Extremely Low GPA, interested in pursuing MPH need advice.

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Yasmeen.Marie

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Hello! I am interested in applying for MPH programs, especially Global/Intl Health concentrations. My GPA is EXTREMELY LOW, 2.63 to be exact. I know those numbers probably made your eyes bleed lol. I am just looking for a little feedback and guidance. I graduated in 2012, and I have been stuck in low paying, unfulfilling dead end jobs. I did not take my education seriously in undergrad, and it shows. When I started college, my first semester GPA was 1.05 (ouch). After taking a year off, I returned to school and changed my major to IR. My grades did improve, but were still pretty average,even after retaking certain courses. I could blame my low GPA on a myriad of incidents, but I take full responsibility for not fully applying myself. I'll be 27 in August, and I am looking to turn my life around and snap out of this quarter life crisis, and put my past failures behind me.

I currently work for a non profit refugee resettlement agency as an Office Assistant. My original goal was to work with refugees and eventually become a case manager/social worker. I accepted the office assistant position in hopes of moving up, that has yet to happen. I have worked at this agency for almost 1 year, and I can see that these type of positions do not offer much room for financial or career growth. My current position only pays $10/hr, which is not enough for me to survive off of. I also work as a part time youth & parent mentor, serving emotionally disturbed youth & parents. I help them with identifying community resources, anger management, and improving their standard of living. Most of the clients are assigned to our agency by Children's service for neglect or abuse in the home. I enjoy my second job more than the first position, but it's still not what I want to do as a career.

I am interested in Public/Global Health because I have a strong desire to make a difference and help improve the lack of healthcare and resources available to underserved populations and developing countries, specifically Haiti. I would like to travel, gain research experience, monitoring & evaluation experience.

Undergrad School: Small Public University in Ohio
Undergrad GPA: 2.63
Major: international Relations
Minor: Marketing
-Studied Abroad in Morocco for 1 sem, also tutored non native English speaking students while abroad.
-Completed 2 summer internships with State of Ohio Job & Family Services.
- Participated in Americorps, SGA, various multicultural organizations.
-Participated in 1 Undergraduate research conference.
-Recently joined Medical Reserve Corps.
-Currently volunteering once a week preparing Nepalese clients for Citizenship test.
-
I just started the application process on SOPHAS. I plan on taking the GRE in two months. Do you think I have a chance of getting accepted into a program? What are other options in order to get valuable research experience? Financial aid is not available for most grad certificate programs, and I do not have the funds to pay for classes. Any suggestions?

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What schools are you interested in? I recently applied at Mercer University in Georgia, I noticed they admit some applicants with GPAs between 2.5-2.85 on a probationary basis. There might be other options out there as well.

Some schools also admit students if they have a 3.0 in upper-level coursework (last 60 hours).

Kill the GRE and you'll increase your chances. Also you might consider really buckling down and doing some retakes to bring your GPA up- now that you're removed from your UG experience you may possess the focus and drive to do better.

Finally, if you see a program you're interested in don't hesitate to contact them about your chances at admission. I did pretty bad on the GRE (161v, 149q) so I eMail prospective programs prior to dropping money on applying.

Good luck!
 
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I had a 2.75 (rounded to 2.9 by SOPHAS) and I've gotten into 4 good programs (UPitt, Tulane, BostonU, NYU - waitlisted to Tufts). I know my letters of rec, high GRE, and experience during college helped a lot...and I'm applying right out of undergrad, so work experience = 0. There is always hope - apply early and smartly.

Many university labs will take on part-time research volunteers (unpaid) if you show that you're genuinely interested and willing to put in the time. You seem to have as much experience with underserved populations as I do, and I applied for human rights/bioethics/global health concentrations. As for financial concerns, you can study part time while working - many universities allow 5 years to complete an mph.
 
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Don't worry! I had a low GPA (2.9 by my calculation... even worse by SOPHAS calculation...) and got into most of the programs I've applied for. I had no public health experience at all and horrible letters of rec. You have some great experiences, so as long as you can articulate your SoP well, you still have a good chance. Maybe not "Johns Hopkins caliber" good chance, but there are many many good schools out there that don't necessarily make top 5 on the US News ranking. Don't discount some of the lesser known programs :)
 
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What schools are you interested in? I recently applied at Mercer University in Georgia, I noticed they admit some applicants with GPAs between 2.5-2.85 on a probationary basis. There might be other options out there as well.

