If it doesn't work out the first time...

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[LJDHC05]

I'm trying to think ahead to possible paths I want to take now that I'm getting my 2nd B.S. (this one in Bio. Sciences)

I dont know necessarially if getting a masters is the best choice. It's another 2 years of classes, but you wouldnt have done anything with the second BS. If your apps fall flat and dont get you in (like mine did), I'd recommend going out and using that degree for a year or two in a research lab as a tech...it's a pretty flexible lifestyle (40 hrs a week, benefits) for the crappy pay (28-31k starting out). BUT you can make good connections through academic research and you may end up liking working at the bench more than you thought you would. I'm at Children's in Boston and we've had several "transient" folks come through on the way to med school/grad school. If you just get a masters for the sake of getting a masters, an adcom might look at it and scratch their collective head about what your motivation really was for grad school. Experience is the best educator IMO.

 

[mshheaddoc]

I'm trying to think ahead to possible paths I want to take now that I'm getting my 2nd B.S. (this one in Bio. Sciences) -

If I don't get into med school the 1st time, do adcoms respect pursuing and completing, say, a M.S. in Bio. Sciences with all those upper-level courses? I'm not sure how to interpret the mass of "grade inflation" posts referring to grad school, and I might want to continue to pursue med school even if I don't get in the first try.

Just curious if any of you thought about this or know someone who did this and it was favorable to their application.

Thanks guys!

Oh, and could someone please do a rain dance - Northern Illinois is dying and half the suburbs of Chicago have already spontaneously combusted 😱

This is what I'm doing. 2nd BS ... if I don't get in, I'm going to go into a medical masters program and apply again. You don't "have" to finish the masters just to note. There are also some SMP (special masters programs) as well as 1-2 year master programs very popular with premeds.

I suggest you check out the post-bacc forum because this is where you'd have a better shot of having most of yoru answers for your situation.

I think after your second degree you shouldn't have a problem getting in if you do well on all your classes. Usually a 2nd degree is at least 30-40 credits depending on how many classes you already have. I will be taking over 55 for mine.

Just remember you can't plan THAT far in advance. Its nice to have a backup plan, but concentrate on the here and now else you will overwhelm yourself

 

[medstylee]

if you apply once and don't get in, and if it's because of your grades, i think that one of the best options is to enroll in a special masters program. some of them are 1 year long, so you can reapply right away. of course, they are expensive and i think that you can get sometimes get assistantships and other sorts of stipends at regular bio grad programs. however, i think getting high marks in an smp is much more convincing to an adcom than scoring well in a regular bio masters program. best of luck.

 

[PKSrugby]

if you apply once and don't get in, and if it's because of your grades, i think that one of the best options is to enroll in a special masters program. some of them are 1 year long, so you can reapply right away. of course, they are expensive and i think that you can get sometimes get assistantships and other sorts of stipends at regular bio grad programs. however, i think getting high marks in an smp is much more convincing to an adcom than scoring well in a regular bio masters program. best of luck.

yes, from what i've heard a special master's like an SMP offered at med school's is better than a regular master's. I thought i'd be okay getting into places because I just did an MS in Biochemistry and it boosted by grades a lot. But it didn't help me get any extra interviews or acceptances, and I just got lucky and accepted off the waitlist this past week. From what i hear, the graduate GPA is looked at separately from your undergrad GPA. Post-bacc however gets added to your undergrad GPA? i'm not quite sure how it works.

But anyways, speaking from experience, my master's in biochem did not seem to help me out at all, and i barely got in, hehe. definitely look at a med school's SMP program rather than just a generic master's.

 

[cfdavid]

A great option for you would be to get EMT certified. You can do basic, or further towards a paramedic's cert. Personally, I think that's a great option if someone has a couple of years off. At least you'd be gainfully employed.

 

[GenSurg]

I new several reapplicants in my class that took time off to pursue a MPH or MHCA. If I had to do it over again, I would have taken another year off and pursued one of these degrees or an MBA.

If your application fall flat, you probably need to do something drastically different. An advanced degree can really help and be the difference between a modest change in your application and a huge change.

During your classtime, you could spend time shadowing physicians, doing volunteer work and getting letters of recommendations from physicians. In my reapplication, I had three physician letters and only one letter from undergrad.

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