Med Science Masters vs. MPH vs. NIH Fellowship

[ethicskid]

Hey everyone:

I'm crosslisting a post I put in the "Post-Bacc" forum. I'm new so I apologize if I'm not supposed to do it, but I wanted to get responses. It boils down to whether I'd make a stronger reapplicant if I entered a Med Masters Program vs. an MPH vs. a NIH fellowship. I know that there are already posts about MPH vs. Med Masters, but I wonder about a program like an NIH fellowship compared to that.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=246365

Thanks,
Christian

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[tara14]

When you are talking about NIH fellowship - are you referring to the pre-IRTA (intramural research training award) fellowship? I was a pre-IRTA at NIH for a year and I can tell you about it if you would like. I think it does look good on your resume - I've been asked about my experience at NIH at pretty much every interview I've been on. But I also have a MPH too - which I've also been asked about. With a pre-IRTA you are paid (not much though), but an MPH is expensive. There aren't a lot of scholarships out there for a MPH so you have to take out all loans unless you can afford to pay for it out of pocket. I would only go and get a MPH if you are really interested in public health and want to have a public health oriented career. PM me if you want to discuss MPH vs. pre-IRTA more.

 

[JDWflash44]

If you're interested in both a med masters and and MPH you should look at the masters programs at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. I am in a one year MHS program in reproductive biology in the biochemistry and molecular biology department. But you can make what you want of the program. There are only 5 required courses (one being your thesis) that account for about about 18 credits throughout the 4 terms (in 1 year), you take at least 64 credits total. So, pretty much all of the clases at Bloomberg are open for you to enroll in, from Epidemiology, to International Health, to Mental Health, Environmental Health, Biochem, immunology the list goes on. It really gives you a way of personalizing your own experience and getting a mix of hard sciences and public health. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I'm really liking it, but Baltimore leaves something to be desired...

Jim

 

[tara14]

but Baltimore leaves something to be desired...

LOL - I completely agree. I lived in Baltimore for four years and I counted down the days until I graduated from school. It is a pretty ghetto city - I'm surprised that I survived without being mugged or shot.... to the OP - the option that JDWflash gave is a great option too. I thought about doing that once and there are a lot of options available at the Hopkins PH school.

 

[italicsquirel99]

Hey everyone:

I'm crosslisting a post I put in the "Post-Bacc" forum. I'm new so I apologize if I'm not supposed to do it, but I wanted to get responses. It boils down to whether I'd make a stronger reapplicant if I entered a Med Masters Program vs. an MPH vs. a NIH fellowship. I know that there are already posts about MPH vs. Med Masters, but I wonder about a program like an NIH fellowship compared to that.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=246365

Thanks,
Christian

A master's in medical sciences is what's going to help you the most. Your science GPA is going to be of huge concern to medical schools - their worry being that you won't be able to handle the demanding coarse load of med school, etc. The medical science program is geared toward medical students who need to do more work before med school.

An MPH isn't going to give you the classes that med schools want to see (I love the degree however and will probably go MD/MPH myself, but from an application standpoint, it isn't going to help you out)

The NIH fellowship is probably going to help you out in addition to boosting your GPA...personally I'd do both if I could. The problem with the fellowship on it may not be able to balance out your GPA - and a lot of schools won't even read about it because they will screen you out based on your GPA before they get to the more interesting things. Research is research - it *could* put you in touch with some very important people who know people, it *could* lead to your publishing something very interesting, but you just never know.

Most importantly though - don't give up!

 

[etudiante04]

The NIH has a "graduate school" where you can take courses for credit. These courses are cheaper than at most undergrad and graduate campuses. This school also offers courses that meet the premed requirements. They even offer an MCAT course. check out www.faes.org and go to the graduate school links.

 

[MD2b20004]

If you're interested in both a med masters and and MPH you should look at the masters programs at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. I am in a one year MHS program in reproductive biology in the biochemistry and molecular biology department. But you can make what you want of the program. There are only 5 required courses (one being your thesis) that account for about about 18 credits throughout the 4 terms (in 1 year), you take at least 64 credits total. So, pretty much all of the clases at Bloomberg are open for you to enroll in, from Epidemiology, to International Health, to Mental Health, Environmental Health, Biochem, immunology the list goes on. It really gives you a way of personalizing your own experience and getting a mix of hard sciences and public health. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I'm really liking it, but Baltimore leaves something to be desired...

Jim

How much did/is the program costing you including tuition, cost of living, etc... for the program?

 

[JDWflash44]

How much did/is the program costing you including tuition, cost of living, etc... for the program?

I think tuition is about 30k and if you live cheaply then you can get by living in Baltimore for around 10k for 9 months. I got some scholarship and work in a lab at NIH, so I will probably have accumulated about 25k in loans for the year which I believe has certainly been worth it. I have a few friends in different programs at bloomberg that got full-scholarships so i guess that is possible too. And some people work in labs at JHMI which reduces the costs. I really think that it has been worth it as with the classes I have taken, I think first and second years will be much easier. Also its really amazing the well known scientists that you get to interact with, that teach your classes and that present at seminars all over campus. Any more questions feel free to just ask.