Some schools also admit students if they have a 3.0 in upper-level coursework (last 60 hours).

Kill the GRE and you'll increase your chances. Also you might consider really buckling down and doing some retakes to bring your GPA up- now that you're removed from your UG experience you may possess the focus and drive to do better.

Finally, if you see a program you're interested in don't hesitate to contact them about your chances at admission. I did pretty bad on the GRE (161v, 149q) so I eMail prospective programs prior to dropping money on applying.

Good luck!

Thanks so much. I think I will wait and apply in the fall. I need more time to prep for the GRE, and I am hoping to get involved with some of the public health programs in my local area. It's proving to be quite difficult since I do not have an MPH or previous Public Health experience. I think I will e-mail a few perspective programs. Have you heard anything from Mercer University?
 
Don't worry! I had a low GPA (2.9 by my calculation... even worse by SOPHAS calculation...) and got into most of the programs I've applied for. I had no public health experience at all and horrible letters of rec. You have some great experiences, so as long as you can articulate your SoP well, you still have a good chance. Maybe not "Johns Hopkins caliber" good chance, but there are many many good schools out there that don't necessarily make top 5 on the US News ranking. Don't discount some of the lesser known programs :)


I will definitely keep that in mind. I was looking into applying to Ohio University, Wright State University, University of Illinois at Chicago and Tulane University would be my dream school, but I'm not sure that I have a fair chance. What programs did you apply for?
 
Thanks so much. I think I will wait and apply in the fall. I need more time to prep for the GRE, and I am hoping to get involved with some of the public health programs in my local area. It's proving to be quite difficult since I do not have an MPH or previous Public Health experience. I think I will e-mail a few perspective programs. Have you heard anything from Mercer University?

I was accepted but will not be attending. The program at Mercer seems awesome though. The faculty and staff I interviewed with over Skype seemed really supportive and focused on the success of their students. Because it's a smaller, lesser known program there is a lot of flexibility and opportunity. Of all the programs I interacted with Mercer was probably the most helpful and communicative.

Tulane University would be my dream school, but I'm not sure that I have a fair chance.

Tulane is a great public health school. I would suggest eMailing someone from that program to ask about your GPA. I was a little concerned that my lower quant score would keep me out of Tulane's epi program, I eMailed the administrator for that department and she was very helpful. Tulane ended up accepting me but it's a little too expensive when considering my undergrad debt.

Ultimately you need to use your SOP to provide a compelling reason for your low GPA and interest in public health/Global health. With a great SOP, above average GRE scores and your life/volunteer experiences I think you stand a good chance to a variety of programs. If you need someone to read your SOP let me know. Good luck!

Edit:
If you're preparing for the GRE I would suggest using a site like Magoosh. I was about 3-4 year removed from any math coursework and their videos were invaluable.
 
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I will definitely keep that in mind. I was looking into applying to Ohio University, Wright State University, University of Illinois at Chicago and Tulane University would be my dream school, but I'm not sure that I have a fair chance. What programs did you apply for?
I applied for UMass, UT-SPH, University of North Texas, UC Berkeley, UT Southwestern, and Tufts University. Got into all of them with scholarships :) Not the Top 10, but still reputable schools nonetheless. I ultimately settled on UTSPH because of the SUPER CHEAP tuition and proximity to my long-term significant other.
 
I had a 2.75 (rounded to 2.9 by SOPHAS) and I've gotten into 4 good programs (UPitt, Tulane, BostonU, NYU - waitlisted to Tufts). I know my letters of rec, high GRE, and experience during college helped a lot...and I'm applying right out of undergrad, so work experience = 0. There is always hope - apply early and smartly.

Many university labs will take on part-time research volunteers (unpaid) if you show that you're genuinely interested and willing to put in the time. You seem to have as much experience with underserved populations as I do, and I applied for human rights/bioethics/global health concentrations. As for financial concerns, you can study part time while working - many universities allow 5 years to complete an mph.


Thanks so much for the advice. I am definitely going to apply early. Congratulations on getting accepted to all of those programs. Did you already start? Or do you start in the fall? I am also thinking about looking into going to school abroad as well. Thoughts?
 
APPLY EARLY. Schools usually accept people on a rolling basis so the early you are, the more they'll look at your other strengths instead of just your GPA. Apply to many different programs and be sure to tell them about why your GPA is low.
Also, get a high GRE score.
 
