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Med student who wants an MBA

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bkn89
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Med student who wants an MBA [#permalink] New post   08 Apr 2013, 21:58
I am a medical student at a upper tier medical school (top 30). I had a mediocre gpa during undergrad (3.4) but I have a lot of confidence in my standardized testing ability (scored in 95th+ percentile on my MCAT which is how I got into a well ranked school despite the GPA) so I feel good about the GMAT. I have research lined up where I'll be working with engineering students to develop and commercialize new medical technologies, and I plan on getting involved in some extracurriculars involving healthcare programs for the underserved. I'm aiming for an MBA because I want to head into health care administration eventually and focus on developing more cost effective methods of healthcare delivery and distribution.

I feel that as an applicant for a top tier school, my undergrad GPA is going to hold me back quite a bit. Also, I'm not sure how much it matters but I'm at a upper tier but not a top-10 med school. With those things in mind, in what other ways should I build my profile during medical school to become an appealing applicant for a top tier business school? I'm thinking top 10, and I plan on applying either during residency or some time afterwards. I would appreciate any input at all!
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Re: Med student who wants an MBA [#permalink] New post   09 Apr 2013, 07:23
bkn89 wrote:
I am a medical student at a upper tier medical school (top 30). I had a mediocre gpa during undergrad (3.4) but I have a lot of confidence in my standardized testing ability (scored in 95th+ percentile on my MCAT which is how I got into a well ranked school despite the GPA) so I feel good about the GMAT. I have research lined up where I'll be working with engineering students to develop and commercialize new medical technologies, and I plan on getting involved in some extracurriculars involving healthcare programs for the underserved. I'm aiming for an MBA because I want to head into health care administration eventually and focus on developing more cost effective methods of healthcare delivery and distribution.

I feel that as an applicant for a top tier school, my undergrad GPA is going to hold me back quite a bit. Also, I'm not sure how much it matters but I'm at a upper tier but not a top-10 med school. With those things in mind, in what other ways should I build my profile during medical school to become an appealing applicant for a top tier business school? I'm thinking top 10, and I plan on applying either during residency or some time afterwards. I would appreciate any input at all!


I can't really give you much advice with regards to ways to enhance your profile as I'm not familiar with how it works for applicants coming from med school. Though I imagine the adcom will want to see demonstrated leadership and initiative whether through your med program or the research/summer opportunities you've had. I just wanted to say that a 3.4 undergrad gpa is really not going to hold you back that much, that is in the 80% range for most top schools, might be a little below the average, but business school is a lot more flexible than law and med school in terms of undergrad GPAs. Being able to communicate why you want an MBA and why an MBA is essential to your career goals is another important piece of the puzzle. Coming from a good med school, presumably scoring well on the GMAT, having a 3.4 GPA, and doing the things I mentioned above, I'd say you're in pretty good shape for top b schools!
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Re: Med student who wants an MBA [#permalink] New post   09 Apr 2013, 08:27
Hi bkn89 -

I've worked with students with your profile, who had a similar interest in commercializing medical technologies. This field is very active right now, and has tremendously high potential, especially for one who has the right combination of education and credentials (such as an MD/MBA).

I'd need to know more about your situation to give you a full answer. For example,

- What professional experience do you have (if any)? If none, then this is a question to explore with the schools you are considering. Will they accept you as an MD student in lieu of the expected work experience? A tip here - if they are partners in an existing MD/MBA program, they would probably be more inclined to work with you.

- Are there opportunities for you to gain professional experience in a firm that does this work? I know that the medical school schedule is rigid, but it's worth exploring.

- Your GPA is probably not an issue. I'd have to take a closer look at a complete transcript to be sure, though. Basically, you want to demonstrate that you can do the quantitative-based academic work of the program.

- You mentioned becoming involved in activities that supported underserved populations. This is good experience, and could possibly lead to something that could be a good essay topic. This is good for the resume. You should definitely do this.

- I'd also recommend moving forward with defining your post MBA goals in a very clear manner. You need to have a plan and sell that plan to the committee. A key question you'll have to overcome is, "You've been in med school. Why do you want to continue classes in pursuit of an MBA?" There may be concerns that you are a "degree collector."

