SMP or Masters in a hard science.

[cupcake423]

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Hello! I would really like some insight on whether to choose an SMP or Masters in a hard science? I have a 2.5 ugpa and I retook some pre-med classes at a Community College the following year after graduating from undergrad; earning an associates with a 3.5 gpa. I have not taken the MCAT, have decent clinical hours, volunteer and shadowing hours. I am struggling on deciding whether to apply for a really expensive postbacc or not as expensive - masters in a hard science. I personally feel the 3.5gpa in associates is still not going to help because my upga is pretty low, and I feel adcoms still need more assurance I can do good in more hard sciences. I am leaning more towards a masters program in hard sciences like a Biochemistry Masters / Pharmacology and Toxicology Masters / Cellular and Molecular Biology Masters etc. Or if any of you have any suggestions. My state school where I got my undergrad from have good masters programs in hard sciences in the range of 30,000-40,000K. This is doable for me. If the consensus is a post bacc, i'd prefer to do it in person but all my state school SMP's start at 80,000. Additionally, I have been reading about really low gpas, I will have to take too many credits to bring it up to a 3.0 so I don't know. If anyone has any advice or in a similar situation/overcome this situation. Please DM me or let me know what you think in the comments. 🙂

 

[polymerization]

Wow, SMPs cost 80k?!

It's tough. I come from a very humble background and I would find it absolutely absurd to even consider paying for an additional degree (and the opportunity cost of sitting through the course) only for the opportunity to apply to yet another degree program, that, at best, accepts you and makes that degree instantly redundant.

At worst, medical school admissions will only extract even more money from you and leave you to reapply; or "release" you into the job market that...honestly, is going to be rough with a hard science master's and nonexistent with a niche SMP credential. Neither of these programs are training programs for a real-life job application of the theory. Like, getting a pharmacology master's won't let you work as a pharmacist; nor will a biochemistry master's let you work as a clinical lab scientist, etc etc.

As much as I am enthusiastic in vocalizing my belief that anyone can put together a competent application to medical school with enough time and resources, I do think there are certainly diminishing returns to doing so at some point. In other words, I think the juice might not be worth the squeeze for you if you are flexible in your goals.

For example, you could be competitive for a direct entry nurse practitioner program for career changers. If you're going to pay a ridiculous amount of money on a graduate degree, you might as well get something out of it. Admissions, I might imagine, must necessarily be more amenable to someone with your academic history than medicine would be. The cost, as expected, is exorbitant. But, it's a program that federal student loans apply to (which isn't always the case for SMPs).

And hey, they set you up for the NP licensing exams right out of school, which means that by the time you finish the program, you're ready to start your first job.

If you're not flexible, the next best thing is an SMP with guaranteed acceptance or interview that has good testimonials and a history of taking its own students. You'd still probably have to meet a minimum MCAT for those kinds of programs and so there are still additional major career-halting barriers there.