In urgent need of advice: I am confused.

[the Undergrad]

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My situation:

Just graduated from college. With a psych. degree. I was going to apply to MPH schools for Fall 2006 for the upcoming admission deadlines. Now, let me just tell you guys that my ultimate goal is medical school. My Science GPA is very low. Hence, as a final resort, I had made my mind that I'd go to grad school and get an MPH. More so as a backdoor to medical school, rather than my little-more-than-average interest in public health itself.

Problem:

Money is an issue with me. Like I said if an MPH would be my final step, I would've gladly take loans and do an MPH, but like I said, I want to attend medical school. So practically, I can't possibly take more loans for medical school later. And an MPH is expensive on its own. Last night I was at Emory's website and I was flabbergasted to learn that their tuition is $895/hour!!! That is... just... too... much. I am not rich, and sadly, being a psych. major, there aren't enough financially rewarding jobs out there for me.

Now here's where I need your suggestion:

I was thinking of getting another bachelor degree. This time, in Biology. I talked to an academic councelor at a local JC, and apparently since I've already taken most pre-med courses, I could be done with a bachelor's in Bio in approx. a year and half. Hence, I'm fiddling with the idea of doing another bachelors, and forget about doing an MPH altogether.

Because let's look at it this way: My whole "plan" was to use the MPH degree as a means to impress med schools. Yet, there's really NO GUARANTEE that I'd get into medical school (considering my poor science GPA) even after doing an MPH. And, ofcourse, there's still no guarantee that I could get into med schools after getting a BS in bio. However, atleast I can be assured that I could get a good job after a BS in bio, without building huge loans (which I'd HAVE to take if I do an MPH). Plus, if I do well with my bio major, I have an additional advantage of resurrecting my poor science GPA.

So, basically all I'm asking you folks if it's a good idea to not do an MPH at all, and instead do a Bachelors in Biology. PLEASE, please give me your honest advice, no matter how brutal it might be. I am really depressed thinking about this on my own. 😕

 

[Virgil]

I really hope you don't tell this to MPH people because degrading their life's work as simply a means to get to medical school is likely to aggravate some people. 😀

I don't know your GPA or MCAT, but I'm assuming that you can just do post-bacc and raise your GPA, study harder for the MCAT (if you are lacking in that area) and re-apply. It seems much more cost-effective, seeing as your ultimate goal is to simply be accepted to a medical school. And seeing as you have little interest in the MPH degree, you can take classes that interest you at your college or university (you don't necessarily need to get another bachelors degree, I think), which will probably translate to you getting good grades in the said classes. You can also take science classes that interest you, and the remainder of your "premed" courses to boost your science GPA.

The bottom line is this: if you do do not meet the minimum GPA and MCAT requirements, the greatest extracurriculars are not likely to do you any good whatsoever--you must meet that minimum requirement FIRST. I say that you should improve those first!

Good luck!

 

[the Undergrad]

I really hope you don't tell this to MPH people because degrading their life's work as simply a means to get to medical school is likely to aggravate some people. 😀

I don't know your GPA or MCAT, but I'm assuming that you can just do post-bacc and raise your GPA, study harder for the MCAT (if you are lacking in that area) and re-apply. It seems much more cost-effective, seeing as your ultimate goal is to simply be accepted to a medical school. And seeing as you have little interest in the MPH degree, you can take classes that interest you at your college or university (you don't necessarily need to get another bachelors degree, I think), which will probably translate to you getting good grades in the said classes. You can also take science classes that interest you, and the remainder of your "premed" courses to boost your science GPA.

The bottom line is this: if you do do not meet the minimum GPA and MCAT requirements, the greatest extracurriculars are not likely to do you any good whatsoever--you must meet that minimum requirement FIRST. I say that you should improve those first!

Good luck!

