rejection with a masters degree

[o0rikio0o]

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i know that a masters degree is very nice feather in your cap when it comes to applying to medical school, but i know for a fact that its not the golden ticket. but im trying to fathom what the statistics are with respect to acceptance/rejection for applicants with a masters degree.

 

[caliprincess]

What kind of master's degree are you talking about? And you are right, a master's degree does not = guaranteed medical school admission.

 

[Maxprime]

A master's degree will slightly improve your application - but not terribly so. It's probably almost equivalent to doing the same amount of research in a lab for a year.

 

[Dr Roboto]

It will somewhat improve your chances, but it won't improve your GPA, as those grades are not factored in.

 

[littlealex]

It is actually far from a golden ticket.
If you have a low GPA/MCAT, the masters degree barely helps you at all. If you're a strong candidate already, the masters degree definitely makes you more competitive, especially at research intensive schools.

It really depends on your situation. I think if GPA is your problem, a postbac/SMP >> traditional masters degree.

 

[seraph524]

Yea...I feel my masters hasn't helped me at all...in fact, may have actually hurt me. Harvard HST asked me why the hell I was so science intensive...

 

[Twiigg]

what is HST?

 

[Doctor Bagel]

A master's degree will slightly improve your application - but not terribly so. It's probably almost equivalent to doing the same amount of research in a lab for a year.

👍 It's certainly not going to make up for a low MCAT or other application weaknesses. High grades in a master's program will also not affect you uGPA, which is the GPA schools are most concerned about.

 

[o0rikio0o]

i appreciate all the replies, and although they are all well-intentioned, they dont answer my question. im specifically trying to find out the statistic of rejection versus acceptance for those that hold a masters degree.

 

[Maxprime]

i appreciate all the replies, and although they are all well-intentioned, they dont answer my question. im specifically trying to find out the statistic of rejection versus acceptance for those that hold a masters degree.

The only admissions stats we have that are reliable are through the AAMC. To my knowledge, they have not released statistics on this. Try a pubmed search.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

I seen people with PhD's get rejected.

As for the masters, if you do find the statistics, which I don't you will, it will likely either be insignificant or actually harmful since people with low gpa/mcat tend to go for more graduate education.

 

[dragon529]

courses and gpa from masters program is not factored into the GPA when applying to med school? Then what is the point of doing it... other than doing it during the leap year between undergrad and med school?

 

[njbmd]

The only reason to obtain a Masters Degree is because you are interested in the subject matter of your masters program. There are specific Special Masters Programs (such as the one at Georgetown) that are good for enhancement of your application to medical school as long as you do very well in their programs.

The AMCAS website has lists of postbaccs and masters programs that are useful for medical school application enhancement or obtaining the pre-medical coursework should you lack these classes.

In general, graduate work (outside of SMPs) is weighted like an extracurricular activity as uGPA/MCAT are the strongest predictors of admission to medical school. In short, just having a masters degree (outside of a SMP with excellent grades) isn't going to be of much value if you don't have the uGPA/MCAT scores to make you competitive. If your graduate grades aren't good (above 3.7) your graduate degree is going to be a liability.

 

[seraph524]

what is HST?

HST is Harvard's joint program with MIT, stands for Heath Sciences and Technology. I find it really ironic that the HST program, of all programs, criticized me for being too science heavy

 

[dragon529]

what if I do a bs/ms degree in 4 years at my UG institution? Do they separate the courses I take for the bs and ms degree separately and calculate individual GPAs?