Did poorly in master's, chances of still doing DO school?

[geronimo11]

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So this is going to be long, I hope someone can offer some advise.

STATS:
AACOM cGPA: 3.431
AACOM sGPA: 3.347

AAMCAS cGPA: 3.187
AAMCAS sGPA: 3.026
(I retook pre-med req classes)

Projected Master’s gpa: 3.2
…. Ouch, I did well my first semester 3 As, 1 B. second semester B, B, B-, C. Last semester I hope to have A, A, A.

I started my program in spring semester which was where the difficulty arose whereas most people (other than those who entered with me) split up their harder more heavy loaded fall required courses between two fall semesters, I only had one to work with. There was one course that I was having particular difficulty with (the C) and I talked to the professor numerous times and took all his advise but it didn’t do much for me. I’ve commented on the importance of having 2 fall semesters as opposed to spring and I assume other people have too because they recently changed their admission to fall only.

I was hoping a master’s program would give me the opportunity to take upper level science courses and interact with my proffesors more and receive guidance but the program is really uninvolved with their students. I’ve taken some classes I’ve loved and am doing some microbio research right not so it wasn’t for nothing but I feel like I’ve dug myself in to a hole that I can’t get out of.

I want to go to DO and was hoping to continue to excel in my MS to up my chances, which didn’t happen. I’ll be taking the MCAT in the beginning of June and am hoping to get a good score but I don’t want to bank on that. So if I don’t get in this cycle then what?

Being a doctor is still the dream, that won’t change but I am at a loss as to what to do for damage control. Do I take Post-Bac classes? Do I do another Master’s program? Do I focus on clinical work instead?

please help 🙁


My ECs

-Volunteered in 2 hospitals during undergrad. In the pediatric ER and patient transport in one and recovery center and maternity ward in the other.
-Volunteered in ER during summer at my home state
- Researched during undergrad, got a publication out it. The PhD in charge of the project took leave my senior and I ended up being one of the main people to take over the project while she was gone for almost a semester, so pretty happy that the work got pub’d
- Was 1 of 20 seniors to receive a research achievement award
- Medical internship in a developing country, shadowed doctors in numerous wards, and got to spend the day along side residency students.
- Shadowed in a medical tech lab at the local hospital
- Graduate research on dengue
- Volunteered at the annual cancer symposium at my grad school
- Student teacher at a learning center and pre-k (wanted more experience working with younger children, as I’m interested in pediatrics)

Other info
- Have some pretty solid LORs
- Plan on working and volunteering at a children's hospital next year
- Both BS and MS degrees are from private, well ranked universities.
- Good upwards trajectory in my undergrad grades

 

[Dr.Jekyll75]

see who your mcat goes. That test is like 60 % of the battle. But i wouldnt rule out DO for you. Do you live in a state that had a DO school ?

 

[AlteredScale]

I just want to clear this up: the reason why you did not do well in the masters program was because of the curriculum scheduling?

 

[geronimo11]

I just want to clear this up: the reason why you did not do well in the masters program was because of the curriculum scheduling?

No of course not, it certainly didn't help me get the most out of the program, I couldn't take some of the electives I wanted because they had fall pre-reqs and the program wouldn't allow me to extent my MS a semester, some material in my first semester was difficult because it was taught in a way that the teacher assumed you had taken a certain course last semester. Do I think I could have done better if those issues weren't the case? Probably and my program isn't what I thought it would be but I wouldn't say it an excuse, the bottom line is I didn't do well. I put in the hours, spoke to professors and students about studying but I still ended up doing poorly and am trying to to find a way to fix it and remain a good candidate.

I've read 1 similar situation of this on SDN, where the person got their gpa up through a state university and got her gap up to a 3.0 but had to do a second masters program and then got in to DO, but I'm not sure what the next best step for me would be? I would like to avoid the financial burden of another master's but can find a way to manage it if that is what it takes, I just do not want to repeat the same mistake.

see who your mcat goes. That test is like 60 % of the battle. But i wouldnt rule out DO for you. Do you live in a state that had a DO school ?

Yes, resident of FL which has one called NSU-COM

 

[geronimo11]

OP is this a traditional master's program or a SMP?

Hello, traditional it is an micobio MS

 

[Goro]

At my school, we'd look poorly on your progress. You're supposed to ace a post-bac to show us yu can handle med school.

With a decent MCAT score, you might have some luck with the newest schools, but I'd seriously look at Plan B

So this is going to be long, I hope someone can offer some advise.

