MPH, Post Bacc, or UAG?

[shmicky]

Here are my options...
I got accepted into OU's MPH program and am supposed to start in the fall. I didn't do stellar for my undergraduate degree (pre-sports med), so I have been a post bac student at UT-El Paso (back home) for a year now. I have read that getting an MPH isn't a GPA saver and since I graduated a sports medicine, I could take more undergrad bio pre-med classes that I didn't take at my undergrad school. I am taking the mcat on august 2nd and I have consistently getting 25's on my practice MCAT. Should I get a masters and risk not raising my undergrad science gpa?, defer a year of my masters and boost my undergrad gpa as a post bacc (plus try to boost my MCAT)?, or apply for UAG for spring admission?

Stats:
Undergrad Science: 2.89
Undergrad Overall: 3.1
Post-Bacc Science GPA (17 hours):3.65
Post-Bacc Overall GPA (20 hours): 3.70

Overall GPA: 3.2
Overall science GPA: 3.05

Estimated MCAT: 23-27

My goal is to become a pediatrician. It sucks that the mistakes I did when I was a freshman and sophomore could haunt me 3ish years later. I am interested in an MPH because it provides a pretty good outlet career that would make a difference in people's lives, if the med route doesn't work out. I am really interested in UAG because i could attend OU in the fall, get accepted (and defer) UAG admission in the spring, then finish my MPH and start my MD degree after that (it would take me 5.5 years to get a MPH & MD). The problem with UAG: risk of not getting a residency match in the U.S.

Any opinions?

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[Stories]

Have you considered DO schools? Take a MCAT class. Raise your MCAT. You won't get into med school with those MCAT scores. Actually, since med school is your best bet, you might want to try one of the med school oriented forums might be a better fit.

Better MCAT scores is going to do much more for you than a MPH which will just get you into debt.

 

[bubbylover]

Don't do the master's. You need to work on your numbers, absolutely. Raise that undergrad gpa with special attention to your science gpa, and postpone the mcat until your practice exams are at least 30.

 

[shmicky]

Ok, so I deferred my MPH admission for a year & I just talked to the dean of biological sciences at my current school. She mentioned that there is a fast-track program that would allow me to take graduate level courses, without being a graduate student. These are MS graduate courses (i.e. BIOL >5000's). Although, my undergrad biology adviser suggested a 15 hour-ish workload of undergrad classes this fall, along with physician shadowing & MCAT practice.

So I am a little confused...would it be better to boost up my undergrad GPA, by taking undergrad classes that I didn't take previously, or would taking graduate MS classes be better (even though it won't help my undergrad gpa)?


Also, I wouldn't mind going to a DO school either.

 

[shmicky]

Have you considered DO schools? Take a MCAT class. Raise your MCAT. You won't get into med school with those MCAT scores. Actually, since med school is your best bet, you might want to try one of the med school oriented forums might be a better fit.

Better MCAT scores is going to do much more for you than a MPH which will just get you into debt.

I appreciate your advice.....and Patrick Roy is one of my childhood heroes.

 

[hughesn2]

Also, I wouldn't mind going to a DO school either.

You may have a much better chance looking at DO schools. I know people who have gotten rejected from every MD school they applied to with a 3.5 undergrad GPA from the University of Michigan in Neuroscience, but easily got accepted to the DO school at MSU. Then I know classmates of mine in my Human Physiology degree that get declined by MD schools with 3.5 undergrad GPA despite having courses in advanced physio, biochem, biophysics, and several high level science courses.

 

[Pdesai8]

You could try to US-affiliated med schools in the carribean (like Ross Univ)? You could probably get into those!

 

[SpartanWolverine]

Skip the MPH. I talked to the director of admissions at a top med school who told me (in a politically correct way) that the MPH from their school is basically worthless for admission. Don't do it if you're just trying to give yourself better chances -- especially since you'll still have a sGPA that is practically the same. MPH coursework is 1) mostly social sciences and 2) will be assumed to have an inflated GPA by adcoms. If you "need" an MPH in the future for a (post-doctoral) position, chances are you can either get it paid for or do an accelerated program.

Re-take some classwork, do well on the MCAT, and apply DO. Presto! As it stands, your GPA and MCAT range are not really good enough to get into any medical school in the US.

 

[bubbylover]

From the question in your update, absolutely only take courses that will raise that gpa, not additional courses that won't affect it.

 

[Emsy]

You want to be a pediatrician so I wouldn't waste time getting a graduate degree first, if you really want an MPH, do it after medical school because all it will do for you right now is give you debt.

I knew people that spent an entire year prepping for the MCAT after doing a post-bacc pre-med program. And definitely invest in an MCAT course. Good luck.