Masters Program or EMT Course

[wac06004]

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I'm a recent graduate from the University of Connecticut who graduated with a gpa of 3.68 and with an MCAT of 32R and after a period where I only received one interview at the University of Connecticut where I was waitlisted....after applying to about 20 schools....and hearing that this was most likely due to the lateness at which I applied, I am looking for a way to best spend my year off. I have been accepted into the Loyola MAMS program and have been pressured by my parents to attend the program due to the promise of an interview at loyola medical school if I perform well. I was wondering if undergoing this educational route will have the same benefit for myself given my stats and the circumstances believed to cause my lack of success...belated applications. I find myself somewhat interested in taking an emt course much closer to home and perhaps helping the biggest flaw in my application which I think might be experience and wish to gain opinions on the matter. My issue with this masters program arose when I saw the courses I'd be taking and they seem to be repeats, perhaps at a bit more advanced level, to courses I had to take as a physiology and neurobiology major at UConn. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[senorsquishie]

Trust me, in this area, it is almost impossible to find empolyment as a Basic. You are lucky if you can even find a volunteer gig. The Masters will look better anyway.

 

[DavetheMD]

I would say that if you are lacking in patient care, then definitely get your EMT certification.Not only will you enjoy it, but it will give you plenty of work to do in the way of volunteering/patient care/possibly paid work. You were wait listed, so I highly doubt that this would be a huge gamble.

 

[wac06004]

I would say that if you are lacking in patient care, then definitely get your EMT certification.Not only will you enjoy it, but it will give you plenty of work to do in the way of volunteering/patient care/possibly paid work. You were wait listed, so I highly doubt that this would be a huge gamble.

would you still feel this way knowing that I will be volunteering in Ghana for two weeks at the beginning of August where I will be getting direct patient interaction including placing I.V.s and taking blood samples etc.?

 

[SitraAchra]

would you still feel this way knowing that I will be volunteering in Ghana for two weeks at the beginning of August where I will be getting direct patient interaction including placing I.V.s and taking blood samples etc.?

Man, how are you paying for Ghana? Just show up at an underserved clinic in town, tell them you're pre med and want to help however you can, and rake in the experience. I just saved you $5 grand.

Don't do the EMT thing unless you truly have no other options which it sounds like you do. No one cares about EMT basic, and they don't really get much meanigful patient exposure.

 

[MedAdComMD]

I'm a recent graduate from the University of Connecticut who graduated with a gpa of 3.68 and with an MCAT of 32R and after a period where I only received one interview at the University of Connecticut where I was waitlisted....after applying to about 20 schools....and hearing that this was most likely due to the lateness at which I applied, I am looking for a way to best spend my year off. I have been accepted into the Loyola MAMS program and have been pressured by my parents to attend the program due to the promise of an interview at loyola medical school if I perform well. I was wondering if undergoing this educational route will have the same benefit for myself given my stats and the circumstances believed to cause my lack of success...belated applications. I find myself somewhat interested in taking an emt course much closer to home and perhaps helping the biggest flaw in my application which I think might be experience and wish to gain opinions on the matter. My issue with this masters program arose when I saw the courses I'd be taking and they seem to be repeats, perhaps at a bit more advanced level, to courses I had to take as a physiology and neurobiology major at UConn. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

"Promise of an interview if I perform well" - does not sound too promising.

Apply to Temple's post-bac ACMS program - guaranteed acceptance to medical school.

 

[FIREitUP]

First, I doubt the lateness of your application was your downfall; you must have had bad letters or a terrible personal statement. Second, I suggest doing the Anatomy Certification Program at Tulane. 90% of those matriculated into the program go on to get accepted to Tulane SOM, and they don't have to repeat the classes they took.

 

[aSagacious]

Apply to Temple's post-bac ACMS program - guaranteed acceptance to medical school.

Deadline for the upcoming year has passed. OP I think a formal post-bac like Loyola might be overkill for you. Your academic credentials are already solid for a good number of schools. I suggest taking the year to work on some clinical experience (hospital volunteer, free clinic, urgent care, etc). Of course if you go this route then loan repayment would come into effect, which is another hefty consideration.

 

[paul411]

would you still feel this way knowing that I will be volunteering in Ghana for two weeks at the beginning of August where I will be getting direct patient interaction including placing I.V.s and taking blood samples etc.?