Firstly, thanks for replying. 🙂

Well, see, the main reason why I am interested in going for another Bachelor's degree is:

- I can not find a well-paying job, let alone a job, related to my degree in psychology. So, seeing that I could possibly complete the BS in bio in about a year and half, there's good chance that I could get a good job atleast afterwards. Or so I think that it looks good to employers if one has double degrees in bio and psych.

- Getting a degree in biology, and hopefully doing well in it, might just lead to improve my low Science GPA. I mean, who knows, med schools might think that while I didn't do well in science courses early in my college career, but now that I've done well. Don't you think they'd look upon that favorably? 🙂

Post-Bac is another good option, ofcourse. But, sorry to be ignorant, how expensive is it? (You can probably tell that money is an critical factor.) And, more importantly, how long will it be?

But, see, if I complete a post-bac program... it's still not a degree. Doing a post-bac will not really get me a good job in the meanwhile I'm applying to med schools. On the other hand, I can atleast have the faith that I can get a good job with another bio degree. You know what I'm saying?

 

[Virgil]

I truly don't know much about post-bacc programs at all, but I believe that there are formal ones which are generally more expensive...you might get more information on this if you post in the post-bacc forum.

I don't think that a BS degree in biology will open up that many doors in terms of jobs. You might be able to find a job in a research lab, but I doubt that you will be making much or playing a significant role because you only would have a BS degree (or working towards one). I don't think that having two degrees will make much of a difference, as the two are inherently different subjects and finding a job which somehow incorporates the two will be difficult. Unfortunately, I don't think employers will care...although it probably depends on the nature of the job. I have conducted a few job interviews for a pediatrician's office and it's it's incredibly rare to find an applicant who already has a bachelor's degree, so I doubt that two will make much of a difference.

Other than that, pursuing an additional degree in Biology would be a good idea because 1) you'll be getting a whole frikin' degree, 2) you need to raise your science GPA anyway, 3) I think that you mention that you haven't completed all of the prerequisites, and the biology degree (preprofessional, if your university has one), generally does a good job in incorporating pre-reqs into the degree.

To tell you the truth, it is I who is being ignorant about pursuing post-bacc option...I know absolutely nothing about it. The only reason I recommended it is because I hear that this is what people usually do when they would like to improve their GPA after an unsuccessful application year, and this still might just be nonsense. So, in a nutshell, the only knowledge that I am imparting (if you can call it knowledge) is that an extra degree might not do you that much good in terms of finding a job.

You should definitely post in the post-bacc forum. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=71

It's definitely past my bed-time. Good night and good luck!

 

[MarzMD]

I have heard from a few adcoms that an MPH does not really help as far as impressing med schools. Instead, i would look into a post bacc program or a masters program.

 

[the Undergrad]

I truly don't know much about post-bacc programs at all, but I believe that there are formal ones which are generally more expensive...you might get more information on this if you post in the post-bacc forum.

I don't think that a BS degree in biology will open up that many doors in terms of jobs. You might be able to find a job in a research lab, but I doubt that you will be making much or playing a significant role because you only would have a BS degree (or working towards one). I don't think that having two degrees will make much of a difference, as the two are inherently different subjects and finding a job which somehow incorporates the two will be difficult. Unfortunately, I don't think employers will care...although it probably depends on the nature of the job. I have conducted a few job interviews for a pediatrician's office and it's it's incredibly rare to find an applicant who already has a bachelor's degree, so I doubt that two will make much of a difference.

Other than that, pursuing an additional degree in Biology would be a good idea because 1) you'll be getting a whole frikin' degree, 2) you need to raise your science GPA anyway, 3) I think that you mention that you haven't completed all of the prerequisites, and the biology degree (preprofessional, if your university has one), generally does a good job in incorporating pre-reqs into the degree.

To tell you the truth, it is I who is being ignorant about pursuing post-bacc option...I know absolutely nothing about it. The only reason I recommended it is because I hear that this is what people usually do when they would like to improve their GPA after an unsuccessful application year, and this still might just be nonsense. So, in a nutshell, the only knowledge that I am imparting (if you can call it knowledge) is that an extra degree might not do you that much good in terms of finding a job.

