Do a Master's or work as a nurse tech

[slantz]

I applied to a handful of DO schools last year with no acceptances, and will be applying again this year. My main issues were my MCAT of 498, and also a little glitch on my AACOMAS. This year I'm applying earlier and studying for to retake the MCAT. This past spring I applied to a nurse tech program and also to a Master's program at Rocky Vista (in biomedical science) and got them both, and for the life of me can't decide which to do. The major incentive to do the master's is that I would have a high likelihood of med school acceptance at RVU for the next year, without even needing to retake the MCAT or interview. The major downside would be the tuition, especially compared to working and living at home this next year while I reapply to schools. I don't know if I can raise my MCAT that much, and don't know if I will get acceptance anywhere, so doing the master's might be my best bet. I've asked several advisors which would look the best on my application, getting that patient care experience as a nurse tech, or getting the education of a master's, and it was about split in their opinions, and they all said it was ultimately my choice. While knowing this to be true, was wondering if anyone else might have some advice for me.

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[brachialplexus]

What's your GPA?


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[slantz]

3.5, 3.85 science

 

[mc_bio19]

I applied to a handful of DO schools last year with no acceptances, and will be applying again this year. My main issues were my MCAT of 498, and also a little glitch on my AACOMAS. This year I'm applying earlier and studying for to retake the MCAT. This past spring I applied to a nurse tech program and also to a Master's program at Rocky Vista (in biomedical science) and got them both, and for the life of me can't decide which to do. The major incentive to do the master's is that I would have a high likelihood of med school acceptance at RVU for the next year, without even needing to retake the MCAT or interview. The major downside would be the tuition, especially compared to working and living at home this next year while I reapply to schools. I don't know if I can raise my MCAT that much, and don't know if I will get acceptance anywhere, so doing the master's might be my best bet. I've asked several advisors which would look the best on my application, getting that patient care experience as a nurse tech, or getting the education of a master's, and it was about split in their opinions, and they all said it was ultimately my choice. While knowing this to be true, was wondering if anyone else might have some advice for me.

I feel like if you feel strongly about attending RVU, then go for the post-bacc (as long as you don't have to redo the MCAT). However, your gpa is very competitive, and I think if you could at least up your MCAT by a few points, you'd be in very good shape for many DO schools. If you're not totally committed to going to RVU, I would work on studying the MCAT and work as a nurse tech - don't waste your money on the tuition unless you really want to attend RVU.

 

[AlteredScale]

When did you take your MCAT?


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[slantz]

When did you take your MCAT?


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One year ago. I was fresh out of biochem, orgo, and physics class. Since then I've taken genetics which I know will help me, but learning/relearning the chem/phys part is difficult for me, which along with with psych/soc, I scored much lower than biochem and cars. (I didn't study for psych at all because I didn't realize it was such a major part of the MCAT)

 

[edgerock24]

One year ago. I was fresh out of biochem, orgo, and physics class. Since then I've taken genetics which I know will help me, but learning/relearning the chem/phys part is difficult for me, which along with with psych/soc, I scored much lower than biochem and cars. (I didn't study for psych at all because I didn't realize it was such a major part of the MCAT)

Sounds like you didn't give your best effort for the MCAT. I'd recommend studying properly for it and give it another go. It's a pain, I know, but its much better (and cheaper) than doing a masters program. If you can get a 502+, you'd be golden. Really, if you can get 500+ you can likely obtain a bunch of acceptances due to your GPA's.

 

[AlteredScale]

One year ago. I was fresh out of biochem, orgo, and physics class. Since then I've taken genetics which I know will help me, but learning/relearning the chem/phys part is difficult for me, which along with with psych/soc, I scored much lower than biochem and cars. (I didn't study for psych at all because I didn't realize it was such a major part of the MCAT)

I would take the nurse job and retake the MCAT. Your GPA is strong enough it wouldn't make sense to do the RVU masters.

If you redo the MCAT and really outperform your current score you will have a stronger shot at both MD and DO schools.


