Master's at Northwestern...Is it Worth it?

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So I got accepted, but with all this talk about grade inflation at grad school, is it worth it for me to get a master's degree there as a means of improving my application? It's a M.S. in Neurobiology btw. Please share your opinions. Thank you!

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1 year accelerated program with a thesis. any thoughts?

-joe joe
 
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can you post a link on this program? I could not find it. Did you have to take MCAT? Is it competetive?
 
and do they have a gaurantee that you will be accepted into med school after completion of the program?
 
<a href="http://www.northwestern.edu/neurobiology/" target="_blank">Link</a>

i have no idea whether it's competitive or not. just applied for the heck of it as a plan B and wrote a strong statement of purpose. i applied with my MCAT scores, but it's not required.

it's 35K for the tuition...that's why i'm trying to figure out if that amount of money is worth it if the degree is not going to help that much in my credentials.
 
i think it would be worth if you have a strong interest in the material. from the little that i know, it seems that this program is more research oriented and you write a thesis by the end, so it doesn't seem fluffy. if the rest of your app is pretty strong, this would only help.
 
it doesnt really sound like you are that interested in doing research, rather it looks like you want a stepping stone to get into graduate school. if this is the case, i hear that Masters in Public Health work well. i personally know a chap who didnt get in his first year of applying (he only applied to top 20 schools/stanford overachiever type), and then he went and got a MPH at hopkins and now he's headed to UCSF. Go figure.
 
I don't think that it is worth 35k, however I do not know your GPA. If you think that a masters is the way to go, apply to ones that offer financial support (tuition plus stipend).
 
i think getting a masters is definitely worth your time and effort, especially if you're into the field/material. it does not necessarily have to help you with your gpa or anything, but it definitely gives you an edge when you apply to med school (well, at least for Stanford). i'm doing a masters of public health at dartmouth. it's a one-year program and it costs me around 35K (if not more) and i think it's worth the money and the experience, especiall if you're from a different part of the country.
 
I too am getting a master's (international affairs) and find it to be very rewarding. I just question whether you need to pay 35K in tuition. When you add living expenses for a year, you are looking at $50,000! At Wash U poetry majors and East Asian studies majors are getting full financial support, tuition plus stipend, for their studies. If you want to do an MPH or other program, find one that offers money. $50,000 is not worth it, if what you really want is to be a physician.
 
i think it's pretty tough to get financial support unless you are doing a phd program.
it's really hard to say whether or not the program would be good for your situation, because we don't know your whole situation. if the only reason you're doing it is because you want to get into med school, i would say you should look into doing something else (like take post-bac classes at a state school with cheaper tuition and doing some research or volunteer work). if you are truly interested in the program, then maybe it is a good option.
 
I'm pretty sure that the Northwestern program is not a linkage program. Unless you're really interested in the neurophysiology/physiology field and whatever else that that program offers, I personally couldn't justify paying 35k for a stepping-stone program that does not even have a linkage arrangement with a medical school.
 
thanks for the input everyone!

they don't have a linkage to any med schools, but many of their graduates do end up in med school. i majored neuroscience as an undergrad and have done a lot research in the field as is, from lab to clinical...so i do enjoy the material thoroughly. this degree would only enhance my research background and offer work towards an original thesis. i have a 3.5 cum GPA from a top public university and good balanced MCAT scores, if that offers any more insights as to what i should do.

i already have a job lined up for this year, so it's either choosing to work or pursuing this master's WHILE i'm re-applying.

- joe joe
 
if you have good stats (which you do), there's no need to get a master's degree unless you really want to. if it's what you want to do, do it. if you're doing it to get into med school, it seems like a waste of money. just think, you could earn the amt of money it costs to go to 1 year grad school by working for a year!
 
i hear ya lola...i've been posing that same line to friends. if i stay and work, i'll MAKE 35K. if i go get the master's, i'll PAY 35K.

that said, i do want to do become a research physician one day, most likely in neurology. that's why i only applied to this master's program versus other ones. it seems really geared towards my future aspirations.

it really comes down to the cost issue for me. :confused:
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by LABRUIN407:
•i think getting a masters is definitely worth your time and effort, especially if you're into the field/material. it does not necessarily have to help you with your gpa or anything, but it definitely gives you an edge when you apply to med school (well, at least for Stanford). i'm doing a masters of public health at dartmouth. it's a one-year program and it costs me around 35K (if not more) and i think it's worth the money and the experience, especiall if you're from a different part of the country.•••••Hey LABruin,

Can you tell me more about the dartmouth 1 year MPH program? Was it difficult to get in? Did you go right after undergrad? ARe you applying to med school? You can PM me or post here...thanks!!
 
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