I was accepted but will not be attending. The program at Mercer seems awesome though. The faculty and staff I interviewed with over Skype seemed really supportive and focused on the success of their students. Because it's a smaller, lesser known program there is a lot of flexibility and opportunity. Of all the programs I interacted with Mercer was probably the most helpful and communicative.



Tulane is a great public health school. I would suggest eMailing someone from that program to ask about your GPA. I was a little concerned that my lower quant score would keep me out of Tulane's epi program, I eMailed the administrator for that department and she was very helpful. Tulane ended up accepting me but it's a little too expensive when considering my undergrad debt.

Ultimately you need to use your SOP to provide a compelling reason for your low GPA and interest in public health/Global health. With a great SOP, above average GRE scores and your life/volunteer experiences I think you stand a good chance to a variety of programs. If you need someone to read your SOP let me know. Good luck!

Edit:
If you're preparing for the GRE I would suggest using a site like Magoosh. I was about 3-4 year removed from any math coursework and their videos were invaluable.

I just looked at the Mercer website, I am not sure how I overlooked that. I will definitely put them on my list. Do you know of any other MPH programs with conditional admission? You have been so helpful, thank you so much!
 
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I just looked at the Mercer website, I am not sure how I overlooked that. I will definitely put them on my list. Do you know of any other MPH programs with conditional admission? You have been so helpful, thank you so much!
Not off the top of my head unfortunately. I would suggest looking at the SOPHAS site ( http://www.sophas.org/search.cfm ) and checking with schools. If they don't list the stats of accepted applicants you can eMail the admissions department and they'll typically be able to provide that information.
 
Thanks so much for the advice. I am definitely going to apply early. Congratulations on getting accepted to all of those programs. Did you already start? Or do you start in the fall? I am also thinking about looking into going to school abroad as well. Thoughts?
I will start in the fall. I'm not sure about attending an international school - it depends on what you want to specialize in. If you are into global health, or want to eventually work abroad, that sounds like a good option. I am doing infectious disease epi, but I have volunteered abroad extensively so I know that I'd like to work for a foreign organization. My decision was based on financial aid and job networking.
 
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I go to Mercer, if you guys want help with admissions, feel free to message me
 
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I go to Mercer, if you guys want help with admissions, feel free to message me


Do you go to the Atlanta or Macon campus? How are the class sizes? Do you attend full time or part time? It appears that Mercer just offers a general MPH track is this true? When I was on the SOPHAS website, the only concentration I could select was Underserved and Rural. Is this what you are studying? How do you like it so far?
 
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I will start in the fall. I'm not sure about attending an international school - it depends on what you want to specialize in. If you are into global health, or want to eventually work abroad, that sounds like a good option. I am doing infectious disease epi, but I have volunteered abroad extensively so I know that I'd like to work for a foreign organization. My decision was based on financial aid and job networking.


Well congrats once again! I e-mailed an admissions rep from Tulane, so we will see what they say. I am definitely interested in Mercer. Has anyone heard anything about Louisiana State University MPH?
 
I've heard nothing but good things about Tulane. I actually was at Duke, but for now, I'm Mercer's. What is your dream school like? For example, what are you looking for when looking into schools?
 
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I've heard nothing but good things about Tulane. I actually was at Duke, but for now, I'm Mercer's. What is your dream school like? For example, what are you looking for when looking into schools?


How do you like Mercer? I will list the most important factors:

Cost: I know student loans will cover the majority of my expenses. It is important that the school have ample funding/fellowship/scholarship opportunities, so once my GPA is high enough I can apply.
Cost of Living: I live in Ohio and the cost of living is fairly low in comparison to other states, so I am looking for something that is similar.
Diversity: I am interested in attending a school that is extremely diverse, I did not have the experience during Undergrad.
Faculty: I want the professors to be personable and genuinely care about the success of the students.
Student Organizations: wide array of organizations available for grad students
Chipotle: I know this seems weird, but I am obsessed with Chipotle, so there should be one within 30 minutes of campus.
Job/Internship Placement: I know Tulane's Graduates have a high rate of employment after graduation, but I am not sure about the other schools. This something that is very important to me. I don't want to shell out thousands of dollars and not be able to secure a job that will allow me to back my student loans.
Study Abroad/Fellowships/Internships: The option to study abroad and get practical experience would be ideal since I am interested in Global/International Health.
 
