MS in Biotechnology

[journalist88]

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Hey everyone. I was looking into the MS in Biotechnology program--NYU-Poly has one and Columbia has an MA in Biotechnology. Anyone have any thoughts as to how medical schools might view this degree? It's 30 credits, which is probably do-able in a year's time, so I thought it might be good for me. General thoughts on how this degree might be viewed in the workforce would also be helpful (as a backup!). Thanks for your help!!

 

[Shooter McGavin]

I've considered that same degree. I graduated with a B.S. in Biotechnology from a state school. In the end though, it seems like a circuitous path to medical school. I'm somewhat new to the board, but from the posts I've read it sounds like if you're considering med school then you should jump head first into undergrad pre-reqs or a post-bac program as soon as possible. I've decided I won't put any time into grad school now that I've decided on med school.

Additionally, I'm not sure how medical school would judge this education on your transcript. Even if you got all A's, I've read in many places on this board that those grades are barely considered by medical schools. Just my two cents.

 

[journalist88]

Thanks for your input, but I have taken the undergrad pre-recs. While my grades aren't stellar in all of them, I though it might be more productive to do a graduate degree than re-take any pre-med classes. Is this a bad idea? Are grad school grades really not considered?--I have a hard time believing that....

 

[0919mmk]

Thanks for your input, but I have taken the undergrad pre-recs. While my grades aren't stellar in all of them, I though it might be more productive to do a graduate degree than re-take any pre-med classes. Is this a bad idea? Are grad school grades really not considered?--I have a hard time believing that....

So we have a thread about how important grad school grades are, check it out. I think the consensus is that different schools look at it differently, and there are some that do care about grad GPA, but undergrad GPA is universally more important.

Having said that, I actually have a MS in biotech, lol. And a terrible undergrad GPA. And as of today, I have 6 interviews to US MD schools, so, you know, in combination with a good MCAT, grad school GPA can definitely suggest good things that adcoms take notice of, even if the GPA itself doesnt contribute much to the numeric calculation of awesomeness.

 

[journalist88]

So we have a thread about how important grad school grades are, check it out. I think the consensus is that different schools look at it differently, and there are some that do care about grad GPA, but undergrad GPA is universally more important.

Having said that, I actually have a MS in biotech, lol. And a terrible undergrad GPA. And as of today, I have 6 interviews to US MD schools, so, you know, in combination with a good MCAT, grad school GPA can definitely suggest good things that adcoms take notice of, even if the GPA itself doesnt contribute much to the numeric calculation of awesomeness.

That's great to hear! Did you re-take any of the undergrad pre-med requirements? Or did you just move forward with the MS? I'm all about moving forward, not backwards. Plus it seems many of the electives on the biotech MS are very science intensive.