Pre-MPH epi, Mostly Bs

[DarkCharism]

Hi
I'm an aspiring MPHepi student on the 4th/7 semesters of undergrad. I'm interested in the life sciences, and spend all my time studying but seldom seems to break the A threshold, which is rlly the only healthy grade for a growing GPA.

I go online to read about all these consistently high GPAs that I have no idea how people are getting. I'm apart of the optimistic school of thought that believes that anyone can do anything, but it just bewilders me what people are doing that I'm not that limits where I am.

Curriculums are designed so that students have to average upper 90s on tests and finals in order to get As. Tests have low question counts so 1-2 wrongs will vote you out, and questions plant twists not on any class/study material where what you've studied only gives you the minimum entry understanding to address and cap the amount you can prepare.
I am not saying this isn't a good way to access, I just want to know how.

I've been through tutors that can only consistently tell me what they can read from the books, plainly just studied more and juggled the concepts whenever I can. Nothing effective so far.

I have low total semester count, so its rlly easy to bring GPA down and little time to affect it while in declines:
My first semester went okay.
My following summer semester was were all Bs from the crammed sessions
Last semester was where I've started seeing this testing pattern, coupled w/ summer fatigue got my first 2 Cs
Current semester was suppose to be my comeback but unable to produce reciprocating results of additional studying. grade TBA

Situation
GPA sits at a 3.1 , 3 semesters remaining, where even w/ upper GPA averages, it'd be a meager .2-3 bump max. I'll still go for it but low GPA and being pre genetics have also been preventing me from getting any lab/research.
I have a volunteer thing over the summer thats not quite research but I'm banking it would lead me to something by committing the maximum amount of hours possible.

I know this is bitch and whine but I genuinely study for every test for the 100s, take every semester very seriously. I just need some constructive direction thats more than "try harder"
Anything is appreciated even if its just plain sh*tting on me

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[Pudu2009]

I feel your pain. I was a pre-med bio major and kept getting Cs in all my upper division courses because I couldn't handle all of the minute memorization. Ended up with a 3.0 overall GPA and a 2.8 GPA. Needless to say I stopped being pre-med after three years. The way I was able to keep my GPA average was to balance the bio classes out with gen eds. Math is my strong suit, so I took it up to differential equations and got As in both. I appreciate art, so I took a bunch of art history courses and got As in those as well. My best advice is to take as many gen ed courses as you can that you think you can get As in.

Good luck; hope everything goes well for you. If it helps, I got into a top 15 school with my measly 3.0 GPA. How did I do it? I rocked the GRE and had lots of volunteer experience in undergrad, with no research experience at all.

 

[vlklngboy11]

Well a 3.0+ will likely be able to get you admitted into a whole range of schools, its possible to even get into top 5, top 10 schools with a sub 3.5 gpa so I wouldn't fret too much over this part of your application. Research experience is nice but its more important to get public health experience in my opinion. If you can manage to get an internship in public, even if its at the cost of a raising your gpa some, I think it would probably be worth the trade-off.

 

[DarkCharism]

I feel your pain. I was a pre-med bio major and kept getting Cs in all my upper division courses because I couldn't handle all of the minute memorization. Ended up with a 3.0 overall GPA and a 2.8 GPA. Needless to say I stopped being pre-med after three years. The way I was able to keep my GPA average was to balance the bio classes out with gen eds. Math is my strong suit, so I took it up to differential equations and got As in both. I appreciate art, so I took a bunch of art history courses and got As in those as well. My best advice is to take as many gen ed courses as you can that you think you can get As in.

Good luck; hope everything goes well for you. If it helps, I got into a top 15 school with my measly 3.0 GPA. How did I do it? I rocked the GRE and had lots of volunteer experience in undergrad, with no research experience at all.

