Will schools accept the MCAT for MPH?

[mzblue]

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I'm planning on taking the MCAT later this year for AMCAS submission next june. Can i use the scores for my SOPHAS application this year? or do i have to take the GRE in addition? Honestly, i'd rather take the MCAT but if i have to take the GRE, then i'll need to revise my plan.
Thanks

 

[curious14]

It depends on the schools you're applying to. Go to websites of the schools you're interested in and look up their requirements. If it's not explicitly stated, you can call the admissions/program directors and ask.

I think for most of the schools I looked at, it was usually in your favor to take the GRE.

 

[Wiingy]

It depends on the department. I know that most Epid programs I looked at would accept the MCAT, but for other programs it was variable/GRE was preferred. There are many cases where HMP/MHSA requires the GRE, so even within a school it can vary by department. Best to call around and ask. From the schools that I asked, the average MCAT ranged from 27-29.

 

[CameraMan]

I'm planning on taking the MCAT later this year for AMCAS submission next june. Can i use the scores for my SOPHAS application this year? or do i have to take the GRE in addition? Honestly, i'd rather take the MCAT but if i have to take the GRE, then i'll need to revise my plan.
Thanks

I'm sure it varies between schools but at NYU and Harvard, the rule is if you took another test and used it, then they would accept it. So if you took the MCAT and got into (and finished) med school, they would accept it. If you took the LSAT and got into (and finished) law school, they would accept it. Etc.

 

[erikalindsay]

Not all programs accept the MCAT.

I know this wasn't the intention of your post, but I'd question why you want to start an MPH (most programs are 2 years for people without an advanced degree already) now but then go to med school next year. It doesn't make sense to start a program and quit halfway when someone who intends on finishing the program could take your place (I know a few people who quit MPH programs halfway to go to med school...they did not return to finish the MPH). If you still want to get an MPH, you can apply to MD/MPH dual-degree programs or do an MPH during residency (and often have it paid for by the place where you're doing your residency).

Good luck.

 

[MPHcra]

It definitely depends on the school. JHU accepts GRE, GMAT, MCAT, or LSAT. I took the MCAT a few years ago when I was thinking about med school, but never ended up applying. So now I'm using it for my JHU MPH application, which is pretty nice. It's a more difficult test than GRE, from what I hear, so I'm actually hoping that helps me.

 

[PxNegative]

First, let me just get out of the way how crazy and frustrating it is for PH schools to be so freakin' dogmatic about GREs. I haven't taken it myself, but I'm pretty sure that the MCAT (which I have taken) is way harder and should be just fine as a rough estimate of the thinking skills public health programs are looking for. Props to JHSPH (hopkins) for being so open-minded about test scores (though I will caution that officially, which scores are accepted depends on the department).

Now, for those other schools silly enough to put restrictions on MCAT scores, it seems a great deal of them will only take the MCAT if you have a medical degree or you're currently in med school.

Then there's another set of schools that will take MCAT in certain instances but that don't really explain what that is on their website. Perhaps this is a passive-aggressive way of encouraging applicants to just take the GRE to make their jobs easier. Now, I don't want to waste a ton of time calling a bunch of schools to find out what those circumstances are and how to get approved, especially since the specific policy often depends on the department and even when you call them directly it can take some time for them to figure it out.

So, if anyone knows about what schools/tracks will take MCAT (for people with only a bachelor's), especially if their website indicates that they only take them in special circumstances, please post it.

I'm especially interested in:
UT
Emory (which has conflicting information)

And also, do the following schools/tracks that say they don't accept MCATs by any chance actually accept them?
U Pitt: ID & Micro, Behavioral & Comm Health
U Minnesota: Biostats, Comm Health Edu, Epi, Mat. & Child Health

Thanks guys!

 

[jkmph]

Emory (which has conflicting information)

I personally have at least two friends (maybe more) that applied and were accepted into my class with only the MCAT. We're Epi-MPH.