PhD vs. 2nd Undergrad Canada & USA???

[mwalsh07]

Hi everyone!

I have a tough decision to make. Medicine is my dream and it has been for a long time. However, during my undergrad I didn't have the wherewithal to do extra research into the necessary steps that I needed to take to make this dream come true and I find myself falling short with my first degree. I am currently completing my MSc but I've noticed that your undergrad is way more important to med school admissions than graduate work. I've just applied to med school in both Canada and the US for my first time (so who knows where the wind might actually blow) but I can already feel that I will be falling short and know that I will need to do some extra work to get where I want to go.

So, should I pursue a 2nd degree - I can complete this in 2 years - or should I pursue my PhD? Which do you think would be most beneficial to my chances? I am sitting on the low end & will be retaking my MCAT. One big up with the PhD is that it is paid whereas an undergraduate degree is most definitely not.
Undergraduate GPA - 3.15
Graduate GPA - 4.00
MCAT - 509

If anyone has any insights I'd be grateful for any and all advice!
Thanks
(super stressed with huge dreams)

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[Med Ed]

I presume you are Canadian. I don't know much about admissions in Canada, so I will not comment on it. I do know the odds of being accepted to a US medical school without a Green Card are quite remote. You may look into employment in the US using your MSc degree, which would be on a visa initially but could start building a case for permanent residency status. Green Card holders are considered the same as citizens in the medical school application process.

A PhD is a massive commitment. If you go that route you could postdoc in the US with the intention of becoming a permanent resident, but that would take quite a few years to complete.

If you retake the MCAT there is a good chance it will expire before you could use it for US admissions. I would wait to determine the overall strategy first.

 

[HouseJC]

It is really hard to give concrete advice without knowing more. For reference, I'm a Canadian PhD student who will be graduating in Spring 2021 and matriculating to a US MD school in August 2021. Feel free to PM me and we can chat more afterward. Good luck!