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Cost of Living: I live in Ohio and the cost of living is fairly low in comparison to other states, so I am looking for something that is similar.
...
...
...
Chipotle: I know this seems weird, but I am obsessed with Chipotle, so there should be one within 30 minutes of campus.
Although I'm not currently attending I lived in/around the area and can answer these two-
Cost of living isn't too bad in Macon. I've seen 1 bedroom apartments averaging around $550, cost of living is less than most cities in Ohio (like Columbus: http://www.areavibes.com/cost-of-living-calculator/macon,+ga-vs-columbus,+oh/). Also, there's a Chipotle in Macon.
 
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I attended a top 20 Public Undergraduate school in the nation. I had a fairly rough undergraduate. I had health problems and family illness that had me take much of my time and focus away from school to take care of the issues. I graduated with excellent extracurriculars while I was able to give time to them (was in hopes to show something while I was not able to pull my grades up) but terrible GPA. Its around 2.4 to 2.5. I retook at least 2 classes at a local college after graduation to understand the material that I was not able to perform well in during school. I called about a 100 labs around the nation to get a research position. Given my credentials, no one was willing to take me. Eventually I signed up to volunteer at Emory hoping to get some experience. I ended up in a Infectious disease lab, learning about the different sciences, methodology, and thinking behind research. That was last year. This year I have officially been hired as a research specialist, given my own project, and helped with at least two projects led by me co-workers. I will eventually have 1-3 papers (one paper as 1st author (hopefully, crossing fingers), and two with either 2nd author or 3rd). After exploring my career options, my PI encouraged me to graduate school and led me to discover that my fascination with infectious disease would serve me well if I applied to the MPH program at Emory. He's willing to write a strong Rec and help me make a stance in the world of science in his lab while completing my MPH. He wants me to further study so I can carry out his research in the public health field, in larger populations. Given my past history as being the president of a non-profit public health org in college, he felt my leadership skills along with my understanding of science would better be served in the field if I study alongside.

I have already signed up for at least two graduate courses in MPH at Emory, but I do not know if I stand a chance against the shining credentials Emory receives. I am taking my GREs. My preliminary scores are coming out around 305-309/340. I am aiming to get them to atleast 315-320. I have done as much as possible to rectify my past. But to go back and redo every class to get a better GPA would take me atleast 3-5 years. I felt that all the measures I am taking should be enough?
:(
Someone please assure or discourage me from applying?

Feel rather frustrated. :(
 
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I attended a top 20 Public Undergraduate school in the nation. I had a fairly rough undergraduate. I had health problems and family illness that had me take much of my time and focus away from school to take care of the issues. I graduated with excellent extracurriculars while I was able to give time to them (was in hopes to show something while I was not able to pull my grades up) but terrible GPA. Its around 2.4 to 2.5. I retook at least 2 classes at a local college after graduation to understand the material that I was not able to perform well in during school. I called about a 100 labs around the nation to get a research position. Given my credentials, no one was willing to take me. Eventually I signed up to volunteer at Emory hoping to get some experience. I ended up in a Infectious disease lab, learning about the different sciences, methodology, and thinking behind research. That was last year. This year I have officially been hired as a research specialist, given my own project, and helped with at least two projects led by me co-workers. I will eventually have 1-3 papers (one paper as 1st author (hopefully, crossing fingers), and two with either 2nd author or 3rd). After exploring my career options, my PI encouraged me to graduate school and led me to discover that my fascination with infectious disease would serve me well if I applied to the MPH program at Emory. He's willing to write a strong Rec and help me make a stance in the world of science in his lab while completing my MPH. He wants me to further study so I can carry out his research in the public health field, in larger populations. Given my past history as being the president of a non-profit public health org in college, he felt my leadership skills along with my understanding of science would better be served in the field if I study alongside.

I have already signed up for at least two graduate courses in MPH at Emory, but I do not know if I stand a chance against the shining credentials Emory receives. I am taking my GREs. My preliminary scores are coming out around 305-309/340. I am aiming to get them to atleast 315-320. I have done as much as possible to rectify my past. But to go back and redo every class to get a better GPA would take me atleast 3-5 years. I felt that all the measures I am taking should be enough?
:(
Someone please assure or discourage me from applying?

