Work experience before getting an MHA?

[rivenbbc]

Alright I know this is probably the most over-asked question about the major but I'll give it a shot. I am currently a Junior in the James Madison University Health Administration program. I should be graduating next spring with roughly a 3.5 G.P.A, almost two years of doing paperwork for Public Partnerships (a Medicaid based home health agency), and a required eight week internship through the school. Unfortunately I will have roughly 20,000 in dept after school and that will build interest when I graduate. What I am wondering is should I concentrate on working after I graduate then going to grad school (most likely VCU because its in-state) or should I just go straight in and knock it out. I realize that just because I'll have my MHA right after does not mean ill come out making big bucks, but does anybody think it would be worthwhile to work first of go to grad school first. Any input would be awesome thanks everybody.

Brenden

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[LAD2013]

I think this is hard for anyone to judge but you. 20K in loans after undergrad seems like you're doing great from where i'm sitting. The average salary for an MHA graduate is significantly higher than for someone with just a BA. I honestly think with 20K in loans, you're in a good position to go straight to grad... especially since you'll have in-state tuition. But that's entirely a personal decision.

It also depends on if you're able to get a job within a hospital with your BA in healthcare admin. I know some people say it's possible to get an admin position with a BA in healthcare admin but nearly every admin job i've seen posted for hospitals requires an advanced degree. This may depend on your location though and the type of health facilities you target. If you aren't able to find something directly related, it may make sense to directly go for MHA since you already have a proven interest and background in hospital admin-related coursework. If you're positive VCU is the one school you want, you should keep in mind it's hard to get into... so you may want to apply now and in the off chance you get rejected, then you could work for a few years and reapply. Most schools look favorably on re-applicants.

These are all just my thoughts and what i'd consider though.

 

[ETilton]

I also have a question about work experience...

I am currently a social work coordinator for latin american children who are victim of human trafficking. Prior to this, I worked in government relations, mostly in transportation. Assuming I don't get into an MHA program this cycle - and I only applied to one program (JHU) and applied late at that - would it be advantageous to switch jobs to something that would be more inline with direct services healthcare and take what would effectively be a demotion to do so, or should I stay where I am and retake the GRE to do better on the quant section. I haven't taken a math course in about five years and I didn't prepare a whole lot. Stats below.

English major from a small, well-respected liberal arts school. Graduated spring of 2011.
GPA: 3.28 (3.8 in-major)

Grad GPA: 3.3 (from an aborted MPP in global medical and health policy program)

GRE:
Quant: 153 (56%ile)
Verbal: 165 (93%ile)
AW: 6.0 (99%ile)