Special Master’s Programs: Can They Get You Into Med School?

What Are Special Master’s Programs?

Special master’s programs (SMPs) are graduate programs that aim to increase your chances of getting into medical school. SMPs also expose you to experiences necessary to succeed in medical school, so you can bolster other medical school requirements, such as GPA, research, and clinical experience. Essentially, most student look at SMPs to increase their chances of getting into a med program and make their medical school application stand out.

Fair warning: special master’s programs are not easy and should not be applied to lightly. They are intensive graduate school programs that require a lot of dedication and academic prowess. Our admissions expert Dr. Sruveera Sathi, MD, sees SMPs as a great way to demonstrate your readiness for medical school, but has a warning:

“An SMP is a “high risk, high reward” sort of strategy for med school. It’s high risk because it requires a significant time investment (1 year or more sometimes), money investment (1-2 years’ worth of graduate level tuition), and risk of having to do well in it, otherwise it can look even worse to medical schools. It’s also high reward, because if one does achieve a high GPA (let’s say above 3.7), then it can look great to medical schools that you are able to master the coursework at a level needed for medical school.” - Dr. Sruveera Sathi, MD

With all this said, are these programs right for you? Let’s find out. 

What are the Pros and Cons of Special Master’s Programs? 

Different Types of Special Master's Programs

You might have heard of post-baccalaureate programs for medical school, so how are SMPs different? 

Special Master’s Programs’ Special Focus

Typically, each special master’s program has a special focus, so make sure that you check out what each SMP you consider can help you with. Here’s a quick rundown of the most common SMP designations:

Academic record enhancers, academic competency enhancers, and gap year medical preparation programs are intended for premed students who wish to bolster their academic records. These types of programs may help raise your GPA by taking relevant science-based courses, increase your exposure to clinical practice, and help you with research opportunities.

Career changers, career changer programs with MD prerequisites, and programs that include prerequisites for medical school are for students who did not complete the required premed courses in their undergrad, but now want to enter the medical profession. Students in these programs to take necessary prerequisites for med school admissions.

Educationally/economically disadvantaged and underrepresented minority student programs aim to increase diversity in the medical field and increase opportunities for disadvantaged students.

There are also designations that accommodate students interested in other health professions. To learn more about these programs, check out AAMC (American Association of Medical Colleges) list of postbaccalaureate and SMP programs.

Will a Masters or PhD Help You Get Into Med School? Watch this video:

How to Choose a Special Master's Program

Note: Before you start searching for SMPs that could work for you, make sure you check whether having an SMP on your record will actually help you get into medical schools you’re interested in. For example, if you hope to increase your GPA, check if your chosen medical schools count graduate school GPA in its overall GPA calculations. Because if they do not – maybe an SMP is not exactly right for you!

In addition to checking your chosen medical schools, check the following when you decide on what SMP to pursue:

Check for medical school acceptance rates and affiliation with medical schools

Special master’s programs know that most of their students use them as a stepping stone to medical school. Many of them are very public with their medical school acceptance rates, while others are less so. If possible, find out how many of your chosen special master’s programs’ matriculants got accepted to medical school in recent years. If the program does not publicly reveal this information, reach out to the admissions office.

Another sign of a good fit is if the program you are interested in is a special master’s program with linkages to medical school. In these cases, it is sometimes possible to transition into medical school directly after you finish your degree without having to send out dozens of other applications.

Not sure where to start your search? Here’re some SMPs that are well known for helping students increase their med school acceptance chances:

Check SMP requirements

Even though you may think that special master’s programs would have more lax requirements than medical schools, it’s not easy to get accepted. Most programs will require at least a 3.0 GPA and an MCAT score of 500. These are the minimums. There are programs that will have higher requirements, even higher than some of the easiest medical schools to get into. Make sure to check all the requirements and apply to programs where you would be a competitive applicant.

In addition, note down all the other requirements, such as how many recommendation letters they want, who should be writing your recommendation letters, whether they want you to submit personal statement or any other essay, whether they require a CV or a resume, and whether they will accept a GRE score instead of the MCAT (this can be especially appealing to those who have not taken the MCAT yet!). 

Check for length of program

If an SMP is just a stepping stone towards medical school, you probably do not want to spend too much time on it. Check for programs’ lengths and make sure they align with your ideal timeline. Most special master’s programs are two years long, but there may be ways to shorten this time if you can take on more coursework in a semester or speed up your research process if the program allows it.

