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Hopefully I've put this in the right spot...
I have found myself at another crossroads of sort. I'll try to keep it brief, as I can get a bit too detailed when talking about myself and the things I've learned along the way.
I did my undergrad at Tulane, majoring in German. I had originally intended to do Computer Engineering, but after Katrina they disbanded the whole Electrical Engineering and Computer Science building and all of the departments within. I opted to stay and switch majors instead of transferring school. I tried to do Math, but that was a terrible idea, so I ended up with German. I don't regret it, because I got to live in Berlin and do a study-abroad at Humboldt, which I rank as the single best thing I've ever done in my life, but all of the "learning" I had to do along the way really hurt my GPA. I graduated with a 3.0 -- would've been a lot higher had I not tried to finish the math degree -- and I had a lot of other personal issues to deal with those first 2 years of school. I simply wasn't ready for college when I went, but I did it anyway.
After graduating in '09, I moved to Atlanta -- from Arkansas, my home -- and worked a few different jobs there for several years. Had some rough bouts with unemployment due to layoffs and downsizing in a few places. Finally got the job of my dreams...and HATED it. Most painful 3 months of my entire life trying to do commercial software development. Decided to do some volunteer work at a local ER while trying to sort my life out, and absolutely loved it. Quite a number of family friends in medicine recommended med school to me and after the volunteer experience, I decided to go for it.
I'm starting my second semester back to school finishing up the things I didn't get the first time around (i.e. 2 semesters of Biology w/ labs and Ochem 1 and 2 w/ labs, plus I'm also taking Genetics w/ lab, Biochemistry, and Microbiology, with the plan to take Human Structure and Function the first summer term and the MCAT in mid-July) and I finished last semester (ochem 1, zoology, and cell biology) with a 4.0 and not a whole lot of trouble doing so. That being said, the real meat of what I want to ask is regarding a Masters program. I've been working with one of my professors from last semester in his lab doing cancer research and I think I'll be able to put my name on the publication when they finish it.
The lab experience, however, has gotten me interested in doing a little bit more work and getting a Masters out of all of this. I just don't really know how much it will help my cause, nor do I have any sort of tangible way to compare an MA to an MS in Biology. I have a couple of ideas for topics that I want to pursue further, I just have very little understanding of how the world of academia works when it comes to Masters degrees and how med school admissions boards view them.
Any advice or information at all is most welcome. 🙂
I have found myself at another crossroads of sort. I'll try to keep it brief, as I can get a bit too detailed when talking about myself and the things I've learned along the way.
I did my undergrad at Tulane, majoring in German. I had originally intended to do Computer Engineering, but after Katrina they disbanded the whole Electrical Engineering and Computer Science building and all of the departments within. I opted to stay and switch majors instead of transferring school. I tried to do Math, but that was a terrible idea, so I ended up with German. I don't regret it, because I got to live in Berlin and do a study-abroad at Humboldt, which I rank as the single best thing I've ever done in my life, but all of the "learning" I had to do along the way really hurt my GPA. I graduated with a 3.0 -- would've been a lot higher had I not tried to finish the math degree -- and I had a lot of other personal issues to deal with those first 2 years of school. I simply wasn't ready for college when I went, but I did it anyway.
After graduating in '09, I moved to Atlanta -- from Arkansas, my home -- and worked a few different jobs there for several years. Had some rough bouts with unemployment due to layoffs and downsizing in a few places. Finally got the job of my dreams...and HATED it. Most painful 3 months of my entire life trying to do commercial software development. Decided to do some volunteer work at a local ER while trying to sort my life out, and absolutely loved it. Quite a number of family friends in medicine recommended med school to me and after the volunteer experience, I decided to go for it.
I'm starting my second semester back to school finishing up the things I didn't get the first time around (i.e. 2 semesters of Biology w/ labs and Ochem 1 and 2 w/ labs, plus I'm also taking Genetics w/ lab, Biochemistry, and Microbiology, with the plan to take Human Structure and Function the first summer term and the MCAT in mid-July) and I finished last semester (ochem 1, zoology, and cell biology) with a 4.0 and not a whole lot of trouble doing so. That being said, the real meat of what I want to ask is regarding a Masters program. I've been working with one of my professors from last semester in his lab doing cancer research and I think I'll be able to put my name on the publication when they finish it.
The lab experience, however, has gotten me interested in doing a little bit more work and getting a Masters out of all of this. I just don't really know how much it will help my cause, nor do I have any sort of tangible way to compare an MA to an MS in Biology. I have a couple of ideas for topics that I want to pursue further, I just have very little understanding of how the world of academia works when it comes to Masters degrees and how med school admissions boards view them.
Any advice or information at all is most welcome. 🙂