You should definitely post in the post-bacc forum. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=71

It's definitely past my bed-time. Good night and good luck!

Gosh, I am so confused. I don't have a job. I can't find a job related to psych. And sadly, I'm not liking the ones that are out there for me because 1.) Either I have lost my passion to work as a counselor that I had when I picked this major, or 2.) The pay is like $10.40 per hour (Yeah, no kidding).

I mean I browse jobs at monster.com and careerbuilder.com almost everyday, and I can't say I am not jealous (or upset) when I see lots of openings for life science majors, i.e. biology, chem, in good pharmaceutical companies with starting pay of $15 or more. 🙁 So, you can say that I am rather not secure right now to think objectively, and frankly, cynical about the way things are shaping up. Which is why I want to get a freakin' degree in biology and rest my conscience once and for all, and get a job. I have so many issues.

Anyway, I really appreciate your advice. I will definitely post in the post-bacc forum to get some advice. Once again, thanks. 🙂

 

[the Undergrad]

I have heard from a few adcoms that an MPH does not really help as far as impressing med schools. Instead, i would look into a post bacc program or a masters program.

Really? Haha, the MPH forum folks say the contrary. Which is why I had decided to go with this MPH option. And trust me, I'm still willing to go ahead with it, but the problem is that it is far too expensive. I mean, Emory, for example, tuition fee is $895 per hour! Isn't that insane? I am not rich, and neither do I have a secure job right now.

Regardless of what happens, thanks for the word.

 

[relentless11]

When the issue at hand is low GPA, then post-bacc is the way to go. Really it just means take more upper division courses. It can be an official post-bacc where they have other programs to help you get in to a med school or it can be unofficial where you just take classes through some university extension. Both can be very expensive.

In terms of going to graduate school (MA/MS/MPH/PhD), for the most part it is discouraged since med schools seem to appear to use undergrad grades more than graduate grades because the vast majority of applicants only have bachelors degrees and thus provides a "standard" to go by. Remember when applying grades are divided into undergrad, post-bacc and graduate. The undergrad and post-bacc GPAs are combined. MPH programs fall under the graduate catagory, so your core classes will be calculated as a grad GPA. In terms of experience, MPH programs will help you in terms of your knowledge, not the metrics used on the primary applications for most med schools.

Some have said that graduate grades tend to be inflated due to many factors including some programs (all?) kicking you out if you get a C (C = failing). On the flipside it is possible (not all programs though) to take upper division undergrad courses as a grad student. The beauty of grad school is that some programs pay for tuition, and provide a monthly stipend. This is usually associated with PhD programs.

I agree with the others, another bachelors degree, or even an MPH will not help much compared to post-bacc. Taking more upper division undergrad classes will. Remember med schools don't care if its a science degree or not, and actually encourage non-science majors to apply. So MPH, or BS in Biology is moot. Doing another BS for the sake of taking more classes is probably more sound, but you are probably committed to another 2-4 years. Not completing the BS (or any other degree) so you can get into med school is also frowned upon. This is why post-bacc programs are good, but on the flipside they are expensive and many are set up for under-represented minorities.

For me, my undergrad GPA was low, I did a year or something of post-bacc. Can't afford that anymore so started a PhD program which takes care of my money issues. Luckily this program allows me to take med school classes so at least at this school that is a good thing. It probably means nothing to other schools though, so I'm going to take a bunch of undergrad courses after I pass my qualifying exam. For me this is the best set up because of the money, and the fact that I can still stay at my university. Now the question is if they'll let me stay here for med school too..lol. 😉

 

[trishaaa]

Here's what I think:

If you're not really interested in public health, don't waste your money getting the MPH. Same goes for bio; if you're not really into, don't waste your money getting a BS. Chances are you will get bored halfway through the program and won't get that phenomenal GPA that you're shooting for. Instead, go get your masters in something you are really interested in; there must be some psych subspecialty that you'd like to learn more about. Plus, most masters programs require some research, and that is very important when applying to med school.

