Is there any benefit of getting a masters for people with 3.6+ GPAs?

[miss chievous]

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I have a 3.65 cGPA and around a 3.60 sGPA. Is there any point in doing a one year masters program for Biomedical Sciences during my year off, or should I spend it doing other things?

 

[miss chievous]

I have a 3.65 cGPA and around a 3.60 sGPA. Is there any point in doing a one year masters program for Biomedical Sciences during my year off, or should I spend it doing other things?

Note: asking this on behalf of my boyfriend

 

[darkjedi]

Improving a 3.6 GPA will have minimal effect on your application. What little it can do to improve your application will pale in comparison to what you can possible do in terms of other experiences. At this point the MCAT will be significantly more important. I ended up with ~3.6 GPA after my postbac, but I believe it was my other experiences and jobs that got me into medical school.

Doing some interesting/productive research experiences, or something else that is unique will help you stand out much more.

 

[sinombre]

Note: asking this on behalf of my boyfriend

If your boyfriend only intends on getting a master's to compensate for GPA--no, it's not worth it. Especially if he has to pay for it. His MCAT score will be more important than his GPA in terms of admissions outcomes.

 

[buttahz]

I highly doubt it. The only exception I can think of, is if your boyfriend had started out with a 4.0 freshman/sophomore years, and then had a serious downward trend his last two years.

 

[miss chievous]

Thanks for the advice guys.

He has a 3.68 with an upward trend, but he feels like he isn't prepared for the rigor of med school. He took a ton of AP classes in high school, so got away with taking only 12 hours a semester for all 4 years.

Still not worth it?

 

[Narmerguy]

Thanks for the advice guys.

He has a 3.68 with an upward trend, but he feels like he isn't prepared for the rigor of med school. He took a ton of AP classes in high school, so got away with taking only 12 hours a semester for all 4 years.

Still not worth it?

Well this is a slightly different angle. Are you asking if it will be worth it to prepare him for medical school, or if it will be worth it to make his application stand out more?

 

[miss chievous]

Well this is a slightly different angle. Are you asking if it will be worth it to prepare him for medical school, or if it will be worth it to make his application stand out more?

Both, to be honest

 

[TwinsFan]

It is a risk, anything below that 3.6 will only hurt the application and anything over won't help very much. As far as academics go, if you have 3.6+ with a steady or upward trend then focus on the MCAT.

 

[notbobtrustme]

I have a 3.65 cGPA and around a 3.60 sGPA. Is there any point in doing a one year masters program for Biomedical Sciences during my year off, or should I spend it doing other things?

The only type of Masters' that'll benefit him are thesis-based Masters' and those are typically 2 year programs. Those "1 year Masters in medical science" are an audition for the adjoining medical school, so he'll be paying for 5 years of med school instead of 4.

The only thing that prepares you for medical school is medical school. I took 21-24 credit hours as an undergrad and that still pales in comparison to the first year of medical school.

 

[gmcguitar4]

As I have heard from many, nothing will fully prepare you for the rigor of medical school. Paying for a masters just to be worked a little harder will not be worth it in my opinion. Just tell him to keep building those EC's and enjoy his time.

 

[SilverCat]

For a 3.6 GPA, master's program is an expensive waste of time. I'm in a one- year, thesis- based master's program, and I can tell you, I put in 1/10 of the work I did in undergrad, and still manage to get a 4.0 GPA.

Med schools don't care about these master's programs. I went to one interview, and the Dean of Admissions asked about mine, and later said, 'That's not a real master's in public health program.' I also wasn't asked anything about it in any of my interviews, although my school tries to sell it as something that really adds to a med school app.

The only master's program that actually mean anything are the SMPs, and I would only go to one if I had a 3.3-3.4 GPA.

 

[yinyang23]

May I ask the nature of your program? I'll be attending a 1 year's masters program this fall that is public health oriented and I too have 3.6+ GPA...

 

[osprey099]

Let's say you have a 3.6+ GPA and also a 30+ MCAT, is it worth to retake the MCAT in this case?

 

[gmcguitar4]

May I ask the nature of your program? I'll be attending a 1 year's masters program this fall that is public health oriented and I too have 3.6+ GPA...

Like the poster above you said "Dean of Admissions asked about mine, and later said, 'That's not a real master's in public health program." I feel like 1 year is not nearly enough to really get a lot out of the program..plus you will probably forget a majority of it after your first year in med school.

 

[nysegop]

Let's say you have a 3.6+ GPA and also a 30+ MCAT, is it worth to retake the MCAT in this case?

No. People with those stats stand a decent chance of acceptance. If someone with those stats doesn't get in, then it could be a good idea. Otherwise there really isn't a point.

 

[rudziutki]

Let's say you have a 3.6+ GPA and also a 30+ MCAT, is it worth to retake the MCAT in this case?

