MBA before Med School

[worksprogress]

Does anybody know if an MBA degree improves your chances of getting into medical schools?

I am just completing my MBA in Health Care Management and applying to medical schools for the 2009 cycle. In my opinion, doing the MBA was a great way to get exposure to some of the practical aspects of medicine that most pre-meds don't get. I now have a strong understanding of the way our health care system is structured in this country, and can compare its merits and flaws with systems in other countries. I also have a solid grasp of the financial and political side of medicine, how health care organizations make and lose money, and the role of hospital administrators in the overall delivery of health care.

Has anybody taken this route before (Health MBA before applying to med school)? Does it help me? Does it hurt me? Please explain.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[student1799]

Does anybody know if an MBA degree improves your chances of getting into medical schools?

I am just completing my MBA in Health Care Management and applying to medical schools for the 2009 cycle. In my opinion, doing the MBA was a great way to get exposure to some of the practical aspects of medicine that most pre-meds don't get. I now have a strong understanding of the way our health care system is structured in this country, and can compare its merits and flaws with systems in other countries. I also have a solid grasp of the financial and political side of medicine, how health care organizations make and lose money, and the role of hospital administrators in the overall delivery of health care.

Has anybody taken this route before (Health MBA before applying to med school)? Does it help me? Does it hurt me? Please explain.

I also have an MBA, but it's not in health care. (I worked on Wall St. for 20 years in money management before quitting to do this.) In your case, I'm sure it won't hurt you, but it probably won't help much either. The #1 factor in med school admissions is your stats (grades and MCAT score). Provided those are good, then they'll look at your recommendations, volunteer experience and personal statement to see how motivated you are to be a doctor, why you want to do it, and whether you understand what it's all about. In your case, if everything else about your app is strong, the health care MBA MIGHT give you a little boost relative to another applicant with the same stats. But be prepared to be questioned as to why you got that MBA if you really wanted to be a doctor all along rather than a hospital administrator.

Just as a side note, your MBA grades do NOT count in your GPA for med school purposes. (They count undergrad and grad courses in separate buckets, and the undergrad gets MUCH, MUCH more weight. Med schools barely pay attention to grad grades at all, no matter how good they are.)

 

[worksprogress]

thanks student1799. My numbers are ok. 3.5 gpa, 31 mcat (11v 10p 10b). I have good EC's (lots of leadership positions, tutoring, volunteering, shadowing, two internships with NY Department of health, experience abroad).

I think I will fair pretty well with my state schools. I am hoping that my EC's and my MBA will get me noticed by some decent private schools like Tufts, U Rochester, or Albert Einstein.

Hopefully I can get my foot in the door somewhere.

 

[Law2Doc]

Does anybody know if an MBA degree improves your chances of getting into medical schools?

I am just completing my MBA in Health Care Management and applying to medical schools for the 2009 cycle. In my opinion, doing the MBA was a great way to get exposure to some of the practical aspects of medicine that most pre-meds don't get. I now have a strong understanding of the way our health care system is structured in this country, and can compare its merits and flaws with systems in other countries. I also have a solid grasp of the financial and political side of medicine, how health care organizations make and lose money, and the role of hospital administrators in the overall delivery of health care.

Has anybody taken this route before (Health MBA before applying to med school)? Does it help me? Does it hurt me? Please explain.

In general, graduate degrees are basically regarded as nice ECs. They won't get you into med school, and probably won't turn the tides for you if you weren't otherwise acceptable, but are certainly looked at favorably. Might help make you seem unique compared to the others. But in general those of us with advanced degrees still had to work it pretty hard to get to our goals.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

Yes I've heard the same things as mentioned above from med school admissions offices. Although we grad degreed folks may be forgiven for thinking all those hours in the library studying for previous grad degrees would help, they really don't seem to do much.

Reason I was given for the lack of weight our grad degrees garner was that med school admissions committees don't know how to judge an MBA from this school versus that one, when comparing the degree to the challenge of a med degree. It's easier for them to simply compare apples (gpa & mcat score) to apples.

