Which option would be better??

[K-Space]

Hi all,
Sorry if this is too long...

I am an 8 year Army veteran. sGPA/cGPA ~3.0. My GPA in the specific prereqs is 3.87. All done while on active duty. I have a lot of undergrad credit hours so it is pretty much impossible for me to significantly raise my overall GPA. I applied to a few Masters programs. I think this would be the best way to boost my application. I have narrowed it down to two. I am in Texas and I cannot relocate at the moment. There are no SMPs near me.
I do not care about the MD/DO debate. I am planning on applying broadly.

1. Johns Hopkins online Master of Arts in Public Health Biology. I received a call from the director of the program, it was kind of like a phone interview I guess, and he said I turned a definite no into a yes. I am worried about how it will look going to an online program (although nothing on the transcript will say online) and the ability to get LOR from professors. But then again there is the 'prestige' of Johns Hopkins. I am not sure how many students are admitted each year into the program.

2. The second program is an MS in Immunology and Infection. This is an on-campus program, heavily researched based. I have not been formally accepted yet, so I hope I'm not counting my chickens, but again I received a phone call from the program director. They said my application had thus far got positive responses. They justed wanted to talk to me and get a sense of who I am and why I have such a rocky past. This would be a great opportunity for research and exposure to the med school that is attached. I should be able to get strong LORs. Only ~25 students are admitted into the program.

I know ADCOMs do not weigh masters programs as heavily as undergrad stats or even SMPs. One other factor is I will be working full time. I do not have the financial option to quit as of right now. I wasn't expecting to get into either program really so it was a shock to receive phone calls from both program directors, I guess my applications were stronger than I thought!.

I am so lost as to what to do... suggestions?

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[SpoiledMilk]

Being in TX is a huge plus.

Based on what I see, if you have the ECs and get a competitive MCAT score (you didn't mention in your post, so assuming you have yet to take it), then you have a shot at TX MD schools like TT-El Paso, TT-Lubbock, TX A&M, McGovern (Yes even this school), UTRGV, the new UH medical school that will open up for inaugural 2020 class, and even UT-Dell (if your community service ECs are superb), and TX DO schools like TCOM, UIW, and the new Sam Houston State University DO school opening in 2020.

Doing a MS in either programs are expensive and not worth it right now. As long as your ECs and MCAT score are competitive, you should consider applying without doing the MS at least one cycle.

GL and Thank you for your service!!!!

Paging @breachnkd

 

[K-Space]

Being in TX is a huge plus.

Based on what I see, if you have the ECs and get a competitive MCAT score (you didn't mention in your post, so assuming you have yet to take it), then you have a shot at TX MD schools like TT-El Paso, TT-Lubbock, TX A&M, McGovern (Yes even this school), UTRGV, the new UH medical school that will open up for inaugural 2020 class, and even UT-Dell (if your community service ECs are superb), and TX DO schools like TCOM, UIW, and the new Sam Houston State University DO school opening in 2020.

Doing a MS in either programs are expensive and not worth it right now. As long as your ECs and MCAT score are competitive, you should consider applying without doing the MS at least one cycle.

GL and Thank you for your service!!!!

Paging @breachnkd

Thank you for taking the time to respond!
I need to study some more for the MCAT. I am getting 497-502 in practice and I know I need a stellar score to be considered. I have strong ECs that are directly related to my Military Service. I am also medical so I have lots of paid and unpaid HC experience as well as shadowing hours.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Looks like you have the competitive ECs, so instead of doing the MS, spend the next year continuing them and improving on the MCAT. Don't take the exam until you are consistently pulling 507-510 on the practice FLs, especially the AAMC ones.

Pull at 510+ on the MCAT and all the TX medical schools on TMDSAS (not UTSW) or Baylor, are open to you and all DOs in TX and nationally.

 

[K-Space]

Thank you I appreciate your reply! Back to the grind it is!

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Paging @DokterMom for her perspective...

 

[DokterMom]

I agree -- I think that with a good MCAT, some of the TX medical schools will very likely be in reach without an SMP.

A couple of questions though:

• You referred to your past as "rocky" -- Can you please elaborate? Legal troubles? Immaturity? Academic Ups and downs? Mental health issues? Life circumstances?
  
• Do you actually have an undergrad degree? Or just a bunch of credit hours? And from a bricks & mortar school or online? (Active duty military gets a bit of a 'pass' for online coursework)
• Is your lowish GPA a result of lots of B's and C's? Or is it mainly A's brought down by a smattering of D's and F's? (They paint very different pictures...)

