Masters or Special Programs for Spring

[Cubes_MD]

Hey!! So I graduated college last year from a state school slight above avg. GPA, avg. sci GPA, and MCAT's in high 20's. I took part of this year to do research (and hopefully will be getting published--Soon!) and I will be volunteering abroad for the remainder of this year. I've applied to medical school this year, but i wanted to know if I should: continue with my research and volunteering, or enroll in a Master's program or Graduate Certificate program for the spring.

Graduate Certificate because let's say (Hopefully) I get into medical school in the Fall I'll at least have been able to complete something without schools frowning on that.
Or a
Master's program: b'c if I dont get in, having a M.S. may make me a stronger candidate the year after. BUt let's say I do get in (hopefully) it'll look bad if i just get up and leave the master's program, or maybe I could finish it somehow??

Help! Restless!

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[junebuguf]

Wait...what are you doing now? Volunteering, research, taking time off?

Your numbers are excellent, unless you live in a tough state to get in...actually even if you do live in a tough state, you should have no problems getting in somewhere with 'above average' gpas. How high in the 20's on your MCAT may be a sticking point. As long as its 28-29, you should get in somewhere.

You should only take proactive measures like a certificate or an MS *if* you havent gotten an interview yet. Otherwise, just sit tight, continue volunteering (domestically) or doing research in the spring. If things look bad next March-April, start applying to SMP's, not traditional MS programs. The only suitable certificate programs I can think of are VCU and Tulane. In fact, I believe Tulane has a one semester certificate program *only* for people who are on waitlists but not yet accepted anywhere. If you find yourself in that position by December, go to Tulane!

 

[cammy1313]

Just something to keep in mind: I went the M.S. route and came to learn that a lot of schools won't allow you into their entering medical class unless you've completed the Masters. It definately depends on the school but this might be something you wanna check up on before you make any decisions.