 

[student1799]

thanks student1799. My numbers are ok. 3.5 gpa, 31 mcat (11v 10p 10b). I have good EC's (lots of leadership positions, tutoring, volunteering, shadowing, two internships with NY Department of health, experience abroad).

I think I will fair pretty well with my state schools. I am hoping that my EC's and my MBA will get me noticed by some decent private schools like Tufts, U Rochester, or Albert Einstein.

Hopefully I can get my foot in the door somewhere.

Your stats look reasonable. I think you should be able to get in somewhere, as long as you apply broadly and don't go for too many "reach" schools (avg. GPA and MCAT far above yours). One way to benchmark yourself vs. schools you might be interested in is what we call the "LizzyM score" (LizzyM is an SDN member who is an adcom in real life). This score = (GPA*10) + MCAT + 1. (You would be a 67.) Then you compare this to the scores for the schools, which are computed using the data they report in the MSAR. The idea is that you would be wise to apply mostly to schools with similar LizzyM scores to yours, a few that are somewhat higher, and some that are lower.

There is a spreadsheet someone made with all the MSAR data already loaded, which makes the whole process a breeze. Here is a copy: View attachment 10851

This is not the be-all and end-all of choosing schools, but it is a great way to identify the "tier" of med schools where your stats look the most competitive. But keep in mind that many schools with suitable LizzyM scores might be state schools which are effectively closed to OOS students. (BTW, what is your home state?)

If you're interested in NY (don't know if you live there or not), I would recommend that you also look at Albany Medical College and New York Medical College, as well as all the SUNYs. (Even if you're OOS, SUNY does let in a decent number of OOS students, especially at the 2 upstate campuses, Buffalo and Upstate.) You might also want to consider the NJ state schools, as well as the mid-tier schools in Philly (Drexel, Temple and Jefferson). If you poke around in the spreadsheet, you should come up with plenty of ideas.

Good luck in your applications.

 

[ndrwkwn]

Thanks for posting this question. I too have an MBA, and figured for me, it would be more of a liability because I have an engineering background and 7 years as an engineer. I have expected to explain to adcoms my disparate education and career choices.

Student, thanks for your advice on choosing schools to apply to, it is very helpful.

 

[DrJosephKim]

You can probably write a stellar essay about integrating your education to improve the healthcare system. After all, the public health burden in this country is enormous and no one will be able to solve the healthcare crisis.

Leverage your skills and experience and show that you're mature, experience, and seriously determined to improve healthcare.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

I think this is an excellent point (above) and re-raises my long ago thought on this subject -- if becoming an MD is becoming more and more of a "project management" role insofar as there are RNs, PAs, Surg Techs, etc etc that all are capable of assisting in the "caring for the patient" process in some capacity, how can adcomms ignore the breadth of knowledge that one picks up in b-school? It's possible this is more my path than others, but there were so many excercises, experiences, and projects from B-school that seem applicable in helping as a medical contributor to figuring out certain aspects of "healthcare".

I don't see myself as solely a future practicing physician as much as someone who can contribute in an individual capacity as a care provider and in a broader sense as a leader who can assist a medical practice in adapting to future legal and societal changes, possibly in a hospital administrative role or as the head of a practice. It seems that adcomms are primarily focused on seeking out the candidate who can score highly on MCAT/GPAs rather than giving similar weight to other aspects that also seem important to becoming a high-performing physician.

 

[sunset823]

I think this is an excellent point (above) and re-raises my long ago thought on this subject -- if becoming an MD is becoming more and more of a "project management" role insofar as there are RNs, PAs, Surg Techs, etc etc that all are capable of assisting in the "caring for the patient" process in some capacity, how can adcomms ignore the breadth of knowledge that one picks up in b-school? It's possible this is more my path than others, but there were so many excercises, experiences, and projects from B-school that seem applicable in helping as a medical contributor to figuring out certain aspects of "healthcare".

