Iowa State M.S. in Biomedical Sciences 2016-2017

[Ollivander]

Hey guys. I just wanted to create a thread for all of the students who are thinking of applying, have already applied, or been accepted to the Non-Thesis M.S. in Biomedical Sciences at Iowa State University for the 2016-2017 academic year.

https://vetmed.iastate.edu/bms/academics/one-year-masters/about

I just received an acceptance myself, and wanted to see if anyone else on these forums will be attending or has considered this program. I'm OOS for what it's worth, and felt as though this program was the most beneficial SMP out there tuition wise and based on cost of living for OOS students like myself. It's only a year long program (fall and spring), and has seemed to garner nice reviews on SDN. It's also hosted by Iowa State's veterinary school. I liked it more than other masters programs I was considering because it was hosted by a state school instead of a private and it encompassed an actual curriculum versus building your schedule from scratch with no preset curriculum.

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[Astharia]

I'm an undergrad senior at ISU right now, and I seriously thought about it until a few professors said it was a waste of time and money. I'll likely do a DMU program instead since I'm in the area. Not sure what your goals are but I bet the ISU masters program may be good for pre-vet students. It just didn't seem to match my medical school interests.


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[Ollivander]

I'm an undergrad senior at ISU right now, and I seriously thought about it until a few professors said it was a waste of time and money. I'll likely do a DMU program instead since I'm in the area. Not sure what your goals are but I bet the ISU masters program may be good for pre-vet students. It just didn't seem to match my medical school interests.


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Why did they say it was a waste of time? I'm a pre-dental with a lower end GPA looking for an extra boost to improve my academic resume to gain acceptance into dental school.

 

[Astharia]

I'm not sure, maybe it was specifically for undergrads already at ISU. My GPA isn't great either, (3.2) so I decided to just delay graduating and just retake a bunch of classes for medical school. Did you look at Carver to see if they have a good program since they have the dental school? Iowa State doesn't have a dental school so it may be better for you to go to Carver (Iowa) if they have a good masters program for that. But again, I haven't done a ton of research on master programs or ANY on dental school admissions. That's just what I had heard in a lab.


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[Ollivander]

I'm not sure, maybe it was specifically for undergrads already at ISU. My GPA isn't great either, (3.2) so I decided to just delay graduating and just retake a bunch of classes for medical school. Did you look at Carver to see if they have a good program since they have the dental school? Iowa State doesn't have a dental school so it may be better for you to go to Carver (Iowa) if they have a good masters program for that. But again, I haven't done a ton of research on master programs or ANY on dental school admissions. That's just what I had heard in a lab.


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I've spoken with two former students that have gone through this program and they both performed great in this program. That's what put it over the top for me. I'm actually not from Iowa. I'm an Alabama resident. I was seeking a one-year masters program that incorporated sciences that I've yet to take. I actually hold a bachelor's degree in finance, so I've taken a fair share of science courses in regards to the prereqs and courses like anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry but I've yet to take courses like microbiology, cell biology, pharmacology, or pathology (all of which ISU offers in this program and within a single academic year). My GPA isn't awful (3.4 cumulative GPA, 3.25 science GPA), but I've got 11 withdrawals riddled throughout a 6 year span. I need to exhibit to professional schools that I can handle a rigorous science-based curriculum. So I decided to go with Iowa State over places like Tulane, Barry University, and South Florida due to former reviews by students who've been through this program. They acted as if the professors were very accommodating and if you put forth enough effort you could easily do well.

Bottomline is I was in search of a one-year science based masters program designed for pre-health profession students who needed that extra boost to their academic resume to propel them into professional school. Being an Alabama resident, there aren't any universities in my state that offer such a program. So I'm in a situation in which I'm going to be paying OOS tuition regardless. Iowa State's OOS tuition combined with cost of living was much lower than other places and the curriculum consisted of many courses I've never taken before.

I guess your post just makes me worrisome that I may have made a mistake. So I'm sort of nervous now haha.

 

[Astharia]

Sorry! Lol I'll ask around more. Since your post makes me feel like I should revisit the idea.


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[738177]

Not to make you panic more @Ollivander but did you check out the Mississippi college masters? It costs similar tuition wise and they seem to get a lot of students into dental schools based on the list they've provided.
I asked a few schools which masters i should pursue and they replied saying something along the lines of "we're familiar with both program x and y, so either would be fine". Based on that, I only applied to the more common/known masters programs.

 

[Ollivander]

Not to make you panic more @Ollivander but did you check out the Mississippi college masters? It costs similar tuition wise and they seem to get a lot of students into dental schools based on the list they've provided.
I asked a few schools which masters i should pursue and they replied saying something along the lines of "we're familiar with both program x and y, so either would be fine". Based on that, I only applied to the more common/known masters programs.

It's been a while, but I did. I think I looked into it a year and a half ago. I wasn't too thrilled about the curriculum having not taken the same amount of sciences as that of a biology major for example. I asked the associate dean of my state dental school what masters programs he'd recommend and he specifically told me his distaste for privates, or what he called "for-profit" schools. So because of that, I avoided privates. It was also specifically geared for pre-med students if I remember correctly through reading a handful of threads. Additionally there were more than a handful of people that claimed that if you wanted A's, you needed to aim for graduating after a year and a half. I needed to ensure to the best of my ability I not only would be more likely to perform well in whatever masters program I ended up choosing, but that I'd be able to graduate within a year for personal reasons. I thought it was noteworthy that Iowa State's program was connected to their vet school and the curriculum really was ideal for me. I need microbiology as a prereq for a couple of dental schools still and I've yet to take cell biology either.

