Your thoughts please...

[chris7b]

Ok...here's the deal. I am graduating this year and plan to take a year off between undergrad and med school. My original plan was to put my EMT skills to use and get a job working for a year. This morning, however, i received an email from Columbia about an MS degree in Human Nutrition. I was about to delete it but it sparked my interest. Reading more about it, i found it to be quite interesting. I called for some info and can still apply for fall of this year. It's a 1 year program which means it won't throw off my original plans of starting med school in fall of '06. The downsided to it of course is the price. However, this is something i've always wanted to do (move to New York), and think it will be a pretty cool experience. I am still planning on at least working as an EMT over summer and possibly part time while in NY.

So you guys think i should go for it? Or is it a waste of time?

Here's a little background info:
GPA-3.5
MCAT-32
Graduating from UCLA
2 years of research w/ 3 possible publications (none yet)
~2+ years of (non-clinical) volunteer experience. Im a board member of a Feline Rescue Organization
EMT
8+ years of Hockey (extra-curricular)
Part of multiple clubs and organizations
Some Leadership experience

 

[Mo0o]

If it helps your med school application then it's something to consider.

 

[chris7b]

are you serious? ... nobody has any input on this?

 

[chris7b]

You all suck

 

[gasser11]

I'm a current med student.

I think the important thing is to not do something that you think will impress the admissions committee, but rather something you will enjoy. Doing something you like really shows in your application as opposed to doing something that "looks good." It's pretty obvious during interviews if you did something just to pad your resume.

With that said, if you really have a passion for nutrition (and don't mind the tuition/cost of living), then definitely go ahead and do this program. I'm not sure how intense these programs are, but you'll be applying and flying everywhere for interviews (hopefully)...so you need to be in a program where you can take days off of school. To answer your question, no, it's not a waste of time if you really enjoy this kind of stuff.

You also have to keep in mind that this is your last free year, so you don't want to do something you'll end up regretting. With respect to getting a job as an EMT (EMT-B I'm assuming?), you probably won't do much more than transporting patients from hospitals to nursing homes (not very fulfilling if you ask me...).

PM me if you have more questions...good luck!