SMP vs MS in Biostats

[ClaraBarton]

Hi everyone,

I'm a 30-year-old untraditional student with a career in the tech industry, heavy on the statistics/programming. I took all my med school pre-reqs over the past couple of years, and applied to med school this year (MCAT 506, gpas ~3.4, thanks to a few C's from my undergrad 10 years ago). I got waitlisted at a couple of DO schools and ultimately rejected. I'm considering a master's program to boost my gpa and give me some more biology background, which I think will also increase my MCAT.

I was accepted into some schools' SMPs as consolation, but they are so expensive and basically useless outside of putting extra A's on my transcript. I'm considering an MS in Biostats instead, which would leverage my career (plus I'd probably take a couple additional classes in biology).

What do y'all think about this situation?

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[Shotapp]

I'm considering an MS in Biostats instead, which would leverage my career (plus I'd probably take a couple additional classes in biology).

I suppose you don't have a solid commitment to the medical field since you're contemplating on pursuing a MS in Bio-statistics to further your current profession. You probably got rejected because your app didn't display enough evidence to support that you are completely leaving your current profession.

 

[Goro]

I suppose you don't have a solid commitment to the medical field since you're contemplating on pursuing a MS in Bio-statistics to further your current profession. You probably got rejected because your app didn't display enough evidence to support that you are completely leaving your current profession.

It's more that an MS in Biostats won't convince Adcoms that the OP can handle med school

 

[DSM_302.0]

Howdy! Welcome to the forums.

Since GPAs tend to only creep up slowly after a long time, focusing on boosting your MCAT would be the highest leverage undertaking. Have you seen this grid? A 3.4 / 506 is a tough spot to be in, but get it up to a 510 or a 514 and you're in safer waters.

My advice is if you'd like to boost your MCAT, devote yourself fully to MCAT studying. Doing well on the MCAT is a whole different beast than doing well in pre-reqs. If you want to do better on the bio questions of the MCAT, don't take a bio course. Instead, study MCAT bio questions, sticking as close to AAMC official materials as possible. Same goes for all the other topics. Take practice tests until you're dreaming MCAT and your official AAMC test scores are where you need them to be. Only take the official practice exams once you're ready to score yourself. There are only a few so you'll want them to be new material when you sit to score yourself. Spend lots of time going over what you got right and wrong.

If you want to boost your GPA, just take some additional classes outside of any formal program. I don't think you'd need an SMP unless you're able and interested in shelling out a ton of money for some of the linkage benefits at a school you're eyeing.

Good luck!

 

[ClaraBarton]

I suppose you don't have a solid commitment to the medical field since you're contemplating on pursuing a MS in Bio-statistics to further your current profession. You probably got rejected because your app didn't display enough evidence to support that you are completely leaving your current profession.

Um, what? I think you misunderstood; a biostats MS would be a bridge between my current career and a career as a research MD. I don't need a masters to advance in my current career path. Also, based on statistics (ha), it's far more likely that I wasn't accepted due to my GPA/MCAT versus an intangible lack of commitment to medicine -- which is not true, by the way, I am committed to becoming a doctor, but I do not think it's a wise financial decision to take on $50k of additional debt for an SMP.

 

[ClaraBarton]

Howdy! Welcome to the forums.

Since GPAs tend to only creep up slowly after a long time, focusing on boosting your MCAT would be the highest leverage undertaking.

Thanks so much for the welcome and advice! In an ideal world, I'd get the biggest return by boosting both my GPA and my MCAT. You're right about the GPA, though. It's been so frustrating that a) GPAs and MCATs are basically the only things med schools care about, and b) a couple of C's from 10 years ago are nearly ruining my chances of becoming a physician. Too bad old grades don't expire after 7 years like credit scores, haha!

Sure 2 years of graduate school credit would be a significant enough boost to my GPA, though? (in additional to boosting my MCAT score)

 

[ClaraBarton]

t's more that an MS in Biostats won't convince Adcoms that the OP can handle med school

I've read a lot of your posts, Goro! Thanks so much for all your contributions to these forums. Do you have any additional advice for me, or is it SMP or bust?

 

[Goro]

I've read a lot of your posts, Goro! Thanks so much for all your contributions to these forums. Do you have any additional advice for me, or is it SMP or bust?

SMP or DIY postbac.

 

[DSM_302.0]

Thanks so much for the welcome and advice! In an ideal world, I'd get the biggest return by boosting both my GPA and my MCAT. You're right about the GPA, though. It's been so frustrating that a) GPAs and MCATs are basically the only things med schools care about, and b) a couple of C's from 10 years ago are nearly ruining my chances of becoming a physician. Too bad old grades don't expire after 7 years like credit scores, haha!

Sure 2 years of graduate school credit would be a significant enough boost to my GPA, though? (in additional to boosting my MCAT score)

I recommend doing the math for your particular scenario in a spreadsheet. GPAs are hard to move.
After undergrad I had a 3.56 gpa. After the entire premed sequence in a DIY postbac at 35 credit units and a strong performance (3.75 gpa) over 3.5 years, my cumulative GPA only went up to 3.63.

I wish they expired or we could replace them!

I don't think 2 years of graduate school will necessarily boost your MCAT. Like I mentioned before, I think dedicated study for the MCAT is really the only way to bring it up. More classes might give you better background knowledge for it, but I really feel like they are separate beasts.

 

[DocJanItor]

I agree with @DSM_302.0 (btw, super hard name to tag). Medical schools do not generally value the GPA from masters degrees very much, excluding those degrees that are reputable and specifically for medical school (SMPs, etc.) It's very likely that you'd spend 2 years doing a lot of work with no progress toward your medical school admission.

That being said, since you've already done DIY work and hit a 3.4, it's unlikely that you're going to raise your GPA much more in a time-efficient fashion. I think a 3.4 is on the upper limit of GPAs for which someone should attend an SMP. I attended with a sub-3.0 GPA and it helped me immensely. SMPs are expensive, intensive, and stressful. If you do well, you'll have a good shot of attending a fair number of schools. Doing ok (< 3.5) doesn't really help you or hurt you, but it will prepare you for the rigor and pace of medical school. If you do poorly (< 3.0, meaning you don't graduate) then your chances at med school are over forever.

As he said, working on your MCAT right now would be the most effective use of your time. If you took 3-6 months to study super well and rocked the MCAT (90 percentile+) then I think your admission chances would be greatly improved. More importantly, you'll need to take the MCAT again regardless of your future academic plans; SMPs encourage you to retake it after the program if you have < 510, and having a higher MCAT could give you a better chance of SMP entry in the first place.

 

[gyngyn]

Sure 2 years of graduate school credit would be a significant enough boost to my GPA, though? (in additional to boosting my MCAT score)

MD schools do not average Master's grades into undergrad.
Master's grades (except perhaps an SMP) are not a remedy for undergraduate performance.

DO schools see things differently.