Opinions Needed/appreciated

[Mednomics]

I recently graduated and am looking for opinions on the 'usefulness' of a Master's degree (whether research based or just course based) on improving medical school admission chances. I don't have an MCAT score (just wrote it), but my GPA for the following schools are as followed, 

 

3.95 uOttawa

3.92 UofT

3.97 Queens/Western

3.95 uCalgary (OOP)

3.73 McMaster (a bad summer)

91% for UBC (OOP)

 

In terms of extracurriculars, it is pretty typical of other premed undergrads, though I do have a 1st author publication and a large amount of hours (both employment and volunteer) in hospitals. I'm currently taking the year to work and do volunteer research. However, I've been wondering whether I should apply for a Master's degree for the following year, or other 1 year based certificates.

 

Any feedback, or opinions on the best course of action of improving my application would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you.  

 

 

 

[CardiacArrhythmia]

GPA looks fine. A bit more detail on your ECs could help to evaluate your current application. Write your MCAT.

 

I wouldn't do a master's solely on improving medical school applications. Others can chime in on this opinion. I believe it wouldn't be fair to your supervisor and to other applicants who want to do grad school. In addition, I do not see how a masters program would benefit you unless you plan on doing a MD/PhD or for sure head to the CIP program after med studies to become a clinican scientist. Do note that I am talking about thesis-based masters that take 2 years of commitment. Course-based masters would provide no benefitsz

 

My opinion is to take the year and study and rip that MCAT. Scoring a high MCAT can open your possibilities to all the MED schools in Canada, given that your GPA is high already with decent diverse and long term ECs

[RicardoKaká]

I don't understand how people don't see value in a MSc degree, it is way more relaxed than undergraduate studies (if you pick the right supervisor and lab environment). You get paid to do a MSc if it is research based, not a lot but you are still in school and working towards your ultimate goal of medical school.

 

If you enjoy research and have a good supervisor in mind, if med doesn't work out a MSc is usually pretty useful. You get from it what you put in. Also not to mention the hard work translates into usually a published paper, which will definitely help down the road.

 

+ MSc is a great time to explore yourself, get more involved in your community and boost your ECs.

 

Again the MSc will be valuable if you put effort into it, this effort usually doesn't come with as much stress as attaining a 3.9+ GPA in undergraduate studies.

 

Others will likely disagree.

[Leon]

Academically you seem pretty competitive. If you enjoy research there is little harm in backing up with a two year research masters. I believe a course based masters doesn't carry as much weight when it comes to medical school. In the event you fail to get in you can spend the year off doing any number of things but more importantly I think you should consider the reasons why you think you may not get in. I had a year off and I chose to work in a lab rather than pursue an additional degree and I worked as a teaching assistant which helped my conversation skills. The alternative things one chooses to do should be ideally suited to correct your weaknesses. That said I do believe a well planned masters is a significant asset. Best of luck

[Mednomics]

I wouldn't do a master's solely on improving medical school applications. Others can chime in on this opinion. I believe it wouldn't be fair to your supervisor and to other applicants who want to do grad school. In addition, I do not see how a masters program would benefit you unless you plan on doing a MD/PhD or for sure head to the CIP program after med studies to become a clinican scientist. Do note that I am talking about thesis-based masters that take 2 years of commitment. Course-based masters would provide no benefitsz

 

My opinion is to take the year and study and rip that MCAT. Scoring a high MCAT can open your possibilities to all the MED schools in Canada, given that your GPA is high already with decent diverse and long term ECs

 

 

I don't understand how people don't see value in a MSc degree, it is way more relaxed than undergraduate studies (if you pick the right supervisor and lab environment). You get paid to do a MSc if it is research based, not a lot but you are still in school and working towards your ultimate goal of medical school.

 

If you enjoy research and have a good supervisor in mind, if med doesn't work out a MSc is usually pretty useful. You get from it what you put in. Also not to mention the hard work translates into usually a published paper, which will definitely help down the road.

 

+ MSc is a great time to explore yourself, get more involved in your community and boost your ECs.

 

Again the MSc will be valuable if you put effort into it, this effort usually doesn't come with as much stress as attaining a 3.9+ GPA in undergraduate studies.

 

 

Academically you seem pretty competitive. If you enjoy research there is little harm in backing up with a two year research masters. I believe a course based masters doesn't carry as much weight when it comes to medical school. In the event you fail to get in you can spend the year off doing any number of things but more importantly I think you should consider the reasons why you think you may not get in. I had a year off and I chose to work in a lab rather than pursue an additional degree and I worked as a teaching assistant which helped my conversation skills. The alternative things one chooses to do should be ideally suited to correct your weaknesses. That said I do believe a well planned masters is a significant asset. Best of luck

 

Appreciate all the responses regarding my situation. I do see value in a Master's degree, as others have noted (whether for personal reasons or academic). However, I fear that the 2 year commitment may do me more harm than good for reasons such as: (1) achieving anything less than my previous GPA in the Master's degree may ruin my entire application, as it may pose a red flag, (2) I lose out on one application cycle as most supervisors will not let you leave in the middle of the degree, (3) if needed, that time could be spent on improving my MCAT score, as Kin@loo brought up and (4), it seems that U of T is the only school that values Master's degrees in medical school applications. 

 

Please let me know if such reasons seem a bit obscure though. Thank you once again. 