I don't see myself as solely a future practicing physician as much as someone who can contribute in an individual capacity as a care provider and in a broader sense as a leader who can assist a medical practice in adapting to future legal and societal changes, possibly in a hospital administrative role or as the head of a practice. It seems that adcomms are primarily focused on seeking out the candidate who can score highly on MCAT/GPAs rather than giving similar weight to other aspects that also seem important to becoming a high-performing physician.

Hear hear - I have exactly the same interests (more from a public sector perspective, though), and I'm really hoping med schools can open themselves up to someone from a diverse background - to the OP, I think your essays will be crucial - you really need to create a 'story' with your life experiences that led you to a (potentially roundabout) interest in medicine...

but of course, I'm still just a hopeful pre-med, so just my $0.02

 

[njbmd]

Does anybody know if an MBA degree improves your chances of getting into medical schools?


Has anybody taken this route before (Health MBA before applying to med school)? Does it help me? Does it hurt me? Please explain.

In general, graduate degrees are basically regarded as nice ECs. They won't get you into med school, and probably won't turn the tides for you if you weren't otherwise acceptable, but are certainly looked at favorably. Might help make you seem unique compared to the others. But in general those of us with advanced degrees still had to work it pretty hard to get to our goals.

Law2Doc has explained the situation to you. Graduate degrees in general do not enhance your entry into medical school. The primary admission criteria are your undergraduate GPA/MCAT. Other things that help with competitiveness are LORs, Extracurriculars (where graduate school generally fits in) and your personal statement. Your LORs, EC and PS do not overshadow a poor uGPA/MCAT and will not offset or "make up for" being non-competitive in these areas.

In short, your entire application has to be competitive but your academics have to be there in the first place. You may not love our system but it's the way things are and you make sure every aspect of your application is solid and competitive to maximize your changes of admission. Medical school admission is not easy no matter how many degrees you have or what those degrees are in.

 

[soonereng]

I don't see myself as solely a future practicing physician as much as someone who can contribute in an individual capacity as a care provider and in a broader sense as a leader who can assist a medical practice in adapting to future legal and societal changes, possibly in a hospital administrative role or as the head of a practice.

Not to threadjack, but if that is what you really want to do, then there really is no reason to go to med school. Actually, you probably shouldn't go to med school if this is what you want to do. It will only put you 7 years behind. Get an MPH and get to work in those hospitals and clinics.

 

[sunset823]

Not to threadjack, but if that is what you really want to do, then there really is no reason to go to med school. Actually, you probably shouldn't go to med school if this is what you want to do. It will only put you 7 years behind. Get an MPH and get to work in those hospitals and clinics.

note that it said 'solely' - we still want to mainly practice, but there's a lot of people who do a lot of amazing things with their medical degree while still treating patients - e.g., Paul Farmer, Jim Kim, Larry Brilliant, David Blumenthal, the list goes on...

 

[soonereng]

note that it said 'solely' - we still want to mainly practice, but there's a lot of people who do a lot of amazing things with their medical degree while still treating patients - e.g., Paul Farmer, Jim Kim, Larry Brilliant, David Blumenthal, the list goes on...

That's fine, I just got the impression it was more of the latter than the former, in which case an MD isn't necessary. With the current healthcare situation, seeing pts 1-2 days a week and doing other things most of the time is a waste of an MD degree (and a med school seat) to me.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

Sorry, I'd not intended lack of interest in seeing patients. My interest would likely be around 60% patient care, with the rest of the time split between research and administrative oversight. I can't see the head of a hem/onc department in a hospital being nearly as effective if they don't also maintain patient contact and have an MD.

Thanks NJBMD you summarized the answer to OP's question well, this is a tangent we're pursuing. It does hopefully show that some MBAs have interests that may also be folded into a medical career in a (hopefully) useful way. What I've seen in business is that best practices are most effective when someone assists in allowing the practitioners to communicate, share information, and present these "best practices" to others throughout the industry. That's much of my hope; to be able to do this.