Gap Year dilemma PLEASE help!

[caduceusdude]

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Hi,
I recently graduated from a state university with perfect GPA and a lower MCAT (I am going to take it again prbly raise it to 31-33). During my year off I have a couple options before me:
1. Research---Continue doing research with a professor who is head of a department in medical school here at my state university and possibly get a publication. (prbly take 2 or 3 grad level courses at my state University)
2. MPH--I have gotten into good/not so good public health programs in Britain, so I can go there and do an MPH. This will complement some work as a health volunteer abroad for seven months and look unique. But I am worried because in their grading system it is very hard to get A's.
3. SMP--Do an MHS degree at Johns Hopkins (9 months of hardcore science classes) or Special Sciences program at U Penn. It will obviously be difficult to keep a good GPA here (but GPA might not matter as much during the application year).
4. SMP2--Do an SMP at less known universities like VCU, Drexel, Temple, etc.

I would really appreciate it if you give me some advice on how to proceed from here.

Thanks in advance.

 

[vectorman]

I think going to Hopkins/UPenn will certainly help your app. The name is too hard to miss.

 

[witness23]

you have a 4.0. SMP, Postbac, Master's will all likely hurt you than help you at this point. MPH in Britain makes no sense to me.



Research and raise your MCAT. then you will be a stellar candidate. Make sure you have your volunteering, clinicals, essays, LOR. thats it. MCAT and ECs. do not spend money on anything else.

 

[caduceusdude]

Thanks Witness23 for your advice. But, I really would appreciate it if more people responded. Any advice is welcome. Im just freaking out about this.

 

[genswim24]

Thanks Witness23 for your advice. But, I really would appreciate it if more people responded. Any advice is welcome. Im just freaking out about this.

Witness is correct. A post-bac, MPH, and SMP will do nothing for you. SMP's are designed for low GPA's, high MCAT, that's the opposite of you. A post-bac is for people to raise their GPA or complete pre-requisites. An MPH is a soft-science degree which is not really going to impress ADCOMS.

You have one major issue and that is your MCAT. Focus on that and do the research. The other options would just waste a lot of money.

 

[olemissbabydoc]

I agree with the research and mcat retake. with a 4.0, SMP is unnecessary.

 

[scarletgirl777]

I agree with the research and mcat retake. with a 4.0, SMP is unnecessary.

Just chiming in to say that I also agree with this post and witness 🙂

 

[schizosquirrel]

If your stats are already strong minus the MCAT....just take a year and do research and maybe invest some money in a tutor or review course. You'll have PLENTY of time to study.

Remember that you're already going to be paying huge amounts of debts to go to medical school....what's the point of paying even more money now for somewhat useless degrees (although the MPH sounds interesting to me) if you don't need a GPA boost.

 

[caduceusdude]

First of all, thank you guys for all your responses.
I understand most of you are leaning toward research but I was wondering if going to a big name school like Johns Hopkins and doing a masters program in Reproductive system and cancer (MS) will be beneficial (putting the costs aside for a moment) in getting me into medical school? If I'm doing research I might not get a paper until after I already get in to med school.

Again, thank you and keep your thoughts coming.

 

[scarletgirl777]

First of all, thank you guys for all your responses.
I understand most of you are leaning toward research but I was wondering if going to a big name school like Johns Hopkins and doing a masters program in Reproductive system and cancer (MS) will be beneficial (putting the costs aside for a moment) in getting me into medical school? If I'm doing research I might not get a paper until after I already get in to med school.

Again, thank you and keep your thoughts coming.

It's certainly something more to add to your resume, but it will not necessarily be any more helpful than the research option.

Even if you don't get a paper, just doing the research will be a good experience--the vast majority of people getting into top schools do not have papers. Also, a couple months is long enough to get an abstract, and although that's not quite on the level of a paper, it's still a product that you can talk about.

 

[witness23]

a big name MS won't help you any more than research. You can do research at a big name school if you really want. I doubt you would get a paper immediately in your MS (unless its a 2 year program)

isn't it getting a bit too late for SMP and Masters apps.


Also if you decide to do research, I would stay away from taking classes for grades. Take fun ones for P/F if you want, but why would someone mess with perfection? Take your time studying the MCAT, you do not have to take it immediately.

 

[kac714]

definitely do the research. i'm pretty sure my research is the main reason i got interviews/acceptances with my stats (3/5 and 31)

 

[sarahg]

You will probably find some opportunities to get a funded MPH after med school, so I'd only do that if you're really excited about public health and really want to take classes in it.

I say do research or whatever job you can get that pays, and study for the MCAT. SMPs are for people with lower GPAs, and there's no sense in paying a ton of money for one if your MCAT, which you can fix relatively cheaply, is what's lacking. I also don't like the idea of piling on debt and pouring money into universities for degrees that you don't care so much about and are only using to boost your application, but of course a lot of people feel differently and it works out well for them.