I hope this information is helpful to you. If I can be of any additional help, please feel free to contact me.

Wendy

Wendy Flynn
MBA Admissions Coach
wendylflynn89@gmail.com
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bkn89
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Re: Med student who wants an MBA [#permalink] New post   09 Apr 2013, 10:16
Thank you very much for the excellent advice from both of you!

1. I currently work at a small residential drug addiction treatment center (~50 employees). We employ PhDs and PsyDs and other therapists to treat heroin addicts, alcoholics, etc. in house. I am the house manager - besides running day to day operations, I've reorganized workflows and started the process of digitizing much of our operations in order to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. It's worked well so far (my initiatives have stuck and the company is using them now), but I've only been here 1 year and I will be leaving soon.

2. Yes, as part of my program we will be able to choose to work in an academic or industry setting on medical technologies. Luckily, there is definitely time built in for this purpose, so I will definitely explore my options during medical school.

3. Whew. The GPA is honestly my biggest insecurity. It was dragged down by basic science classes, which I made up for with the MCAT grade. I have good grades in advanced biology/physiology courses. Unfortunately all I have in terms of quant courses are 2 calculus courses, one of which I took P/NP. This I recognize as a problem, as I will be incredibly rusty in calculus when I'm out of medical school. I am confident with most of my mathematical ability (MCAT includes a bit of algebra, trig, and med school includes some probability and stats) but calculus was never really my strong point to begin with.

4. I will definitely explore activities for the underserved. I will be in a large urban center with a very large underserved population, so I may have the opportunity to create services where there are none.

5. I agree, I will need to clarify this as I progress through school. Right now it looks like I will be taking the angle of improving healthcare delivery through the adoption and deployment of new enabling technologies.

Thank you so much for your help!
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Re: Med student who wants an MBA [#permalink] New post   09 Apr 2013, 11:35
bkn89 wrote:
Thank you very much for the excellent advice from both of you!

1. I currently work at a small residential drug addiction treatment center (~50 employees). We employ PhDs and PsyDs and other therapists to treat heroin addicts, alcoholics, etc. in house. I am the house manager - besides running day to day operations, I've reorganized workflows and started the process of digitizing much of our operations in order to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. It's worked well so far (my initiatives have stuck and the company is using them now), but I've only been here 1 year and I will be leaving soon.

2. Yes, as part of my program we will be able to choose to work in an academic or industry setting on medical technologies. Luckily, there is definitely time built in for this purpose, so I will definitely explore my options during medical school.

3. Whew. The GPA is honestly my biggest insecurity. It was dragged down by basic science classes, which I made up for with the MCAT grade. I have good grades in advanced biology/physiology courses. Unfortunately all I have in terms of quant courses are 2 calculus courses, one of which I took P/NP. This I recognize as a problem, as I will be incredibly rusty in calculus when I'm out of medical school. I am confident with most of my mathematical ability (MCAT includes a bit of algebra, trig, and med school includes some probability and stats) but calculus was never really my strong point to begin with.

4. I will definitely explore activities for the underserved. I will be in a large urban center with a very large underserved population, so I may have the opportunity to create services where there are none.

5. I agree, I will need to clarify this as I progress through school. Right now it looks like I will be taking the angle of improving healthcare delivery through the adoption and deployment of new enabling technologies.

Thank you so much for your help!


You mentioned one of the calc courses was taken pass/fail, what did you get in the other one? Also - did you take any stats courses?

Depending on your answers above, taking calc/stats at a local university could be beneficial if you have enough time to ensure As.
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Re: Med student who wants an MBA [#permalink] New post   09 Apr 2013, 12:59
jko wrote:

You mentioned one of the calc courses was taken pass/fail, what did you get in the other one? Also - did you take any stats courses?

Depending on your answers above, taking calc/stats at a local university could be beneficial if you have enough time to ensure As.


I got a B+ in my other calc course. I didn't take stats - you're right, it's a good idea to get that under my belt. I'll probably look into it sometime after med school just before I apply for b-school.
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Re: Med student who wants an MBA [#permalink]
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