Unsure if I should pursue an MD or just pursue an MBA

Question

Hello all,

I'm new here but looking for some advice. I've been admitted to a t20 medical school in the USA but am having second doubts about matriculating in the fall. I don't really find hard sciences interesting and have always leaned towards business. I've known that I wanted to do an MD/MBA for a long time, but now I'm considering just getting an MBA and a MSc in something related to international development/emerging markets. With that said, I have no full-time work experience and I'm unsure if making a career change right now would be the smart thing to do from a financial aspect.

I believe I could get into a top b-school (preferably stanford; not interested in finance but would like to work internationally and possibly venture into entrepreneurship) but I'm not all too familiar with the process. I'm the founder of a non-profit organization with a social mission and have had many many leadership experiences. I can get strong letters of recommendations from professionals. I realize that I would be applying in Round 3 which means my odds will be a lot less, but my rationale is if I don't get in I'll just continue with med school plans.

Do you guys think I should just stick to medicine and am just glorifying business thanks to my relative inexperience?

(GPA 3.9+, meh public state school, good standardized test taker).

dileeprk · Answer

As you're just asking for the opinion, I'd say go for an MBA- Its time to explore.

homiequan · Answer

I guess the question I have is, is exploration worth turning down an established future for? Worried that I'll make a decision I will regret for the rest of my life.

MBAPrepCoach · Answer

Nothing drives me crazier than people who say they're going to get an MBA for the purpose of exploration. You should absolutely do that work with a career coach - do some assessments, get some clarity on what it is that you want to make manifest. THEN you'll be in a position to write compelling goals essays increasing your chances. Attending business school is a $200,000 proposition and that's a pretty hefty bill for you to just saunter through the hallways hoping that something strikes you. It's a foolish decision. Business school is a place to execute not explore, otherwise you'll be stuck with a huge bill and nothing to show for it. To be very honest with you I think you should do neither and find something else that is less expensive to take up your time and build up some work experience, leadership experience which will help you get into a strong program I don't see you getting into Stanford with no work experience. That would more be the domain of the 2 + 2 program and Silver Scholars

https://MBAPrepCoach.com

homiequan · Answer

Thanks for the response. I agree. If I'm pursuing an MBA instead of the MD, then I'm committing fully to the program. My initial interest has been going into hospital management and as a result I've wanted to pursue an MD MBA. But medicine is a long road. The thought of doing another 4 years of med school followed by another 3-7 years of specialization before I can get started on achieving what I would like to achieve out of a career is depressing. I've also grown increasingly interested in economics and working on projects in emerging economies. I could easily see myself in my 40's-50's going back to my country of origin and contributing in some way to bettering their society and economy.

I've had a lot of unofficial work experience at my university (committees, boards etc) and in the non-profit I've co-founded. I've also performed at a high level in my research lab (not sure how much this matters to b-schools). I would be able to receive stellar letters of recommendations from very successful people.

Based on what Stanford's page seems to indicate they are very open to graduating seniors. No clue if they actually live up to this though? Also, a brief look on the stanford page seems to indicate that people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds get very good financial aid and graduate with about ~80k in debt. Which isn't that bad.

With all this said, there's a lot of pressure that goes into making this decision. Especially when I basically know that if I choose to just matriculate into the med school my financial future would be secure and I would probably have a fulfilling job where I serve others.

Unsure if I should pursue an MD or just pursue an MBA

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