Master's Degree

[blowe46]

Much like most people I decided to do a masters to be sheltered away from actually making real life choices and entering the real world.

Although my MPH hasn't been a huge failure, I am not too pleased with my grades .. GPA ~3.4-3.5 I will have headed my own project and will get a publication.


In any case, unlike most people I don't really want my graduate degree to count for anything. If it gets me an extra nod at the interview, I would be satisfied.

Are the rumors true? Do medical schools not really consider the degree?

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[ShinyDome19]

Much like most people I decided to do a masters to be sheltered away from actually making real life choices and entering the real world.

Although my MPH hasn't been a huge failure, I am not too pleased with my grades .. GPA ~3.4-3.5 I will have headed my own project and will get a publication.


In any case, unlike most people I don't really want my graduate degree to count for anything. If it gets me an extra nod at the interview, I would be satisfied.

Are the rumors true? Do medical schools not really consider the degree?

I applied with a Masters in Microbiology, and after talking with two different admissions counselors, they came across as saying that they take your graduate work in to consideration, however they still put more weight on your undergraduate work. One thing one counselor told me was that my undergrad science GPA was fairly poor, 3.0, however I had an upward trend which I maintained in graduate school, where I graduate with a 3.85. They told me because of my graduate school, they dont question my ability to handle the medical school course work...

The most impact my graduate degree had on my application seemed to be the amount of teaching/leadership experience and publications/research I obtained throughout the process. One admissions counselor told me I had more 'leadership' experience than the majority of applicants due to the teaching requirement at my school.

 

[Catalystik]

There are a few med schools that take a science-heavy masters degree into consideration, but an MPH doesn't fall into that category. Your grad school GPA isn't great, but not horrible either, so while I don't think it will help you, it won't hurt you, either. The MPH is equal to a great EC, AND it is a good route to research opportunities if you were lacking in that area. That you got a pub is golden. Teaching experience is very desirable, so it will help you there, too, if you did this.

Your MPH will have an impact during the residency application process, more so, and that application can also also list your research/pub from the MPH process.

 

[The Enchanter]

The admissions office at one school flat out told me that they don't make admissions decisions based on graduate work. A Masters is unlikely to help much but can definitely hurt if you do not do well.

 

[njbmd]

The admissions office at one school flat out told me that they don't make admissions decisions based on graduate work. A Masters is unlikely to help much but can definitely hurt if you do not do well.

The above is generally true as the OP would have been better served doing some post bacc work (undergraduate coursework taken after graduation) or a Special Masters for medical school credentials enhancement.

The other thing that the OP has to worry about is that poor performance in that MPH. If you enter graduate school, you are expected to perform at a very high level and your are expected to have publications. Anything less than 3.6 is going to be a negative for graduate work (huge amount of grade inflation and you are expected to want to learn this material) just like a "D" is a failure in any graduate course.

Bottom line: Don't enter a masters program for pre-med (outside of a SMP for medical school credentials enhancement) unless you want a masters degree in the subject matter. If you enter graduate school, be prepared to work at a very high level or your masters degree will become a "red flag".

 

[softmed]

The admissions office at one school flat out told me that they don't make admissions decisions based on graduate work. A Masters is unlikely to help much but can definitely hurt if you do not do well.

My first year I applied to ~11 schools and I received 3 interviews. This was straight out of undergrad.

After starting a master's, I applied to ~11 schools and I received 8 interviews.

Same MCAT (didn't retake it), almost same time applying to the schools, same undergrad GPA (actually, it was quite a bit lower due to senioritis)

From my experience it helps. I also have an amazing graduate GPA and my PI wrote me an amazing letter. And it's awesome when people ask about your graduate work (and they always do) because it gives you a lot to talk about.

But a couple of cautions: Don't start graduate work and then suck ass in your grades. As someone said, it's going to turn into a red flag. I'm also not sure that graduate work would necessarily be better than a job as a tech. One reason is that graduate work is EXTREMELY expensive (unless you're doing a PhD with a stipend). I've doubled my debt since entering grad school. And make sure you do enough work that your PI is going to convince the board looking over your thesis that you can graduate. If your PI isn't on your side, you're completely screwed (red flag).

In summary: graduate work is risky and expensive, but it can definitely pay off

 

[softmed]

I don't know why I'm giving advice when the TC has already decided on doing the masters.

 

[blowe46]

I didn't want to do medicine when I applied to the MPH program and now realize that public health alone is not at all what i want to do.

My grad performance is not bad. It's just I had encountered some unexpected obstacles (supervisor abandoned my project, new project, loss of funding, unsympathetic department to my health issues,etc)

I could have left the program but had a stubborn sense of pride that I was going to get the degree despite everything.

It may end up costing me