Should I pursue an MPH?

[futureheart]

Hi everyone. I am an undergraduate from a state school and I was currently looking at my GPA through an AMCAS GPA calculator. I was disappointed and shocked when I saw my AMCAS GPA being a 3.54 when my BCPM GPA is a 3.74 and AOGPA being a 3.86. I know not much can be said without an MCAT but I would like to have a decent shot without relying so heavily on the MCAT..

have about 4 years of research experience. 2 years ea in different labs. Where I am currently I will be completing my honors thesis.

I am a URM female. Served as an RA for about 2 years. I have served as a TA for about 1.5 years. Considering taking a scribe job soon to pay the bills. Because of the pandemic, I was unable to do much volunteering but I plan to volunteer in my community now that things are opening up.

My dream is an MD/Ph.D at a MSTP. That is the only thing I can see myself doing and my passion lies in the translational medicine field.

Should I look into a MPH program?

Thank you for looking at this post and I welcome any and all advice.

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[deleted462159]

Are you considering the MPH as a terminal backup option in case you don't make it into an MD/PhD program? Or is the MPH intended to strengthen your application for the doctoral degrees in 1-2 years?

Either way, I don't think it's a bad idea to look into it. I've known colleagues with MPH degrees working in places like Scripps Research - not in the same roles as MD/PhDs obviously, but they're still able to build strong careers working on issues that matter to them.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Hi everyone. I am an undergraduate from a state school and I was currently looking at my GPA through an AMCAS GPA calculator. I was disappointed and shocked when I saw my AMCAS GPA being a 3.54 when my BCPM GPA is a 3.74 and AOGPA being a 3.86. I know not much can be said without an MCAT but I would like to have a decent shot without relying so heavily on the MCAT..

have about 4 years of research experience. 2 years ea in different labs. Where I am currently I will be completing my honors thesis.

I am a URM female. Served as an RA for about 2 years. I have served as a TA for about 1.5 years. Considering taking a scribe job soon to pay the bills. Because of the pandemic, I was unable to do much volunteering but I plan to volunteer in my community now that things are opening up.

My dream is an MD/Ph.D at a MSTP. That is the only thing I can see myself doing and my passion lies in the translational medicine field.

Should I look into a MPH program?

Thank you for looking at this post and I welcome any and all advice.

Is your AMCAS lower due to retakes or something?

If you’re thinking about doing an MPH to help you get into medical school the general consensus is that it counts about like an EC and isn’t considered particularly rigorous (which of course can be debated) so it won’t overcome gpa issues. It’s a pretty awesome thing if you actually want to use it and have well thought out plans for how you’ll use it.

If you‘re thinking about doing an MPH in something like Epidemiology or Biostats to help you do translational research, that’s an option but whether or not it makes sense really depends on what type of research you’re wanting to do. I think my MPH in Epidemiology was awesome, but it wouldn’t help everyone in translational research.

You don’t have to do an MD/PhD to do research as a physician, especially if you’re doing more clinical/population type research as opposed to basic science research.

In your case, if you want to do an MPH etc. I recommend waiting on something like an MPH or MS until later in training so you can pick the right type of program for your intended research focus and because you’re more likely to get funding for it later. You can get these types of research experiences during medical school, residency, and fellowship. I had a lot of med students, fellows, and residents and even some attendings in my MPH classes, (some weren’t in the MPH program but were in an MS in Clinical Research). In fellowship you can often get these paid for rather than having to fund them yourself.

You also might want to do a WAMC post in the Physician Scientist forum here to get some honest feedback on your current stats/chances if you haven’t already. I don‘t know enough to comment there.

There are also a few medical schools like the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of medicine program, and some others ( i think pitt has a track) that have a special research heavy focus for people who want to do research but aren’t doing PhDs. For those strong grades are helpful but they value your actual interest in doing research and experience with it. They also value diversity. So you never know.