I was a psych major. My GPA wasn't stellar. I took 2 years off to work in a psych hospital as a research assistant full-time and a counselor part-time. It paid the bills, and it paid for my applications this year (currently on my 3rd year off). I took a few courses in the summer at a local university (biochem, a lab, etc.), and the hospital gave me some tuition assistance. It worked for me...just a suggestion.

 

[relentless11]

Plus, most masters programs require some research, and that is very important when applying to med school.
.

I think that depends on which school he wants to apply to. Although research does stand out, it is more applicable to MD/PhD, MD/MS programs. Beyond that, it would just be icing on the cake. What remains is the importance of the undergrad GPA, and MCAT scores.

All the research in the world will not satisify the adcoms if a person (hypothetical situation here) has a 2.5 undergrad science GPA. They would like to see the applicant show proof of having a good grasp of the basic science courses covered in the pre-reqs. Therefore public health classes for the MPH program is not a good thing. These do not show improving if you got say a C in OChem.

Of course low GPA can be offset by some amount by doing great on the MCAT. Remember that research is an extracurricular. Although as a grad student research is also your job, doing well in undergrad biochemistry is probably a better indicator of success (med school coursework) compared to doing a publication on public health. Primary application GPA/MCAT screening by some schools also may not be so forgiving despite research experience. So it all comes back to boosting the undergrad GPA 🙂 .

Anyway, Trishaaa does have a point. The money is out there in some form or another. In her case the hospital provided some amount of funding. Be proactive, look around you might get lucky. 🙂 I swear this academic journey is probably 50% luck

 

[Law2Doc]

I have heard from a few adcoms that an MPH does not really help as far as impressing med schools. Instead, i would look into a post bacc program or a masters program.

I'm pretty sure Marz is correct. Sure, an MPH will be a "positive" on the application, however it won't provide you with the vault you need to get past a low GPA hurdle the same way, say, either a postbac might (which would actually serve to raise the GPA and BCPM for AMCAS purposes), or a Masters in hard sciences or an SMP (which wouldn't affect the undergrad GPA, much as the MPH wouldn't, because they are graduate, but are looked at more highly at med schools for those needing to prove their abilities to succeed in science). If you need to show strength in the sciences, that you can handle the med school level science courses, you need to take hard science, which the MPH courses are not. You need to bear in mind that not every remedy addresses every problem, and that there are individuals for whom a postbac makes sense, SMP makes sense, or even an MPH makes sense, and no one approach will work for every problem. An MPH is again a plus if you are interested in public health and you can tie it to some EC or other interest, but it won't get you past the door if you have a low science GPA, because it doesn't address that (your) problem. And degrees from JCs are really not looked at highly at med schools at all either, because it is assumed that high grades there are too easy to come by. You have been getting really questionable advice, in my opinion. You may want to try and schedule an appointment to talk to a dean at a med school about this, to see "how you might best improve your application". Because otherwise you could waste a lot of years running in circles.

 

[trishaaa]

Here's my other advice:

Take a few months off to travel the world, scamming people along the way (obviously, none of us could pay for our own world travels!), living in hostels or with your 4th cousins (or so they think). When you get back, feeling refreshed and less frantic about things, start deciding which path will work best for you.

 

[trishaaa]

I think that depends on which school he wants to apply to. Although research does stand out, it is more applicable to MD/PhD, MD/MS programs. Beyond that, it would just be icing on the cake. What remains is the importance of the undergrad GPA, and MCAT scores.

All the research in the world will not satisify the adcoms if a person (hypothetical situation here) has a 2.5 undergrad science GPA. They would like to see the applicant show proof of having a good grasp of the basic science courses covered in the pre-reqs. Therefore public health classes for the MPH program is not a good thing. These do not show improving if you got say a C in OChem.

