Postgraduate Study
BIOE 1010
Professional Development
So you really love taking
classes …

Majority of BioEs continue coursework with
some form of graduate study
– Necessary to get ahead in many jobs
Many options available – med school, grad
school, business, law, etc.
 Keep an open mind (and pay attention …)

– Many students change their minds about what
they want to do
– Just ask the graduating seniors what they plan on
doing after graduation today vs. 2 – 3 years ago
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Why medical school?

Required to practice medicine as a licensed
M.D. or D.O.
– Both M.D.s and D.O.s can perform surgery and
prescribe medication
– D.O.s typically use chiropractic or holistic methods
for diagnosis and treatment of disease

Perform basic or medical research in
academic or industrial setting
 Health care administration and public policy
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Medical school
prerequisites
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Complete the following courses
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One year of Biology
One year of Physics
One year of English
Two years of Chemistry through Organic
Chemistry

Take the Medical College Admission Test
(MCAT)
 Volunteering, extracurricular activities or work
experiences (industry or research)
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MCAT
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Standardized test (like ACT/SAT)
 Day long (8 hr) test with the following sections
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Verbal reasoning (comprehension, evaluation, etc)
Physical sciences (physics, chemistry & math)
Writing sample (grammar, logical thought, etc)
Biological sciences (molecular, cellular and human
biology; organic chemistry)
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15 points / section + separate writing score
 http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/start.htm
for more information
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AMCAS application

Uniform application for medical school
admission
 Can apply to many schools with one
application
 Over 100 schools use AMCAS application
– Includes all OH & MI medical schools

You should still check with individual schools
for any additional application requirements
– Ex: MCO may request secondary application with
recommendation letters
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AMCAS application

Biographical information
 Essay (one page limit)
– Why you have selected the field of medicine
– What should medical schools know about you that
is not mentioned elsewhere in the application
– Special hardships, challenges or obstacles that
may have influenced your educational pursuits
– Explain significant fluctuations in your academic
record not mentioned elsewhere in the application

Post-secondary experiences – jobs, volunteer
positions, awards, extracurricular activities
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AMCAS application

List schools attended
 Request official transcripts - use AMCAS form
 List all post-secondary courses you enrolled in
regardless if credit was received
 GPA calculation – includes transfer credits and
repeated courses!
 See http://www.aamc.org for more details
– Instructions for students applying for Fall 2003 admission are
already available

See http://www.ada.org and http://www.adea.org for
dental school admissions information
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What to expect in medical
school
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First two years are spent in class 8 hours per
day, 5 days per week
 First year courses are basic sciences
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Biochemistry and cell biology
Anatomy, histology and immunology
Neuroscience and physiology
Clinical skills, ethics, etc.
Second year courses are medical sciences
– Pathology, pathophysiology, pharmacology

Take Part I of Board Exam after second year
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What to expect in medical
school

Last two years are spent in the clinic
 Clinical rotations are full-time positions
– Include nights and weekends on call
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Required clinical rotations in third year
– Medicine, surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry and
obstetrics/gynecology
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Elective clinical rotations in fourth year
 Apply for residency and take Part II of Board
Exam
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Life after medical school

A minimum of three years spent in residency
to receive further training in an area of
specialization
 Take board exam for your area of
specialization
 Can do fellowship after residency, usually for
research or extreme area of specialization
 Then earn the big bucks and play golf every
Thursday (yeah, right …)
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Financial considerations

Money should not be your primary goal in
becoming a physician
– Medical school is expensive
– First real paycheck comes 7 years after
graduating from college
– Requires substantial commitment and desire to
become a practicing physician

Money should not be obstacle to attending
medical school
– You can repay much of the debt when you are a
resident
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Why business school?
To learn management principles for
supervising employees
 To understand the business aspects
(such as finance and marketing) of
product development
 Many engineers obtain M.B.A.s to
pursue management positions in larger
corporations
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Business school
prerequisites
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Required coursework varies by school
– Your engineering education should be
sufficient for most schools
– You may need an economics course
Take the GMAT exam
 Industrial experience (co-op or full-time)
is desirable
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GMAT
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Half day long (~4 hr) test with the following
sections
– Analytical writing
– Quantitative reasoning
– Verbal reasoning
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Complex scoring - total scores range from
200 – 800
 See http://www.gmac.com for more
information
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Business school courses
Typically a 1 ½ - 2 year program
 Curriculum varies widely
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– Investigate coursework before you apply
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Core courses
– Accounting, finance, marketing and
management
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Elective courses to specialize in one of
the core areas listed above
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Why law school?
To practice criminal law
 To practice civil law
 To work on patents for new products
 To work on legal and tax issues for
corporations
 Law school results in a J.D. degree
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Law school prerequisites
A bachelor’s degree in just about any
program
 Take the LSAT exam
 Standardized application – LSDAS
 See http://www.lsac.org/ for more
information
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LSAT

Half day long (~4 hour) test with the
following sections
– Reading comprehension
– Analytical reasoning
– Writing sample
Score ranges from 120 – 180
 See http://www.lsac.org/ for more
information
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Law school courses
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Typically a 3 year program
 Core courses
– Contracts, property, constitutional law and criminal
law
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Electives for specialization
– Business, civil, criminal, labor, estates, patents,
family, property and tax law

Must take state bar exam to obtain license to
practice law
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Why graduate school?

To specialize in a technical area
– Allows you to do more technical work
– May help you advance in your job
To do research in an academic or
industrial setting
 Grad school results in a masters degree
or a Ph.D.
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Graduate school
prerequisites
Varies with each program
 Many programs require the GRE exam

– Two sections: Verbal and Quantitative
– Also have engineering subject test
– Scoring ranges from 200 – 800 for each
section, 200 – 1000 for subject test
– See http://www.gre.org/ for more
information
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Graduate school
curriculum
Courses vary by program and school
 Two types of masters programs:
coursework intensive and research
intensive
 Research intensive masters program
may require a thesis
 A PhD program is research intensive
and requires a thesis
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How do I decide on a
graduate program?

Talk to the experts
– Students in various programs
– Professionals in your area of interest
– Advisors and counselors
Visit schools, hospitals, etc.
 If the classes look interesting, the work
probably will be too!
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Timeline for graduate study
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This is a general timeline to apply for graduate study
Take home message – start thinking about this at least a year
before you graduate
– Not much time and effort required
– Can always apply now and decide not to enroll later
– Easier than not applying now and deciding you want to go later
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Assumes graduation in Spring of 5th year
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April of 4th year – take the applicable standardized test(s)
Summer of 4th year – retake test(s) if needed
Fall of 5th year – obtain recommendation letters if needed
Fall of 5th year - send out applications to various programs
Fall of 5th year – apply for scholarships if applicable
Spring of 5th year – interview and select program to enroll in
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