STATS:
AACOM cGPA: 3.431
AACOM sGPA: 3.347

AAMCAS cGPA: 3.187
AAMCAS sGPA: 3.026
(I retook pre-med req classes)

Projected Master’s gpa: 3.2
…. Ouch, I did well my first semester 3 As, 1 B. second semester B, B, B-, C. Last semester I hope to have A, A, A.

I started my program in spring semester which was where the difficulty arose whereas most people (other than those who entered with me) split up their harder more heavy loaded fall required courses between two fall semesters, I only had one to work with. There was one course that I was having particular difficulty with (the C) and I talked to the professor numerous times and took all his advise but it didn’t do much for me. I’ve commented on the importance of having 2 fall semesters as opposed to spring and I assume other people have too because they recently changed their admission to fall only.

I was hoping a master’s program would give me the opportunity to take upper level science courses and interact with my proffesors more and receive guidance but the program is really uninvolved with their students. I’ve taken some classes I’ve loved and am doing some microbio research right not so it wasn’t for nothing but I feel like I’ve dug myself in to a hole that I can’t get out of.

I want to go to DO and was hoping to continue to excel in my MS to up my chances, which didn’t happen. I’ll be taking the MCAT in the beginning of June and am hoping to get a good score but I don’t want to bank on that. So if I don’t get in this cycle then what?

Being a doctor is still the dream, that won’t change but I am at a loss as to what to do for damage control. Do I take Post-Bac classes? Do I do another Master’s program? Do I focus on clinical work instead?

please help 🙁


My ECs

-Volunteered in 2 hospitals during undergrad. In the pediatric ER and patient transport in one and recovery center and maternity ward in the other.
-Volunteered in ER during summer at my home state
- Researched during undergrad, got a publication out it. The PhD in charge of the project took leave my senior and I ended up being one of the main people to take over the project while she was gone for almost a semester, so pretty happy that the work got pub’d
- Was 1 of 20 seniors to receive a research achievement award
- Medical internship in a developing country, shadowed doctors in numerous wards, and got to spend the day along side residency students.
- Shadowed in a medical tech lab at the local hospital
- Graduate research on dengue
- Volunteered at the annual cancer symposium at my grad school
- Student teacher at a learning center and pre-k (wanted more experience working with younger children, as I’m interested in pediatrics)

Other info
- Have some pretty solid LORs
- Plan on working and volunteering at a children's hospital next year
- Both BS and MS degrees are from private, well ranked universities.
- Good upwards trajectory in my undergrad grades

 

[geronimo11]

Your next steps depend on how you perform on the MCAT. You will most likely need a solid score > or = 509 to off set your performance in your master's program (most master's programs vary in difficult and are know to have grade inflation) Additionally, your master's is just another EC which has done the opposite to help your app. If you don't perform well on the MCAT you will need to go the SMP route (more risk). Traditional master's are usually easier than SMPs.

You really didn't need a master's at all. All you had to do was to retake the classes you did sub-par in and apply early/broadly with a decent MCAT score.

Yes I realized that a bit too late, I kept being told that my GPA wasn't good enough for medical school but I had already taken all my pre-med pre-reqs with no Cs so didn't think I'd be a good candidate for a post-bacc. I applied to jobs and MS programs once I graduated and got an acceptance in to a program before a job acceptance and took it. I realize now that it wasn't entirely needed and my stats weren't that bad.

At my school, we'd look poorly on your progress. You're supposed to ace a post-bac to show us yu can handle med school.

With a decent MCAT score, you might have some luck with the newest schools, but I'd seriously look at Plan B

What would you suggest as a good plan B?

 

[geronimo11]

An SMP scares me since as it's been noted, it's more risk. I may end up in a worse position than I am in now and so would love another option as well but am not seeing it atm.

 

[IntheClouds4ever]

just take the MCAT and apply. I was just accepted with a c3.2 and 505 MCAT.. just be sure you can relate your experiences into meaningful learning opportunities.

 

[soccermac42]

I cannot stand people who say a masters program is inflated or easy. Please go to NC State, take a masters program, then get back to me about how inflated anyone's grades are there. Plenty of people failed my classes. Okay rant over. You have a chance to get in. I am not sure what kind of masters you have, but if it's in a relatable field then it looks good. I do not think of it as an EC. You should have at least made a 3.5 in your program. I would say no to another masters, I have two but it was out of interest not because of a low GPA. If you kill the mcat you can get in any school. Lots of schools take low GPA students I know a few of the people who got in with lower GPA's. Plan B would be another career if you just cannot ace the mcat. You could do a PhD in your masters field. I know I easily could if I had not have gotten into medical school. Good luck.