Of course low GPA can be offset by some amount by doing great on the MCAT. Remember that research is an extracurricular. Although as a grad student research is also your job, doing well in undergrad biochemistry is probably a better indicator of success (med school coursework) compared to doing a publication on public health. Primary application GPA/MCAT screening by some schools also may not be so forgiving despite research experience. So it all comes back to boosting the undergrad GPA 🙂 .

Anyway, Trishaaa does have a point. The money is out there in some form or another. In her case the hospital provided some amount of funding. Be proactive, look around you might get lucky. 🙂 I swear this academic journey is probably 50% luck

maybe research was just important for me. it's what we talked about for the majority of the time at all of my interviews. every doctor i talk to asks if i have publications, like that's the deciding factor. obviously, GPA and MCAT scores are much more important, but research is very very valuable in this process.

 

[Law2Doc]

maybe research was just important for me. it's what we talked about for the majority of the time at all of my interviews. every doctor i talk to asks if i have publications, like that's the deciding factor. obviously, GPA and MCAT scores are much more important, but research is very very valuable in this process.

It is important, but a lot of med school matriculants have had no research, and few have publications. It is not the same kind of "prereq" that good clinical exposure is.

 

[Adcadet]

Just my $0.02:
1. Don't do an MPH unless you really want to spend 2 years living and breathing public health and plan on using it later on.
2. I think an MPH will be of only slight help by itself in gaining medical school admission. But if the MPH ties in with other things you have done and want to do it can be an important part in making you stand out
3. an MPH will not erase a poor undergrad science performance. For that I would recommend either a second degree, a post-bac program, or just taking some undergrad-level science classes

 

[tacrum43]

I have heard from a few adcoms that an MPH does not really help as far as impressing med schools. Instead, i would look into a post bacc program or a masters program.

I have heard this too. A masters in a science is better, or an SMP.

 

[the Undergrad]

When the issue at hand is low GPA, then post-bacc is the way to go. Really it just means take more upper division courses. It can be an official post-bacc where they have other programs to help you get in to a med school or it can be unofficial where you just take classes through some university extension. Both can be very expensive.

In terms of going to graduate school (MA/MS/MPH/PhD), for the most part it is discouraged since med schools seem to appear to use undergrad grades more than graduate grades because the vast majority of applicants only have bachelors degrees and thus provides a "standard" to go by. Remember when applying grades are divided into undergrad, post-bacc and graduate. The undergrad and post-bacc GPAs are combined. MPH programs fall under the graduate catagory, so your core classes will be calculated as a grad GPA. In terms of experience, MPH programs will help you in terms of your knowledge, not the metrics used on the primary applications for most med schools.

Some have said that graduate grades tend to be inflated due to many factors including some programs (all?) kicking you out if you get a C (C = failing). On the flipside it is possible (not all programs though) to take upper division undergrad courses as a grad student. The beauty of grad school is that some programs pay for tuition, and provide a monthly stipend. This is usually associated with PhD programs.

I agree with the others, another bachelors degree, or even an MPH will not help much compared to post-bacc. Taking more upper division undergrad classes will. Remember med schools don't care if its a science degree or not, and actually encourage non-science majors to apply. So MPH, or BS in Biology is moot. Doing another BS for the sake of taking more classes is probably more sound, but you are probably committed to another 2-4 years. Not completing the BS (or any other degree) so you can get into med school is also frowned upon. This is why post-bacc programs are good, but on the flipside they are expensive and many are set up for under-represented minorities.