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[Blunt Dissection]

I completely agree with others saying you should retake your MCAT - with your GPA there's no reason why you would have to do a Masters. It'll be so much cheaper for you to spend that money on a Princeton Review course or something. Do a dedicated prep of 6-8 hours of studying a day everyday without going on Facebook, your phone, etc and you'll probably be fine!

Side note - if that's you in your profile picture, you may want to change it for anonymity sake.

 

[slantz]

Thank you all. I really appreciate the advice. Yeah the main reason to do the RVU master's is because I'm afraid of not getting in anywhere else again this year. It wouldn't really improve my application all that much, just basically ensure that I have an "in" somewhere. Of course it would also be a cool experience and possibly give me an edge with the course load when I'm actually in med school.

 

[IslandStyle808]

Thank you all. I really appreciate the advice. Yeah the main reason to do the RVU master's is because I'm afraid of not getting in anywhere else again this year. It wouldn't really improve my application all that much, just basically ensure that I have an "in" somewhere. Of course it would also be a cool experience and possibly give me an edge with the course load when I'm actually in med school.

These masters programs are not an "in." I've seen people with even higher GPAs than yours get destroyed by these masters programs, but would have done fine if they just retook their MCATs. Now they have destroyed their chances of getting into medical school and further in debt because of their screw up. They would probably need to take another masters just to have a shot at medical school again.

Taking the MCAT multiple times is far less of a consequence that messing up in a post-bacc/masters. If this is your first take, then retake. It costs less money, is less risky, and will take you much farther than any post-bacc/masters ever could. You may even end up in an MD school!

Please do not do the masters.

 

[slantz]

These masters programs are not an "in." I've seen people with even higher GPAs than yours get destroyed by these masters programs, but would have done fine if they just retook their MCATs. Now they have destroyed their chances of getting into medical school and further in debt because of their screw up. They would probably need to take another masters just to have a shot at medical school again.

Taking the MCAT multiple times is far less of a consequence that messing up in a post-bacc/masters. If this is your first take, then retake. It costs less money, is less risky, and will take you much farther than any post-bacc/masters ever could. You may even end up in an MD school!

Please do not do the masters.

Wow, thanks for the input. That is really what I need to know. By "destroyed" do you mean they did poorly in the master's program? And didn't get into med school because of it? Could a certain master's be different than the ones you have heard of?
Also, I am applying to a couple of MD schools, UH being one of them. I lived in Hawaii for a bit and would love to go back. Do you know much about UH?

 

[IslandStyle808]

Wow, thanks for the input. That is really what I need to know. By "destroyed" do you mean they did poorly in the master's program? And didn't get into med school because of it? Could a certain master's be different than the ones you have heard of?
Also, I am applying to a couple of MD schools, UH being one of them. I lived in Hawaii for a bit and would love to go back. Do you know much about UH?

Just give me a PM. I can give a few specific examples.

These people overall would have done fine in medical school. However, these people weren't even getting above a 3.25 GPA (you don't need a 3.25 to pass medical school and would have done fine if they went the normal route). Hawaii also has their own post-bacc and yes I knew several people who got destroyed by it. As for JABSOM, it makes life a lot easier if you qualify for state residency. If you don't, you have to satisfy double the metrics. You can PM and I can give you the details about this as well.

 

[Wjldenver]

Thank you all. I really appreciate the advice. Yeah the main reason to do the RVU master's is because I'm afraid of not getting in anywhere else again this year. It wouldn't really improve my application all that much, just basically ensure that I have an "in" somewhere. Of course it would also be a cool experience and possibly give me an edge with the course load when I'm actually in med school.

Do a search on these forums. Only about 50% of RVU's MS students made the cut to get into their DO program. Above and beyond that, many were unhappy about the entire MS experience there. Skip the RVU MS program and focus all of your effort on improving your MCAT score. This strategy will give you many more options in the future.


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[JB50]

You CAN raise that MCAT opie. You clearly are not stupid (gpa's). You just need to study differently. Definitely got it in you just gotta find it. Good luck!