MPH Pursuing MPH, but will have ~2.75 upon graduation, need insight on chances

[hawkfan9]

Hello everyone,

I am going into my senior year with a 2.69. My last two semesters are on the lighter side and I should finish with around a 2.75. I have yet to take the GRE. My undergraduate is a BS in Environmental Chemistry, with a minor in Chemistry, and pursuing a Certificate in Public Health in my last year to boost my application. I have been fortunate enough to network like crazy and have 4 strong letters of reccomendations, one being in my universities public health college. I will have 2 scientific literature publications with a possible 3rd before my application to my perspective schools. I am planning to retake a few courses for the GPA boost, but fear even with all my experience and letters of reccomendations that this will not be enough with my poor GPA.

Does anyone have any experience with being under the 3.0 GPA cut off for the majority of the PH schools in the country? What was your GPA if so. As an Environmental scientist studying atmospheric chemistry and air pollution, the Environmental and occupational health focus of the PH field is exactly what I want to do. I fear I won't be able to realize my dream. I spun my wheels for most of my undergrad until my research clicked my inspiration so I plan to discuss this in perspective interviews, and personal statements.

Thank you for your time. This predicament occupies most of my anxiety, and hearing one way or another of my chances will solve it. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

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[wwmmkk]

You should be fine. If you go through the 2018 and 2017 AAWR threads, there are many posts from people with sub-3.0 GPAs who got into great schools. Do your best to focus on what you can change for now: your GRE scores and your personal statement. If you have dreams of going to one of the top public health schools, pick one or two to apply to but keep the rest of your choices a little more realistic. See the post linked in my signature for more details on choosing schools.

 

[lovelyemy]

Hello!
I was on the same boat as you for undergrad. My undergrad GPA was 2.75 with my major being biology with a pre-med track (all of those classes killed my gpa). I had a hard time getting into an MPH program I wanted to because of my low GPA and low GRE score. I ended up just going to MCPHS for my MPH because they offered it online/in person and ended up with a 3.85 GPA and because the program is small I was able to really connect with the program director. I am now going to be working on my Doctor of Public Health degree at Tufts University School of Medicine.

I know it's tough with low gpa and it took me FOREVER to work on developing connections and collaborating with many docs in order to build strong relationships, experiences for my CV, and letters of rec. I love Tufts because they're aware that grades aren't everything and if you can show how hard you're willing to work and show them growth you can get into lots of schools!

Hope this helps and best of luck!