[stickynote]

McMaster offers a 1% bonus for Masters grads 

[JohnGrisham]

I don't understand how people don't see value in a MSc degree, it is way more relaxed than undergraduate studies (if you pick the right supervisor and lab environment). You get paid to do a MSc if it is research based, not a lot but you are still in school and working towards your ultimate goal of medical school.

 

If you enjoy research and have a good supervisor in mind, if med doesn't work out a MSc is usually pretty useful. You get from it what you put in. Also not to mention the hard work translates into usually a published paper, which will definitely help down the road.

 

+ MSc is a great time to explore yourself, get more involved in your community and boost your ECs.

 

Again the MSc will be valuable if you put effort into it, this effort usually doesn't come with as much stress as attaining a 3.9+ GPA in undergraduate studies.

 

Others will likely disagree.

Of course there is value.

 

BUT you don't NEED it to get in, at all.  For someone with a strong GPA like the OP, and hopefully a strong MCAT - a masters would be completely irrelevant at many schools. 

 

ECs will matter at some schools a lot, and at some not much at all(if at all).  Masters can fit in, but if you already meet the other qualifications, a masters isn't necessarily helpful.

 

It works for some who want it and/or need it, but for many it isn't necessary. 

[RicardoKaká]

I am not saying that OP needs a MSc degree, I had a 3.82 cGPA and 3.93+ wGPA at most schools. I opted to do a Master's to improve my MCAT score, gain more research experience, publish a paper, and just improve on myself as a whole.

 

I would also argue that doing an MSc in itself will also help you prepare for the MCAT, you learn how to really critically evaluate research papers and findings, and you also learn to think in a different way then in UG studies. In UG you can get away with memorizing everything and get great grades, but grades do not matter in MSc degrees (and generally most people get straight A/A+'s anyway) and therefore you can try new ways of learning, thinking etc.

 

All I am saying is that you can really get the value out of the MSc degree with what goals you set during it and the effort you put in. I found it better to do a MSc degree rather than take a year off to travel (don't have that money) or work a full-time job that either isn't related to medicine or more importantly, fulfilling.

 

You have to think about this, being in school does have its benefits, and a MSc degree (depending on where you do it) can be more lax than a full-time job as well. Sure it has periods where you have to generate significant output, but for the most part it is pretty enjoyable.

 

OP - you know yourself better than others, if you enjoy school and research and don't get into medical school right after your UG, a two year commitment isn't a big deal, people think that 2 years is a significant amount of time. I am finishing up my MSc in less than a year.... it went by so fast, that I wish I could go back to the beginning and start it all over again.

[shikimate]

In general I see 2 benefits and 2 downsides of doing a Master's degree, with the caveats in parenthesis:

 

1) improve CV and academic credentials. Could make contacts if in clinical research.

2) backup option (especially professional programs) and improved job prospect if don't get in.

 

downsides:

 

1) Most programs are 2 years, and may be longer if your research drag on. Often there's policy that you defend your thesis before being admitted to med.

2) research is unpredictable and sometimes a project that look good paper don't work out in reality. Sometimes it's not necessarily one's fault that their project don't work out. It's just nature of research.

 

In short if I were in your situation the only Master's degree I would consider are those that with good job prospects (eg. professional programs)

[rmorelan]

The grades in the masters won't be considered really for medical school so don't worry about that - and high grades in a masters program are actually not hard to get really (since they don't really mean anything anymore people don't care that much about giving them out).

[JohnGrisham]

I am not saying that OP needs a MSc degree, I had a 3.82 cGPA and 3.93+ wGPA at most schools. I opted to do a Master's to improve my MCAT score, gain more research experience, publish a paper, and just improve on myself as a whole.

 

I would also argue that doing an MSc in itself will also help you prepare for the MCAT, you learn how to really critically evaluate research papers and findings, and you also learn to think in a different way then in UG studies. In UG you can get away with memorizing everything and get great grades, but grades do not matter in MSc degrees (and generally most people get straight A/A+'s anyway) and therefore you can try new ways of learning, thinking etc.

 

All I am saying is that you can really get the value out of the MSc degree with what goals you set during it and the effort you put in. I found it better to do a MSc degree rather than take a year off to travel (don't have that money) or work a full-time job that either isn't related to medicine or more importantly, fulfilling.

 

You have to think about this, being in school does have its benefits, and a MSc degree (depending on where you do it) can be more lax than a full-time job as well. Sure it has periods where you have to generate significant output, but for the most part it is pretty enjoyable.

 

OP - you know yourself better than others, if you enjoy school and research and don't get into medical school right after your UG, a two year commitment isn't a big deal, people think that 2 years is a significant amount of time. I am finishing up my MSc in less than a year.... it went by so fast, that I wish I could go back to the beginning and start it all over again.

A masters usually costs money, time and energy. You can work on the other areas of the application without the masters enrollment.

 

Also, masters improving mcat? Sure maybe but again absolutely unnecessary and not worth a mention. Studying more improves the mcat. Getting more reading experience(yes you can get this from a masters) improves the mcat.

 

I see your point but those intangible benefits you mention dont tip the scales for most people. As they shouldn't, since unnecessary degree credentialism is a bad thing.

 

If it works for you, great. But its really most beneficial for those who actually like research or want a research career. As a med school booster, its independently actually only helpful in very specific situations. It can indirectly be very helpful in many ways you mentioned- but those are not mutually exclusive with the masters.

[Intrepid86]

A Master's degree (with regards to medical and dental school admission) is only helpful to a specific subset of candidates. It's impact on an application is much like having an impressive, extracurricular activity.