Need some advice...please help! Thanks!

[whatchadoing]

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So I went to a well-respected university and got my bachelor’s degree in humanities before I decided upon pursuing medicine. I didn’t take any science courses in college (except for like 1 or 2 easy general ed). I started doing premed coursework at a community college last year and I’m currently at my local state university finishing the rest of the coursework (I will be done by the end of this summer). I’m not going to apply to med school until the summer of 2008 to give myself adequate time to prep for the MCAT. But I’m not really sure what I should do after I finish my prereqs this summer because I’ll have a full year until application time.

The options I’m considering:
1. Stay at my local state university and take more upper division bio courses while volunteering. The main downside is that the school is not strong academically. The premed courses I’ve taken here have been VERY easy. I doubt I’d be getting a 4.0 if I were taking these classes at my undergrad school. I don’t want adcoms to think I can’t handle science courses from a tougher university. (and I hope I can too!)
2. Apply for an M.S. biology graduate program. I’d be able to finish a masters before I enter med school (2 years time), and I hope this would enhance my application to show that I can handle science courses. Downside is that I don’t have too much undergrad bio experience (only premed classes plus a couple upper div bio)
3. Apply for a post-bacc program. This sounds appealing, but I would like to stay in California (where I am now), and the programs here are either very expensive or only for underrepresented students.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

 

[njbmd]

So I went to a well-respected university and got my bachelor’s degree in humanities before I decided upon pursuing medicine. I didn’t take any science courses in college (except for like 1 or 2 easy general ed). I started doing premed coursework at a community college last year and I’m currently at my local state university finishing the rest of the coursework (I will be done by the end of this summer). I’m not going to apply to med school until the summer of 2008 to give myself adequate time to prep for the MCAT. But I’m not really sure what I should do after I finish my prereqs this summer because I’ll have a full year until application time.

The options I’m considering:
1. Stay at my local state university and take more upper division bio courses while volunteering. The main downside is that the school is not strong academically. The premed courses I’ve taken here have been VERY easy. I doubt I’d be getting a 4.0 if I were taking these classes at my undergrad school. I don’t want adcoms to think I can’t handle science courses from a tougher university. (and I hope I can too!)
2. Apply for an M.S. biology graduate program. I’d be able to finish a masters before I enter med school (2 years time), and I hope this would enhance my application to show that I can handle science courses. Downside is that I don’t have too much undergrad bio experience (only premed classes plus a couple upper div bio)
3. Apply for a post-bacc program. This sounds appealing, but I would like to stay in California (where I am now), and the programs here are either very expensive or only for underrepresented students.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

Your grades in your undergraduate science courses are more important than where you take them. The course needs to be of sufficient depth and breadth so that you do well on the MCAT but beyond that as long as your courses are covering the material tested on the MCAT, where you take them is not as important as how you do in these courses. Overall, it is better to take these courses at a four-year college or univeristy but it that is not an option, do well and rock on the MCAT.

Do NOT get a masters degree in biology unless you want a masters degree in biology to enhance your career as a biologist. Graduate degrees do not "show adcoms" anything or change the "thinking" of an admissions committee. Any graduate grades are not weighted the same as undergraduate and to attempt a graduate degree, unless you are passionately interested in biology, would set you up for two years of study with diminishing returns.

If your undergraduate grades are good, you would be a strong candidate for a post bacc program. You should choose a post bacc program that is designed for humanities majors who need the pre-med courses. These programs do more than just coursework, they get you up to speed with science academics (and MCAT prep) so that you eventually do well in medical school. (Look at the descriptions of the post baccs at Johns Hopkins and University of Virginia) These are the type of programs that would be the most useful to you. I am sure there there are comparable programs in California.

If medicine is you goal, a graduate degree in biology is not going to get you there or enhance your competitiveness. Doing well in your pre-med sciences and on the MCAT will.

 

[aglaiaer]

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