Will Schools Look at Your App/Accept You if You're Still in a Grad Program?

[sisko]

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Ok, maybe an unusual situation here... any help would be appreciated.

I decided on med school post-undergrad. I'm now in a Masters in Health Admin program, taking grad classes and at the same time completing all the pre-med pre-reqs that I didn't have from undergrad (which is most of them). I should be ready to take the MCAT next spring and apply to med schools June 2013.

I'll still be here in school that fall (when I'll hopefully be interviewing), doing maybe a couple grad classes and perhaps an additional undergrad science that isn't required but might beef things up a bit... genetics perhaps.

The problem is: it looks like my financial aid is going to run out after that fall semester. Without loans, I won't be able to continue and I won't be able to finish my Masters. It kinda sucks but these grad classes are quite expensive and I can't do it without fin. aid.

Will schools look at your application / potentially accept you if you're still in a grad program? I mean I suppose I could withdraw from the program at the end of the summer, skip the fall semester, and then come interview time I would no longer be in a grad program... But the classes I'd take if I stayed in are actually interesting and stand a good chance at proving valuable in the future I think. And then too at the interview(s) I'll be telling them that I won't be finishing the grad program.

 

[Cinclus]

It will definitely be of benefit to you and your application to finish the grad program. Med schools like to see that you can stick it out.

As for applying while still in a grad program, I was in that situation last cycle. I wrote most of my thesis in hotel rooms when I was away interviewing. Before extending an interview invitation, one school (Wake Forest) made me get a letter from my advisor confirming that I would indeed be graduating before the med school matriculation date. Many schools seem to take the "completion of your program" thing very seriously. So yes, med schools will definitely look at your app if you're a grad student (you can have a look at my MDApps), and as long as you complete everything before matriculating, things should go fairly smoothly.

 

[Gut Shot]

Ok, maybe an unusual situation here... any help would be appreciated.

I decided on med school post-undergrad. I'm now in a Masters in Health Admin program, taking grad classes and at the same time completing all the pre-med pre-reqs that I didn't have from undergrad (which is most of them). I should be ready to take the MCAT next spring and apply to med schools June 2013.

I'll still be here in school that fall (when I'll hopefully be interviewing), doing maybe a couple grad classes and perhaps an additional undergrad science that isn't required but might beef things up a bit... genetics perhaps.

The problem is: it looks like my financial aid is going to run out after that fall semester. Without loans, I won't be able to continue and I won't be able to finish my Masters. It kinda sucks but these grad classes are quite expensive and I can't do it without fin. aid.

Will schools look at your application / potentially accept you if you're still in a grad program? I mean I suppose I could withdraw from the program at the end of the summer, skip the fall semester, and then come interview time I would no longer be in a grad program... But the classes I'd take if I stayed in are actually interesting and stand a good chance at proving valuable in the future I think. And then too at the interview(s) I'll be telling them that I won't be finishing the grad program.

Why is your financial aid running out before finishing?

Applying to medical school from a grad program is tricky. Some schools will look at your app, others won't. If you are enrolled in a grad program but don't finish you will have to explain yourself. From your description is almost sounds as if you are taking some MHA level classes but aren't really on a degree track.

If you really cannot complete the Master's degree, I would seriously consider dropping out sooner rather than later. All you are doing is racking up additional debt. If you really are interested in Health Administration there will be plenty of time to purse it after medical school.

 

[RookTookIt]

I had a similar concern when I applied. I had started working toward an MPH at the same hospital where I was doing research. Because I was a fulltime employee there, I got a great deal on the classes. But when research funding ran out and I got another job elsewhere, it didn't make any sense (financially or otherwise) to finish the last couple of classes.

I explained it fully on my apps and it never came up as an issue. I am even attending a school now where they advertise that you must finish any degree that you have started prior to matriculation. Obviously, YMMV, but I wouldn't hold back from taking classes you want just because you won't get a degree in the end. Make sure that you keep it clear that you aren't on a degree track, but are taking classes for your own edification.

 

[notbobtrustme]

I dropped out of a grad program with no degree in hand at the time and was accepted to med school.

 

[Laryngophed]

All of the schools I applied to many moons ago asked for a letter from my graduate advisor stating that they knew that I was applying to medical school and that I was expected to graduate prior to matriculating.

 

[sisko]

well honestly, i would have just come back to school and done the med school pre-reqs, but having a B.S. already you can't get federal fin. aid unless you're in a grad degree program. so it's not that I had a burning desire for the masters, I needed to do it in order to also do the undergrad maths & sciences I didn't do as an undergrad.

now that being said, I actually did intend to complete the masters, and I think it's interesting and potentially something that could help me down the road. however as I've recently become aware there is a lifetime limit on federal student loans that you can get as an undergrad/grad student (not yet in med school), and I'm fast approaching it.

so with what i've got left i could: A) finish the masters and maybe take a couple more of the undergrad maths/sciences i need (but still come up short there, not ready/able to apply to med school when my aid runs out, postpone the application by at least a year or two), or B) finish the med school pre-reqs and take a couple more of the grad classes (but not finish the masters).

basically, with the aid i have left, i can finish the masters or i can finish the med school pre-reqs. not both. i'm obviously looking at option B because the admin side of things was only ever intended to be the side dish next to the main course, the clinical side.

 

[mehc012]

Will Schools Look at Your App

No. They actually just roll a die and let in everyone who gets a '12'. Good luck!

 

[sisko]

so I'm playing D&D with the adcoms now? if only...