 

[Astharia]

I'd also note that a lot of times that feedback is from angry students who didn't perform well or get into their school of choice and they place blame on ISU. After reading the website a bit more it seems that a lot of students have gone to dental school. Though personally I'd still pick Carver if they have a similar program. Hell I hate being at ISU (even though academics are great) because I grew up a huge Iowa Hawkeye fan but I'm from an area 20 minutes outside of ISUs campus, so it was cheap and convenient. You will love ISUs campus and people though.


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[738177]

It's been a while, but I did. I think I looked into it a year and a half ago. I wasn't too thrilled about the curriculum having not taken the same amount of sciences as that of a biology major for example. I asked the associate dean of my state dental school what masters programs he'd recommend and he specifically told me his distaste for privates, or what he called "for-profit" schools. So because of that, I avoided privates. It was also specifically geared for pre-med students if I remember correctly through reading a handful of threads. Additionally there were more than a handful of people that claimed that if you wanted A's, you needed to aim for graduating after a year and a half. I needed to ensure to the best of my ability I not only would be more likely to perform well in whatever masters program I ended up choosing, but that I'd be able to graduate within a year for personal reasons. I thought it was noteworthy that Iowa State's program was connected to their vet school and the curriculum really was ideal for me. I need microbiology as a prereq for a couple of dental schools still and I've yet to take cell biology either.

You've done a tremendous amount of research on this which is great! I honestly don't know enough about the Iowa program to say anything. If it helps, NY told me "Any masters program would help your app if you have a low GPA" ...i got the vibe that they don't really care where you get your masters from. I'm sure there are others schools that follow the same line of thinking as well. I mean, a great GPA from a science intensive masters can't NOT help you anyway. If it's a perfect fit for you in every way, i'd just stick to the program.

 

[Ollivander]

I'd also note that a lot of times that feedback is from angry students who didn't perform well or get into their school of choice and they place blame on ISU. After reading the website a bit more it seems that a lot of students have gone to dental school. Though personally I'd still pick Carver if they have a similar program. Hell I hate being at ISU (even though academics are great) because I grew up a huge Iowa Hawkeye fan but I'm from an area 20 minutes outside of ISUs campus, so it was cheap and convenient. You will love ISUs campus and people though.


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Have you personally heard any angry/negative feedback from this program from former students yourself? The reason I ask is just so I know more about it going in and won't be blindsided. I'd like to hear any criticism, good or bad. It all helps. I've only heard from two students and I realize that's a very small sample size.


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[Ollivander]

You've done a tremendous amount of research on this which is great! I honestly don't know enough about the Iowa program to say anything. If it helps, NY told me "Any masters program would help your app if you have a low GPA" ...i got the vibe that they don't really care where you get your masters from. I'm sure there are others schools that follow the same line of thinking as well. I mean, a great GPA from a science intensive masters can't NOT help you anyway. If it's a perfect fit for you in every way, i'd just stick to the program.

Thanks! I completely agree with you here. I feel like it actually might matter for pre-meds which masters or SMP they elect to enroll in, but with other health profession schools they just like to see that you're enrolled in a science-focused masters program that incorporates some subjects you'll be taught in professional school and are performing well in it.


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[Astharia]

Have you personally heard any angry/negative feedback from this program from former students yourself? The reason I ask is just so I know more about it going in and won't be blindsided. I'd like to hear any criticism, good or bad. It all helps. I've only heard from two students and I realize that's a very small sample size.


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I heard the negative from a student that's in a class of mine, that our professor said it was a waste but that's kind of 2nd hand, so take it for what it's worth. I'm planning on asking my pathology professor tonight what his thoughts are on it. He's the vet med department head for Path so he'd give some good advice and review I think. He probably teaches the 503 class in the curriculum.


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[Ollivander]

I heard the negative from a student that's in a class of mine, that our professor said it was a waste but that's kind of 2nd hand, so take it for what it's worth. I'm planning on asking my pathology professor tonight what his thoughts are on it. He's the vet med department head for Path so he'd give some good advice and review I think. He probably teaches the 503 class in the curriculum.


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Awesome! Thanks a ton. Please let me know what he ends up saying in regards to it, and if you don't mind could you ask him how most students perform in it?

 

[Astharia]

Sure! Maybe pm me tonight to remind me to give you feed back, I have two finals Monday so I'm super busy lol.


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[Ollivander]

Sure! Maybe pm me tonight to remind me to give you feed back, I have two finals Monday so I'm super busy lol.


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Will do! I appreciate it. Good luck on finals too! I'm in the thick of it as well at the moment.

 

[FutureDVM2]

Will do! I appreciate it. Good luck on finals too! I'm in the thick of it as well at the moment.

Hey! I'm pre-vet but kind of in the same boat regarding the 1 year master's through ISU. I was curious what the prof said and if you ended up attending (also what you thought of the program if you did). Thanks!
@Ollivander