2.8 Zoology Degree . . . Help!

[faithapaul1]

Hello everyone! To cut to the chase, I am a junior at a smaller university studying Biology with a concentration in zoology. My GPA as of now is 2.8 and I am trying to get it to a 3. I transferred from a community college as a sophomore and have worked for my states department of agriculture last summer and this summer I will be interning at a pharmaceuticals lab as a pathology intern. I've also volunteered and interned at a couple wildlife rehabs. My main interest is zoonosis and after undergraduate I would like to pursue a masters in epidemiology. What are my chances of getting into a decent masters program?

Classes I've taken/My Degree Requires:
General chemistry and biology I and II
Orgo I and II
Biochem
Genetics
Physics I and II
Comparative anatomy
Invertebrate zoology
Biostatistics
Comparative Physiology
Wildlife management
Ornithology
Ecology
and I've also taken a couple psych courses as well

My problem is that I have ADD and do not like the way stimulants like Vyvanse make me feel so I do not take them. English and social sciences have always come naturally to me and I excel in those fields but biology is truly what I'm interested in . . . it just doesn't come as naturally.

I have a pretty good back story though if that helps! I dropped out of high school after sophomore year because of a very severe eating disorder. I ended up getting my GED and now I will be graduating on time in addition to being recovered!

Any advice on how to make myself more marketable for masters programs (besides the obvious of getting my GPA up), what my current chances look like, and career advice regarding a path more specifically related to zoonotic diseases would be very much appreciated!

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[CarissasWeird]

Congrats on recovery!

You have a couple options here, but it's definitely not the end of the world or anything-- MPH programs tend to be one of the less competitive ones to get into, and also tend to not prioritize GPA as much. Plenty of people get in with low GPAs, including sub-3.0 ones.

I'd say the people with sub-3.0 GPAs who get in usually have a pretty good amount of relevant experience. Schools want to be sure that if enroll, you will finish the degree program. This can be demonstrated with a lot of motivation conveyed in your personal statement as well as some good volunteer/internship/work experience in your field.

Definitely work on getting up to a 3.0, but if you can't do that I would kill it on the GRE. Lots of places don't require it anymore (and more will likely do the same because of COVID and the fact the GRE isn't a great metric of success...) but it does help if you can do really well on it. If you have a particular school in mind, some of them allow non-degree students to take classes within their school of public health. If you do really well in those, that's a pretty direct way to show you would be fine going to their grad school.

How did you do in biostats? If you have room in your schedule, I'd recommend taking classes that degree programs you have in mind offer-- like some upper-div biostats, parasitology, or toxicology.

Good luck!