Feel rather frustrated. :(

I'm not sure why your GRE scores are on that range since the GREs only go up to 170. Either way, the key to the GRE is practice, practice, practice! Just keep at it and you'll improve for sure.
But GRE and and grades aside, I think you have proven yourself more than capable to be in grad school. I would advise you to seek out potential PIs with whom you want to work and ask them for a phone interview (or an interview in person is even better). Talk to them and let them know how much you want to be in their lab and maybe tell them about your own research interests. Sometimes, all it takes is a PI who is willing to take you in and you'll be set despite what the admins might say. You already got a great start to grad school with papers and research experience. It sounds like you'll get a really great letter of rec too! Lastly, write a stellar personal statement and I think you'll be set.I do think you should keep your options open and apply to several schools just in case. Good luck! You can totally do it!!
 
I'm not sure why your GRE scores are on that range since the GREs only go up to 170. Either way, the key to the GRE is practice, practice, practice! Just keep at it and you'll improve for sure.
But GRE and and grades aside, I think you have proven yourself more than capable to be in grad school. I would advise you to seek out potential PIs with whom you want to work and ask them for a phone interview (or an interview in person is even better). Talk to them and let them know how much you want to be in their lab and maybe tell them about your own research interests. Sometimes, all it takes is a PI who is willing to take you in and you'll be set despite what the admins might say. You already got a great start to grad school with papers and research experience. It sounds like you'll get a really great letter of rec too! Lastly, write a stellar personal statement and I think you'll be set.I do think you should keep your options open and apply to several schools just in case. Good luck! You can totally do it!!

Kimt08:

I think I should have been clear, I meant that total score on GRE is in that range. Individual vary within 152-155. But I can improve up to 160 I think. I am already taking classes with one of the PI of a great research lab. Surprisingly, my PI just got a clinical trial grant for one of his research projects. My PI wants to send me there while I am studying to further the research and coordinate the trails. But I just do not know if that is enough to get into MPH program, in spite of my grades. Any thoughts kimt08?
 
Hello! I am interested in applying for MPH programs, especially Global/Intl Health concentrations. My GPA is EXTREMELY LOW, 2.63 to be exact. I know those numbers probably made your eyes bleed lol. I am just looking for a little feedback and guidance. I graduated in 2012, and I have been stuck in low paying, unfulfilling dead end jobs. I did not take my education seriously in undergrad, and it shows. When I started college, my first semester GPA was 1.05 (ouch). After taking a year off, I returned to school and changed my major to IR. My grades did improve, but were still pretty average,even after retaking certain courses. I could blame my low GPA on a myriad of incidents, but I take full responsibility for not fully applying myself. I'll be 27 in August, and I am looking to turn my life around and snap out of this quarter life crisis, and put my past failures behind me.

I currently work for a non profit refugee resettlement agency as an Office Assistant. My original goal was to work with refugees and eventually become a case manager/social worker. I accepted the office assistant position in hopes of moving up, that has yet to happen. I have worked at this agency for almost 1 year, and I can see that these type of positions do not offer much room for financial or career growth. My current position only pays $10/hr, which is not enough for me to survive off of. I also work as a part time youth & parent mentor, serving emotionally disturbed youth & parents. I help them with identifying community resources, anger management, and improving their standard of living. Most of the clients are assigned to our agency by Children's service for neglect or abuse in the home. I enjoy my second job more than the first position, but it's still not what I want to do as a career.

I am interested in Public/Global Health because I have a strong desire to make a difference and help improve the lack of healthcare and resources available to underserved populations and developing countries, specifically Haiti. I would like to travel, gain research experience, monitoring & evaluation experience.

Undergrad School: Small Public University in Ohio
Undergrad GPA: 2.63
Major: international Relations
Minor: Marketing
-Studied Abroad in Morocco for 1 sem, also tutored non native English speaking students while abroad.
-Completed 2 summer internships with State of Ohio Job & Family Services.
- Participated in Americorps, SGA, various multicultural organizations.
-Participated in 1 Undergraduate research conference.
-Recently joined Medical Reserve Corps.
-Currently volunteering once a week preparing Nepalese clients for Citizenship test.
-
I just started the application process on SOPHAS. I plan on taking the GRE in two months. Do you think I have a chance of getting accepted into a program? What are other options in order to get valuable research experience? Financial aid is not available for most grad certificate programs, and I do not have the funds to pay for classes. Any suggestions?

how are your admission decisions looking?! I'm in a similar situation, with an extremely valid reason for a poor GPA but am also very worried about my chances...
 
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