Master of Physiology or Public Health at UMich?

[Hashirama_Senju]

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Hi all,

I am currently a PhD student at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. I am planning to apply for med school after finishing my doctorate degree.

A non-traditional applicant who didn't plan much to attend med school at the beginning, I now intend to take a master in a health-related field to strengthen my application. The program I am doing PhD with is quite flexible, and it seems that I can do a master simultaneously.

I am thinking about either Public Health, or Molecular and Integrative Physiology. I know that the former is great and ranked very high in the nation, while the latter is one of the true trademarks of UMich's bio-medical sciences and even more impressive.

Correct me if I am wrong (still a newbie 😛), but it seems to me that most successful non-traditional applicants tend to choose public health over physiology. But I am drawn towards physiology more because I like it better and it is much closer to the topic of my thesis.

Would you please give me some advice about which route should I take?

Thanks.

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[DrMidlife]

This totally depends on whether you have GPA damage or not.

If you have competitive numbers for med school (undergrad GPAs over 3.6, MCAT over 31) then do whichever program looks more interesting to you.

If you have sub-competitive numbers, then an MPH does not improve your chances, because it does not show academic rigor comparable to the usual undergrad premed classes. The MS in Physio at UM is comparable.

Find the nontrad forum for other PhD's who are in med school and beyond.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Hashirama_Senju]

This totally depends on whether you have GPA damage or not.

If you have competitive numbers for med school (undergrad GPAs over 3.6, MCAT over 31) then do whichever program looks more interesting to you.

If you have sub-competitive numbers, then an MPH does not improve your chances, because it does not show academic rigor comparable to the usual undergrad premed classes. The MS in Physio at UM is comparable.

Find the nontrad forum for other PhD's who are in med school and beyond.

Best of luck to you.

Thank you DrMidlife. My GPA is not stellar enough for med schools, because back then, I sacrificed it for a lot of undergrad research and interns to target grad schools only, plus I was doing a double degree in engineering and science. I admit that I don't have any factor on my transcript to market the ability to withstand the academic rigor.

Does this mean that from now on, if I need to choose any baccalaureate program, I should target the opportunity to "score" well, rather than to do research?

Best,

 

[DrMidlife]

Does this mean that from now on, if I need to choose any baccalaureate program, I should target the opportunity to "score" well, rather than to do research?

Definitely. Research will do nothing for you if your numbers are bad. Your research card is already punched out by your PhD, and research never matters as much as scores for med school admissions unless you're doing MD/PhD (which is insanely competitive because it's a free ride). Assuming you have at least one pub to your name, call it a day.

Make sure you understand that undergrad GPA is the killer number, and this number isn't changed by grad work. You can find more PhD's with old damage in the nontrad forum. It's not at all unheard of for PhD's to do more undergrad. If your cumulative undergrad GPA is above maybe 3.3, and assuming your MCAT is well above the average of 31+, then the UM MS in physio is probably fine. If your cumulative undergrad GPA is more around 3.0 or lower, then it's quite a bit more difficult. If you're willing to consider a program like Wayne State, rumor has it they'll just look at your most recent couple of years.

You'll want to get a feel for your odds and your competition before you go too far down this path. About 45,000 will try to get into med school this year, and about 25,000 will get a US MD seat. It's a mistake to assume the other 20,000 weren't qualified. Find the FACTS tables on aamc.org. Pick some med schools of interest and review their FAQs. Buy the MSAR. And definitely read about what med school is like. It might not be what you want.

Also: start volunteering in a clinical setting right away, and keep logging weekly hours until you're well past 3 digits. Not optional.

Best of luck to you.

 

[DrMidlife]

Also, if by some chance your user name doesn't mean you're into anime but means you're a Japanese national, on a student visa, that's problem #1. It's near impossible to get into a US med school without US citizenship or permanent residency, except for Canadians. Just putting that out there.