Masters Program or straight to Med School

[FLPreMedGuy]

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Hello all,

A little info about me...

I am majoring in Information Technology and will be graduating in about a year, year and a half. I am currently sitting at a 3.0 GPA and am taking my Pre-Med classes at the community college to save myself some money. I know my GPA is not stellar but im am going to try to raise it as much as possible.

My question is, should i take a masters in biomedical sciences, to prove to the med schools that i can handle it? or apply to med school right away? they both have the same prereqs and the school states that the one year accelerated masters program is equivalent to a year in med school.

Im just trying to figure out whats best.

any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[giggle]

Is money your biggest concern? Can you take out loans? It's best not to take pre-reqs at community colleges.

Either of two options:
1) Do the Masters, or
2) Take your pre-reqs at a 4-year college, making sure to take a heavier load than usual, and ace all the classes (or as much as possible). Since your GPA is quite low, get at least 1 year of stellar science grades before applying - better if you have more.

 

[drdan83]

I had a meeting with my pre-health adviser the other day and I asked him the same question. He specifically said masters programs in the biomedical sciences were for people who had poor undergrad grades. If you had even semi-decent grades, the masters programs are a waste. I would try to get your undergrad gpa up a little more and then try to take biochem, genetics, and cell biology.

Masters programs are also cost a lot and they take a year or more.

 

[FLPreMedGuy]

I am currently enrolled in a private university so i cant pay for the prereqs with loans because i am maxed out on how much i can take out each semester so im paying the prereqs out of pocket thats why im taking it at the community college. I know it looks bad but financially i can only afford taking one prereq class at a time.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I am currently enrolled in a private university so i cant pay for the prereqs with loans because i am maxed out on how much i can take out each semester so im paying the prereqs out of pocket thats why im taking it at the community college. I know it looks bad but financially i can only afford taking one prereq class at a time.

Unless you are applying as a disadvantaged student, it would be best to wait until after graduation to pursue your pre-medical coursework at a 4-year college.

 

[giggle]

I had a meeting with my pre-health adviser the other day and I asked him the same question. He specifically said masters programs in the biomedical sciences were for people who had poor undergrad grades. If you had even semi-decent grades, the masters programs are a waste. I would try to get your undergrad gpa up a little more and then try to take biochem, genetics, and cell biology.

Masters programs are also cost a lot and they take a year or more.

Oy, when are pre-health advisers ever right? 😉 If you are going for those more well-known 1-year master's programs/SMP's, a 3.0 pre-matriculation is pretty standard. That's what I recall from a pre-med seminar thing at my undergrad, so correct me if I'm wrong. I think they are $$$ though...

Good luck, OP. I don't know what to suggest in terms of finance, but perhaps you should consider the previous poster's advice. Just graduate, and then go take your pre-reqs at a state school, perhaps. They tend to be less expensive, yet are still 4-year institutions. For now, work on getting your GPA for the IT major up, like the above poster recommended. You'll want to have stellar grades from here on out.

 

[FLPreMedGuy]

Ok so this is the tentative schedule. I am wondering when do i take the MCAT if i want to start med school Fall of 2014? any tips? any suggestions on what classes i should move around so that i am competent to take the MCAT and have a fighting chance on getting a good score?

Fall 2011-2012
** Bachelors Done **

Spring - 2013
Bio I
Trig
Chm I

Summer - 2013
Bio II
Chm II

Fall - 2013
PHY I
Orgo I
Precalc

Spring - 2014
PHY II
Orgo II
Calc I



Fall - 2014
First year of Med school

 

[giggle]

If you want to start fall 2014, you'd be applying for the 2013-2014 cycle. Which means you'd take the MCAT summer 2013. But according to your schedule, you won't have taken all your pre-reqs by then - and in fact you'll be taking summer classes then. It's much more feasible to aim for matriculation fall 2015.