Is an MPH degree good for getting into medical school?

[Lil IceBoy]

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone on the forum has input on whether a masters of public health degree would help me in getting into medical school. As an alternative to an MPH at Drexel, if I do not get into any postbac programs, I plan to take some classes at UCI to boost my GPA.

Anybody have any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

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[zambuca]

I think it will really help boost up your application and make it stand out more.. i think that an mph is also very important to have as a physician, depending on what area of public health you go for. either way, i think you should go for that instead of taking random classes.. its another degree and it will really look good.

 

[exmike]

Well I got a MPH from Berkeley instead of a post bacc after a mediocre undergrad and am applying this year, so I'll let ya'll know next year!

I will tell you that one of my classmates had a 2.8 ugrad and a 32 MCAT and got into UCSF JMP after getting the MPH.

 

[ColumbiaMPH]

I am sure that getting my MPH gave my application a push in a more favorable direction, but it definitely wasn't the deciding factor for getting accepted. The reason why I decided to get it was because (1) two alumni and a faculty member recommended the program to me and (2) I knew that I wanted to work in health care if I didn't go to med school. I really think that number (2) is the important one--if that is your situation, than getting an MPH is probably the right thing to do. Otherwise, you will be spending a lot of money to get a degree that won't guarantee you an acceptance to med school and won't serve you much purpose if you don't get in.

It also wouldn't hurt to call up some of the schools where you are thinking of applying and asking them if and how much an MPH would strengthen your application.

 

[TexasGuy41]

There is a ton of info on this topic on another thread. I think the general consensus was that if science grades are what is keeping you from getting accepted, then an MPH won't do a thing for you, and you'd be much better served in a one-year masters program (Gtown, Finch, BU, etc.) However, if you already have a strong science background with competitive grades, but completely lack medical exposure, then an MPH might be what tips the scales for you. Most adcoms don't view MPH coursework as very "hard science" (despite the usefullness of an MPH), it just doesn't allow you to prove that you can handle hard core medical science.

 

[mp119]

For those of you who did the MPH...did you wait until it was completed before you applied to med schools? Do med schools look unfavorably on applying while youre in the middle of the program and leaving it a year early?

 

[Mutterkuchen]

Originally posted by mp119
For those of you who did the MPH...did you wait until it was completed before you applied to med schools? Do med schools look unfavorably on applying while youre in the middle of the program and leaving it a year early?

Most schools will not let you matriculate in med school, until you complete the degree you are currently working on. So no, you can't just leave a year early, generally speaking.

 

[RxDaisyMSPH]

I agree with all the above posts...

You must finish your Masters degree before you can matriculate into med school. I had a friend who started her MSPH program while applying to med school last year. She received several phone calls regarding when she will finish her grad program and advice that she must be close to graduation before she receives an acceptance. So, med school would like to know that you will be finishing up your MS before you matriculate. (I believe there are other SDN threads on this concern)

Also, you should not really use a MPH to get into med school. I think that med schools can sense your intentions! Also, getting a MPH requires a lot of non-hard sci classes that expose you to the various areas of healthcare (I have never written so many papers in my life!) But, you will be able to receive some valuable research or field work experiences for your MPH capstone project.

Like the posters said on this thread, med schools know that grad school classes are inflated. IF you need to improve your science gpa, take some upper level classes or get a MS.

I personally decided to get my MSPH before med school because I was not really sure if I wanted to pursue medicine after undergrad. My minor was public health so I wanted to expand my knowledge in that area. However since I will be graduating in December and have realize that becoming a physician is my ultimate goal, I will be applying this year.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[anhoi]

hey everyone,

how does the mph program work? i mean, can anyone apply and get into an mph program or is it just as difficult to get into mph programs as md programs with a lower gpa??? anyone know of an mph program that is competitive but is pretty easy to get into? and while you are enrolled in a schools mph program, can you take other classes there (like redoing your premed classes that you messed up on?). Thanks!

 

[exmike]

Originally posted by anhoi
hey everyone,

how does the mph program work? i mean, can anyone apply and get into an mph program or is it just as difficult to get into mph programs as md programs with a lower gpa??? anyone know of an mph program that is competitive but is pretty easy to get into? and while you are enrolled in a schools mph program, can you take other classes there (like redoing your premed classes that you messed up on?). Thanks!

I think it really depends on the reputation of the school, and the value of it's reputation for your applications is debateable. For example, the my entering class at UC Berkeley had a 3.5 GPA. The good thing is that for some schools they take your junior/senior GPA, which is hopefully better for many of you that need to do post bachelors work.

I can say that for my MPH program at Berkeley we actually were required to take two undergrad BCPM classes to fulfill our requirements, and we also had plenty of time to take any other BCPM classes we wanted because the requirements are minimal for graduation in two years. However, competing with rabid Berkeley premeds is NOT fun when you're used to the laid back graduate student educational system.

Just for reference, I had a 3.28 ugrad GPA and a 3.6 Junior/Senior GPA and total of 2100 (700 per section) on my GREs and got into Hopkins, Columbia, UC Berkeley, and UCLA, but I got rejected from Harvard.