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Hello all,
I am very concerned about the next move I should make as I feel that I have not left myself with many options. I was recently accepted to this program--> http://www.baylor.edu/biology/index.php?id=73119. I am very uncertain as to whether this program will be beneficial towards my pursuit of a career in podiatry at my current stage. My intent is to apply for the 2014 cycle as soon as applications open up. Will this degree do me any good or is there another option that I might consider for the 2013-2014 school year?
Background:
I am a post-bacc student who recently came upon the interest of pursuing a career in podiatry. I have a BS in Biology from Baylor University where I got a 2.9 overall and a 2.6 science. To try and remedy my failures in undergraduate, I began taking post-bacc classes at UTD. I took undergraduate upper level sciences for 2 semesters and got a 3.8 GPA in 24 hours of course work (overall gpa of undergraduate coursework ~3.14 now). Over the past year, I have been in a different situation where I have not been taking classes and have been trying to get into graduate programs. I was just accepted to an MA in Biology program that begins this summer. The program is designed for students wanting to continue on to healthcare related graduate schools, requiring 30 hours of graduate and 4000 level biology that is 12 months long. While I am sure that I can do well in the program, I am not certain that this will raise any eyebrows on admissions boards. Furthermore, I am not certain that it will make a difference in my application for the upcoming cycle since I had this year off.
One of my primary concerns is that I have little in the way of extracurricular activities and service hours. I need to build these aspects of my resume, but to do well in the program I would need to devote all of my efforts towards school and think I would be limited in my ability to make any meaningful extracurricular additions to my resume. I am stuck because I want to show that I am able to handle the academic load that is placed on podiatry students, but I am fighting my past (in many more ways than one) to improve my candidacy for podiatry schools.
As of now, this program is my primary option for what to do with my next year. I do not have any applications in for other programs and I am afraid the deadlines for other programs beginning in the fall have passed. I need to recover from my undergraduate career and this year off from classes. My questions are:
1.) Is showing that I can handle the academic demands placed on podiatry students more important than building a strong extracurricular/service background at this point? (that is to say taking upper level sciences in a degree granting program, not re-taking classes to get my GPA up)
2.) If building up my academics and getting back into school is more important, do you think that this program would be my best option or is there another option that I am not considering that would be readily available for me to enroll in? (I would like to be in a degree granting program in order to receive financial assistance.)
3.) Should I instead only focus lightly on coursework and take a class or two while building up my extracurricular activities or would a degree in which I excelled be viewed more highly than excelling in one or two classes and getting a good deal of service hours/other extracurricular activities?
4.) What suggestions do you have for me concerning how I should build up my extracurricular activities in any meaningful way? (short of getting a new bachelor's degree and doing it right this time, I feel pretty helpless to remedy my lack of service and other activities while pursuing any graduate program. Perhaps I am not giving myself enough credit for my capacity to maintain a graduate level education and do service, but I have been "out of the game" for a long time)
Thank you for your help!
I am very concerned about the next move I should make as I feel that I have not left myself with many options. I was recently accepted to this program--> http://www.baylor.edu/biology/index.php?id=73119. I am very uncertain as to whether this program will be beneficial towards my pursuit of a career in podiatry at my current stage. My intent is to apply for the 2014 cycle as soon as applications open up. Will this degree do me any good or is there another option that I might consider for the 2013-2014 school year?
Background:
I am a post-bacc student who recently came upon the interest of pursuing a career in podiatry. I have a BS in Biology from Baylor University where I got a 2.9 overall and a 2.6 science. To try and remedy my failures in undergraduate, I began taking post-bacc classes at UTD. I took undergraduate upper level sciences for 2 semesters and got a 3.8 GPA in 24 hours of course work (overall gpa of undergraduate coursework ~3.14 now). Over the past year, I have been in a different situation where I have not been taking classes and have been trying to get into graduate programs. I was just accepted to an MA in Biology program that begins this summer. The program is designed for students wanting to continue on to healthcare related graduate schools, requiring 30 hours of graduate and 4000 level biology that is 12 months long. While I am sure that I can do well in the program, I am not certain that this will raise any eyebrows on admissions boards. Furthermore, I am not certain that it will make a difference in my application for the upcoming cycle since I had this year off.
One of my primary concerns is that I have little in the way of extracurricular activities and service hours. I need to build these aspects of my resume, but to do well in the program I would need to devote all of my efforts towards school and think I would be limited in my ability to make any meaningful extracurricular additions to my resume. I am stuck because I want to show that I am able to handle the academic load that is placed on podiatry students, but I am fighting my past (in many more ways than one) to improve my candidacy for podiatry schools.
As of now, this program is my primary option for what to do with my next year. I do not have any applications in for other programs and I am afraid the deadlines for other programs beginning in the fall have passed. I need to recover from my undergraduate career and this year off from classes. My questions are:
1.) Is showing that I can handle the academic demands placed on podiatry students more important than building a strong extracurricular/service background at this point? (that is to say taking upper level sciences in a degree granting program, not re-taking classes to get my GPA up)
2.) If building up my academics and getting back into school is more important, do you think that this program would be my best option or is there another option that I am not considering that would be readily available for me to enroll in? (I would like to be in a degree granting program in order to receive financial assistance.)
3.) Should I instead only focus lightly on coursework and take a class or two while building up my extracurricular activities or would a degree in which I excelled be viewed more highly than excelling in one or two classes and getting a good deal of service hours/other extracurricular activities?
4.) What suggestions do you have for me concerning how I should build up my extracurricular activities in any meaningful way? (short of getting a new bachelor's degree and doing it right this time, I feel pretty helpless to remedy my lack of service and other activities while pursuing any graduate program. Perhaps I am not giving myself enough credit for my capacity to maintain a graduate level education and do service, but I have been "out of the game" for a long time)
Thank you for your help!