Ya, but the point is past a certain level, and i'm currently in cells phys, the assessment method seems to be beyond memorization or all capacity of preparation. Given enough time, I'd say most students can memorize volumes of most lengths but how does one practice all random finities of the complicated applicability that could occur any given test. B/c every test I couldn't make constructive for an A, its not b/c I poorly memorized that area, but I couldn't consider that area in the obscurity of the problems logic which is always cumulative b/c bio systems are a coordination of many processes.

And I do okay, its mostly upper Bs to low As on tests but that's what the math scale is for a B for most science classes. And in my current averaging, anything lower than a overall class A-/3.7 wouldn't raise my GPA. B+/3.3s would add to the unit count to further freeze the averages without any to much increment, while plain Bs/3.0s would just tank me showing a downwards trending. I know my question for everyone is kind of abstract but that how little direction I have and how abstractly difficult it is to get an A Imo, which is essentially no mistakes.

 

[JDGBruin1317]

I can totally relate. I'm currently a 3rd year and my GPA is barely above a 3.1. My freshman and sophomore year was not the best but I've continued to have a positive upward trend in grades but it doesn't seem to be enough, granted I have 4 more quarters, including my current quarter to raise my GPA. For me, it's always been the chemistry and math courses that I get C's and B's in. My upper div courses for my major are interesting which leads me to do well in them but it's the lower div science courses that have kept my GPA down. This the main reason why I plan on taking a year or so off after I get my bachelors to work part or full time in a public health setting.

 

[Stories]

Well a 3.0+ will likely be able to get you admitted into a whole range of schools, its possible to even get into top 5, top 10 schools with a sub 3.5 gpa so I wouldn't fret too much over this part of your application. Research experience is nice but its more important to get public health experience in my opinion. If you can manage to get an internship in public, even if its at the cost of a raising your gpa some, I think it would probably be worth the trade-off.

If it's public health (or medical) research, it's probably just as if not more valuable in the eyes of academics for admissions into grad school. You're seen as a potential research assistant, and faculty love that.

 

[JDGBruin1317]

I'm having trouble looking for public health research as a 3rd years. What are some examples of research experience that is in the general area of public health. The only kind of research opportunities that are available neat are wet lab biochemical research.

 

[sheywest]

To further that question from JDG, would it be helpful to get research in public health before applying? I just don't have any links ATM.

 

[Pudu2009]

I didn't have research experience per se, as I didn't seek out professors and ask if they needed help, but I did hold a summer internship at a health research institute. The experience taught me a lot about data collection, study design, and data analysis. I had to go through HIPAA training, take training modules on research methods, and even got to learn and use SAS. See if you can get an internship at your local or state health department, or at a health research institute such as Kaiser Permanente. If that doesn't work, consider teaching yourself (or taking a class) SAS or some other programming software, as many jobs you can get as an MPH student require programming. My SAS experience was the main reason I landed my current RA position.

Hope this helps.

 

[DarkCharism]

I didn't have research experience per se, as I didn't seek out professors and ask if they needed help, but I did hold a summer internship at a health research institute. The experience taught me a lot about data collection, study design, and data analysis. I had to go through HIPAA training, take training modules on research methods, and even got to learn and use SAS. See if you can get an internship at your local or state health department, or at a health research institute such as Kaiser Permanente. If that doesn't work, consider teaching yourself (or taking a class) SAS or some other programming software, as many jobs you can get as an MPH student require programming. My SAS experience was the main reason I landed my current RA position.

Hope this helps.

that was helpful. My thinking is to just to seek internships for the exposure until I can develop the skills as well. Ill look into

 

[Pudu2009]

Also, if you're worried about your GPA and want to boost it with experience, consider taking a year or two off. MPH program admissions are all-encompassing; they are more likely to forgive a low GPA if you have prior public health experience and/or a high GRE score. I skated into a top 15 program with a 3.0 GPA by rocking the GRE, volunteering for three years in undergrad, holding a summer internship, and taking two years off after college (had a retail job , but demonstrated maturity). There is definitely hope, you just have to play your cards right.