For me, my undergrad GPA was low, I did a year or something of post-bacc. Can't afford that anymore so started a PhD program which takes care of my money issues. Luckily this program allows me to take med school classes so at least at this school that is a good thing. It probably means nothing to other schools though, so I'm going to take a bunch of undergrad courses after I pass my qualifying exam. For me this is the best set up because of the money, and the fact that I can still stay at my university. Now the question is if they'll let me stay here for med school too..lol. 😉

Thanks for all that information. 🙂

However, let me just be more clear: I have not, yet, completed all my science requirements. I took the second semester of general chemistry, and received a 'D.' I am enrolled to take it again, starting on Feb. 11. Which means that I still have to finish O-Chem, and one more semester of calculus. After that, I will be done. Oh, and do you think Biochemisty (I know it's not required) would be worth taking?

So basically, at my local JC, all these science pre-reqs are the lower-div requirements for a bio degree. In my case, it's only like five courses. Which means that I can transfer to a 4-year university, and then take those upper-division courses.

I understand what you're saying though; that a post-bacc program will help me raise my BCPM gpa as well allow me to take upper-divsion science courses. But like I said, I have not completed my science requirements yet, so doesn't it make more sense to go for a bio degree which will not only improve job prospects, is relatively cheaper than a post-bacc, and allows me to take upper-division science courses? 🙂

I mean, a post-bacc is great.. but at the end of the day, it's not a college degree, right? I need something that will make my future more secure, even if if I don't get into med school right away. You know what I mean, right?

Oh, and last question: When I report my undergrad GPA on the AMCAS, will my GPA from my first degree (in psych) get combined with that of my second degree, OR... will I have to report two separate undergrad GPAS?

Thanks, once again.

 

[the Undergrad]

I'm pretty sure Marz is correct. Sure, an MPH will be a "positive" on the application, however it won't provide you with the vault you need to get past a low GPA hurdle the same way, say, either a postbac might (which would actually serve to raise the GPA and BCPM for AMCAS purposes), or a Masters in hard sciences or an SMP (which wouldn't affect the undergrad GPA, much as the MPH wouldn't, because they are graduate, but are looked at more highly at med schools for those needing to prove their abilities to succeed in science). If you need to show strength in the sciences, that you can handle the med school level science courses, you need to take hard science, which the MPH courses are not. You need to bear in mind that not every remedy addresses every problem, and that there are individuals for whom a postbac makes sense, SMP makes sense, or even an MPH makes sense, and no one approach will work for every problem. An MPH is again a plus if you are interested in public health and you can tie it to some EC or other interest, but it won't get you past the door if you have a low science GPA, because it doesn't address that (your) problem. And degrees from JCs are really not looked at highly at med schools at all either, because it is assumed that high grades there are too easy to come by. You have been getting really questionable advice, in my opinion. You may want to try and schedule an appointment to talk to a dean at a med school about this, to see "how you might best improve your application". Because otherwise you could waste a lot of years running in circles.

Hey, what exactly is a SMP? Is it a Master's degree combining all the sciences? And how expensive is it?

Thanks 🙂

 

[the Undergrad]

Here's my other advice:

Take a few months off to travel the world, scamming people along the way (obviously, none of us could pay for our own world travels!), living in hostels or with your 4th cousins (or so they think). When you get back, feeling refreshed and less frantic about things, start deciding which path will work best for you.

You know, I am dying to take a little vacation myself. I just finished my degree requirements for psych this past December, and am on a year-long break. I had decided that I would just work. But, being a psych major, I guess there aren't many financially-rewarding jobs out there for me. I mean, I check on Careerbuilder.com and Monster.com every other day, and turn in my resume. The only response I've gotten in the past month and half is email confirimation that my application has been received. So in these stressful, idle moments, you're right... I just want to get out, and travel somewhere away from California.

You mentioned in your previous post that you're working as a physician assistant... mind sharing how you got this job? I wouldn't mind doing somehtin like that. 😀 And do they pay well? Any other suggestions on how I could land a job related to my degree?

I am so confused.

