How much impact does a MS have?

[AlteredScale]

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I am starting my senior year of undergrad and am thinking about pursuing a fast-track masters program that allows me to finish one year after I graduate.

Specifically my MS would focus on the immunological perspective to IBD's.

Do AdComs take this into large consideration? I have heard some accepted students state that AdComs do not even ask about the research because of the fact that it is graduate studies?

 

[Benedictus123]

Forum consensus seems to be that graduate school is largely a wash when it comes to med school admissions. I guess the real answer is that it depends.

I almost have a PhD in chemical engineering and have/will have many publications. Does this make me more competitive for med school? Most have told me 'eh.' But hey, it was a fun degree and I'm glad I have it.

 

[Long Way to Go]

I am starting my senior year of undergrad and am thinking about pursuing a fast-track masters program that allows me to finish one year after I graduate.

Specifically my MS would focus on the immunological perspective to IBD's.

Do AdComs take this into large consideration? I have heard some accepted students state that AdComs do not even ask about the research because of the fact that it is graduate studies?

Why do you want to go to graduate school, and what do you ultimately hope to do after residency?

 

[Arbor Vitae]

I am starting my senior year of undergrad and am thinking about pursuing a fast-track masters program that allows me to finish one year after I graduate.

Specifically my MS would focus on the immunological perspective to IBD's.

Do AdComs take this into large consideration? I have heard some accepted students state that AdComs do not even ask about the research because of the fact that it is graduate studies?

It helped me get in after being rejected straight out of college. I completed an M.S. in mol bio with straight As, taught a lab the whole time, got publications, studied for MCAT, and just matured overall which really helped in interviews. I was thinking realistically, and if I didn't get in to med school, a post-bacc or SMP will not help with anything, but at least you can land a decent job with an M.S. in a hard science. Several interviewers seemed to agree on this. Especially because you can take the same courses you would in an SMP, or you can take some for your M.S., and others as post-bacc to improve your GPA. I would only suggest it if you like research and would use the degree for a backup career if medicine didn't work out. Don't do it JUST to improve your app.

 

[A7X]

Not much of an impact, but I don't think it will hurt you.

 

[Barley426]

At one point I was unsure if I would have my masters thesis done by the time I matriculated, I told the schools that I was interviewing at and they all said they don't care about the masters. I was accepted to all of them btw.

 

[milkphlegm]

I don't think the actual degree will end up helping me, but the experience I've gained while earning the degree have been helpful when writing all of these introspective secondary essays. Plus a way higher graduate GPA from your undergrad GPA can't be the worst thing to have, right?

 

[VictorAlpha]

tough to say for sure. I think it helped me.

 

[AlteredScale]

Why do you want to go to graduate school, and what do you ultimately hope to do after residency?

Well ultimately I really am fascinated with the field of immunology and don't believe a B.S. will give that any justice. I also just want to advance myself as a student in taking more advanced courses that could perhaps help me in medical school. We have a med-into-grad program that lets researchers move into clinic and learn the clinical basis for their own research. Beyond that, I never really felt compelled to use it as a "stepping stone" for medical school.

 

[Status Sciaticus]

I hope these people are wrong or atleast referring to a traditional MS.

I think SMP matters. Otherwise there would be no point to do it.

One of my friends did a non-thesis masters and was subsequently accepted so I am sure it helps too.

 

[khrisskhoras]

I am starting my senior year of undergrad and am thinking about pursuing a fast-track masters program that allows me to finish one year after I graduate.

Specifically my MS would focus on the immunological perspective to IBD's.

Do AdComs take this into large consideration? I have heard some accepted students state that AdComs do not even ask about the research because of the fact that it is graduate studies?

It depends on what kind of MS. If its a thesis MS, then it can help, but a course only MS doesn't help as much and could even be useless with a bad GPA.

An MS in the hard sciences holds more weight as well imo

 

[khrisskhoras]

I hope these people are wrong or atleast referring to a traditional MS.

I think SMP matters. Otherwise there would be no point to do it.

One of my friends did a non-thesis masters and was subsequently accepted so I am sure it helps too.

SMP is in a different category than MS. The MS is a degree that typically leads to a PhD, an SMP is a terminal degree, much like an M.Eng but with a focus on medical courses. Both SMP and MS can help an application in different ways.

 

[hypadude]

I have a Ph.D. in neuroscience and it was not easy for me to get into medical school. It took two rounds of applications. At no point in the process did I feel like I had a distinct advantage or was evaluated any differently than straight-out-of-undergrad 22-year-olds.

I'm still proud I did it, though.

 

[AlteredScale]

My MS will be thesis-based but we must take 12 units of courses as well. I have the following planned courses: Graduate Immunology (4 Units) , Practical Histopathology and Mouse Models of Human Disease (2), Intervention in Human Disease States (2) , Communicating Science to the Public (2) , and some Med-into-Grad courses which integrate clinical practice into research sciences where we come to clinic to see closely related work to our disease focus (2).

The one thing is that my school is HEAVILY research based and I would prefer to not get sucked into PhD tracks nor get too advanced past the fundamentals of research. I just want enough that could be considered decent for medical school if perhaps I decide to do a research elective on MS3 MS4.

There's also an MPH route that I can take, however it it does not have a contiguous program therefore it's out of the picture for me. The 2013-2014 will be my senior undergrad year and if I take the MS I can start my first year this year. So I will finish it one year post-grad.

The courses seem great in strengthening myself as a writer. And I am already involved in my lab and enjoy the work as well as the literature. I also get clinic experience as my PI is an MD as well.

 

[paulvujb]

Forum consensus seems to be that graduate school is largely a wash when it comes to med school admissions.

 

[Cinclus]

It depends on what you do while attaining the degree. My Master's gave me an extra 2.5 years of research experience, totaling to 4, and I could talk about it all pretty extensively. My interviewers always asked me about my research, because the amount I did and the fact I did it at a graduate level seemed to stand out. I didn't get the MS for med school purposes, however, and if I had known I wanted to go med during undergrad, the grad school thing would have never happened.

 

[487806]

I hope these people are wrong or atleast referring to a traditional MS.

I think SMP matters. Otherwise there would be no point to do it.

One of my friends did a non-thesis masters and was subsequently accepted so I am sure it helps too.

SMP matters if your GPA is subpar. Otherwise, it's a waste of cash and a traditional master's degree is better.