small_town_girl Posted June 4, 2010 Report Share Posted June 4, 2010 Hey guys, I'm just looking for people's opinions on these Master's programs...if anyone has any insight it would be really helpful. I've been accepted to a Master's in Epidemiology with a specialization in Biostatistics at Queen's. It's a one-year coursework program. The first 8 months is courses, and the final 4 months is a practicum. I've also been accepted to a Master's in Applied Mathematics at Waterloo. This is a 2-year thesis-based program, and my potential supervisors are in the fields of mathematical medicine and biology. Does anyone know more about these programs, or have any suggestions as to which to choose? I'm leaning more towards the Queen's one, mostly because it's 1-year, so I can apply next year. But I'm interested in both of them, and I'm afraid about what would happen if I don't get accepted next year...I feel like the 2-year one might have more job prospects....buuuuuut I wouldn't be able to apply next year.... Any help or insight would be appreciated! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shannn Posted June 5, 2010 Report Share Posted June 5, 2010 I think either one will give you great job prospects. Hospitals are always contracting/hiring statisticians for their research (I know our stats guy for the department chargers $80/hour for consultation and gets paid $100K+ working FT at another hospital). Biostatistics is a very useful degree. The 2nd degree would probably be better for job prospects, but the first one isn't anything to laugh at Two obviously big differences would be: a) the 1 year program will let you apply to medicine next year, whereas the 2 year program will restrict which uni's will all you to apply (b/c they won't allow you to apply until you are done) the 1 year program is probably not funded, while the 2 year program probably is Good luck in your choice. But I hope you end up at NOSM this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobodycirclesthewagons Posted June 5, 2010 Report Share Posted June 5, 2010 =O hold on, are you saying you can't apply in the second year of your masters degree to western? i thought that was only for a second undergrad degree? which schools are you referring to? I think shannn meant to say you can't apply until your 2nd year/matriculate to med school until after your 2nd year. Anyway, I'd ask what your stats are like (GPA and MCAT). If you are borderline right now for interviews, I'd say do the 1-year degree, because who knows what kind of competition will be around in 2 years. If your stats are very competitive, then you won't have to worry about the application landscape in two years. Anyway, if you're worried about job prospects for Biostats, I've heard that the job market isn't shabby at all. I think with both degrees you'll have no problem finding a job. If I were in your shoes, I'd probably go with the 1-year if med is the degree that you want the most out of all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
small_town_girl Posted June 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2010 Hey, Thanks for the responses guys My GPA is pretty good (...at least I think)...I have 3.84 for my cGPA, my wGPA for Ottawa is 3.895, and for Toronto it's 3.91, so I don't think that'll hold me back. I'm mainly afraid for my MCAT score (PS=12, VR=10, BS=10, WS=R). If the 11 cutoff for VR becomes the norm, even for Queen's, then I'll be SOL :S. Both of the programs are actually fully funded, which is sweet...but as mentioned, doing the 2-year program would help build my ECs, which I must be lacking in seeing as I got rejected by Ottawa and Toronto even though my GPA was competitive (...it was a little lower than the ones I posted since my 4th year marks weren't included.....but not THAT much lower). Bah...I'm thinking I just need to take a break from all this deciding on the future stuff and then sit down and make a decision in a few weeks. Thanks for the input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarb Posted June 6, 2010 Report Share Posted June 6, 2010 You have really good stats! Your MCAT itself is pretty impressive. I would say do the 1 yr MSc and apply OOP next year. You would have a great shot in Alberta or Dal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
small_town_girl Posted June 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 Hey guys, I was just looking through the school websites, and was just wondering about the dates that the master's degree has to be finished by? I'm asking because the one-year degree wouldn't be completed until next August...and I know that UofT states that the graduate degree needs to be completed by June 30th. Is UofT the only one with this deadline?? I can't seem to find it on any of the other school websites. Thanks for any info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaM Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 I don't know if you are considering UBC, but they have a June 15th deadline for master's completion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
small_town_girl Posted June 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 Thanks, but I'm actually mainly considering Ontario schools (I didn't take any english courses in university, so that eliminates a lot of out-of-province schools ). I'll probably just start phoning the med schools later this week to figure out what their deadlines are... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amska Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 Just speaking for Mac, at this point you do not have to finish your graduate degree to enter medical school, but you do need to have a letter from your supervisor stating that they are aware of your medical school application if you are ducking out of graduate school early. You will not be given any bonus % to your overall application score for the graduate degree unless you have your graduate degree conferred to you by the OMSAS due date (ie. you need to have your graduate degree in hand by Oct 1st 2010 for medical school starting in fall 2011 if you want a bonus% added to your overall score) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrail Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 Hey stg, Don't worry about the masters not being done for Toronto. I had this question last year b/c I was looking into taking a Nurse Practitioner one year course based certificate/Masters. It's not a problem if you're in a course based problem - only for thesis based. They told me my director would just have to write a letter stating that I was in a practicum and wouldn't be finished until August. Good luck with your choices! IMO - I think you should do the one year program. Your stats are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
small_town_girl Posted June 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2010 Hey stg, Don't worry about the masters not being done for Toronto. I had this question last year b/c I was looking into taking a Nurse Practitioner one year course based certificate/Masters. It's not a problem if you're in a course based problem - only for thesis based. They told me my director would just have to write a letter stating that I was in a practicum and wouldn't be finished until August. Good luck with your choices! IMO - I think you should do the one year program. Your stats are great. ooooh perfect thanks so much chrail!!! Thanks for all the help guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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