Graduate School Before Med School?

[relentless11]

Hey guys, just wanted to throw this question by you all to see get some input. I am 100% sure that I want to do med school. However, my undergrad grads are sub-par due to taking care of my family. Anyway, upon graduating in 2003, i started an official post-bacc program, and have been doing it since. Been holding a 3.6 with upper division work so no problems there (about 45 qtr units of work so far).

Well my problem is my cumulative undergrad+post-bacc GPA. It will still be sub-par despite the help from post-bacc. I am more than happy to continue doing post-bacc to boost the cumulative up, but it is costing me an arm and a leg to take courses through the University of California.

So anyway, due to costs, I looked into graduate school since tuition (for the programs i'm looking at) is paid for either though grants or by TAing. I spoke with the advisors for these programs, and based on my research experience, recent grades, and undergrad degree I should be able to get into the PhD or MS program.

Therefore my question is, should I go for it? Would med schools "frown" upon graduate school courses? The classes that I will take will be equal in terms of content and rigors of med school courses, since some will be taken with med students as well. (like medical pathology, histology, immunology, pharmacology/toxicology, pharmokinetics)

So yea, I would like to go to grad school, since its cheaper for me, and i'm in an official program, however I would like to know what the drawbacks are in terms of my long-term goal of getting into med school. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

PS: Grad school has always been an "extra" thing I always wanted to do. Always considered doing MD/PhD but now grades are kinda off to apply to a combined degree program. So this is another route that I am willing to take, but not at the cost of being a practicing/teaching physician.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Sparky Man]

Well, I am finishing a PhD right now. Only head to graduate school if you are certain you want to dedicate lots of time to research. It will become your life. I wouldn't do it just to get into med school. I'm in physical chemistry/chemical physics and they were in awe of my coursework and research - that was my experience. You sound like you really enjoy research. Also, graduate school can be more hit-and-miss than med school. What I mean is that your advisor really determines your success, given you are a motivated student. You can get screwed, which is why drop out rates are so high in grad school. It's not for everyone and involves some luck. I would make sure that your advisor is aware of your intention to attend med school. If he/she is cool with that, you have probably found the right person. Anyway...sorry for going on and on. If you can get into medical school now, do it. If you feel like it's time for the phd, then go for it, but get pumped up because it takes alot out of you. It's naive to think grad school is a good 'fall-back' plan for med school, as I often hear on SDN. I think those people are doomed...

Sparky

 

[Ross434]

Well, I am finishing a PhD right now. Only head to graduate school if you are certain you want to dedicate lots of time to research. It will become your life. I wouldn't do it just to get into med school. I'm in physical chemistry/chemical physics and they were in awe of my coursework and research - that was my experience. You sound like you really enjoy research. Also, graduate school can be more hit-and-miss than med school. What I mean is that your advisor really determines your success, given you are a motivated student. You can get screwed, which is why drop out rates are so high in grad school. It's not for everyone and involves some luck. I would make sure that your advisor is aware of your intention to attend med school. If he/she is cool with that, you have probably found the right person. Anyway...sorry for going on and on. If you can get into medical school now, do it. If you feel like it's time for the phd, then go for it, but get pumped up because it takes alot out of you. It's naive to think grad school is a good 'fall-back' plan for med school, as I often hear on SDN. I think those people are doomed...

Sparky

If your GPA is already high, does going to grad school for fun first hurt you by making it look like you're focused elsewhere?? I might want to do med school eventually, but for now i'm really interested in mechanical engineering and i dont want to abandon something i love.

 

[Sparky Man]

If your GPA is already high, does going to grad school for fun first hurt you by making it look like you're focused elsewhere?? I might want to do med school eventually, but for now i'm really interested in mechanical engineering and i dont want to abandon something i love.

