does a masters in hard science mean anything

[MSc44]

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so im sitting here instructing an anatomy lab and one of the professors just walked in and asked me when im going to med school, then proceeded to tell me that my masters in mol bio with a conc in cancer will not mean anything when i apply. I finished UG with a 3.86 obtained all sorts of biology awards from my school. They offered me a free masters so thats why i took it. I have not taken MCATS yet but plan on ot. I will finish my masters with All A's (loads of hard work nothing comes easy to me) so do i still need a 32 or better to be looked at. i figured i could be competative with high 20's at least given a BS, MS, and my high GPA's..............so am i wasting mt time in a masters

 

[phdmed07]

Masters dont really mean a thing. Its nice to have one but most people get a Masters or do a post bac bc their undergraduate GPA wasnt high enough to gain entry into medical school. Also in graduate programs, everyone must maintain a GPA above 3.0 so a high graduate GPA isnt the same as a high undergraduate GPA.
ECU MED 07

 

[sandg]

When you say "does it mean anything," I assume you mean to residency directors and others who will judge your credentials in the future. In that case probably not. I wouldn't look at an MS as a waste though. As already mentioned, any publications you have/will have are nice to have on a CV. It also sounds like you got a pretty sweet deal to get another degree. The knowledge you have gained in doing your MS might help you some in med school. Lastly, even if you haven't learned information that will be useful, your extra practice at thinking about experimental design, analyzing data, critically reading the literature, etc. will surely be useful.

 

[njbmd]

so im sitting here instructing an anatomy lab and one of the professors just walked in and asked me when im going to med school, then proceeded to tell me that my masters in mol bio with a conc in cancer will not mean anything when i apply. I finished UG with a 3.86 obtained all sorts of biology awards from my school. They offered me a free masters so thats why i took it. I have not taken MCATS yet but plan on ot. I will finish my masters with All A's (loads of hard work nothing comes easy to me) so do i still need a 32 or better to be looked at. i figured i could be competative with high 20's at least given a BS, MS, and my high GPA's..............so am i wasting mt time in a masters

Hi there,
A masters degree is never a waste of time, especially a free masters degree. You never know when you want to do a bit of research. Many academic surgical residency programs, mine included, require a couple of years of research so your skills will come in handy if you go this route.

In terms of admission to medical school, your undergraduate grades are the most important but your graduate work is not overlooked. While a post bacc or graduate degree will not erase a poor undergraduate GPA, it does indicate that you have achieved the maturity to excell in academics. Since your undergraduate work was good and your masters was not an attempt at damage control, I would say that it can do nothing except enhance your application.

Shoot for the highest MCAT score that you can get. There is no magical score that will ensure your acceptance into medical school. If you find that your MCAT grade is lower than 30, you may still face some difficulty getting into medical school, graduate degree or not.
njbmd 🙂

 

[1Path]

Masters dont really mean a thing. Its nice to have one but most people get a Masters or do a post bac bc their undergraduate GPA wasnt high enough to gain entry into medical school. Also in graduate programs, everyone must maintain a GPA above 3.0 so a high graduate GPA isnt the same as a high undergraduate GPA.
ECU MED 07

I personally think there's a HUGE difference between a high graduate GPA and a 4.0. A high GPA in grad school means your good. A 4.0 means you're excellent and with a solid MCAT, I think more than a few med schools will think the same.