If you are ORM, I wouldn't really feel safe with anything less than a 32 MCAT and at least 10/10/10 on each section. There are exceptions, but the adds are against it.

 

[Donald Juan]

If you are white or Asian, I wouldn't really feel safe with anything less than a 32 MCAT and at least 10/10/10 on each section. There are exceptions, but the adds are against it.

That's a bit of an overstatement. 3.6GPA + 27-29 MCAT = 49.8% acceptance for whites (43.1% for Asians). I wouldn't call 49.8% "exceptions" although the odds are slightly against it. Obviously, everyone should do their best on the MCAT, you don't go for a certain score.

OP, I'll echo what others have said. Your bf's GPA isn't so low that additional schooling looks necessary. Nobody is prepared for med school. You get your ass kicked in the first month, then it just keeps getting harder while you get better and better at it.

 

[Loveless]

Does he plan on doing any research after obtaining his MD?

 

[sinombre]

That's a bit of an overstatement. 3.6GPA + 27-29 MCAT = 49.8% acceptance for whites (43.1% for Asians). I wouldn't call 49.8% "exceptions" although the odds are slightly against it. Obviously, everyone should do their best on the MCAT, you don't go for a certain score.

OP, I'll echo what others have said. Your bf's GPA isn't so low that additional schooling looks necessary. Nobody is prepared for med school. You get your ass kicked in the first month, then it just keeps getting harder while you get better and better at it.

This is true, but the likelihood of getting in with a < 30 score definitely varies by location. If you're a white/Asian California applicant with those stats, you're going to have a hard time.

 

[miss chievous]

I talked to an admissions dean at one of our state med schools and was told this is not a typical "masters program." I'll actually be taking some classes with DO students, and he said his specific school looks very favorably upon it.

Here's a research study done about the program.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18162749

Do you guys still have the same opinion?

 

[alpinism]

This is true, but the likelihood of getting in with a < 30 score definitely varies by location. If you're a white/Asian California applicant with those stats, you're going to have a hard time.

Exactly. The vast majority of White/Asian applicants who get in with a <30 MCAT either live in a less competitive state (Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, etc...) or have above average ECs.

 

[SilverCat]

I talked to an admissions dean at one of our state med schools and was told this is not a typical "masters program." I'll actually be taking some classes with DO students, and he said his specific school looks very favorably upon it.

Here's a research study done about the program.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18162749

Do you guys still have the same opinion?

It may be a good program, but I wouldn't base my decision to attend it off of that study. For one thing, it's 5 years old, and med school admissions have gotten more competitive. For another thing, it's conducted by the school that runs the program--do you really think they're going to come out and say that their program's a failure?

And the program I'm in centers on molec bio. I haven't taken any classic public health courses, such as epi or biostats.

 

[alpinism]

I talked to an admissions dean at one of our state med schools and was told this is not a typical "masters program." I'll actually be taking some classes with DO students, and he said his specific school looks very favorably upon it.

Here's a research study done about the program.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18162749

Do you guys still have the same opinion?

Is UNT his top choice?

The program will increase his chances at UNT, but not so much for MD schools.

TBH his GPA is already more than good enough for DO so if he's going for UNT he wouldn't need the program to begin with.

Assuming he's a Texas resident, his GPA is also competitive for most Texas allopathic schools as well. Either way it would basically just be a waste of money.

 

[Narmerguy]

Exactly. The vast majority of White/Asian applicants who get in with a <30 MCAT either live in a less competitive state (Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, etc...) or have above average ECs.

Do you have some sort of inside information for this?

 

[notbobtrustme]

Is UNT his top choice?

The program will increase his chances at UNT, but not so much for MD schools.

TBH his GPA is already more than good enough for DO so if he's going for UNT he wouldn't need the program to begin with.

Assuming he's a Texas resident, his GPA is also competitive for most Texas allopathic schools as well. Either way it would basically just be a waste of money.

Dude, a 3.6 puts you in the running with everyone else for MD. He shouldn't be looking at DOs as a backup, he should be looking at backup MD schools. That is, provided his MCAT is competitive.

 

[alpinism]

Do you have some sort of inside information for this?

I should have clarified that I'm assuming the applicant has an average GPA ~3.6 and didn't go to a Ivy/ top tier school.

If you're applying with a 3.6 and 29 from an average state school right out of college with average ECs, your chances are pretty low at most private schools and obviously top publics. Most of these applicants end up getting into their "lower" ranked state school (the ones that have MCAT averages from 28-30). If you live in a state that doesnt have a lower ranked state school w high IS preference (CA, PA, and NY for example) your chances are realistically well below 49.8%.