I had a decent undergrad gpa, ~3.8 and a lower grad gpa, ~3.5. However, the admissions committees are very forgiving when it comes to getting a B in Quantum mechanics I & II! I think if you head to graduate school first and then apply to med school, it definitely brings up the question, "Does this person know what he/she wants to do in life?" So I felt I had to address this up front in my personal statement. Of course, research and science are very important to me, and I want to continue this involvement in medicine, so I don't feel like I'm bailing out on anything. I felt I made a strong case for my dedication to science and that I didn't make a mistake by heading to graduate school first, but that it was a necessary journey for me. Why mechanical engineering? Do you feel an advanced degree will help you in your medical career? It's good to have some kind of connection. If it's your passion, go for it. That's a good enough reason. MechE brings a really intersting perspective to medicine, I think. I think someone with such a unique background could really make a difference in medical research, while having a great experience in a private practice at the same time. The advanced degree can be a great asset or it can hurt you, depending on why you are doing it and how well you did. My advisor was absolutely supportive, which helped tremendously. Let me say, I didn't get in everywhere that's for sure, so some schools decided I was a great fit and some thought I was just crazy. But that's how it goes for most of us anyway.

Good luck, Sparky

 

[Sparky Man]

Oh, if you go to graduate school, make sure you go somewhere with lots of $$$. That's what it takes to really get it on in research.

 

[relentless11]

Thanks for the feedback guy. Yea, I totally agree with ya on getting pumped up before hand. I've been fortunate enough to have been in this lab for the past 5 years and have seen a peer of mine go through the rigors of the PhD program. Scary stuff, but inspiring as well.

The good news is my sponsoring professor is clear that I want to go to med school, and he's also an MD/PhD, so he's been through this route before. I guess i'll push forward with this plan then. I've always saw research as a fun component. It really kicks you in the behind but when the dust settles, its pretty rewarding.

It was just very odd to have pre-med advisors always tell you to do post-bacc, rather than graduate school. I would think that success in grad level classes, especially those that parallel with med school subject areas would be a better determinant of how well you'll do in the first year. Does anyone know why advisors seem to push people towards post-bacc vs. grad school?

 

[LT2]

Hi-

i hear what you're saying about doing post-bacc work instead of a graduate degree. however, i have a sub-par GPA and i chose to do a master's program. i chose this because i wasn't sure if i wanted to pursue research as a career or medicine. i don't know how it will treat me (i'm applying to the class of 2006), i hope i didn't shoot myself in the foot... regarding the grad gpa, it's about as high as it can get, but i've been told by many that ad coms see grad school coursework as inflated and the classes as easy a's. i know my undergrad gpa is a low point of my application, but i think if the ad-coms give me a chance to explain why i chose a graduate degree over just taking upper division classes to raise my gpa, i'll have a chance.

also, any classes you take as a grad student that don't go towards your degree are post-bacc classes according to amcas... something to think about when someone else is footing the bill. i wish i had known this two years ago...

 

[Hoberto]

Hey guys, just wanted to throw this question by you all to see get some input. I am 100% sure that I want to do med school. However, my undergrad grads are sub-par due to taking care of my family. Anyway, upon graduating in 2003, i started an official post-bacc program, and have been doing it since. Been holding a 3.6 with upper division work so no problems there (about 45 qtr units of work so far).

Well my problem is my cumulative undergrad+post-bacc GPA. It will still be sub-par despite the help from post-bacc. I am more than happy to continue doing post-bacc to boost the cumulative up, but it is costing me an arm and a leg to take courses through the University of California.

So anyway, due to costs, I looked into graduate school since tuition (for the programs i'm looking at) is paid for either though grants or by TAing. I spoke with the advisors for these programs, and based on my research experience, recent grades, and undergrad degree I should be able to get into the PhD or MS program.

Therefore my question is, should I go for it? Would med schools "frown" upon graduate school courses? The classes that I will take will be equal in terms of content and rigors of med school courses, since some will be taken with med students as well. (like medical pathology, histology, immunology, pharmacology/toxicology, pharmokinetics)

So yea, I would like to go to grad school, since its cheaper for me, and i'm in an official program, however I would like to know what the drawbacks are in terms of my long-term goal of getting into med school. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

PS: Grad school has always been an "extra" thing I always wanted to do. Always considered doing MD/PhD but now grades are kinda off to apply to a combined degree program. So this is another route that I am willing to take, but not at the cost of being a practicing/teaching physician.

Well, I'm in grad school so I hope it isn't frowned upon.
The only thing I would keep in mind is that you should plan on finishing your graduate degree. My husband had trouble when interviewing with med schools. They told him they didn't want to pull him out of a graduate program to send him to med school. I'm not sure if this is a common opinion at all med schools or just in Ohio.

 

[relentless11]

It should be. The grad student who is in my lab applied this year, and the majority of the med schools required written confirmation that he would finish on time.