Masters? Advice for the next year.

[pettershonn]

Hi Everyone,

I was hoping to get some advice on how to strengthen my application to get into med school. My current stats are as follows:

cGPA: 3.92 (graduated after 4 years full time)

MCAT: 131/128/131/130

ECs: Lots of Employment (Restaurant, reforestation, campus clerical jobs for ~5000 hours since age 14). Peer tutoring for 2.5 years during University. Intramural sports for 5 years (400 hours) and high school athletics. Research: 3 semesters of research, nothing in the summers (~500 hours). No publications. Volunteering: Pretty weak. 1 school charity for 1 year. Volunteer work for family farm.  Involvement in a few school club councils, 1 year each. Exchange semester in Europe.

I am taking a gap year, and this application cycle I got two interviews out of 6 schools. I was pretty disappointed not to get more interviews, since I thought my employment could make up for some weaker ECs (I am financially independent, so working during school and in summers was a necessity). It is possible that one of my references slacked off as well, I suppose. I am worried that if I don't get accepted post interview, I will have an even worse shot next year because I haven't done much to strengthen my application during this gap year (working and travelling). 

1. Is the best thing at this point  to enter a research Master's program, and spend two years doing research and more volunteering? I do enjoy learning and can see the pros of developing my research skills, but the fact remains my primary reason for doing it will be to improve my application. Is this silly?

2. Should I seek research assistant work instead of thinking about masters? My main thoughts with this is that if you're dedicating a year to full time research, why not have it be towards a masters degree.

3. What are the alternatives to this? I would love to take more time to travel, teach english abroad, and try new things, but that is incompatible with holding down long term volunteer and research positions. 

Any thoughts are appreciated, thanks!

[NutritionRunner]

Have you looked into one year master’s degrees?  There are a few of them out there.

For example, Guelph has an MSc by course work and project that is 3 semesters (so one year, more or less) in Human Health and Nutritional Sciences: https://www.uoguelph.ca/hhns/graduate/msc-program (the MSc by thesis takes a full two years). There are other universities with one year master’s programs that usually are course work based.

[pettershonn]

20 hours ago, NutritionRunner said:

Have you looked into one year master’s degrees?  There are a few of them out there.

For example, Guelph has an MSc by course work and project that is 3 semesters (so one year, more or less) in Human Health and Nutritional Sciences: https://www.uoguelph.ca/hhns/graduate/msc-program (the MSc by thesis takes a full two years). There are other universities with one year master’s programs that usually are course work based.

I'm aware of these yes! But I haven't really considered them because while you get your masters certification, you don't actually do any research (which is an area of my ECs that needs strengthening).

[Chels1267]

On 2018-03-21 at 0:58 PM, pettershonn said:

I'm aware of these yes! But I haven't really considered them because while you get your masters certification, you don't actually do any research (which is an area of my ECs that needs strengthening).

This highly depends on the program. I did a 1 year MSc that was course based at UWO in biochem and we spent the entire summer working on independent research projects.

[jr2]

You sound like a smart, well-balanced person with real world experience. Congrats on the interviews.... you could very well have 2 acceptances come May. Fyi, most people don't even get an interview, so I think your Ec's are fine. Keep up with volunteering though and make sure your references have loads of time to write those letters if you re apply.

As for the Masters, think about it as what you did in your research experience but for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. If imagining that makes you feel uneasy, don't do it. That's the litmus test I used to decide against a masters lol. 

Truth be told, a masters is not a golden ticket into med....you will be judged on your research productivity and if you don't like it, you may not be productive. 

Maybe work as an assistant for a couple months while volunteering and see if you like it. If you do, take on the Masters? Bottom line: do something you want. Don't stop living your life to simply make adcoms happy. You got 2 interviews, so your strategies are working...

 

[sleepyhead20]

I agree with JR2. Receiving two interviews is an accomplishment in itself! At the stage that you're in, receiving an acceptance would be contingent on your interview performance so focus on that and try your best. In terms of a Plan B, if I were in your situation, I would just work as a research assistant or find some temporary job while continuing with my volunteer activities because based on your stats and ECs everything seems great. If you're interested in research then that could be an option for you to pursue as well. Good luck!!