Jim

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

I'm confused, the JH program is 4 terms and 64 credits, and you can do that in one year?

 

[rob14599]

I'm confused, the JH program is 4 terms and 64 credits, and you can do that in one year?

They don't use the traditional Fall/Winter semester format like you are probably accustomed to. They split the school year into "terms," of which there are 4 plus a summer term for a total of 5.

Summer Term F July 8 - F Aug 26 (36 class days)
1st Term Th Sept 1 - W Oct 26 (39 class days, M-F)
2nd Term Th Oct 27 - Th Dec 22 (39 class days, M-F)
3rd Term M Jan 23 - F Mar 17 (40 class days, M-F)
4th Term M Mar 27 - F May 19 (40 class days, M-F)

So 2 terms are roughly equivalent to a regular semester. 64 total credits would equate to roughly 32 semester hours.

 

[JDWflash44]

They don't use the traditional Fall/Winter semester format like you are probably accustomed to. They split the school year into "terms," of which there are 4 plus a summer term for a total of 5.

Summer Term F July 8 - F Aug 26 (36 class days)
1st Term Th Sept 1 - W Oct 26 (39 class days, M-F)
2nd Term Th Oct 27 - Th Dec 22 (39 class days, M-F)
3rd Term M Jan 23 - F Mar 17 (40 class days, M-F)
4th Term M Mar 27 - F May 19 (40 class days, M-F)

So 2 terms are roughly equivalent to a regular semester. 64 total credits would equate to roughly 32 semester hours.

Exactly, but the classes are very intense and all the exams normally end up being in a span of two days, which can be stressful. I know that the tulane MPH students that were displaced here were awarded their degrees from tulane in december because the two terms here were the equivalent of two semesters at Tulane. But anyways, I love the program and with the classes I have taken it will make the transition to med school much easier. Any questions just ask...

Jim

 

[exmike]

or you can do all three like I did

 

[rob14599]

Exactly, but the classes are very intense and all the exams normally end up being in a span of two days, which can be stressful. I know that the tulane MPH students that were displaced here were awarded their degrees from tulane in december because the two terms here were the equivalent of two semesters at Tulane. But anyways, I love the program and with the classes I have taken it will make the transition to med school much easier. Any questions just ask...

Jim

I did the pre-application on the website, and got an e-mail from JH School of Public Health Ad Com encouraging me to go ahead and fill out the regular application (which I did). Is this a good sign? All my letters and transcripts were sent out this week. My MCATs were 29Q (with a 10 in Biology) and my undergrad GPA is 3.35. Do I have a realistic chance, or does everyone who submits the pre-app get approved for the regular app? I've applied to other 1-year SMPs (Georgetown, Tulane, Loyola, etc) but Hopkins is at the top of my list.

 

[JDWflash44]

I did the pre-application on the website, and got an e-mail from JH School of Public Health Ad Com encouraging me to go ahead and fill out the regular application (which I did). Is this a good sign? All my letters and transcripts were sent out this week. My MCATs were 29Q (with a 10 in Biology) and my undergrad GPA is 3.35. Do I have a realistic chance, or does everyone who submits the pre-app get approved for the regular app? I've applied to other 1-year SMPs (Georgetown, Tulane, Loyola, etc) but Hopkins is at the top of my list.

Your numbers seem to be the equivalent of many in the program this year. My numbers are higher than most in the program. You should be good with those. Which department did you apply to? Biochem? Just curious.

Jim

 

[rob14599]

Your numbers seem to be the equivalent of many in the program this year. My numbers are higher than most in the program. You should be good with those. Which department did you apply to? Biochem? Just curious.

Jim

Reproductive Biology. I've heard nothing but glowing reviews about the program.

 

[exmike]

Reproductive Biology. I've heard nothing but glowing reviews about the program.

I had an odd experience when I applied to the reprobio MHS program. I was a JHU undergrad and I took a course with the director of the program, and he actively recruited students from the class to apply to his program, including me. At that time I had about a 3.17 and a very good GRE. After all that talk and what not they rejected me (after I had more or less made plans to stick around baltimore for another year)! Since I was going to be in the area anyway, I did an NIH post bac IRTA and reapplied to public health schools the following year with the same profile except now my GPA was a 3.28 and since I was pissed at the reprobio MHS program I applied to the MMI program instead and got in. But I also got in columbia and berkeley so I went to Cal for a two year MPH and it was the best decision I ever made (personally). So I guess the rejection was a blessing in disguise.

 

[open sesamoid]

I did the Georgetown MS program and it worked like a charm for me. When I was there in '01-02 they were claiming an 80% acceptance rate into MD or DO schools among those who entered the program (not just those who graduated). It's one year, no thesis. You sit in lecture with the med students, take the same tests on the same day as the med students, and then get graded relative to the med students' curve. If you do well, you have proven that you will be able to handle the med school workload. The only caveat is that I have friends from that program who didn't manage the grades (usually b/c they didn't put in as much time memorizing minutiae), and guess what- they didn't get in anywhere- although they probably would have been able to scrape through med school, and become excellent docs. But if you have the discipline to really study every day, even Sundays a month before the exam, then I think that's all it takes to get the grades.