Is it hard to keep a good gpa getting an MPH?

[sixpence]

Do most people come out with a decent gpa? I wanted to get a MPH just before I apply to med school, but I think it would be stupid to have it lower my gpa and make it harder to get into med school. any ideas?

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[alibai3ah]

Ur graduate GPA is written separately from your undergraduate GPA. Theoretically it cannot bring your gpa down. In addition, your undergrad gpa is looked at more b/c its more science based classes. MPH is great for admission into residency programs though and a great degree to have if you are interested in it. I would not do it for the sake of getting into medical school though...

 

[bluesmd]

MPH is great for admission into residency programs though

really, how much does it help?

 

[alibai3ah]

Well my uncle is a doctor. And he is incharge of admitting residents. And he says he values an MPH highly, b/c these people have a much larger (more global) awareness of healthcare and it can be very beneficial in a doctor's medical profession. He also told me many other residency programs that he knows off who also hold the same value for an MPH. This is why, there are increasing number of medical students/pre medical students who are taking time off to do an MPH.

 

[alibai3ah]

But I would still not do in unless you are genuinely interested in it.....as you know from medical school admissions it is fairly clear when someone does something just for the sake of impressing them.

 

[tfa2007]

To actually answer your original question, no it is not difficult to maintain a good GPA while getting an MPH. Several of my good friends are about to receive theirs in May and they all have part time jobs and a life and still do well in school. They're only in class 20ish hours per week.

 

[Law2Doc]

really, how much does it help?

Not much. It's basically looked at as a nice EC. It doesn't have impact on your ug GPA like a postbac would, because it is graduate, so it has no role in grade rehabilitation. It is an extremely bad path to take if your primary goal is to get into med school, although it is a wonderful degree if your goal is to work in public health. Don't do this as a way to try and get into med school. There are much much higher yield paths (postbac, SMP, or even a "hard science" MA) if your goal is med school. People do the MPH because it is easy and short, but the med school aren't as wowed by this as with other things.

 

[sixpence]

Ur graduate GPA is written separately from your undergraduate GPA. Theoretically it cannot bring your gpa down. In addition, your undergrad gpa is looked at more b/c its more science based classes. MPH is great for admission into residency programs though and a great degree to have if you are interested in it. I would not do it for the sake of getting into medical school though...

Yeah, I wasn't really looking for it to boost my app, I just didn't want it to negatively affect it. This one doc I know, he had an MPH degree at the same time he finished a fellowship in IM at the same university. How does that work?

Also, what's a "good" graduate gpa then? Does it have the same standards as an UG gpa?

 

[Raryn]

Do remember that most graduate schools have pretty high grade inflation, with 3/4 of the class getting B and above. Assuming you're a motivated person, you should be able to keep a decent graduate GPA...

 

[swim2006]

Yeah, I wasn't really looking for it to boost my app, I just didn't want it to negatively affect it. This one doc I know, he had an MPH degree at the same time he finished a fellowship in IM at the same university. How does that work?

Also, what's a "good" graduate gpa then? Does it have the same standards as an UG gpa?

Some fellowship programs offer you the choice or depending on the fellowship require you to get an MPH (these fellowships are more specific than some like cards or ID allow these may have that option). I have a friend that after her ob/gyn did a fellowship that part of it was getting an mph....i don't know the title of the fellowship.

 

[alibai3ah]

Yeah, I wasn't really looking for it to boost my app, I just didn't want it to negatively affect it. This one doc I know, he had an MPH degree at the same time he finished a fellowship in IM at the same university. How does that work?

Also, what's a "good" graduate gpa then? Does it have the same standards as an UG gpa?

I'm not too sure about the fellowship question, so hopefully someone with more experience can help you there. But regarding the graduate gpa, most graduate programs have grade inflations, which means that GPA's usually tend to be MUCH higher than undergraduate. Not to say that graduate school is easy, but medical schools understand this grading system and weigh the GPA accordingly. I would assume that it has much lower impact compared to UG, because it's less science based (if we are talking about MPH). However, I think these factors usually differ from school to school. If you have a glide year, I think MPH will be very beneficial for you. I know many people who have done it before medical school, and they said it helped tremendously. You could also do it during medical school as well....