Guest magicbullet57 Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 i'm going to be a senior (4th year) starting september and i want to go to med school. my gpa is above 3.5 but i still haven't written the mcats yet (i'm kicking myself for it right now). my ECs aren't that great either, i've only been in one club, did some volunteer research, volunteered at a hospital and that's about it. i would say i wasn't really serious about doing to medicine until my 3rd year. however, i may return for an additional year after i graduate just to buy some time and write the mcat and do some more ECs. should i bother with this plan or just do a masters and start from there? i know this is kinda weird. your suggestions are appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Snew Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 Not so weird at all... I was in a similar situation. I just finished my fourth year, but I did a co-op degree, so I need to finish up an extra term this fall, finishing at Christmas. I was really nervous to write the MCAT and kept putting it off, because my GPA wasn't that stellar and I only thought my EC's were ok. However, I decided to just go for it and I am applying this fall to Dal with the MCAT scores from this August (here is hoping they will be good! ) It's never too late to write the MCAT. I am writing mine now (summer after 4th year!) and it is definitely doable. At first I was nervous becuase physics and chem were a while back, but you pick up on things pretty quickly. As for your situation, I have heard it is complicated to return for an additional year, becuase you have to apply again once you graduate to take courses (I am assuming you are applying to graduate in 2006). One possibility is to simply not apply to graduate this year and take your extra courses over this year and next year. Then you can apply to graduate in 2007 instead, which would be easier. Also, some schools don't even consider graduate coursework, and I would only recommend going that route if you can see yourself in research. I couldn't, so I decided not to go that route. Plus, you cannot leave a Master's for medicine, as I believe at most schools it is a requirement to finish any graduate programs before you will be admitted. You would have to research individual med schools to see what their policy on graduate degrees are. There are also a lot of threads on this board relating grad school and medicine, so check them out! Hope this helps! Snew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest magicbullet57 Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 thanks for your tip and good luck with the MCAT, Snew! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest uteng Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 I just disagree with Snew's comment that you only do graduate work if you want to go into research. You can do an MBA, or many professional health-related graduate work (e.g. health policy) without any intention of doing research. It helps your career to get to know leaders in your field and up your credentials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Snew Posted August 16, 2005 Report Share Posted August 16, 2005 I stand corrected I just meant graduate reserach in the life sciences, which is where I was not interested in heading (for me, Microbiology), because it is mostly research based. Thanks for clearing things up uteng! Snew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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