Anyway, thanks 🙂

 

[the Undergrad]

Just my $0.02:
1. Don't do an MPH unless you really want to spend 2 years living and breathing public health and plan on using it later on.
2. I think an MPH will be of only slight help by itself in gaining medical school admission. But if the MPH ties in with other things you have done and want to do it can be an important part in making you stand out
3. an MPH will not erase a poor undergrad science performance. For that I would recommend either a second degree, a post-bac program, or just taking some undergrad-level science classes

Thanks! Yeah, I'm leaning towards another degree... simply because it will atleast broaden my job prospects if I don't get into med school right away. I'd like to go for a post-bacc but I'm with a tight situation financially, so don't think I can afford that. I am trying to avoid loans as much as I can. A second degree won't take me much long (~1.5) since I have most of the lower-div reqs down, and only need the upper-div.

 

[tacrum43]

Hey, what exactly is a SMP? Is it a Master's degree combining all the sciences? And how expensive is it?

Thanks 🙂

SMP = Special Masters Program. It is "special" because it is geared towards students who want to go to medical school. It's mostly human physiology. Only a few schools have an SMP, and each of them is unique. Check out the post-bacc forum for more info.

Oh yes, and they tend to be quite expensive. Georgetown's SMP is almost $30,000 just for tuition.

 

[relentless11]

Thanks for all that information. 🙂

However, let me just be more clear: I have not, yet, completed all my science requirements. I took the second semester of general chemistry, and received a 'D.' I am enrolled to take it again, starting on Feb. 11. Which means that I still have to finish O-Chem, and one more semester of calculus. After that, I will be done. Oh, and do you think Biochemisty (I know it's not required) would be worth taking?

So basically, at my local JC, all these science pre-reqs are the lower-div requirements for a bio degree. In my case, it's only like five courses. Which means that I can transfer to a 4-year university, and then take those upper-division courses.

I understand what you're saying though; that a post-bacc program will help me raise my BCPM gpa as well allow me to take upper-divsion science courses. But like I said, I have not completed my science requirements yet, so doesn't it make more sense to go for a bio degree which will not only improve job prospects, is relatively cheaper than a post-bacc, and allows me to take upper-division science courses? 🙂

I mean, a post-bacc is great.. but at the end of the day, it's not a college degree, right? I need something that will make my future more secure, even if if I don't get into med school right away. You know what I mean, right?

Oh, and last question: When I report my undergrad GPA on the AMCAS, will my GPA from my first degree (in psych) get combined with that of my second degree, OR... will I have to report two separate undergrad GPAS?

Thanks, once again.

Nah I totally understand. But yea, I think taking biochemistry would be good to have. I believe thats usually one of the first classes you take as a med student. I was in your shoes last year in terms of postbacc. It was costing me about $700 per class in my unofficial program. I thought about doing another BS degree, but my PI said he'd sponsor me for a grad program so here I am. Luckily the program allows me to take undergrad courses as electives, and they also count towards post-bacc, so that works too. Therefore nothing wrong with doing another degree. That was the other big thing, at least doing another degree...you can see some light in the tunnel (might not be the end of the tunnel though..haha). The post-bacc stuff, although very relevant to med school...was still tough to deal with.

In response to your last question, your second bachelors should be classified as post-bacc. Ultimately it is still an undergraduate GPA but yea. Hope that helps! 🙂

 

[SoCuteMD]

I had this discussion in a one-on-one meeting with an adcom member. I was told that in order to make up for my "low" BCPM (still above a 3.0), the MPH would be of no use because the MPH classes don't count as BCPM grades. He told me to look at special master's programs (since I already had the pre-reqs). Good luck.

 

[crazy_cavalier]

Do not pursue the MPH. I repeat, do not pursue the MPH.

Go with the plan that gets you the second bachelor's. This is the best path for you, right now. Work your ass off and do not settle for anything below an A from now on. Since you will be taking additional undergrad credits, you will be boosting your undergrad GPA by getting the 2nd bachelor's. If you pursued the MPH, your ugrad GPA would not change, and it would look pretty ****ty on your AMCAS application.