a LOT of advice needed please

[rednailpolish]

---

Members do not see this ad.

i'm really overwhelmed with how much i've done wrong and while i am trying to right what i can, i still feel like i'm not really sure what i'm doing to help my situation.

general background: transferred from a state school to an ivy when i had a 3.5 coming out of 3 semesters at the state school, graduated from the ivy with a 3.3. junior year was really awful for me - someone close to me passed about every few weeks and i begged to take time off, but my parents wouldn't allow it. i brought my gpa back up to 3.5s each semester for my senior year, taking lots of sciences and some graduate classes. my major was psychology and my minor was biology. i have about 160 credits done and my cumulative gpa now is still probably around a 3.3, but my science gpa is MAYBE a 3.0, probably a bit below that. i've done decently well in my sciences since junior year, except organic chem, which i took last summer. i got a C+ in orgo I and a D+ in orgo II (i missed 2 exams because of another death. while i know that there is no right time for these things to happen, i can't believe that they keep happening when i'm taking my hardest classes). i plan on retaking orgo II. i think i have good extracurriculars, though i could definitely use more shadowing hours. i would like to apply in summer 2013.

now: right now, i'm doing my own version of a post-bacc back at home. i have 6 classes right now, all of which should count toward my bcpm (3 bio, 2 physics, 1 math). i think i have 2 Bs and the rest are As. i'm making my schedule for next semester now, which is probably why i've been hit with a bad case of the pre-med blues. i still need to take another bio lab and orgo lab, which i will definitely have done by next summer.

a mish-mosh of plans: i'm thinking of applying to some masters programs for next year. my limitations are now that i need to have it done by the time med school starts (assuming i get in anywhere) and it needs to be both local and at a state school, so i am limited to pretty much one or two schools. from what i've seen, i think i should apply to the MPH program and a biology masters program if it's feasible to get it done in one year. the MPH is meant to be 1.5 years, but it is possible to get it done in one year if i take classes the summer before and after, which i am willing to do. i suppose my point with completing a program is that if i don't get in when i apply, i can apply with another degree and show some improvement. i'm also thinking of getting certified to be a CNA so i can work more directly with patients. i'll ideally find a class that starts sometime soon so i can get in some hours ASAP.

application: i want to apply in summer 2013. i still need to take the MCAT, so i'll take that sometime next spring. i should have strong letters of recommendation and we get a committee letter. i'm thinking of asking the PI i worked with for 2.5 years, the physiology professor i TAed for, and either a professor i had for a graduate-level neuroscience class (in which i got an A-), a pair of professors with whom i took both undergrad and graduate bio classes with (both As), or the VP of a pharmaceutical company that i interned with twice. i have others that i can ask, i just think that these would be the strongest.

i guess i just need some direction. is there any part of what i'm doing that doesn't make sense? i kind of hate myself for not applying to masters programs directly because now i'm just going to have an additional year of undergrad (some grad) classes, but what's done is done and i can't really change that right now. i could use a lot of advice.

thank you!

 

[link2swim06]

Solutions.

1. Get your science GPA and cum to 3.5 or at least 3.4, which will mean taking more classes (post bacc). http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=125347
2. Be open to the idea of DO schools. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=388561
3. Blow the MCAT out of the water...(34+) http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=503250
4. Look into a SMP http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=346106

Below you can see how people with similar stats did in the application process:

https://www.aamc.org/download/161696/data/table19.pdf
https://www.aamc.org/download/161690/data/table17.pdf
https://www.aamc.org/download/270906/data/table24-mcatgpagridall0911.pdf

/thread

 

[red7]

If your goal in the masters is to raise your grades, go for a hard sciences program and take graduate level science classes. The MPH is nice, and gives you a great perspective, interesting things to write/talk about, and obviously is useful if you are interested in population level health; however, the grades won't count as much to improving your GPA in the eyes of most adcoms.

 

[rednailpolish]

that was my general concern, but i talked to the pre-health advisor at my alma mater and she said that she usually recommends that people in my position do a MPH. i thought the same thing as you, which is why i'm so confused about a lot of things

 

[ModernAlchemist]

Solutions.

1. Get your science GPA and cum to 3.5 or at least 3.4, which will mean taking more classes (post bacc). http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=125347
2. Be open to the idea of DO schools. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=388561
3. Blow the MCAT out of the water...(34+) http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=503250
4. Look into a SMP http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=346106

Below you can see how people with similar stats did in the application process:

https://www.aamc.org/download/161696/data/table19.pdf
https://www.aamc.org/download/161690/data/table17.pdf
https://www.aamc.org/download/270906/data/table24-mcatgpagridall0911.pdf

/thread

This. I wouldn't recommend the MPH for the sole purpose of improving your application, especially if you won't be taking a couple years to use the degree before applying.

