jayde_83 Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 Hello, I've recently graduated from uni with a 3.7 average. My MCATs were not very impressive, so I'm taking them again in January. Initially, I didn't want to do a Masters because I know I wouldn't particularly enjoy it, but I do want medicine badly and I wonder whether doing a Masters will give me an edge over other candidates. If I don't pursue a Masters I would work at a research lab. Should I do a Masters? Or should I work? Does it matter to the admissions committee? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiel Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 Hello, I've recently graduated from uni with a 3.7 average. My MCATs were not very impressive, so I'm taking them again in January. Initially, I didn't want to do a Masters because I know I wouldn't particularly enjoy it, but I do want medicine badly and I wonder whether doing a Masters will give me an edge over other candidates. If I don't pursue a Masters I would work at a research lab. Should I do a Masters? Or should I work? Does it matter to the admissions committee? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! What was your MCAT(if you want to share)? Your current GPA is definately good. By doing either a masters or research you will become more mature and gain new experiences to further improve your application. Also, different schools have different weighting scales. IE: To get an interview at Queens you need to have a cumulative GPA of 3.68 or your best 2 years to be above 3.78. Look into each school that you are interested in an see if you would benefit doing a masters program to get you GPA up even more!(hopefully:o ) I do not think either or of the above will matter. If anything it will probably improve your application. Good luck with your med applications and DO WHAT YOU WILL ENJOY!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satsuma Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 There are old threads on this very topic, so I won`t go into too much detail. A grad degree in most situations will do little to improve your GPA, as most schools do not include grad marks in the calculation. A few schools have a grad applicant stream where your research productivity will be evaluated (scholarships and awards won, publications, conferences etc.). Grad school is alot of work and you must ask yourself if you think you will be able to be productive and stick with it (for at least 2 years), if you know going in it isn`t for you. So, in then end you really just need to do something you will enjoy. If you think you will like grad school, go for it. If not, there are many other things you can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastalslacker Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 I don't know much about Masters except that I never had any interest in doing one, and know alot of people who want to get into medicine go into masters programs not because they want to, but because they can't think of anything else to do with their time. Do it if you have a real interest in it, but otherwise I'd say steer clear. Working, depending on what you do, before med school gives you all sorts of interesting things to talk about in interviews since you have real-world experience. You could also travel, volunteer, join the french foreign legion...all sorts of stuff-what interests you? I taught ESL for a year in Korea-that was pretty cool and I got to travel alot that year. But again, what interests you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayde_83 Posted November 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2006 Thanks everyone for their advice! I don't think I'll go the Masters route anymore especially since it doesn't look like it'll give me extra points. As long as I'm out of school, I figure should just enjoy life before hard-core studying at med school. But I'll definitely find something do to that is worthwhile and which I can talk about during an interview. I really appreciate everyone's advice! Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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