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I'm applying to med school in a couple of cycles and want to take some more classes to strengthen my application. I was wondering whether I should do a post-bacc (not to complete req's, just additional courses) or a master's in a science. The university that I have just started working for pays for tuition so that really isn't a concern.
A more complete idea of your application (e.g. what is it about your app that needs strengthening - I'll assume gpa from here on) would be helpful, but assuming it's GPA, the answer is postbacc, hands-down.
The only master's program which really compensates for a low uGPA is an SMP - a special, expensive program where you take med school classes alongside med students in order to demonstrate that you can perform academically. It's a Hail Mary for the low-gpa applicant...if it works, you can overcome a lot. However, if you don't do
exceedingly well, you end up down $50k with a meaningless 'degree' and pretty much zero future shot at medical school. From what you describe, that is not the sort of program you're looking at; I just wanted to get the full description in here because people have been conflating all of these terms recently.
Here's the deal: for non SMP master's programs, adcoms are not as familiar with interpreting those GPAs as they are uGPAs. I think also that the importance of the actual coursework (and thereby grades) varies widely by program, making it harder. So while completing a master's program will take time, distancing you from your prior academic shortcomings, and you can demonstrate that hey, you didn't do
poorly in the courses you took, it may not do a great job of really showing that you were doing
well, either.
More importantly, and I mean this 100%,
you should not apply to a graduate program if you would not have done so if med school didn't exist. Getting any sort of graduate degree in science requires a lot of self-motivation, time, and focus. If it's not something you see yourself doing for the rest of your life, you probably won't be happy doing it, and you probably won't push yourself the way you need to in those programs. If you already have a job (and expect that to pay for the masters), it sounds as if you're going to try
adding the school on top of that...while that works for taking undergrad courses, it's really not feasible for a full graduate program. Now, if you apply and get in, odds are you'll have some grad student funding and maybe a stipend, but you're talking about completely changing your course of action if you go that route.
So, yeah...the masters is less helpful for fixing your application, it's not wise to attempt one if you're not invested in it, and honestly it's not clear that you've really considered the logistics of a full master's program. If things stand the way you've described them, you're either in for a surprise when you get more details on the master's program, or there are some special circumstances/programs at your school which you have not fully described for us in your post.
Do the postbacc. If you're applying DO, include some of the classes you've done poorly on in the past. If you're going only for MD, stick to interesting upper levels you haven't seen before.
Either way, rock it. Get a 4.0.
Good luck!