OK - so what to do? The reasons for doing more coursework would be to raise your GPA (not so much for you since you've got a lot of course hours), to demonstrate recent academic strength and stability (ex. you were 'young and stupid' before but have now grown up), to refresh out-dated coursework (n/a), or to gain another credential that will help you gain admission (anything less than a PhD doesn't really do this) or enhance your 'Plan B' career options. So if your recent (last ~2 years) coursework is strong, I'm not sure what a masters program would really do for you...?

My suggestion? Really work on your MCAT prep and don't take the test until you're consistently scoring well. (If it takes another cycle, then at least it's a year with cash coming in, not going out for a degree that really won't help you all that much.) Once you get a good MCAT (507+) then apply to every single TX school. I think, with a good MCAT, that your odds are probably quite good.

 

[K-Space]

I agree -- I think that with a good MCAT, some of the TX medical schools will very likely be in reach without an SMP.

A couple of questions though:

• You referred to your past as "rocky" -- Can you please elaborate? Legal troubles? Immaturity? Academic Ups and downs? Mental health issues? Life circumstances?
  
• Do you actually have an undergrad degree? Or just a bunch of credit hours? And from a bricks & mortar school or online? (Active duty military gets a bit of a 'pass' for online coursework)
• Is your lowish GPA a result of lots of B's and C's? Or is it mainly A's brought down by a smattering of D's and F's? (They paint very different pictures...)

OK - so what to do? The reasons for doing more coursework would be to raise your GPA (not so much for you since you've got a lot of course hours), to demonstrate recent academic strength and stability (ex. you were 'young and stupid' before but have now grown up), to refresh out-dated coursework (n/a), or to gain another credential that will help you gain admission (anything less than a PhD doesn't really do this) or enhance your 'Plan B' career options. So if your recent (last ~2 years) coursework is strong, I'm not sure what a masters program would really do for you...?

My suggestion? Really work on your MCAT prep and don't take the test until you're consistently scoring well. (If it takes another cycle, then at least it's a year with cash coming in, not going out for a degree that really won't help you all that much.) Once you get a good MCAT (507+) then apply to every single TX school. I think, with a good MCAT, that your odds are probably quite good.

Thank you for the solid advice!
My “rocky past” is specifically referring to bad grades. I have mostly As and one or two Bs and then a few random Fs from lacking to withdraw from a course in time due to military service and one from over 10 years ago from when I was young and immature. There is a definite upward trend to my grades.
The main reason I was thinking about a masters program is to ‘bolster’ my application and show I can handle the rigorous coursework.
I graduated with a Bachelors of Applied Science in Medical Imaging from an online program that accepted my Military Training as credit. It is a SOCAD school that is regionally accredited by the Middle States Commisin. My prerequisite classes were all done on campus at various colleges due to PCSing.

Thank you for taking the time to reply!

 

[DokterMom]

Excellent! Your grades should be easily explained away, but do use the words "young and stupid" because that's a pretty common thing that (demonstrably, it seems) no longer applies.

However, your degree sounds pretty 'vocational' so I can see how you'd want to demonstrate more academic chops, and why an AdCom might want to see that... A masters program could do that, or (probably easier and cheaper) some 'regular' upper division science classes at a respected local university. Are there any well-regarded universities near where you live?

 

[K-Space]

Excellent! Your grades should be easily explained away, but do use the words "young and stupid" because that's a pretty common thing that (demonstrably, it seems) no longer applies.

However, your degree sounds pretty 'vocational' so I can see how you'd want to demonstrate more academic chops, and why an AdCom might want to see that... A masters program could do that, or (probably easier and cheaper) some 'regular' upper division science classes at a respected local university. Are there any well-regarded universities near where you live?

I was planning on using my GI Bill to fund the masters program. There is is a state school and a private school close by that I could attend.
You think I should use the exact wording ‘young and stupid’? Ha! I guess it was very true.

 

[DokterMom]

I was planning on using my GI Bill to fund the masters program. There is is a state school and a private school close by that I could attend.
You think I should use the exact wording ‘young and stupid’? Ha! I guess it was very true.

It's true for all of us. Of course, when you actually are still young and stupid, you can't see it that way.

Really, all you're trying to do is prove that you're capable of succeeding in demanding upper-level science coursework. Make sure the school and classes you choose will do that for you.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Yeah. Take @DokterMom advice and do the upper sciences at a local university and get A's.