Graduate School

[plrae12]

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I took the April MCAT, got my scores back and i definitely have to retake it this August. My other problem is my GPA, it's only around 3.06. I'm planning on going to grad school to bump it up. I graduated with a bachelors in Nursing and I was thinking of applying to a Masters of Science in Nursing program. My goal is to get into medical school but at this point, the only grad program I know that I can get in for sure is Nursing. I'm thinking of a second bachelor's degree, but i don't know..it's expensive and it does not make sense to go back down.

I just need some advice. Does it really matter what kind of grad program you go into?

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

In my opinion, medical school applications are one of the few times when staying at the undergraduate level rather than going on to graduate school sometimes makes sense. Good work in a masters program can help your application, but it's intangible. Your undergraduate GPA is very important because your graduate GPA can't be compared against most applicants who don't have graduate degrees. The unfortunate truth is that your app may get "screened out" based on your UG GPA before anybody even looks at your grad GPA. Your UG and Grad GPAs will always be separate (however, for AMCAS purposes but not AACOMAS, if you do undergraduate-level electives as part of your Masters program, those count into your UG GPA).

How's your science GPA? What's your UG GPA in, say, your last 60 hours of work? Two options you have are: special master's program, or doing additional coursework in undergrad sciences that strengthens your app. It's hard to advise without knowing your grade trends - and how far you need to come up on the MCAT.

All that advice is based on the assumption that getting into medical school is your #1 goal at this point. If you need a fallback position, however, a Masters' in Nursing is a very good career move.

 

[njbmd]

I took the April MCAT, got my scores back and i definitely have to retake it this August. My other problem is my GPA, it's only around 3.06. I'm planning on going to grad school to bump it up. I graduated with a bachelors in Nursing and I was thinking of applying to a Masters of Science in Nursing program. My goal is to get into medical school but at this point, the only grad program I know that I can get in for sure is Nursing. I'm thinking of a second bachelor's degree, but i don't know..it's expensive and it does not make sense to go back down.

I just need some advice. Does it really matter what kind of grad program you go into?

Hi there,
If you go for a graduate degree in Nursing, you commit yourself more to Nursing than medicine. As you probably know and from another excellent post in this thread, graduate school will not improve your undergraduate GPA.

A second bachelor's degree is an option but make sure that you choose something that shows you are capable of doing well in medical school (a science major) and do very, very well in this major.

Another option is is take a few upper division undergraduate science courses or graduate-level courses like Biochemistry or Physiology and ace them. They would not be listed as graduate work since you would not be in a formal graduate program and you get the GPA boost.

Good luck!
njbmd 🙂

 

[plrae12]

Hey guys, thanks for all your advice. I think i'm gonna apply for a second bachelor's in Neuroscience. njbmd is right about shifting by commiting myself more to nursing if i go for that MSN. The situation is just so frustrating at this point...i feel like i'm not making any progress. My stats are not stellar because of some mistakes i made during my undergrad, ( i became impatient and tried to finish pre-med before starting nursing school) I took Calc I and Orgo II all at once during summer and that killed my GPA. So, a second bachelor's looks good at this point. Thanks again. ~P 🙂