Using same rec letters for masters and med school apps?

[Jugni]

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I'm planning on applying for a master's program this winter for admission in Fall 2018, and also apply for the 2018 application cycle for med school to get in there for Fall 2019. Both apps require LORs from science professors, so would it make sense to ask each prof for one recommendation letter, tell them my plans to apply for both, and just use that one letter for both apps? I feel intimidated by the thought of asking them for two separate letters, and I don't even know if that would be a better idea.
Please help

 

[Jugni]

No its a crappy idea. Your med school letter needs to say "I whole heartedlt recommend this student for med school"

Now what is this one year master you are applying to and how will this impact negatively and positively your application to med school

Oh darn ok. I don't have my eyes on a specific one but I was thinking of doing those one year biomedical science programs ( brown's master of science in medical sciences is the only one in my head right now, but im not counting on going to that one).
My science gpa is really bad at 2.9, and I did a bio degree AND loaded up on tons of extra science classes, graduating with 142 credits. So I feel like a post-bacc won't be able to raise my gpa enough, and thought a masters might show that I can handle more advanced classes even though undergrad is ****.
TBH I am just scrambling to figure out what to do and maybe not thinking clearly.

 

[Donna Moss]

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[Jugni]

Then you should COMPLETE the BMS before applying to medical school. You will have no new grades to add to you med school application and you would be wasting your time and money. Focus solely on BMS/SMP, finish, then MCAT, then AMCAS.

Sorry couldn't think of the term SMP. My advisor just told me about them today. That's what I had assumed I would have to do at first but I was reading posts about them here and found a lot of people who applied while they were in the program and just sent updated test scores/grades along the way. similar to what this post said:

Another factor could be that SMP students tend to interview late in the season. A lot of schools will hold off on reviewing your application if you are doing a SMP until your grades are in. It makes sense for them, as they would like to see how well you fared before extending a interview. For Georgetown, your fall semester grades become available in the beginning of Janurary. So a lot of students will receive the bulk of their interviews in Janurary, Feb or March, rather late in the cycle.

I figured this was just the most typical way to do it. Do most of these people usually not gain admission or is my sGPA just plain too low to consider it?

 

[Jugni]

See if you can get your sGPA to 3.0 so you don't get auto-screened at schools.

I'm in a similar situation, so I can understand what you're going through. Starting my SMP in a few weeks!

Good luck OP!

Raise it to 3.0 in a postbac and then do an SMP? Just raising to 3.0 without SMP feels like I still wouldn't have a chance. Would I be possibly screened out because of undergrad gpa even after completing the SMP like gonnif said to do?
And thank you, same to you!!

 

[Jugni]

You would get screened out before you completed a single course in SMP. Is your goal to get into medical school or to get into medical school quickly? Frankly your GPA is so low you wouldnt be admitted to a large fraction of SMPs.

That's a downer! My cGPA is 3.45, and while not competitive, hopefully enough to get me into at least one program. So I'll cross my fingers for that and apply the cycle after. Thanks for the help!

 

[Donna Moss]

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[Donna Moss]

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[Goro]

Oh darn ok. I don't have my eyes on a specific one but I was thinking of doing those one year biomedical science programs ( brown's master of science in medical sciences is the only one in my head right now, but im not counting on going to that one).
My science gpa is really bad at 2.9, and I did a bio degree AND loaded up on tons of extra science classes, graduating with 142 credits. So I feel like a post-bacc won't be able to raise my gpa enough, and thought a masters might show that I can handle more advanced classes even though undergrad is ****.
TBH I am just scrambling to figure out what to do and maybe not thinking clearly.

It's not about raising the GPA anymore. Read this:

• Goro's Advice for DO Applicants in Absence of Grade Replacement

 

[Jugni]

Are you planning on applying DO, MD or both?

Definitely broadly to both