okay all need some advice please

[mommy2three]

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honest input and thoughts appreciated. i am currently debating to continue the program i am at or whether to apply to a very promising program for 2008 (i just missed the app deadline this cycle as one of my transcripts did not arrive on time)
here is an overview of what i see as the pros/cons of each option:

School 1: Local State University
Have been taking classes there for the past year as a graduate student at large, recently accepted into the Master's program that could be finished this coming academic year plus next summer.
pro's:
- less expensive due to in state tuition
- 1 yr to completion (let's face it I am not getting any younger)
- already familiar with some of the instuctors/methods of teaching
con's :
- farther drive: more milage on car, more gas cost, less study time
- program not really suited to my future plans
- standard course plan, no room for personalization

School 2: Private University
Would have to start all over again taking classes, may possibly get some transfer credit but it is limited to 14 credit hours total; could possibly be done in 18 months, then have the spring semester off while applying to professional school.
pro's:
- program tailored to those applying to professional schools; they have placed all of their graduates in a professional program over the last 6 years.
- ability to personalize classes; aside from a few basic requirements the program can be tailored to your interests rather than a standard course plan everyone takes
- closer to me, less drive time, save money on gas, wear on car etc
- possibly may give me a leg up in the application cycle for ccom (my top choice)
con's:
- private university tuition = $10000/yr more than what could be taken via financial aid; could be paritally funded via private loan and pay out of pocket for rest.
- higher tuition + daycare costs = ??? not sure how we would work this one out, been looking into at home nanny; either way we go money would be there but it would be very tight budget financially with virtually no wiggle room.
- woud mean I would delay starting md/do for three years and as previously mentioned I am not getting any younger

so here are the possible options i have in front of me for consideration:

option1: complete masters at school 1 this year, apply to school 2 for next year, retake mcat as planned in september, continue with app process. if not accepted into any md/do school but am accepted to school 2 plan on going there for fall 2008 if i do not get in. (however i have no clue how 2 master's would look in an application??)

option 2: possibly see if i can delay admission at school 1 to spring, apply to school 2 and hope to hear a decision by end of year. if get in to school 2, withdraw from school 1 and plan to go to school 2 come fall. if have not ehard anything plan on continuing at school 1 (but then what happens if i get a late admisison and i cannot drop out of program i am currently in? and how bad would it look to drop out of program at school 1 to go to school 2?)

option 3: ????? (any other ideas??)

HELP!!!

 

[glamqueen]

I would pick option three, and maybe just work on retaking the MCAT, volunteer work, doing unusual things in your time before applying next year. From all the research I've done, I'm not sure how helpful a masters is for an application. If you need to increase your GPA, it seems that just taking higher level undergrad classes is the way to do it.

That's my two cents... you seem really interested in getting a master's degree, so if it is what you want to do - I would pursue it. However, I would think that adcomms might ask why you put off medical school to do an 18-month masters etc. etc.

 

[QofQuimica]

I don't know how much damage control you have to do (GPA), but I think if I were you, I would start by calling my state medical school admissions office (hopefully you have one!) and asking for preadmissions counseling. Bring a copy of your CV, all of your transcripts, any MCAT scores if you've taken it yet, etc. Go to the meeting and ask what you can do to make your application as strong as possible. There's no one out there who can give you a better answer than the admissions folks themselves, right? Best of to you. 🙂

 

[mommy2three]

I would pick option three, and maybe just work on retaking the MCAT, volunteer work, doing unusual things in your time before applying next year. From all the research I've done, I'm not sure how helpful a masters is for an application. If you need to increase your GPA, it seems that just taking higher level undergrad classes is the way to do it.

That's my two cents... you seem really interested in getting a master's degree, so if it is what you want to do - I would pursue it. However, I would think that adcomms might ask why you put off medical school to do an 18-month masters etc. etc.

the problem with taking upper level ugrad classes is i have a zillion and one credit hours.
my ugrad cum is 3.2, bcpm is 3.7 and my current grad cum and bcpm is 3.0 (including one year in a smp)

taking more upper level classes will do me no good as it will not raise my cum ugrad gpa and i have already taken most of the upper level classes that i could take

the answer to the question is simple, i only found out about this program about three weeks ago otherwise i would have applied there last year.

 

[mommy2three]

I don't know how much damage control you have to do (GPA), but I think if I were you, I would start by calling my state medical school admissions office (hopefully you have one!) and asking for preadmissions counseling. Bring a copy of your CV, all of your transcripts, any MCAT scores if you've taken it yet, etc. Go to the meeting and ask what you can do to make your application as strong as possible. There's no one out there who can give you a better answer than the admissions folks themselves, right? Best of to you. 🙂

we do have a state school, i had never thought about calling them and asking for preadmission counseling. honestly i had no clue that something like that was even available.
my gpas are above and my most recent mcat was a 28p

 

[Nasrudin]

First of all can I just say your some kind of superwoman.

Can you make clear something for better consideration here....
What is the program you are at now? Are you done with the SMP?
So in other words what program are you in now, and did you complete your SMP to get the 3.0., because that's they only way to start with a public analysis.