The privates with lower stats (RFU, Tulane, Albany, etc) usually prefer nontrads or those with great ECs. Because of this, the ones that do get into private schools or higher ranked publics usually have some sort of hook in their app (great ECs) or have pedigree (Ivy education).

The 49.8% success rate for 29/3.6 is the average but there is a huge range statistically.

For example:

A 29/3.6 from NM, KS, or AR has prob a >70% chance of getting into their state school(s).

A 29/3.6 from CA or NY has prob a <30% chance of getting into their state school(s).

(The above are just rough estimates for a college senior applying w average ECs)

Its not really insider info, just data from working with my school's adcom and talking to many friends at different med schools that also are involved w admissions.

 

[alpinism]

Dude, a 3.6 puts you in the running with everyone else for MD. He shouldn't be looking at DOs as a backup, he should be looking at backup MD schools. That is, provided his MCAT is competitive.

Agreed, unless he wants to stay in DFW for some reason (family/SO) and is only applying to UNT and/or UTSW.

 

[osprey099]

I should have clarified that I'm assuming the applicant has an average GPA ~3.6 and didn't go to a Ivy/ top tier school.

If you're applying with a 3.6 and 29 from an average state school right out of college with average ECs, your chances are pretty low at most private schools and obviously top publics. Most of these applicants end up getting into their "lower" ranked state school (the ones that have MCAT averages from 28-30). If you live in a state that doesnt have a lower ranked state school w high IS preference (CA, PA, and NY for example) your chances are realistically well below 49.8%.

The privates with lower stats (RFU, Tulane, Albany, etc) usually prefer nontrads or those with great ECs. Because of this, the ones that do get into private schools or higher ranked publics usually have some sort of hook in their app (great ECs) or have pedigree (Ivy education).

The 49.8% success rate for 29/3.6 is the average but there is a huge range statistically.

For example:

A 29/3.6 from NM, KS, or AR has prob a >70% chance of getting into their state school(s).

A 29/3.6 from CA or NY has prob a <30% chance of getting into their state school(s).

(The above are just rough estimates for a college senior applying w average ECs)

Its not really insider info, just data from working with my school's adcom and talking to many friends at different med schools that also are involved w admissions.

I just wanted to say that your post makes a lot of logical sense but I'm curious to know where you got this information (bolded statement above).

 

[miss chievous]

He would prefer to go to an MD school, and doesn't really want to go to the DO school that's joined with the masters program. He just figured it'd be a good transition.

 

[sinombre]

I just wanted to say that your post makes a lot of logical sense but I'm curious to know where you got this information (bolded statement above).

It becomes pretty obvious when you apply by following the school-specific threads, and by seeing where your friends/people you know interview and get accepted. There are obviously exceptions, but it seems to be a pretty accurate generalization.

 

[sinombre]

He would prefer to go to an MD school, and doesn't really want to go to the DO school that's joined with the masters program. He just figured it'd be a good transition.

Tell him not to waste his money and apply early and broadly.

 

[miss chievous]

Okay so the MCAT scores came in today.

His stats now are 3.68 cGPA/3.68 sGPA and 32 MCAT.

Any point now in doing this program? I think the only reason he wants to do it is so his brain stays active (and to have a slight advantage during the first year).

 

[sinombre]

Okay so the MCAT scores came in today.

His stats now are 3.68 cGPA/3.68 sGPA and 32 MCAT.

Any point now in doing this program? I think the only reason he wants to do it is so his brain stays active (and to have a slight advantage during the first year).

No. Absolutely not.

 

[miss chievous]

No. Absolutely not.

Damn. SDN really seems to be against taking the offer for the program.

Alas, SDN wins. Thanks for the advice. 🙂

 

[Lamel]

Okay so the MCAT scores came in today.

His stats now are 3.68 cGPA/3.68 sGPA and 32 MCAT.

Any point now in doing this program? I think the only reason he wants to do it is so his brain stays active (and to have a slight advantage during the first year).

I think those scores are nearly identical to average matriculant MCAT and GPA (31.2 and 3.68), and his SGPA is slightly higher (3.54).

So he is in good shape. Apply early and broadly and he will succeed.

 

[sinombre]

I think those scores are nearly identical to average matriculant MCAT and GPA (31.2 and 3.68), and his SGPA is slightly higher (3.54).

So he is in good shape. Apply early and broadly and he will succeed.

Probably, assuming everything else is good. It certainly isn't guaranteed.

But yeah, applying early and broadly is super important.

 

[Sea Otter]

Okay so the MCAT scores came in today.

His stats now are 3.68 cGPA/3.68 sGPA and 32 MCAT.

Any point now in doing this program? I think the only reason he wants to do it is so his brain stays active (and to have a slight advantage during the first year).

I got into 5 schools with almost those exact stats. He definitely doesn't need to.