Guest ckim01 Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 For someone with a mediocre gpa... do you think its better to work on a 1 year masters program or take a year off and do something that i would enjoy while waiting to apply to med schools? I think with my mediocre gpa and a masters degree, i would have better chances with medschools. however, at this point i am not too interested in graduate studies and would rather take the time to travel and work. Do i look at grad work as a stepping stone to med school (good experience) or something i might dread.. a waste of money and time? Whats is your 2 cents on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Snew Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 Hey, I decided not to go the grad school route if I don't get into medicine. By the sounds of things, you don't really seem too keen on grad school, and if that is the case, do something else! I am applying to Dal this coming year, and if I don't get in, then I am going to work and travel, something I would enjoy a lot more than doing a Master's. Plus, life experience would give you something to talk about in a future interview when you did apply to medicine You may want to ask some people who did grad school on these boards what their experiences were like. I am not trying to put down grad school, I just knew it wasn't the right thing for me. Everybody is different! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest je83 Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 I don't think that masters degree actually helps you when applying to grad school. I know a guy who went to a grad school when he didn't get into a med school. He re-applied while he was in the grad school and got in. But for some reason, the program he was in didn't let him drop without finishing his thesis. He couldn't go to the med school even though he was accepted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marbledust Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 But for some reason, the program he was in didn't let him drop without finishing his thesis. He couldn't go to the med school even though he was accepted. Hmmm....sounds a little suspicious. If a person really wanted out of a program they could get out, I would assume--no school can force a student to finish a thesis. I would think he just could have withdrawn himself. Unless a student is in something like a military-sponsored program, how could a school possibly force a person to continue or finish a program? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aneliz Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 The other possible explanation is that the med school acceptance was conditional on him finishing all requirements of his grad degree prior to starting med school. (UWO has this requirement... not sure about others). This requirement is designed to prevent this kind of scenario - student goes to grad school to make app for med look better - no real commitment to grad work or thesis project. Student applies to med, gets in and drops thesis and grad degree like a hot potato and runs... You are eligible to apply to med during the first year of your masters... and you could get all the way through the process and get an acceptance only to find out that you can't meet the 'finished grad degree by Aug' condition. Given that deferrals to complete conditions are not granted, the student would then lose the acceptance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ckim01 Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 At this point, I don't know enough about grad school to know if I would like it or not. But I do know that if I took it, it would only be to boost my gpa (and lower the gpa cutoff). I would rather take a year off to travel or work but I don't want to regret taking a year off if I get declined again. Snew> Would love to do something I liked for a year so that I can have something to talk about during the interview but I feel like I need to get an interview first. You know what i mean? As for grad school + medschool acceptance, I know most of them require that you finish your thesis before medschool begins. I'm not sure if they all give you a conditional offer or allow you to delay your acceptance for a year... or how long you can defer your acceptance for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kirsteen Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 Hi there, Travel and other experiences are fantastic to do and I recommend that, if that is what you'd prefer to do then take that year off and do it. Besides, it might give you a bit of time to ponder your future. However, also take a look at your GPA and how it fares re: current admission criteria. If it is below the cut-offs or generally accepted ranges for all schools and you are serious about entering medical school then you are going to have to do something academic to raise your GPA in order to be competitive. This could be a graduate program (which does not have to be basic science in nature) or another set of undergraduate courses. At least, if you take the year off to do something that you love, you will be able to explore those options to find something that you might enjoy, if indeed, you are going to go that route. Cheers, Kirsteen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marbledust Posted August 24, 2005 Report Share Posted August 24, 2005 The other possible explanation is that the med school acceptance was conditional on him finishing all requirements of his grad degree prior to starting med school. (UWO has this requirement... not sure about others). This requirement is designed to prevent this kind of scenario - student goes to grad school to make app for med look better - no real commitment to grad work or thesis project. Student applies to med, gets in and drops thesis and grad degree like a hot potato and runs... The original post infered that it was the grad program that wouldn't let the student out in order to attend medical school--not the medical school was denying admission because of an unfinished grad degree. Totally different scenerio than the one you are commenting on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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