I really feel you and would like to tee up your information for some of the people here who have done extensive graduate reapair work and SMP's.

 

[mommy2three]

First of all can I just say your some kind of superwoman.

Can you make clear something for better consideration here....
What is the program you are at now? Are you done with the SMP?
So in other words what program are you in now, and did you complete your SMP to get the 3.0., because that's they only way to start with a public analysis.


I really feel you and would like to tee up your information for some of the people here who have done extensive graduate reapair work and SMP's.

i did the smp for the 2005-2006 academic year. i ended up being one lousy question away from meeting their gpa requirement. so i was sitting at a 2.88.

was advised that my chances given that my grad gpa was less than 3.0 were not very good until i got my grad gpa above 3.0. by time i knew i was not going to be able to continue at the med school i took my smp at it was too late to apply to any traditional m.s. programs. the state university i have been at for the past year allows you to take grad classes as a student at large so that is what i have been doing. in the process of the past year i have gotten b's and a's to where now my grad gpa is 3.0. i had applied to one of the two program specializations there but the man in charge is an butthead (to put it nicely) so i ended up inquiring about transferring to the other specialization and have been prepping for that.
however, the more hubby and i talk about it the more both of us think that the specialization i would be pursuing is more about having a masters than getting me where i want to be (it is in bioinformatics). and while the other option (human anatomical sciences) is more in line with where i want to go i do not feel like dealing with someone like the guy who is in charge and he would have to oversee my project that i would need to complete.

the main problem now is that there are simply not very many terminal master's programs out there. there are even fewer that are in line with the goal of gaining admission to medical school.....so i/we are left with very few options. the trick i think is to attempt to pick the one that will get you where you want to be but how one does that is beyond me.


and no i am not superwoman, as evidenced by my stupid failing grades in radio television 11 yrs ago. although my 4 yr old does think i have the ability to do three things at once...so you never can tell 😛. i just really and honestly want to be a physician and am willing to do whatever it takes to get me there.


i think we are going for option 3....what that is at this point is in the air.

 

[Nasrudin]

i did the smp for the 2005-2006 academic year. i ended up being one lousy question away from meeting their gpa requirement. so i was sitting at a 2.88.

was advised that my chances given that my grad gpa was less than 3.0 were not very good until i got my grad gpa above 3.0. by time i knew i was not going to be able to continue at the med school i took my smp at it was too late to apply to any traditional m.s. programs. the state university i have been at for the past year allows you to take grad classes as a student at large so that is what i have been doing. in the process of the past year i have gotten b's and a's to where now my grad gpa is 3.0. i had applied to one of the two program specializations there but the man in charge is an butthead (to put it nicely) so i ended up inquiring about transferring to the other specialization and have been prepping for that.
however, the more hubby and i talk about it the more both of us think that the specialization i would be pursuing is more about having a masters than getting me where i want to be (it is in bioinformatics). and while the other option (human anatomical sciences) is more in line with where i want to go i do not feel like dealing with someone like the guy who is in charge and he would have to oversee my project that i would need to complete.

the main problem now is that there are simply not very many terminal master's programs out there. there are even fewer that are in line with the goal of gaining admission to medical school.....so i/we are left with very few options. the trick i think is to attempt to pick the one that will get you where you want to be but how one does that is beyond me.


and no i am not superwoman, as evidenced by my stupid failing grades in radio television 11 yrs ago. although my 4 yr old does think i have the ability to do three things at once...so you never can tell 😛. i just really and honestly want to be a physician and am willing to do whatever it takes to get me there.


i think we are going for option 3....what that is at this point is in the air.

Look you've definitely done some great things. You hung in there in medical school classes while raising kids. You've got a lot of of good grades in all kinds of other science classes. It seems you just need to focus on the MCAT before your next go. The only possible dagger in your whole effort would to me be the starting and not completing of programs--so don't get involved with anything on a committed graduate level without sticking it out. Best of luck to you. Be an MCAT freak for some months and we'll be pulling for you.

 

[QofQuimica]

we do have a state school, i had never thought about calling them and asking for preadmission counseling. honestly i had no clue that something like that was even available.
my gpas are above and my most recent mcat was a 28p

I don't know if they would either, but it's worth asking. In my state (FL), all of our schools offer this service, and I personally visited three of them and called a fourth for application advice before I applied.

 

[GoSouthernGo]

we do have a state school, i had never thought about calling them and asking for preadmission counseling. honestly i had no clue that something like that was even available.
my gpas are above and my most recent mcat was a 28p

The 2 state schools in our state were very receptive to me when I called and e-mailed. Give it a shot!

Even the private schools in our state were pretty nice about pre-admissions counseling.

 

[Kateb4]

I'm confused, so are you currently applying to CCOM for the 2008 cycle? I think that you would be a reasonable applicant (in fact, I sort of don't want you to apply because you may take my spot - LOL). Your GPA is fine, and 28 is better than the ave at CCOM.

It sounds like you have been running in high speed for a while. Do you have any clinical experience? If you have already completed your pre-req classes, and taking more undergrad or grad classes won't really strengthen your application, maybe you would consider finding a clinical job somewhere and skipping the masters program for this year (particularly since it's not doing what you want to do).