Anthony W. Robateau Colón was never at the top of his public high school or college classes in maths or sciences. When he began high school, he started to struggle with the most crucial classes for his dream career: becoming a doctor.

After his undergraduate program, he applied to medical school but was rejected. He tried again but got nothing in return. Then he found Ponce Health Sciences University’s Master of Science in Medical Science (MSMS) degree. After completing the program, he received an acceptance letter into medical school.

“I did the master’s degree and what I found was amazing,” Colón said. “I started from the bottom and now I got the chance to achieve so much and be able to look back from how I started. It really feels incredible.”

Creating a Future with the MSMS Program

Colón came from humble beginnings, raised by a mother who worked as a nurse in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. He visited the clinic with his mother. At that early age, he knew he wanted to follow in her footsteps.

When he started missing high marks in maths and sciences, he started to doubt if he could do that. Teachers would tell him he needed to achieve higher grades in his classes to advance toward medical school.

“In that moment, I lost faith in my dream,” Colón said. “That’s when I sat down and evaluated where I was standing and the path I had to cross to get to med school.”

A Gateway to Medical School

When Colón was turned down by medical schools because of his imperfect academic record, Ponce Health Sciences University reached out to him. PHSU offers the MSMS to pre-medical students to improve their chances of being accepted into an MD program or other professional health programs.

The program is designed to provide students with a health science-based one-year curriculum including comprehensive examination. The curriculum mirrors the academics of the first year of medical school to enhance the credential record of our students.

In addition, with PHSU St. Louis’s predictive analytics integrated into the MSMS, students can analyze their performance according to USMLE Systems and Disciplines against past MSMS students. This way, MSMS students can ensure they’re on track to reach their career goals after graduation.

After a year in the MSMS, Colón again applied for an MD program and received an acceptance letter. He soon graduated medical school and was placed in a residency in internal medicine at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

Pathways to Med School at PHSU St. Louis

“I still can’t believe this,” Colón said. “Never in my life I would’ve imagined being in this position … But at the same, it feels good because I know that I achieved everything thanks to my efforts.”

Colón is just one of the hundreds of students Ponce Health Sciences University’s MSMS has helped to reach their healthcare education dreams. If you have a bachelor’s degree and are aiming to improve your credentials for medical school, you can apply for admission to PHSU’s MSMS program.