<p>Hi, I am a recent graduate needing some direction. I want to to go to grad school for Public Health. I received a BA in International Studies at a small public LAC. My GPA is 3.81. I am currently in the midst of GRE prep. I have about a year to really work on my application and do volunteer work and really add to my resume. I want to get into a good program that provides good research experience. Questions:</p>
<p>What are some suggestions on things I can do to really beef up my resume over about my 1 year of free time before applying? Volunteer? Organization suggestions?</p>
<p>I am thinking about teaching English abroad, a good idea? Find an NGO to work with while I am there?</p>
<p>Should I try to get clinic hours?</p>
<p>My International Studies degree is not really health related so I am not sure how acquainted I should get with health field prior to applying.</p>
<p>Any suggestions would be really helpful and also school suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>Teaching English abroad isn’t going to do a thing for admissions to a public health program. You need to pursue health-related work experiences. Depending on the school, you may also need to look at pursuing postbac coursework to fill deficiencies in your academic preparation.</p>
<p>From the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington MPH admissions site:</p>
<p>“Applicants must have a strong undergraduate Grade Point Average (GPA) and previous course work related to critical health issues and/or health behavior.”</p>
<p>^Polarscribe is right. I won’t say that teaching abroad won’t do a thing - it will make your application more competitive, especially if you are interested in international health and/or perhaps volunteer for a health-related organization overseas. But it’s not as good as volunteering/working in a health-related field.</p>
<p>Clinic hours will only be helpful if you are interested in some kind of public health that is intertwined with clinical work - like if you were doing a patient outreach program at a clinic, or teaching sex education classes or something. Shadowing a doctor or filing medical records won’t teach you much. Research experience is also useful, especially since you want good research experience.</p>
<p>School suggestions are difficult without knowing your interests. I go to Columbia. Some of the top schools in public health are Harvard, UNC-Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins, Emory, Columbia, Berkeley, UCLA Michigan, Minnesota, UWashington, Pittsburgh, Boston U, Yale, and Tulane.</p>
<p>Thanks to both replys.
I do not have any research experience. I have found some good volunteer abroad programs focusing on health and a few on HIV/AIDS which is what I am interested in. I would like to pursue this in the spring/summer. Do you think this path would be the best resume booster (not to mention a great experience/opportunity.) I just want to make sure I can do everything to add to my application. Can I do/find research opportunities outside of an institution? With a BA in Int’l Studies I do not have any public health related research.</p>
<p>Another question. Are there a lot of other non health/science majors who are pursuing public health?</p>