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[Goro]

NP
PA
Podiatry
Lab tech
Research tech
Clinical trials mgt
Etc

Yes I realized that a bit too late, I kept being told that my GPA wasn't good enough for medical school but I had already taken all my pre-med pre-reqs with no Cs so didn't think I'd be a good candidate for a post-bacc. I applied to jobs and MS programs once I graduated and got an acceptance in to a program before a job acceptance and took it. I realize now that it wasn't entirely needed and my stats weren't that bad.



What would you suggest as a good plan B?

 

[DoctorDingo]

Yes, resident of FL which has one called NSU-COM

Don't forget LECOM Bradenton.

 

[IntheClouds4ever]

Id highly suggest PA, nursing, or NP before Lab tech. Very little advancement opportunities with poor pay compared to the other two options. (been a lab tech for 4 years)

 

[DrMikeP]

Given the struggle, there is some obvious and rightly so concern over how well you might do in med school. You should ask yourself the question of do you think you could do well in med school? If in your heart you do, then take the MCAT and if you score highly you could try applying and see it anything sticks.

I do agree that PA or NP might be a better option, but you're the only one who can answer if you would be happy with that.

 

[Kissmyabjj]

I don't think you should focus on getting in this cycle, considering your grades. You will most likely be overlooked for the post-bac students that did really well. I have a friend who was in a similar situation, who eventually got in. He didn't do very well the first year of the masters program. So he completed the second year and reapplied. Unfortunately, his MCAT wasn't too great. He ended up taking it like 4 times and eventually was able to score high enough to get in. He had a really good relationship with the admissions department and the biomedical sciences faculty and his fiance at the time was a DO student. So you can definitely say he had some connections.

What I am trying to say is that you definitely shouldn't give up trying to get into DO school, especially where you are doing the post-bac. If you develop relationships with people there, improve your performance during the second year, and do well on the MCAT, the school will want to keep you. The one thing that I would strongly caution against is taking the MCAT early, just to make sure that the score arrives before the next cycle. Only take it when you are absolutely ready. My friend was so hyper-focused on getting in the next year, that he kept taking the exam too early and kept doing terribly. I was finally able to convince him that he needed to take his time and study. Yes, he had to get a regular job for a year, but he dramatically improved his score and got in.

One last thing, under no circumstances should you even begin to consider doing anything else in the medical field, if your dream is to become a physician. You will never be happy and will always wonder if you could have done what you really wanted with your life. I would rather have gone to the Caribbean and taken my chances not matching than have gone to PA or pharmacy school.

 

[IslandStyle808]

I don't think you should focus on getting in this cycle, considering your grades. You will most likely be overlooked for the post-bac students that did really well. I have a friend who was in a similar situation, who eventually got in. He didn't do very well the first year of the masters program. So he completed the second year and reapplied. Unfortunately, his MCAT wasn't too great. He ended up taking it like 4 times and eventually was able to score high enough to get in. He had a really good relationship with the admissions department and the biomedical sciences faculty and his fiance at the time was a DO student. So you can definitely say he had some connections.

What I am trying to say is that you definitely shouldn't give up trying to get into DO school, especially where you are doing the post-bac. If you develop relationships with people there, improve your performance during the second year, and do well on the MCAT, the school will want to keep you. The one thing that I would strongly caution against is taking the MCAT early, just to make sure that the score arrives before the next cycle. Only take it when you are absolutely ready. My friend was so hyper-focused on getting in the next year, that he kept taking the exam too early and kept doing terribly. I was finally able to convince him that he needed to take his time and study. Yes, he had to get a regular job for a year, but he dramatically improved his score and got in.

One last thing, under no circumstances should you even begin to consider doing anything else in the medical field, if your dream is to become a physician. You will never be happy and will always wonder if you could have done what you really wanted with your life. I would rather have gone to the Caribbean and taken my chances not matching than have gone to PA or pharmacy school.

I really think you should take off your name for anonymity's sake.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

What would you suggest as a good plan B?

I have to respectfully disagree with Goro. Sure, you had a so-so second semester (Bs are really not that terrible), but if you manage to have a strong last semester and MCAT you can probably get into one of the lower trier schools. At worse I'd recommend trying to go into a formal SMP at an Osteopathic school. Don't give up your dream and become some lab tech or NP like he suggests.