Masters program or gap year

Started by medschoolplease123
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Your GPA is great for DO schools, I don't think doing a Master's program for GPA-raising purposes would be worth the money
 
Med schools won't really care if you graduated in 3 years vs 4; what matters is that you did well. If the end goal is med school a traditional masters probably won't be all that beneficial. Enroll in a MCAT class instead and study for a retake. Maybe do some more volunteering/shadowing and research if you want to try for MD. There's no point trying to bring up an already fine part of your application (GPA), focus on the deficit(s) (MCAT).

Your last post confuses me, as most masters programs do not even require a MCAT score. Are you thinking of an SMP?
 
Do whatever makes you happy and makes you some money. Especially for osteopathic schools they look at your entire application and having a master's degree doesn't necessarily give you an edge over someone who worked (even in a field unrelated to medicine) for a year or few.

I worked for several years before going to school and I have no regrets.
 
Gap year by a mile. There is pretty much no point in doing a masters unless you are certain you will complete it and have an interest in the subject. That money you earn and save during the gap year will benefit you greatly in the long run.
 
Study for the mcat and do things to strengthen your application (shadowing, volunteering, find a medical related job). I became a pharmacy tech for my gap year and learned a great amount about both brand names and generic names of drugs, along with what the medicine are used for and some interactions. Hopefully it will make pharmacology easier!


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Yeah that's probably the best option. And probably my likely route. Do you have anymore test FL exam recommendations? So far I've taken kaplan, princeton, and the percentile scored one for aamc.
 
Just as pretty much everyone has said..take the gap year to study for the MCAT. That's what I did and I'm so thankful. Then when you do better, you can spend your time focusing on apps and interviews. Then, when you get your acceptance, you can enjoy your last bit of freedom and possibly work/volunteer as well.

I debated doing masters or gap year, and my GPA was worse than yours. My mom talked me out of it, and I'm so glad she did. I saved thousands of dollars, matured as a working person in the real world, and didn't burn myself out before med school. I think doing a masters/SMP is only needed for specific circumstances, not for everyone.
 
medschoolplease123 said:
Hi there,

So I'm in a bit of a debate. I graduate college this may (only took 3 years), and I ultimately want to go to med school for the 2017 school year (starting august 2017). But since i graduate early i was debating whether to take a year off and just work as an EMT (nationally certified) or continue shadowing or get a full time job as a pharm tech (this would help in terms of general background info. Which i assume will be useful in med school). If i wasnt going to do that - my other option would be to get my masters. But the only thing is that most of the programs i look at take a little longerbthan 1 year to complete. So i dont know if i should go to grad school knowing that i might not finish it, is it worth the time and money? 40 ish k isnt pocket change... Also people say that do some post bacc work if your gpa is low. Mine is alright i guess (overall and science both around 3.75). I plan on retaking mcat but i will primarily try for DO med schools because I'm not the best standarzided test taker (cars and psych/soc killed me the first time). Anyways, thanks for reading and advice would be appreciated. @Goro i know you give tremendous advice and obviously i value your opinion.
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I would get into a masters program associated with a medical school. You will get a head start on the basic scienes and get to know people in the medical school. It can only help.
 
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