Keep in mind that there are online special master’s programs. This option may leave you with more flexibility in building your schedule and reaching your goals at your own pace.

Check for available resources and support during medical school application

This is worth repeating: if you are trying to get into an SMP because you need help enhancing your medical school profile, find programs that can help you fill the necessary gaps in your medical school application. Check what resources and courses they offer. Can they help you get that research experience? Can they help you complete those medical school prerequisites? Can they expose you to more clinical experience? Can they help you prepare for the MCAT by providing MCAT prep courses? Do they offer medical school application help as part of their counselling? Make note of all these perks before you finalize your list of SMPs to apply to. 

Check for tuition costs

Special master’s programs are not cheap. When you look for SMP options, see if you can keep your tuition costs as low as possible by applying to SMPs in public universities within your state as tuition fees for residents are much lower. Just take a look at the table of the Best SMPs we include earlier in this blog to understand the difference between resident vs non-resident fees.

Make sure to also check out scholarships and funding that the university provides for students in these programs. This can greatly cut your costs!

Strategies for How to Get into a Special Master's Program

Do not submit an average application:

If you take away anything from this article, it should be this: do not treat your application to a special master’s program as just a means to a greater end (medical school being the end here). While it’s true that most people treat special master’s programs as a stepping stone, they also work incredibly hard to earn their place at these programs. So do not be fooled into thinking that getting into an SMP will be easy, especially if you’re applying to programs with medical school affiliations or programs famous for having high medical school acceptance rates. If you want to increase your chances of acceptance to these SMPs, then you should exceed their GPA, MCAT, GRE or other application requirements. 

And keep in mind that it’s not all about the stats - make sure your recommendation letters are superb, make sure that your personal statement is captivating, make sure that your application convinces the admissions committee that not only will you make a great doctor in the future, but that you will be a great addition to their program while you are there. This is not an easy feat! So treat this task with seriousness and dedication.

Write an impressive personal statement:

Your personal statement, or a grad school statement of purpose in this case, is a great way for you to express to each individual program why you would be a great fit in the medical and scientific community. Remember, most of your other components will be the same for every program: same references, same statistics, same transcripts, etc. But your admissions essay is your chance to make the admissions team feel like you really want to attend their program specifically. Use this chance to wow them and make yourself seem like a perfect fit for their school.

Demonstrate what you learned from your setbacks:

You have a chance to take accountability for the things that may have prevented you from pursuing medical school right after college or the things that got you rejected from medical school. Maybe it was a lower GPA or maybe it was lack of clinical background. Whatever it is, in your statement of purpose or your interview, do not be afraid of owning your mistakes or struggles and demonstrate what you learned from these experiences. Demonstrate maturity and willingness to grow - this will set you apart from the rest of the students. 

Special Master’s Programs Personal Statement Examples

Personal Statement #1

The thought of my loved ones dying never occurred to me until one day, when I was 10, I saw my grandfather collapse to the floor holding his chest. We were at home, in a rural town in Ukraine, and my first thought was that the emergency vehicle would not arrive on time to save his life. What I remember the most about that moment is my mother’s reaction. Without panic, she performed the necessary first aid and ensured that my grandfather was as comfortable as possible. The help arrived on time and my grandfather was taken care of. This incident left me in awe of my mother. I certainly knew that she was a physician, she was the only endocrinologist in our small town, but I have never seen her in action before. Her poise, certainty, and most importantly, knowledge of what to do, turned a switch in me that day. From that day on, I knew that I wanted to be as brave and resilient in the face of human frailty. Medicine seemed like the logical path to this, and I have pursued this career ever since.

And while my aspiration of becoming a doctor never wavered, I was naturally distracted on my journey. This started in high school. As a new immigrant to a public high school, I wanted to prove myself and fit in with my American peers. But the language barrier and the culture shock took their toll on me. I could not perform well academically as I could not understand much of what was being taught and in my junior year of high school, I received a mere 2.5 GPA. My setbacks riled my spirit and in the summer between my junior and senior years of high school, I got a part-time job that helped me pay for an English tutor. My progress was impressive, and in the end, I graduated high school with a 3.6 GPA.

