I have had this conversation with several people which is better to do if your stats are not high enough for medical school, masters program or post bacc. I am curious how a master in public health will enhance an applicant when there science gpa is low? Anyone have any thoughts or input?
Happy Holidays!
How many of the pre-med pre-reqs have you done? The more you’ve done, the more likely a masters is needed. Also, I don’t know that MPH classes would necessarily fall under BCPM GPA. An MS might make more sense for that.
One thing to consider–
Undergrad and graduate GPAs are calculated and reported separately by AMCAS. Many med school admission committees don’t consider grad GPAs during the first round of screening. You may still get autoscreened by the filters even with a grad degree. For this reason, it’s important to choose your school list carefully when you do go to apply to med school.
According to the adcomms who post on SDN, a MPH usually isn’t enough to convince an adcomm to take a chance on someone with a weak sGPA. They prefer seeing a record of success in rigorous science coursework. (upper level undergrad/ graduate level)
Post Bac. MPH should be for people who are interested in public health. Everyone I knew who wen to med school after MPH already had pretty good GPA going into MPH. (Granted got my MPH in 90s, so things possibly different now, but I doubt it.)
Hi guys,
Thanks for the input. I am applying in June 2017 cycle and I realize that my sGPA is good for DO schools but for MD schools its not competitive so I have been looking into alternative programs to enhance my sGPA. I have friends that did masters (MPH) or post bacc programs and got in to med school after they completed their programs. I would prefer not to post all of my stats but if you guys can help me choose which to apply for I would greatly appreciate it.
P.S. I plan to apply to med school and a masters or post bacc program simultaneously. I also do not graduate until Fall 2016 and was advised to wait a cycle to apply.
Thank you so much for any advice you all have!
If your stats are good enough for DO, but you want a MD, then maybe you should consider a SMP (Special Master’s Program). At a SMP you basically complete the first year of med school science classes, sometimes alongside of actual med students. There are some SMPs with excellent track records of placing their students into med school. (A few offer linkages i.e., guaranteed admission interviews to SMP students who are in the top X% of the class.)
A few to consider: Cinncinnati, Georgetown, Drexel, Tulane, VComm
You should also check to see if your state med school offers a SMP for in-state residents. There are a handful that do.
If you apply to Drexel for med school you can apply to their SMP at the same time using the same application. Or at least you used to… (It’s a check box on the med school application that says “If I am not under consideration for admission to Drexel SOM, I want to be considered for other programs” or something like that…)
Many/most of the SMP programs require a MCAT score to apply.
There’s a subforum at SDN devoted to post-bacc programs of all types:
http://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/forums/postbaccalaureate-programs.71/
Can you clarify? You don’t want to plan on being a reapplicant so I don’t think simultaneously applying to med school and post-baccs is a good idea. Do the post bacc and then apply during/after it. Maybe I’m misunderstanding the timing though especially with your fall graduation.
Thank you so much for the advice! This is the first time I have heard of SMP but I will look into it. My only concern would be cost. I live in California so I am sure that there are SMPs out here.
Well my pre med adviser said that my stats are low for MD but not horribly low so I should still apply MD and apply for an alternative program at the same time so I have somewhere to go. The plan was to apply to MD schools and a few alternative programs the first time around. I was advised not to apply this cycle because I still have about 15 units of science to take and he wants to see where my sGPA is after I graduate in Fall. My school is highly impacted and I could not get a lot of the classes I need because priority is given to those needing to retake the class first. Is it looked down upon to be a reapplicant? I would really prefer not to be a reapplicant so I am trying to plan ahead and make smart choices.
I have been working with my pre med adviser a lot but I sometimes feel like I am not being given good advice so I am really grateful that you guys are here to help.
I have also noticed that some post bacc programs are undergrad and others are grad level. Which is better and how does that work for the initial screening? Thank you 
As a California resident with lowish stats you’re in a bad situation. California has a huge number of med school applicants and not enough in-state seats to accommodate them. Additionally California really doesn’t have an in-state preference w/r/t med school admissions. You’re going to need to apply widely to OOS privates and selected OOS publics–which likely means lowish stats are going to hurt you more admission-wise than they would if you lived in Texas or Ohio or Nebraska or Arkansas.
SMPs are expensive, but so are post-baccs and grad degrees. No matter which you choose, you’re going to have to pay $$$. Post-baccs (undergrad and grad) are money-makers for bio programs at most colleges. Don’t expect financial aid other than loans.
If the reasons you’re a reapplicant are because you applied prematurely with a weak or poorly put together application, then yes. (It’s a sign of poor decision-making and the inability to defer gratification.)
Additionally, reapplicants are expected to have significantly improved their application between rounds 1 and 2. (You will be asked what’s new on the secondary, plus med schools will pull up your prior app and compare.)
Every time you apply to med school, your chances of gaining an acceptances go down. A number of med schools specifically say they won’t consider a 3rd time reapplicant.
Undergrad post baccs are for those
--who haven't completed all their science pre-reqs
--who are re-taking coursework for grade replacement for a DO application
--who have a strong upward GPA-trend and need some tough upper level Bio coursework to convince adcomms they're capable of med school level work
--who weren't science majors in college so taking 15-18 additional science credits may push their sGPA into the acceptable range for med school admission
If you're a science major with a significant number of BCMP credits, then taking additional undergrad coursework really isn't going to budge your sGPA at all.
~~~
How do you know which med schools will consider a grade-enhancing post-bacc at the graduate level?
You don't. Some will; some won't.
That's part of the reason why you want to enroll in reputable post-bacc/SMP. These programs have reputations and are a known quantity to adcomms who will give serious consideration to grades earned in the program. Also the advisors at these post-baccs know which med schools know which schools have accepted their students in the past.Thank you so much. I really appreciate all the information you gave me.