Helping choosing between Master's Programs

[premed23456]

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Hey guys,

So as advised by a lot of mentors, I decided to pursue a master's program in something that interests me in order to boost my academic credentials, spend some time away from an academic violation and legal issue from the past, and really also get into research which is lacking from my resume and I'm really interested in getting involved in. I was accepted into my 2 top programs: the Applied Molecular Biology master's program at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and the Biomedical Research master's at Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS). Neither are one of those bridge programs into medical schools, they are strictly research heavy master's programs. And now, I'm absolutely torn between the two. Can you maybe help me choose between the two? Here are some info about the factors that go into each program:

Applied Molecular Bio (AMB) (http://www.umbc.edu/biosci/grad/amb.php):
- First of its kind in the United States, established in 1981. The aim is to train people interested in biotechnology in research techniques and immerse people in real research under the supervision PhD's, but some pre-med's also do this program for the same reasons I'm doing it.
- Designed to be a 1 year program but allows extensions to two years if people want to work part-time while doing the master's.
- Topics are mostly on Molecular Biology, very Biology-heavy work.
- I would most likely get this graduate assistantship with Residential Life which would give me free tuition plus a stipend, room & board, and food, which would essentially make this a free degree (plus some money on the side--tempting).

Biomedical Research (EVMS) (http://www.evms.edu/education/masters_programs/biomedical_sciences_research_masters_program/):
- Aims to train pre-PhD's, I'm not sure how many pre-med's do this program but I'm sure that some do.. I'll find out soon.
- A 2 year program, more intense than the AMB one because it contains summer components also and requires about 7-11 credits more than the AMB degree
- I will be doing research under the supervision of doctors and MD/PhD's as opposed to professors and PhD's like with the AMB program.. not sure if this makes a difference in getting into medical school?
- I will be working on an actual medical campus.. I'm not sure if this will make a difference in my likelihood of getting into medical school (EVMS is one of my choices of medical school)??? Recommendations by faculty at EVMS vs recommendations by UMBC faculty?
- Topics include cancer, infectious diseases, immunology, and other medically relevant topics.
- The tuition will be about 7000 a year which is very cheap compared to other master's programs. No other assistantships available. I'd be able to commute from my parent's house so tuition would be the only thing I'm paying for.

So, all factors considered, I'm really stuck between both of these options.... Can you please give me your opinions on what you think would serve as the best option for my ultimate goal of getting into medical school. That's the deciding factor for me-- what would be the best program to get me into medical school-- costs and everything else aside. Which program do you think would be the best received by medical school admissions committees?

Thanks for all the help!!

 

[Perrotfish]

on reflection, I realized I have no advice worth offering and deleted my post.

 

[premed23456]

Update-- I haven't taken the MCAT yet, I'll be taking it in a year. I have good reasons to be taking time to do this master's so it won't be a waste of time or money.. trust me on that and just please let me know about which master's considering everything I wrote in the post and you'd do if your end goal is med school

 

[WildEMDoc]

Where is your uGPA at right now? Do you have research from undergrad already?

I am in a 1 year, biotech oriented masters program right now and I honestly think it was the biggest waste of time and probably helped me very minimally in my applications.

That being said, if you can actually get into a program intended for people who want to pursue a PhD with not actually wanting to get a PhD then that program would probably be better; in terms of building a strong application (2 years of EC's, research)

However, if your uGPA is not terrible, there is absolutely nothing wrong with just doing the one year program since:
A) It's free

But why do you think you NEED to do a masters degree?

 

[premed23456]

Thanks for the info! My undergrad GPA is 3.7 right now but I transferred here from somewhere else where I had a 3.0.. so it would be pretty low when you average them together. So I DO need some academic repair and I don't have any undergrad research experience so a master's would be the best option.

 

[WildEMDoc]

Looking into your post history, I would say go with the 2 year masters, even though it will cost more money. Put as much time between your past and your present as possible before applying. Plus since you have no research the 2 year masters will be a big help with that.

 

[premed23456]

Well they'd both be 2 years long (I'm extending the 1 year one to 2 years) and they both involve research. My main question is, will it make such a huge difference in me getting into medical school that I'll be at a medical school with EVMS vs me being at a graduate school with UMBC.