With the dream of becoming a physician, I enrolled in a premed program in college. Even though I knew that hard sciences were not my forte, I chose to stick to the traditional path. I worked hard to keep up my GPA and got involved in extracurriculars like shadowing and clinical volunteering, but my resources were limited, and on top of my premed responsibilities I had to get a part-time job to sustain myself. Slowly, I lost sight of some targets necessary for becoming a physician. Upkeeping my GPA became my obsession, and I neglected to study for the MCAT, gaining research experience, and getting involved in volunteer work.   

Upon graduation from college, I had a great GPA, but an extremely low MCAT score and application that lacked some essential elements for success. And even though I made mistakes, I knew that I can be a great physician. This is what led me to this opportunity.

I’m interested in your Master in Medical Sciences program because I want to gain the necessary experiences and skills that are essential for becoming a medical student. My setbacks and mistakes have revealed to me what I must do to catch up to my peers and your program would be perfect for providing me with the opportunity to build myself up for medical school. For instance, your X research program can help me build the necessary research and lab skills, while your MCAT preparatory course can provide me with the opportunity to increase my score on the test. Additionally, I would love to have the opportunity to work in your medical facilities alongside medical students. This would be a great chance to entrench me in the medical school environment.

Remembering my stoic mother on that day, I am always reminded of why I wanted to become a physician from early childhood. On my journey to medical school, I have gained a great deal of experience in clinical settings, but I am still lacking in some areas that are vital for becoming a physician. Coming from a small town, I also know I would like to work with underserved populations and hope to make a difference in the lives of those who cannot always afford healthcare. Your program is my chance to regain my footing on the path of becoming a doctor. 

Personal Statement #2

As I was standing on top of the podium with a friendly stranger congratulating me on my win, all I could think of was "Do not faint". My head was spinning, and I was using all my willpower to keep myself from being sick. This was not the first time this happened to me – as a professional gymnast, I have sprained, broken, and bruised my leg thousands of times. Sometimes I wondered how it hasn’t just simply fallen off because of the way I treated it. My desire to heal it and “make it up to it” was truly one of the first times I thought of becoming a physician. But there were more. The world of professional sports is full of injuries. I saw my friends going blind from pain. My yearning to alleviate their suffering is what led me to pursue the journey to medical school.

I am what they call a non-traditional medical school applicant. Academia and learning were never my focus. Even as a student at the University of X, I was forgiven for less than mediocre grades for winning gold medals. All my life revolved around gymnastics and I loved it. The need to prove to yourself that you can do a seemingly impossible trick was enthralling. I loved being a part of a team and soon became the captain. But my health and the health of my teammates started to concern me. My leg, which never got the time to heal after each injury, became almost a separate part of my body. I could feel it ache all the time. Finally, I chose health over sports and ended up lost without meaning in my life.

My only choice was to focus on my academics, as I was still a student at the University of X. My grades in freshman and sophomore year were abysmal. And while my grades were forgiven when I was a gymnast, now I had to truly focus on increasing my GPA. To my surprise, I fell in love with my classes. I majored in History and slowly began to branch out to other departments, taking classes in Religion, Political Science, and Philosophy. My grades soared and I finished my junior year with a 3.7 GPA.

My injured leg was a constant reminder that kept me pondering the thought of medical school. But by the beginning of my senior year of college, I have not taken the necessary prerequisites and haven’t even looked at what the MCAT is. My research led me to your program.

I want to enroll in the Master of Science in Medical Physiology Program because it will allow me to prepare myself for medical school. Not only will I be able to complete all the necessary prerequisites in two years of this program, but your state-of-the-art facilities provide me with the chance to gain clinical experience with some of the most renowned professionals in the field. I am especially looking forward to the Physical Therapy course, which will help me determine if this is the medical path I want to pursue eventually. Additionally, these two years will give me time to prepare and ace my MCAT exam.

Leaving gymnastics did not diminish my resilient spirit. During practices and competitions, my coach always stood on the sidelines of the floor or the bars. As we landed a particularly difficult trick, he yelled “Hold!” As I am embarking on a long and challenging journey, I keep his guidance in my mind. I know I have a long way to go to medical school, but my determination and drive are unwavering. With the help of your program, I can acclimatize myself to the medical field and gain the necessary experiences to succeed. 

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Your friends at BeMo

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