 

[edscribe86]

My advice: Go with what you would enjoy more whether that be biology or MPH. You'll do better in what you enjoy. I had a similar cGPA (3.4) as a biochem major but slightly higher sGPA when I graduated from undergrad. I even did poorly on the MCAT and I thought my chances were over. However, I chose to apply to a 2 year MPH program. Although it was more time than I wanted to commit to a post-bac/graduate program, it has been an invaluable experience. I retook my MCAT, improving significantly and applied with a 4.0 first year of MPH coursework. When I had my interview, the interview consisted of probably 90% graduate work/extracurricular questions and 10% undergraduate questions... mind you I had a D+ in a math course and Cs in microbio, psych, and biochem. I was told over and over the adcom wants to make sure you can complete graduate coursework... science or not. I took 2 science courses in my first year of graduate work and the rest (6 courses) were non-science. I'm not saying I got an interview at every school that I applied, but my state school was extremely interested in accepting me with my diverse science and public health experiences. Yes, science is great, but there is much more to medicine than the ability to identify and treat the causative agent. Social and behavioral, environmental, political, and epidemiological concerns are of huge importance. Especially with the way health care is changing, an MPH will be a great advantage. I got accepted to my state school on Oct 15 with an undergrad GPA far below average and an MCAT score 1 pt below their average. I'm confident it was my MPH experience they were so interested in.

 

[K31]

that was my general concern, but i talked to the pre-health advisor at my alma mater and she said that she usually recommends that people in my position do a MPH. i thought the same thing as you, which is why i'm so confused about a lot of things

Be careful about listening to pre-health advisors. The majority of them are pretty much completely clueless about the med school process.

 

[rednailpolish]

thanks for the insight. i'm going to apply to the masters programs and see which ones i get into and then go from there. as i said, i'm limited as far as funds go, so i can only really apply to one or 2 schools and to their programs.

edscribe, thank you for the inspiration!

 

[red7]

Yes, science is great, but there is much more to medicine than the ability to identify and treat the causative agent. Social and behavioral, environmental, political, and epidemiological concerns are of huge importance. Especially with the way health care is changing, an MPH will be a great advantage.

Fully agree with this, your perspective when applying will be much more mature than many candidates, and it will show on your application materials + interviews. This will help you get in ahead of candidates that may have stronger stats than you but don't interview/express themselves as well.

Just to clarify, what I was trying to say earlier is: it is my understanding that your grades from a MPH program will not count as much towards the stats (i.e. GPA) as will a hard sciences graduate program. Maybe your advisor meant that since your cGPA isn't THAT low, an MPH would help you out, or maybe they just know something I don't. Anyway, good luck with grad school and don't give up!

 

[Sephiroth]

2 things I'd wanna know:
1) prepare for MCAT and take some AAMC official practice tests so we know what range we're working with
2) what state are you/will you be a resident of at time of application?

those 2 things will be important.

regardless, unless you plan on taking time off and actually using it, I'd advise against getting an MPH. It's just more loan money to pay back. I know because one professor suggested it to me, but after looking into it, while it's something else on the application, the grades are not considered in the same light as science courses.

 

[rednailpolish]

2 things I'd wanna know:
1) prepare for MCAT and take some AAMC official practice tests so we know what range we're working with
2) what state are you/will you be a resident of at time of application?

those 2 things will be important.

regardless, unless you plan on taking time off and actually using it, I'd advise against getting an MPH. It's just more loan money to pay back. I know because one professor suggested it to me, but after looking into it, while it's something else on the application, the grades are not considered in the same light as science courses.

i'm going to take a MCAT class this spring and then take the MCAT in april (probably). i'm from NY, which i know only makes my life more difficult

i'm going to apply to both MPH and bio masters programs. i'll see where i get in and then decide, but money and location limit my schools to only a handful, unfortunately

 

[Sephiroth]

i'm going to take a MCAT class this spring and then take the MCAT in april (probably). i'm from NY, which i know only makes my life more difficult

i'm going to apply to both MPH and bio masters programs. i'll see where i get in and then decide, but money and location limit my schools to only a handful, unfortunately

mk. NY isnt terrible; there are several SUNY schools with reasonable admissions stats. If you really wanna do an MPH out of personal interest, go for it, but as for admissions purposes, I'd say a masters in a science is better. Also, if you have an MCAT score in good MD-school range, possibly an SMP if you can afford it to make up for the low grades, but that may not be necessary if you can do well with the informal postbac and doing the science masters would be better financially.

 

[Praefectus]

If your goal in the masters is to raise your grades, go for a hard sciences program and take graduate level science classes. The MPH is nice, and gives you a great perspective, interesting things to write/talk about, and obviously is useful if you are interested in population level health; however, the grades won't count as much to improving your GPA in the eyes of most adcoms.

👍 If you want to raise your science GPA, go with that bio masters program.