Doing a masters when you have good stats?

[estradiol9]

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I am interested in doing a postbac program. I am probably going to finish undergrad early and get my BA in Biology in 3 years instead of 4. Because of finishing early, I have been thinking of getting an MS before going to medical school.

My undergraduate GPA is good I think. (Approximately 3.7 currently.) I have not taken my MCAT yet though.

I live in NJ so I have been thinking about doing the MS in Biomedical Sciences at UMDNJ which takes about 1 year if done full time. However, everybody has been advising me not to do it and telling me it is an SMP. What does this mean? I'm confused. Why is it a bad idea for me to do it?

What are some other good options?

 

[patel2]

I am interested in doing a postbac program. I am probably going to finish undergrad early and get my BA in Biology in 3 years instead of 4. Because of finishing early, I have been thinking of getting an MS before going to medical school.

My undergraduate GPA is good I think. (Approximately 3.7 currently.) I have not taken my MCAT yet though.

I live in NJ so I have been thinking about doing the MS in Biomedical Sciences at UMDNJ which takes about 1 year if done full time. However, everybody has been advising me not to do it and telling me it is an SMP. What does this mean? I'm confused. Why is it a bad idea for me to do it?

What are some other good options?

pointless, waste of money, and won't enhance your application in any way.

Dominate the MCAT studying and you'll have no problems that you finished your degree early. In your year off, try to find a research job or something where someone else is paying you, rather than you paying them...if that's unattainable, just chillin/volunteering/shadowing etc. would suffice...just hone your ECs

 

[estradiol9]

pointless, waste of money, and won't enhance your application in any way.

Dominate the MCAT studying and you'll have no problems that you finished your degree early. In your year off, try to find a research job or something where someone else is paying you, rather than you paying them...if that's unattainable, just chillin/volunteering/shadowing etc. would suffice...just hone your ECs

So it is mainly just a waste of time & money but will not make my application weaker right? I am just confused because several people told me not to do it and it was a bad decision but didn't clarify why they thought so.

 

[patel2]

So it is mainly just a waste of time & money but will not make my application weaker right? I am just confused because several people told me not to do it and it was a bad decision but didn't clarify why they thought so.

You have more to lose than gain. In addition to $ and your time, what if you get <3.7 in it? Most SMPs and post-baccs are fairly difficult and anything less than your undergrad GPA and you weakened your app.

Anything more than 3.7 and it's neutral; you haven't proven anything to adcoms about your academic abilities that they didn't know before

 

[deleted248403]

A better option would be an mph or columbia's nutrition program or something similar that you are interested in

 

[Crisco]

I am interested in doing a postbac program. I am probably going to finish undergrad early and get my BA in Biology in 3 years instead of 4. Because of finishing early, I have been thinking of getting an MS before going to medical school.

My undergraduate GPA is good I think. (Approximately 3.7 currently.) I have not taken my MCAT yet though.

I live in NJ so I have been thinking about doing the MS in Biomedical Sciences at UMDNJ which takes about 1 year if done full time. However, everybody has been advising me not to do it and telling me it is an SMP. What does this mean? I'm confused. Why is it a bad idea for me to do it?

What are some other good options?

The problem is that SMPs are very hard. You risk basically screwing yourself over completely if you do poorly.

 

[estradiol9]

The problem is that SMPs are very hard. You risk basically screwing yourself over completely if you do poorly.

Yeah I understand where you guys are coming from now. If I graduate with a 3.7 undergrad and get anything lower in an SMP, it will basically just be hurting myself.

I guess I will look into other masters programs or perhaps I will just do a double major and graduate "on time" with the rest of my class?

 

[Apark34]

Yeah I understand where you guys are coming from now. If I graduate with a 3.7 undergrad and get anything lower in an SMP, it will basically just be hurting myself.

I guess I will look into other masters programs or perhaps I will just do a double major and graduate "on time" with the rest of my class?

Im in the same boat as you. I graduated a year early with my bio BS, and was going to do a post-bac. I got advised not to do it also, and for the same reasons everyone posted above. I think your aim is to stay in school for your glide year. I decided to work full time in a hospital and build my EC with clinical experience, but I feel your itch to stay in school. Im thinking about a public health certificate from Medical College of Wisconsin, or a similar coursework in Bioethics and health from Rush. These are non degree seeking so no cool M.S. or M.A. on top of your future M.D. or D.O, but it allows me to still work full time and get the courses done before med school.

To continue to blabber.. I think we got a unique opportunity to not "lose" a year since we graduated early, but still get a year away from academics. So, my advice is keep your med school interests alive by doing clinical or science related stuff, and get some other life aspirations out of way! Go travel, run a marathon or in my case an ironman, contribute yourself to a project that you'll probably never have the time for afterwards. Whatever it is, make sure its something worthwhile to you, it wouldn't hurt if it was health related Hope this helps. Good luck!