What would you do in this situation?

[WorldChanger36]

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So I am currently in the MSBS in Medical sciences program at Mississippi college and I am doing well in the program however my medical school application cycle is not really doing so hot so I figured I needed a plan B. So I began applying to EVMS's mad masters that I didn't get into last time because of a bad LORs, USF IMS, Georgetown's SMP and maybe a few others. However this morning I get a call from Leah Solomon at EVMS, who informs me that if I finish the program at MC I will not be eligible for admissions into the EVMS Med Masters program. She pretty much told me that if I want to go to EVMS I need to change my status from a degree seeking student to a non degree seeking student, finish that semester then work on shadowing or something. This of course is easy to do however I will no longer be able to take classes at MC. Just now I got an email from USF's IMS program recommending that I do they same thing that Leah was telling me to do. I have no desire to go to medical school in Mississippi, so leaving the program isn't a big deal. However it is a big waste of money and I will only have one semester of grades to send to the medical schools I am currently applying to. A bit of a pickle really... So what would you do stay at MC finish the Masters and be disqualified from the plan Bs or Finish the semester as a non degree seeking student with the hope of getting into EVMS's med master or USF IMS if I don''t get into medical school?

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Finish the degree and pick up another choice of school.

 

[WorldChanger36]

Finish the degree and pick up another choice of school.

A simple answer. Any reason you picked that way?

 

[chayo234]

So I am currently in the MSBS in Medical sciences program at Mississippi college and I am doing well in the program however my medical school application cycle is not really doing so hot so I figured I needed a plan B. So I began applying to EVMS's mad masters that I didn't get into last time because of a bad LORs, USF IMS, Georgetown's SMP and maybe a few others. However this morning I get a call from Leah Solomon at EVMS, who informs me that if I finish the program at MC I will not be eligible for admissions into the EVMS Med Masters program. She pretty much told me that if I want to go to EVMS I need to change my status from a degree seeking student to a non degree seeking student, finish that semester then work on shadowing or something. This of course is easy to do however I will no longer be able to take classes at MC. Just now I got an email from USF's IMS program recommending that I do they same thing that Leah was telling me to do. I have no desire to go to medical school in Mississippi, so leaving the program isn't a big deal. However it is a big waste of money and I will only have one semester of grades to send to the medical schools I am currently applying to. A bit of a pickle really... So what would you do stay at MC finish the Masters and be disqualified from the plan Bs or Finish the semester as a non degree seeking student with the hope of getting into EVMS's med master or USF IMS if I don''t get into medical school?

Obviously they can't answer you directly by saying that you will get in, but how certain are you that you will get in the coming cycle for the other programs?

I constantly tell myself, it's not the med school that will define my future but the residency; thus don't care about where I end up for medical school.

 

[WorldChanger36]

Obviously they can't answer you directly by saying that you will get in, but how certain are you that you will get in the coming cycle for the other programs?

I constantly tell myself, it's not the med school that will define my future but the residency; thus don't care about where I end up for medical school.

To be honest it is one uncertainty for another. However it does matter to me where I go to medical school and while I have no problem spending a year in Mississippi I really can't do more then that. Considering that fact that this programs weight ends at the Mississippi stateline it is likely that if I don't get into medical school I will need another SMP. EVMS is a school of interest. However Dr. Baldwin has proposed another solution to me that I didn't know I had, continue in the master program and if I don't get into medical school I can change to a non degree seeking student changing my graduate credit to undergraduate. He was careful to point out I can only do this with classes that have a graduate/ undergraduate mixture. So this is what I will do. I will hold the course and continue as a graduate student at MC send the non degree seeking transcripts to EVMS and USF IMS. If I get into medical school I will finish the program and go to med school. If not but I get into EVMS or USF IMS, I will change to non degree seeking and go to their SMP. Smart guy that Baldwin. Some times we forget they are here to help us when they are beating the crap out of us with there tests and assignments.

