Will doing poorly in my Masters hurt my medical school application?

[Timeless:)]

Hi, I will be graduating this Spring, and apply for BS/MS program at UCSD.
Before, applying to medical schools, I wanted to experience what research is like and possibly spend the time volunteering at hospitals and local organizations as I have a decent GPA but lacking service hours. But I am just worried that I could not do so well. If I end up doing poorly in the Master's program, would it hurt my chances of getting into medical school?

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[mel0099]

Doing poorly in a master's program will definitely not inspire confidence that you will be able to succeed in a medical program !

 

[alm414]

Yes, doing poorly in your Master's program will hurt your chances of getting into medical school, just like doing poorly in undergrad will hurt your chances of getting into medical school. More importantly, why do you think you won't do well in the Master's program? Because medical school will definitely be more difficult than the Master's program.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Doing poorly certainly won't help you. Make sure you are prepared to work harder than you ever have before. Be prepared to immerse yourself 100% into performing your very best.

 

[Catalystik]

If I end up doing poorly in the Master's program, would it hurt my chances of getting into medical school?

It will not reflect well.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

You can do research without doing a BS/MS. You should get a master's if it's something that interests you. If it comes at the detriment of GPA or anything else, then it's not worth it.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[Timeless:)]

Yes, doing poorly in your Master's program will hurt your chances of getting into medical school, just like doing poorly in undergrad will hurt your chances of getting into medical school. More importantly, why do you think you won't do well in the Master's program? Because medical school will definitely be more difficult than the Master's program.

Just worried before I start something new.

 

[Timeless:)]

Doing poorly certainly won't help you. Make sure you are prepared to work harder than you ever have before. Be prepared to immerse yourself 100% into performing your very best.

Yeah. I guess I need to go in with a different mindset. Definitely not the one I have currently

 

[Timeless:)]

You can do research without doing a BS/MS. You should get a master's if it's something that interests you. If it comes at the detriment of GPA or anything else, then it's not worth it.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

So you would not recommend if I end up getting lower gpa then my undergrad gpa?

 

[Timeless:)]

It will not reflect well.

Not reflect well as in terms of my ability to succeed?

 

[Timeless:)]

Thanks for all the comments. Thank you

 

[Catalystik]

Not reflect well as in terms of my ability to succeed?

It will look like you’re losing your academic edge. You don’t want to have that look immediately before applying. Keep in mind that grad school classes are generally presumed to be grade inflated, relative to undergrad.

 

[Damson]

A masters is not requisite to entering med school, and won't help you that much even if you ace it. (A SMP is a different story) They're looking for a strong undergrad sGPA cGPA or high post-bacc / SMP GPA.

Research is not required for applying to medical schools

 

[Timeless:)]

It will look like you’re losing your academic edge. You don’t want to have that look immediately before applying. Keep in mind that grad school classes are generally presumed to be grade inflated, relative to undergrad.

Yeah, it would certainly look weird to have a high GPA in undergrad and a poor GPA in masters. I might be just worrying a lot. Thanks for the insight

 

[Goro]

Hi, I will be graduating this Spring, and apply for BS/MS program at UCSD.
Before, applying to medical schools, I wanted to experience what research is like and possibly spend the time volunteering at hospitals and local organizations as I have a decent GPA but lacking service hours. But I am just worried that I could not do so well. If I end up doing poorly in the Master's program, would it hurt my chances of getting into medical school?

Absolutely.

 

[Timeless:)]

A masters is not requisite to entering med school, and won't help you that much even if you ace it. (A SMP is a different story) They're looking for a strong undergrad sGPA cGPA or high post-bacc / SMP GPA.

Research is not required for applying to medical schools

Yeah, I know research is not a prerequisite, but I have never had a chance to proper research because of the COVID-19 breakout and I really wanted to feel what the research is just to make sure I will be making the right choice in my life. But was just worried that doing bad in on Masters could block the doors in medical admissions so just wanted to hear opinions.

 

[Damson]

Yeah, I know research is not a prerequisite, but I have never had a chance to proper research because of the COVID-19 breakout and I really wanted to feel what the research is just to make sure I will be making the right choice in my life. But was just worried that doing bad in on Masters could block the doors in medical admissions so just wanted to hear opinions.

@Goro are there avenues to do research at colleges without enrolling in classes?

 

[Goro]

@Goro are there avenues to do research at colleges without enrolling in classes?

Haven't a clue

 

[Damson]

@Timeless:) in your case then, i'd think about whether or not i've had prior exposure to research. if yes, and i feel genuinely interested in investigating further, i'd give a research masters a go.

if no, i don't know what research is like and i just wanna know what it's like before jumping into medical school, i'd ask to shadow a professor while they do research.

 

[Mr. Nightmare]

Yes, doing poorly in your Master's program will hurt your chances of getting into medical school, just like doing poorly in undergrad will hurt your chances of getting into medical school. More importantly, why do you think you won't do well in the Master's program? Because medical school will definitely be more difficult than the Master's program.

Medical school may not be harder. I have a Masters degree, Ph.d and an Md and I would say that my Masters program and Ph.d program was much much more difficult than the MD program. People often just ASSUME this without having done both. It really depends on what the Masters is in.

But to answer your question OP, it never looks good to do poorly in any program.

 

[Damson]

Medical school may not be harder. I have a Masters degree, Ph.d and an Md and I would say that my Masters program was much much more difficult than the MD program. People often just ASSUME this without having done both. It really depends on what the Masters is in.

But to answer your question OP, it never looks good to do poorly in any program.

woah. can you tell us about your masters?

 

[Mr. Nightmare]

woah. can you tell us about your masters?

My Masters and Ph.d degrees were in Geophysics.