Hello, I am 27 and recently started my Masters in Public Health this past September. I was given an opportunity by a subpar school after being rejected from a more desirable Masters in Public Health program because of my low ugpa. My ugpa is a 2.3. My concern is that the program is not accredited by CEPH, however, the school itself is accredited. I am having doubts and feel like I am making the wrong investment. My dream has always been to become a doctor but doing the Masters in Public Health is my “back up” plan. I still want to become a doctor, I just do not know how to go about it now. I have always had a passion for people, and spent most of my undergraduate career volunteering at hospitals, elementary schools, and participated in a host of mentoring programs. I am currently a Medical Technologist and have been working in a research lab for almost 5 years. My aim is to serve in the inner-city communities, and increase the health and wellness among minorities. What advice would you have for me as far as the MPH program that I am currently in(which I did very well in my first semester) and how I can go about strengthening my credentials to get into medical school?
welcome to OPM. If you want to eventually get into medical school you need to prove to the admissions people that you can handle the work load and you can handle the upper level science courses.
That being said, a straight MPH will not help very much because the requirements for the degree lack those upper level science courses. Considering your GPA, you have a lot of work to do. First a foremost you have to realize that what you are embarking on is a very long journey. It took me about 10 years to start medical school because of my GPA issue that I had to overcome. So you need to ask yourself, are you ready for this sort of commitment. If you are then great.
You need to look at your transcript and see if there are any pre-requisits that need to be taken again. That is, anything which a C or lower. That is where you need to start.
Good luck