xxNightingalexx
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2020
- Messages
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Hello!
Before posting this thread, I have searched the forum using the following keywords
And found no other thread exists. However, if such threads already explored this topic then do please forgive the redundancy and my search error.
I am a nontraditional student meaning I have earned my B.S. in Biological Sciences (2013 - 2019) while juggling employment and student organization leadership but due to extenuating circumstances I have a far from competitive GPA and am seeking a M.S. to enhance my competitiveness. I am a first-generation student and do not have anyone else in my family who have made it to medical school thus far.
In regards to searching for a M.S., I have found two programs of interest but both vary in cost and timeline of completion. These programs are the University of Florida's, UF, online Masters in Microbiology & Cell Science (with a concentration in medical microbiology and biochemistry) and University of Maryland Global Campus's, UMGC , online Biotechnology (with concentration in Bioinformatics). The program at UF is more affordable (~17K versus ~24K) and can be completed sooner than the program at UMGC (one year versus two years). UMGC does not require a GRE score and letter of recommendations, LORs, while UF requires these supplemental documents (once again I do not have a competitive GPA but my GRE score is 300 and may be able to acquire five LORs from past professors). UMGC requires prospective students to have taken, or to take, molecular biology and additional statistics/computer science course before starting the program.
I am having a hard time selecting between the program at UF and the program at UMGC. I do not know which program will strengthen my abilities as a future medical provider regardless where I practice (e.g. overseas, on ships, in villages, etc). I understand the need for bioinformatics to locate biomarkers to enhance personalized medicine and improve cancer therapies. Reading an article published by Harvard Medical, I learned there is an urgent need for future doctors to become "wizards at computational science" that will then usher in an era of "new breed of doctors". I also understand the need for microbiology for research purposes in understanding the effects of bacteria/fungi/viruses to living things and non-living things that can be implicated for planetary research. But in the long-run, I would like to be able to apply the knowledge gained in graduate school to respond to diseases - including novel diseases - even in times of having limited resources. And If I may, I would like to have a career in Space and believe having a Masters background can give me the tools to apply further boost my work performance in addition to medicine. I am fond of nature and have an appreciation for plants, agriculture, animal life, marine life, and so on. I have an informal background of coding from editing HTML codes to design templates for social media (aka Myspace), web-site design, and editing HEX code on the super nintendo emulator roms. These interests of mine are what makes it challenging for me to select the right graduate program for me. I hope one of these programs can bring benefit/aid to Nature and help improve our quality of air/food/water and our understanding of neuro-related disorders/diseases such as Alzheimer's and Schizophrenia.
To my understanding, medical schools accept pre-medical courses taken within 10 years of applications. Please correct me if I am wrong, but that will mean I have until 2023 to apply before needing to re-take classes taken from 2013. I have not taken the MCAT yet but plan on studying ASAP. I am unsure when to schedule taking the MCAT while figuring out grad school. In regards to the rest of my application, here are my stats:
Please let me know how I may best enhance my academic record and boost my clinical hours all needed for medical school!
Thanks for stopping by to help and hope you are all safe and well ~
Before posting this thread, I have searched the forum using the following keywords
- biotechnology
- microbiology
- NASA
And found no other thread exists. However, if such threads already explored this topic then do please forgive the redundancy and my search error.
I am a nontraditional student meaning I have earned my B.S. in Biological Sciences (2013 - 2019) while juggling employment and student organization leadership but due to extenuating circumstances I have a far from competitive GPA and am seeking a M.S. to enhance my competitiveness. I am a first-generation student and do not have anyone else in my family who have made it to medical school thus far.
In regards to searching for a M.S., I have found two programs of interest but both vary in cost and timeline of completion. These programs are the University of Florida's, UF, online Masters in Microbiology & Cell Science (with a concentration in medical microbiology and biochemistry) and University of Maryland Global Campus's, UMGC , online Biotechnology (with concentration in Bioinformatics). The program at UF is more affordable (~17K versus ~24K) and can be completed sooner than the program at UMGC (one year versus two years). UMGC does not require a GRE score and letter of recommendations, LORs, while UF requires these supplemental documents (once again I do not have a competitive GPA but my GRE score is 300 and may be able to acquire five LORs from past professors). UMGC requires prospective students to have taken, or to take, molecular biology and additional statistics/computer science course before starting the program.
I am having a hard time selecting between the program at UF and the program at UMGC. I do not know which program will strengthen my abilities as a future medical provider regardless where I practice (e.g. overseas, on ships, in villages, etc). I understand the need for bioinformatics to locate biomarkers to enhance personalized medicine and improve cancer therapies. Reading an article published by Harvard Medical, I learned there is an urgent need for future doctors to become "wizards at computational science" that will then usher in an era of "new breed of doctors". I also understand the need for microbiology for research purposes in understanding the effects of bacteria/fungi/viruses to living things and non-living things that can be implicated for planetary research. But in the long-run, I would like to be able to apply the knowledge gained in graduate school to respond to diseases - including novel diseases - even in times of having limited resources. And If I may, I would like to have a career in Space and believe having a Masters background can give me the tools to apply further boost my work performance in addition to medicine. I am fond of nature and have an appreciation for plants, agriculture, animal life, marine life, and so on. I have an informal background of coding from editing HTML codes to design templates for social media (aka Myspace), web-site design, and editing HEX code on the super nintendo emulator roms. These interests of mine are what makes it challenging for me to select the right graduate program for me. I hope one of these programs can bring benefit/aid to Nature and help improve our quality of air/food/water and our understanding of neuro-related disorders/diseases such as Alzheimer's and Schizophrenia.
To my understanding, medical schools accept pre-medical courses taken within 10 years of applications. Please correct me if I am wrong, but that will mean I have until 2023 to apply before needing to re-take classes taken from 2013. I have not taken the MCAT yet but plan on studying ASAP. I am unsure when to schedule taking the MCAT while figuring out grad school. In regards to the rest of my application, here are my stats:
- >3,000 paid-work hours
- 1,920 leadership role hours
- 116 non- clinical volunteer hours
- 8 clinical volunteer hours
- 315 research hours
Please let me know how I may best enhance my academic record and boost my clinical hours all needed for medical school!
Thanks for stopping by to help and hope you are all safe and well ~
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