I am a rising sophomore at University with a major in Public Health(Health Policy & Management). I am thinking far ahead and I wanted to know what I should be doing or if I am on the right track of getting into a prestigious MPH grad program maybe even on scholarship. Since I have only completed 1 year so far I have not done much.
Some of my credentials so far:
Red cross
Model UN
Health center student Advisory Board
Biochemistry lab helper
Hopefully CDC volunteer
3.3 GPA( I would have a 3.8 but got a bad grade in first semester calculus)
What more should I do in the upcoming years?
Get to know your profs in the Public Health major who understand what the top programs look for and ask their advice.
The importance of that one grade in your calculus class will diminish over the course of the next two years, so don’t worry about it.
You seem to be on the right track; MPH programs usually value public health experience. Some of them require 2+ years of full-time, post-college experience. However, even the ones that do admit people straight from undergrad tend to admit undergrads who can show that they are invested in public health and have some relatively extensive experiences.
So in addition to what you do, try to find some summer public health internships - if you haven’t already lined one up for this summer don’t worry, but do try to do so sophomore/junior and junior/senior summers.