Question about having a MA degree....

[EdCadore]

Would anyone say having a Masters Degree in Biology would have a better chance of getting accepted to a med school then another person who just has a BA/BS????

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[WildTumor]

I hope so -- I'm getting an MA

 

[LizzyM]

Would anyone say having a Masters Degree in Biology would have a better chance of getting accepted to a med school then another person who just has a BA/BS????

All else being equal, I would not expect an MA to have a better chance. Why should additional academic work in biology make for a better applicant?

 

[chaeymaey]

All else being equal, I would not expect an MA to have a better chance. Why should additional academic work in biology make for a better applicant?

What about someone in an SMP?

 

[relentless11]

What about someone in an SMP?

Probably, since you essentially showed adcoms that you completed the vast majority of first year med school courses.

In regards to having a graduate degree helping you get into med school. It certainly won't hinder you, but its effects will depend on many other things. Graduate GPA tends to be weighted less than undergrad GPA.

Lets put it this way, I'm doing a PhD right now, and what i've been told is it will essentially look like a really long extracurricular. It'll definately look good, but I'm still going to have to score high on the MCAT, and do well in my classes just like any other applicant. The key to getting into med school is making yourself unique, and in all honesty, a masters degree isn't all that unique. Talk to the non-trad students, some have JDs, PhDs, MS/MAs, MPHs, and I've encounted one person who has a DVM..haha.

But if you want to do a masters for fun, and personal enrichment, go for it. Like i said, it will never be counted against you, unless you bail out mid program or fail the program. But yea..

 

[LizzyM]

What about someone in an SMP?

Can't say... I don't see many of these ... given the usual gpa of a student doing a SMP, a student who has done one and done well will be better off than someone with a similar undergrad gpa who has not done a SMP.

 

[coralfangs]

i dont think it would help

its just a MA in bio
i too am doing MA in biotech next yr but i am doing it as a backup in case everything fails for me, (i figure a MA/MBA would probably lead me somewhere if i cant get into any decent med school)