Masters in Medical Science???

[RecyclingBinh]

I think I might become a reapplicant this cycle. Just in case thsi happens, I was thinking about getting a Masters in Medical Science from a SMP program. My question is...what kind of job can I get with a Masters in Medical Science and how good would this look? Is it comparable to say...a Masters in Science? Please help. Thank you.

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[schrizto]

I think the whole point of a MMS is to look better for medical school... there's no job for it. It's different from a regular master's degree.

 

[TopSecret]

I think the whole point of a MMS is to look better for medical school... there's no job for it. It's different from a regular master's degree.

It's basically another year of pre-med to boost your GPA. It's a risk because your GPA might go down, too.

If you're going to get a master's, it's better to get an MPH. It takes two years, though. But at least it's something you can use in a medical career.

 

[Caprica6]

For the basic sciences, a master's withough a independent research thesis = a waste of money

 

[physicsnerd42]

what kind of job can I get with a Masters in Medical Science...?

None that you couldn't get without the masters.

 

[RecyclingBinh]

Thanks for the input. I really don't want to get a masters. Some schools offer a masters for the 1 year so it's better than nothing.

I have 1 year left of undergrad...so if I don't get in, I can graduate spring 2010, then I can do the SMP for a year, finish up in spring 2011 and get auto admissions for 2012 if I get a 3.5 GPA for the courses that I take during the program. does this sound good or should I just work, take more more science courses, and do other stuff?

 

[brooklynblunder]

http://www.drexelmed.edu/Home/Acade.../DrexelPathwaytoMedicalSchoolDPMSProgram.aspx

 

[RecyclingBinh]

http://www.drexelmed.edu/Home/Acade.../DrexelPathwaytoMedicalSchoolDPMSProgram.aspx

holy cow!!! auto admissions if you fulfill the requirements. Thanks a lot! I will call tomorrow for more details.

 

[not so calm now]

You should check out the post-bac forum. It's got a lot of helpful info.

Summary: SMPs aren't meant to prepare people for any job other than med (or in some cases other professional school) admissions. Ones with good linkages (Georgetown comes to mind) are reasonably selective. They seem to work best when combined with a high mcat/low gpa. People with high gpas/low mcats are generally discouraged from doing them as they are more difficult than restudying for the mcat. They're a last-ditch effort and are pretty high risk; perform poorly in them and it might be time to start looking at other careers.

 

[Perrotfish]

Summary.

1) A masters in medical science (also known as a special masters program, or SMP) is completely worthless in terms of getting you a job.

2) An strong performance in a masters in medical science is the single best thing you can do for your medical school application. People with good SMP GPAs (including myself) have gotten in with GPAs of 3.2, 3.0, and even 2.8.

3) A weak performance in a masters of medical science program is basically an application killer for medical school. People who had a bad year somewhere like Georgetown, Drexel, or Cincinnati reported that there was basically nothing they could do to rehab their applications.

4) A normal masters degree, though very helpful in terms of getting you a job, is very low yield in terms of improving your medical school application. If you want to improve your med school app, unless you're VERY borderline, you need either more undergrad or a masters of medical science.

5) Finally, just so you're aware, most schools don't care about your performance in a masters of medical science program very much until they have your entire GPA. So you would be in classes throughout this year so that you could boost your app for the NEXT application cycle, not this one.

See the post-bac forum for more info.

 

[neurobeth]

Summary.

1) A masters in medical science (also known as a special masters program, or SMP) is completely worthless in terms of getting you a job.

2) An strong performance in a masters in medical science is the single best thing you can do for your medical school application. People with good SMP GPAs (including myself) have gotten in with GPAs of 3.2, 3.0, and even 2.8.

3) A weak performance in a masters of medical science program is basically an application killer for medical school. People who had a bad year somewhere like Georgetown, Drexel, or Cincinnati reported that there was basically nothing they could do to rehab their applications.

4) A normal masters degree, though very helpful in terms of getting you a job, is very low yield in terms of improving your medical school application. If you want to improve your med school app, unless you're VERY borderline, you need either more undergrad or a masters of medical science.

5) Finally, just so you're aware, most schools don't care about your performance in a masters of medical science program very much until they have your entire GPA. So you would be in classes throughout this year so that you could boost your app for the NEXT application cycle, not this one.

See the post-bac forum for more info.

Perrotfish,

Great advice. I actually have a question for you.

I'm torn between Boston University's MA in Medical Sciences vs. Mount Sinai's MS in Biomedical Sciences. Mt. Sinai requires a research thesis and is not as rigorous in the coursework. On the other hand Mount Sinai is a reputable school compared to BU. (especially if interested in applying to Mt. Sinai Med School after masters). I have extensive research experience already (published first author, conferences, presentations, etc) but don't mind continuing doing research. Which do you think would be a better choice in helping get into medical school?

I missed the deadlines for this year so I will be enrolled in classes as a non-degree student until my acceptance. Not sure which program to pick.

Thanks for you help,

Beth

 

[dedicate]

Summary.

1) A masters in medical science (also known as a special masters program, or SMP) is completely worthless in terms of getting you a job.

2) An strong performance in a masters in medical science is the single best thing you can do for your medical school application. People with good SMP GPAs (including myself) have gotten in with GPAs of 3.2, 3.0, and even 2.8.

3) A weak performance in a masters of medical science program is basically an application killer for medical school. People who had a bad year somewhere like Georgetown, Drexel, or Cincinnati reported that there was basically nothing they could do to rehab their applications.

4) A normal masters degree, though very helpful in terms of getting you a job, is very low yield in terms of improving your medical school application. If you want to improve your med school app, unless you're VERY borderline, you need either more undergrad or a masters of medical science.

5) Finally, just so you're aware, most schools don't care about your performance in a masters of medical science program very much until they have your entire GPA. So you would be in classes throughout this year so that you could boost your app for the NEXT application cycle, not this one.

See the post-bac forum for more info.

Regarding number 4, Im just curious how sure you are on that or how often you heard that from docs and med students.

I ask this because I just recently talked to a doctor/professor who said a masters program (not necessarily in med sci) is a good thing and can be very good to strengthening your application. They said it shows you can handle courses which is very important from an adcom perspective.

 

[physicsnerd42]

I ask this because I just recently talked to a doctor/professor who said a masters program (not necessarily in med sci) is a good thing and can be very good to strengthening your application. They said it shows you can handle courses which is very important from an adcom perspective.

I would actually say that there are few masters that are worth very much. There are very few terminal masters in the biological sciences and you typically get a masters degree as a "consolation prize" for getting kicked out of a PhD. The coursework in most bio PhD programs is not particularly rigorous, so the coursework for people with a masters is not rigorous either. The SMPs do have rigorous coursework because you're doing med school classes.

If you're doing a terminal masters in a field like engineering (these do exist) then I would argue the courses are more difficult than med school classes, but the type of thinking/work required to do well in one of these programs is very different than what is required for medicine. So, again, I don't see why a M.S. in engineering or physics (another area you can get a masters) would be all that helpful either.

Then again, I'm not an adcom, so take what i say with a grain (bucket) of salt.