To be honest, a two week medical trip is not very significant in terms of clinical experience. Also, you're going to start IVs and draw blood in a two week period without formal training?

Instead, do some long-term clinical volunteering for the underserved (eg. free clinics) here in the good ol' USA.

 

[oaklandguy]

I'm a recent graduate from the University of Connecticut who graduated with a gpa of 3.68 and with an MCAT of 32R and after a period where I only received one interview at the University of Connecticut where I was waitlisted....after applying to about 20 schools....and hearing that this was most likely due to the lateness at which I applied, I am looking for a way to best spend my year off. I have been accepted into the Loyola MAMS program and have been pressured by my parents to attend the program due to the promise of an interview at loyola medical school if I perform well. I was wondering if undergoing this educational route will have the same benefit for myself given my stats and the circumstances believed to cause my lack of success...belated applications. I find myself somewhat interested in taking an emt course much closer to home and perhaps helping the biggest flaw in my application which I think might be experience and wish to gain opinions on the matter. My issue with this masters program arose when I saw the courses I'd be taking and they seem to be repeats, perhaps at a bit more advanced level, to courses I had to take as a physiology and neurobiology major at UConn. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

The EMS course won't do anything for your app. Getting a job or volunteering in EMS will, but there is no guarantee that you will find a job in EMS. Also, everyone does EMS, so it's not something that is very unique.

 

[Avoidthetiger]

I have been accepted into the Loyola MAMS program and have been pressured by my parents to attend the program due to the promise of an interview at loyola medical school if I perform well.

I don't recommend Loyola. Your GPA and MCAT are great; you just need to apply earlier! Loyola is expensive and yes, they promise you an interview but that doesn't mean an acceptance. The interview also will be the year AFTER you complete the program. If you have already sent out a new AMCAS application (which I hope you did in June), you surely would be accepted this year. But if you haven't - then wait another cycle to apply and just get a job, volunteer, do whatever - it will help your application more than the Loyola program.

(personal note -- I had one friend do the Loyola program ('09-'10). She wasn't interviewed by Loyola until January ('11). They then waitlisted her (which I had a feeling they would -- January is very late in the application cycle). A few days ago she gave up all hope on being accepted (their school year started). Luckily, she did get acceptance to another school... but Loyola was her dream school)

 

[Soulstice]

Man, how are you paying for Ghana? Just show up at an underserved clinic in town, tell them you're pre med and want to help however you can, and rake in the experience. I just saved you $5 grand.

Don't do the EMT thing unless you truly have no other options which it sounds like you do. No one cares about EMT basic, and they don't really get much meanigful patient exposure.

Wtf, are you even qualified to start an IV..? You can do some moderate harm there if you have no idea what you're doing. Not to mention, your app will stand out for going outside your scope of practice (which is basically nonexistent without any kind of cert)..

 

[JESSFALLING]

EMS is a positive experience IF you can find a job that demands quick thinking under pressure. I think that is the key benefit from the experience, from an admissions perspective.

A MS degree may also not yield much benefit as far as admissions. It may help shore up your science skills, if they need it....but otherwise, it's an expensive (time and money) piece of paper that will diminish quickly in value when you receive your MD/DO. (And if you don't get mostly As, you will be doing more harm than good.) At least with EMS, you might make a little money for your effort.

Honestly, I think you'd be much better off doing neither. Just shadow/volunteer, and then do something interesting with your time! Travel, if you have the money...(better than wasting it on a extra degree that you don't need)...or better yet, apply to Teach4America or the Peace Corps or something similar. Go make a difference in someone's life. Then, you can write about your experiences in a compelling PS and you can become a doctor, MD or DO.

Good luck.

Ps - the only masters degree that I think is worth considering is a mba. If you want to go into pp, strong business skills are a must!

 

[kpcrew]

i know this isn't one of the options but if you need one year, americorp is pretty awesome. many programs start in september so if you apply now, you might be able to snag a spot. the application isn't too time consuming and i think they give you an education grant. for peace corp and teach for america i think its a two year commitment and for teach for america, i believe it's too late for this year anyway but i might be wrong about that so do some research.

you can also try finding a spot in a research lab although if you want to do the masters, that's up to you.