Med Schools who like MPH

[anitra627]

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First off- please please please do not turn this into a discussion about what the merits and values of an MPH vs. Cosmetology prior to med school are- that's not what I want to know. 🙂

I personally did my MPH in health policy as a direct result of my policy major in undergrad and decided, while in grad school, that I wanted to continue on to med school.

Now, unfortunately I do fall into that category of people with graduate degrees who also have low BCPM gpa and who may have gone to an MPH because they thought it would get into med school. that's not me and i think it shows in my application. My MCAT is good and I've done what I have to do in terms of retaking those classes I screwed up 7 years ago and some new hard science ones to appease the adcom monster. SO, my question is. . . .can anyone tell me which med schools look favorablly on public health experience- and I mean real experience, nut just the degree but a committment to public health work outside of school? Does anyone who's been through interviews and either gained or not gained admission have information about this? Also, which schools- without a certain BCPM gpa- will absolutely not give a rats ass about MPH or will look negatively upon it? I don't want to waste my time and money on them, you know?

Any thoughts about any of the following schools? Thanks! 😉

Albany Medical College
Drexel
Georgetown
GW
Harvard
Jefferson
USC
Loma Linda
Loyola
New York Med
NYU
Rush
Saint Louis University
Downstate
Stony Brook University
Temple
Vermont
Tulane
UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
Wake Forest
Yale University School of Medicine

 

[Heal&Teach]

Hey anitra,

I'd add schools with schools of public health (that are likely to have dual degree MD/MPH programs) to your list. Add all NY state schools (unless you're really not trying to be upstate - Buffalo or Upstate, but I see that you've added Albany), Pittsburgh, UCLA, etc. Also, do you have additional experience beyond the MPH that shows that you're not the typical person using public health as a stepping stone for medical school?

You might also want to contact some of the schools on your list to ask them about the low BCPM and how it would impact your application. I'd think that, if anything, that might impact you more than the benefit of having the public health degree (from one MPHer to another).

Best,
H&T

 

[babyface]

Albert Einstein has this emphasis on social medicine that seems to attract a lot of people interested in public health. I'd consider that as a school to add.

 

[anitra627]

Albert Einstein has this emphasis on social medicine that seems to attract a lot of people interested in public health. I'd consider that as a school to add.

the thing that worries me about Einstein is they specifically say on their website something like "an MPH will no compensate for low science grades."

 

[IndyZX]

if you were a policy major, why do you have a low BCMP? (why did you take science classes at all)

 

[Heal&Teach]

the thing that worries me about Einstein is they specifically say on their website something like "an MPH will no compensate for low science grades."

But you've specifically stated that this is not your aim - so what's the problem? I'd call and ask. From your other thread, it seems like you're moving the BCPM up, so you might still have a chance.

 

[babyface]

the thing that worries me about Einstein is they specifically say on their website something like "an MPH will no compensate for low science grades."

I think that's true for most schools in regards to graduate programs, unless you're in some kinda post-bac program like the one at Georgetown that is designed specifically to compensate for low GPA. But that doesn't mean that the MPH won't help per se. An MPH gives you a broader perspective of healthcare and the health delivery system. If you did some kind of field work, which most programs require, you'd have gotten some real unique experience that deals with things from the top, looking at things at a policy level. I think these are much more important, and benefit you more, than the GPA. I'd just search for schools that you may be a good fit at philosophically, and Einstein seems to be one cuz schools do look whether the applicant would be a good fit at the school more closely than just the numbers. Good luck!