Advice Needed: Daughter Torn Between AI Master's and Pre-Med
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Anonymous
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Hi everyone — hoping to get some perspective.
My daughter is a rising junior at an Ivy League school, majoring in Computer Science. She just finished an internship at a Big Tech company and got a return offer, which is exciting. Now she’s trying to figure out what direction to take for the next two years. She's considering either: Going for a concurrent Master’s in AI, which aligns with her current major and internship experience, or Shifting gears and completing the requirements for med school, something she’s also seriously interested in. She genuinely enjoys both fields — tech and medicine — and is having a hard time choosing. If anyone’s been through something similar or has any advice (as a parent, student, or professional), we’d really appreciate your thoughts. How do you choose between two very different paths? Thanks in advance! |
Anonymous
| Has she taken premed courses already? And does she have the GPA required for realistic admission to med school? These are the questions I'd be asking. I don't know about the masters in AI. |
Anonymous
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moneywise, not that this should be the biggest concern, she will come out ahead with the tech track, since she has an offer (hopefully a good one) and will not have to forego 8 - 10 years of earning that she would have to do for med school.
medicine is not as attractive as it once was. |
Anonymous
I believe that she has a 3.7 GPA. She has taken some bio and neuroscience classes. She has two classes left to complete her CS Major requirements. |
Anonymous
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A CS major with a job offer.
The sky isn't falling! 🙂 |
Anonymous
I don't know the answer to this question, but I would take a hard look at what her chances for med school admission would be like with her current GPA and exactly what courses she still would need to take, like organic chemistry. Have her meet with a premed advisor at the school. Reason: if the cake is already baked, that is, if her chances are quite low, then that might factor into the decision of whether to study premed during her remaining two years. On the other hand, studying premed does not foreclose a career in AI. She could always do the masters later if necessary. |
Anonymous
And she’s only raising junior?? |
Anonymous
| Look at the required courses for med school at your state flagship to give you/her an idea of what courses are needed for med school applications. There are a number of them. Would your DD be able to work them into the next 4 semesters? Some courses are sequential—you have to take Organic Chem I before Organic Chem II. Most of the science requirements also have a lab component which also has to be scheduled. She should talk to her school’s med school advisor to see what is possible. |
Anonymous
If your DC really love money, go with AI. They paid a ton, even without the Master's degree. To be honest, it's a waste of time to do a Master's degree full time. She can do a part-time master at schools like Stanford while she is working at FANNG. If she truly loves both tech and medicine, and truly loves research, go with a MD/PhD. The AI medicine research is hot hot hot, plenty of opportunities allowing a combination of two. I believe MD/PhD usually comes with scholarship so that tuition for medical school + graduate school is waived in full (or equivalents thereof). Financial return will come a bit later in life, but she won't regret it. |
Anonymous
| Has she done any clinical work to see if she really wants to be a doctor? Important to know if she takes to it. |
Anonymous
| Why do either? Why not take the job, see how she likes it, and then decide what to do? |
Anonymous
Oh I see. It honestly doesn’t matter. She can always go back and do the other later if she changes her mind. |
Anonymous
Do you know what this means? Usually, these generic AI degrees aren't as valuable as say a Masters in Machine Learning or other specific area. My kid claims a Masters on its own doesn't move the needle much, but rather just a step towards a PhD which is quite valuable. |
Anonymous
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If your DC really love money, go with AI. They paid a ton, even without the Master's degree. To be honest, it's a waste of time to do a Master's degree full time. She can do a part-time master at schools like Stanford while she is working at FANNG. If she truly loves both tech and medicine, and truly loves research, go with a MD/PhD. The AI medicine research is hot hot hot, plenty of opportunities allowing a combination of two. I believe MD/PhD usually comes with scholarship so that tuition for medical school + graduate school is waived in full (or equivalents thereof). Financial return will come a bit later in life, but she won't regret it. Thanks for the advice. Just to clarify — the concurrent Master’s program would mean she completes her 4-year undergrad with both a BA and a Master’s degree in Computer Science, with a focus on AI. So the real choice she’s facing is: Finish with a BA + Master’s in CS (AI concentration) or Finish with a BA in CS + complete the Pre-Med requirements |
Anonymous
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I have a premed at an Ivy, the med school requirements are very difficult and most are grinding them out freshman and sophomore year, so they can then take MCAT. In addition, they need large amounts of research, clinical and volunteer hours. Nothing that isn’t doable, just that a gap year or two would likely be required. I’d think getting some clinical work done asap to help determine if this is a real passion?
That being said, if my kid had equal love for two different fields, I’d probably be glad they didn’t pick the med school route. It’s a lot of time, money and sacrifice. Thank goodness people have a passion for it, but it’s not an easy path in a myriad of ways. Your kid sounds wonderful and motivated, they’ll be successful no matter what they choose. They can always decide on med school later too. |