 24 or older and/or have a second bachelor's degree, you are classified as an independent student for federal financial aid purposes meaning that the lifetime undergraduate cap for Stafford Loans is increased so you may be eligible for more aid than you think. If you do this, I think you have three options:

1. Use the grade replacement benefit of DO admissions and apply only to DO programs;
2. Apply to MD programs after having completed substantial amounts of undergraduate coursework to raise your undergraduate;
3. Apply to MD programs after doing additional undergraduate coursework and then do a SMP.

I think #1 and #3 are your best bets (in that order).

 

[vagabondrunning]

I am doing my master's in theology, and it's funded and hasn't been a problem. Can you look at programs that have funding?

 

[Ashess]

The masters in biomedical sciences will be paid for my financial aid and loans

I am doing my master's in theology, and it's funded and hasn't been a problem. Can you look at programs that have funding?