 

[NonTraditional3]

Here's how things will go down if you elect to change your registration status with the current program and/or switch to a different program. RED FLAG. The minds of Medical School admissions committee members will likely jump to "commitment issues". Leaving a program that you entered specifically because you want to commit the next 4 years of your life to studying medicine will probably hurt you more than it will help you. The program in Mississippi is a strong program. Is this your first semester in the program? Do you have a transcript with grades on it yet? If not, then you cant expect the program to help you with your current cycle, because the medical schools you have applied to don't have any tangible basis upon which to evaluate how you are doing in your current program (and the reflection your performance has on your aptitude for study in a medical curriculum.)

Stay the course, finish the degree, and reapply if you don't get in somewhere by the end of this year. If you are doing well in your masters, then that will not be the reason why you didn't get into medical school.

 

[Kakego]

So I am currently in the MSBS in Medical sciences program at Mississippi college and I am doing well in the program however my medical school application cycle is not really doing so hot so I figured I needed a plan B. So I began applying to EVMS's mad masters that I didn't get into last time because of a bad LORs, USF IMS, Georgetown's SMP and maybe a few others. However this morning I get a call from Leah Solomon at EVMS, who informs me that if I finish the program at MC I will not be eligible for admissions into the EVMS Med Masters program. She pretty much told me that if I want to go to EVMS I need to change my status from a degree seeking student to a non degree seeking student, finish that semester then work on shadowing or something. This of course is easy to do however I will no longer be able to take classes at MC. Just now I got an email from USF's IMS program recommending that I do they same thing that Leah was telling me to do. I have no desire to go to medical school in Mississippi, so leaving the program isn't a big deal. However it is a big waste of money and I will only have one semester of grades to send to the medical schools I am currently applying to. A bit of a pickle really... So what would you do stay at MC finish the Masters and be disqualified from the plan Bs or Finish the semester as a non degree seeking student with the hope of getting into EVMS's med master or USF IMS if I don''t get into medical school?

Can I ask what the guideline is that they were going by when they recommended you switch from the program to non-degree? Are you ineligible for these SMPs if you've already completed another program?

Is this common knowledge? Because it's what I was planning on doing...

 

[WorldChanger36]

Here's how things will go down if you elect to change your registration status with the current program and/or switch to a different program. RED FLAG. The minds of Medical School admissions committee members will likely jump to "commitment issues". Leaving a program that you entered specifically because you want to commit the next 4 years of your life to studying medicine will probably hurt you more than it will help you. The program in Mississippi is a strong program. Is this your first semester in the program? Do you have a transcript with grades on it yet? If not, then you cant expect the program to help you with your current cycle, because the medical schools you have applied to don't have any tangible basis upon which to evaluate how you are doing in your current program (and the reflection your performance has on your aptitude for study in a medical curriculum.)

Stay the course, finish the degree, and reapply if you don't get in somewhere by the end of this year. If you are doing well in your masters, then that will not be the reason why you didn't get into medical school.

Med school will not know I switch programs from their point of view they will see that I was a non degree seeking student. All of the masters classes have an undergraduate equivalent for non degree seekers. The only way that med schools will think I have commitment issues is if I say in the program and never graduate. Even EVMS and USF told me that was not acceptable.

 

[WorldChanger36]

Can I ask what the guideline is that they were going by when they recommended you switch from the program to non-degree? Are you ineligible for these SMPs if you've already completed another program?

Is this common knowledge? Because it's what I was planning on doing...

The guideline is based on how similar the courses are. At EVMS it is the exact same courses and USF they are very similar. They feel like they are granting the same degree. It is wise to check with each smp to see if your current program prevents you from being able to participate. It is a game really that each school plays. I have gotten all clears from Georgetown, Drexel, U Tol, U Cinni and VCU. Only EVMS and USF have stated that I need to change to a non degree to be eligible.