Got into Midwestern 1 year biomedical science, few questions

[Impulse155]

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So upon rejection to their dental school, they invited me to apply to their 1 year biomedical science program. I sent a few emails with questions and they said that if you get over a 3.0 you are basically guaranteed an interview with their dental school. I thought this was awesome. So I came to SDN and realized MWU isn't the only school to offer these

I never knew what an SMP was and looked around here and still have a few questions.
1) How hard is a 1 year SMP program? Will it be like Dental/Med School? Harder? Easier? It seems like it's all science courses and its just a 1 year grind to prove you can do it.
2) Are there better ones for me to be applying to? A lot of the threads I read talk about med students and how many offer links to multiple med schools. Are there programs better than the MWU for me to apply to?

 

[flaming0duckie]

Hello! I was in the same boat as you last year. I applied to dental school and masters programs as a backup; dental schools didn't want me, but I got into the MWU 2 year MBS program. I decided to do the MBS over the MA because i felt like if there was the super small chance that I ultimately didn't want to go the dental route (coming back out to go into biotech and not be neck deep in debt is NOT a bad thing 😛), a MBS would look wonderful in industry. With that said, I am currently 4 months into the 2 year program here in Arizona. I take same classes as the MA's but I have an additional year of research. The course load is tough mainly due to the VOLUME of material. I have heard from people who have graduated this program and are in MWU dental school that the master's was just as hard as the dental school and it gave them an edge to compete with the students in the class.

As for your question of other SMPs, I also applied to Tufts' MBS, Boston U's MBS, and a MS program in Colorado. I got into all; initially waitlisted at Tufts, but I decided to take myself off the waitlist to go to MWU's MBS. Researching the different masters programs, I honestly really liked Boston's program. The only reason why I didn't go was because of proximity. I'm originally from California and I wanted to stay near home. To be honest, I feel like all masters programs accomplish the same thing: showing dental/medical schools that you have the ability to do well under a high load of science courses. The deciding factor on which one you choose to go to depends on location, tuition costs, learning style, etc. For me, MWU's MBS seemed very well rounded in all aspects.

I'm glad I decided to come here; the people and faculty are all wonderful. Best of luck!

 

[WorldChanger36]

When it comes to getting into dental schools it seems like a masters is the best way to do this. I think it is wise to do a program that has a linkage to a school you want to go to. Midwestern is a good dental school and it is good to have a roll into school policy to make you feel confident. Us med school peeps don't really have such wonderful things. We could nail a 4.0 in a program and still not get in however this is rare and most likely only happens if there i some other weakness in the app.

 

[WorldChanger36]

Also I was accepted to the MA program

 

[Impulse155]

Thanks for the responses!

Hello! I was in the same boat as you last year. I applied to dental school and masters programs as a backup; dental schools didn't want me, but I got into the MWU 2 year MBS program. I decided to do the MBS over the MA because i felt like if there was the super small chance that I ultimately didn't want to go the dental route (coming back out to go into biotech and not be neck deep in debt is NOT a bad thing 😛), a MBS would look wonderful in industry. With that said, I am currently 4 months into the 2 year program here in Arizona. I take same classes as the MA's but I have an additional year of research. The course load is tough mainly due to the VOLUME of material. I have heard from people who have graduated this program and are in MWU dental school that the master's was just as hard as the dental school and it gave them an edge to compete with the students in the class.

As for your question of other SMPs, I also applied to Tufts' MBS, Boston U's MBS, and a MS program in Colorado. I got into all; initially waitlisted at Tufts, but I decided to take myself off the waitlist to go to MWU's MBS. Researching the different masters programs, I honestly really liked Boston's program. The only reason why I didn't go was because of proximity. I'm originally from California and I wanted to stay near home. To be honest, I feel like all masters programs accomplish the same thing: showing dental/medical schools that you have the ability to do well under a high load of science courses. The deciding factor on which one you choose to go to depends on location, tuition costs, learning style, etc. For me, MWU's MBS seemed very well rounded in all aspects.

I'm glad I decided to come here; the people and faculty are all wonderful. Best of luck!

I'm pretty solid that dental is what I want to do. Only thing that is really holding me back is my GPA. I have a 3.12 and scored a 20 on my DAT. I also applied fairly late. So I felt that if I can do this, pull over a 3.0 I am basically set. When you say learning style, what do you feel the learning/teaching style is at the MWU schools? Where I come from everything is just lecture based, regurgetate the information on exams. There's little to no actually coursework. Exams mean 90-100% of your grade. I kinda like this though. Also textbooks are basically useless. The teachers even say they only test on material covered in class. Would you agree this is how it is at MWU?

When it comes to getting into dental schools it seems like a masters is the best way to do this. I think it is wise to do a program that has a linkage to a school you want to go to. Midwestern is a good dental school and it is good to have a roll into school policy to make you feel confident. Us med school peeps don't really have such wonderful things. We could nail a 4.0 in a program and still not get in however this is rare and most likely only happens if there i some other weakness in the app.

Also I was accepted to the MA program

When you say a masters, do you mean the 1 year masters program like I am in or the 2 year full masters. I would prefer to only do 1 year, and hopefully get into dental school. Do you think you're going to accept the MA in MWU-IL offer? I don't even know if I should consider looking into other schools.

Edit:
It also says that the average gpa there is almost a 3.4. This is fairly high imo if a 3.0 is all you need to score an itnerview. Which was one reason I felt the program cant be TOO crazy.

 

[WorldChanger36]

1 or 2 year doesn't matter. It just seems a bioscience or smp sytle masters put pre denters into a higher bracket. You really need to do well if you want to have a shot at school other then midwestern (3.5 plus).

 

[Snowflake10]

Hey Impulse155,

I'm also in the same situation as you. They rejected me and offered an acceptance into their one year masters program. I also applied to Boston University Oral Health Track as well, but I have yet to hear back from them, and I only got 9 days left to place a deposit on this program...

I haven't found too much information on it, and I have yet to get a hold of someone from there to speak to, but as far as I've read and researched, it seems like a helpful program. I may just take up the offer.. hoping to apply to dental school the year after.

Have you made your final decision on going there?

Oh and this is the IL campus that I'm talking about.

 

[WorldChanger36]

Can't afford the 750 deposit on such short notice... Will not be attending.