MS, MA, MBA, or MPH HELP!!!

[wannabeedent]

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Hey friends,

Apologize in advance for long post, but please... any advice would be awesome! So here is the situation and i would appreciate some help! I graduated a couple of years ago with a degree in Sociology from UofA. I did about 50 credits of unofficial post bac for the last year and half and took my bio, gchem, ochem, physics, a+p, micro, biochem, and genetics.

My sGPA is 3.5, but my oGPA is 3.2.... ya screwed myself my freshman year.

I took the DAT once got an 18AA/18TS, retook and got a 19AA/20TS/24PAT. So before i take again for my final time, i want to get a masters and see what happens next time! So here are my options...

MS in Biology
Pros: Bio degrees look good for adcoms? 1 Year, 30 Credits
Cons: GRE required, Thesis required, Useless if i don't get in
Price: 10K

MA in Biomedical and Health Ethics
Pros: 1 year, 30 credits, No GRE, No Thesis, Interesting courseload
Cons: Only 15 credit of bio, useless if i don't get in
Price: 10K

Masters in Public Health
Pros: Useful in dental field? no thesis, potential career if i don't get in
Cons: Not science based, 2 years, Price
Price: 20K

Masters in Business Administration
Pros: Useful for opening practice, no thesis, good career if i don't get in
Cons: Not science based, 2 years, PRICE
Price: 40K

Thank you so much for any input and any information.

To prevent other questions... i applied to 16 schools all oos friendly, i have great lors and ps, and i was a branch manager for Wells Fargo for the last 2 years, pretty sure my interview skills were good! Only had 3 interviews.... 🙁

 

[yappy]

How unfortunate. You seem to have competitive stats as you performed well in post bacc, have a good sci gpa and dat score. Have you contacted schools to see why you were rejected? I hope you get in this year. From reading posts on here it seems the bio MS would provide a solid testing ground for grad level sciences which would be great if you do well. Is this your first year applying and did you apply late?

 

[UltimateHombre]

Ya i agree with yappy on this one! I am really surprised that you didn't land an acceptance, especially considering your decent job through your post bac. Either way, if you want to go to d-school, don't think about back up plans (MBA, MPH)... just go for one of the one year masters, kill it and apply again next year! The MS in Bio might be more beneficial for classes in d-school, but i think the MA in Ethics might help you stand out a little and possibly help out if you are planning to specialize. But what do i know, i am just a predent...

Just go for d-school and don't worry about plan B!!! Good luck!!

 

[wannabeedent]

Thanks for the advice so far... anymore would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[quillow]

Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't get any acceptances either. Are you waitlisted? Maybe you'll still get in this year.

I would probably do the one year MS in bio. But your sGPA looks good, so I wonder if there's something else wrong with your app? Or do you not interview well? Could you contact the schools to find out why you weren't accepted or how you could improve your chances?

Good luck!

 

[moosefox]

If you're really set on doing one of those programs, the best advice would be to do the one that suits you most so that you do well. If you have a similar level of interest in all of them, go for the one that gives you the biggest science course-load. That will show them that you have improved in that area if sgpa was indeed the problem with your application before. You might also look into a different study strategy for the DAT. You had a 19 AA even though you got a 20 TS and 24 PAT. That means that either RC or math were pretty low. Work extra hard on those sections (especially RC, that's the one that really really counts) and get at least a 20 AA. Be sure to contact the schools and ask them why you were rejected. That way you can create a more specific plan.

Best of luck to you, I'm sure you'll get in next time 🙂

 

[doc toothache]

Any M.S. would probably help. An MBA would be more beneficial after ds. MS in Bio would be perhaps the most challenging and might help with a 3rd round of the DAT and, to some extent, with the pre clinical courses. MPH/Ethics??? hmm.. May make you stand out but will you be able to cut the mustard?

 

[wannabeedent]

Thank you all for your replies. I think i am definitely going to go with either the MS in bio or the MA in ethics. I actually leaning toward the MA, simply because i don't want to do the research and thesis involved. I also don't want to prep and take the GRE.

The MA i take just as many actual lecture Bio classes (15 credits) plus 2 Nutrition classes. The MS is only 15 cred lecture bio, then 15 credit thesis/research. I just know for sure i could finish this in 1 year. But i am worried that the research or thesis writing make take longer than a year...

Any more thoughts?