Hello, I just got a call from my admission officer that I was accepted to the MPH program starting in two weeks. It’s a one year program costing 38Ks.
Anyway I need advice!
My options are MPH at SGU for a year (then SGU SOM aug 04).

or take some community college courses and apply for Jan ROSS.

or get into a STATE Masters program that lasts a year, and apply next summer for the year after that to a US school or to CARIBs again (AUG 05 would be the start date)
I am not lookin into a DO school and my best sections from the mcats are V8 B8 p10. Took the MCATs two separate times. And a 2.7ishGPA from a good undergraduate university...
Thanks in advance for any advice....

Apply for Jan 04 St. George's
take some science classes till then.

or

Apply for both Ross and St George's and see where u get in for the Jan04

Dont go to SGU for the MPH for one year if you plan on coming to SGU the following year, unless you think your application is weak.

As long as you can get into any med school, you'll be fine. Good luck

iman- you might want to try to roll your application over to the january 2004 cycle. however, i've been doing some research and have found that most ppl with <3.0 gpa's and some other redeeming qualities on their application (Such as decent mcat scores, good undergrad university, etc) are offered the mph program. if you are not interested in that then look into other schools like ross.

If you are not interested in obtaining an MPH than dont do it. You are better off taking classes either in a master's program or just a few classes to raise your GPA and reapply. for Jan 2004 or Aug 2004. But in my opinion if you have no desire to apply the public health degree you really dont need to spend 40,000 for one year.

Nimitt

The way I understand it, if you are offered the MPH program, it's to offer you a chance to proof yourself that you can handle graduate level course work. Rolling your application into the next cycle probably won't help much as you will not have anything else to add to your current application. Even if you starting taking classes now, your grades will not be available for the January 04 application. And for Aug 04, you will only have one semester worth of grades, and it will NOT significantly improve your overall GPA from the previous 4 years. A 4.0 semester is not going to make a significant impact on a 2.7 average over 8 semesters... you can do the hypothetical math yourself.

So, if you want to come to SGU, the fastest and surest way is to go into the MPH program. The way I understand it, most folks in the MPH program matriculates into the medicine program. If you are willing to go to other Caribbean schools... well, it's a personal choice. Personally I wouldn't if SGU is an option at all... but that's me looking back, knowing what I know now on the other side of the fence.

As for stateside masters programs... Well, it's too late for you to matriculate into the fall semester this year. The earliest you can start is Jan 04, even then, you are pressed for application time now. So, the earliest you can finish is Dec 05, and apply for August 05 @ SGU... too many variables can go wrong along the way. For instance, you may not finish your masters in time (thesis can be a funny thing)... Once you start a degree program SGU would like you to finish the program and obtain the degree before coming to SGU.

As for the MPH degree... I have an MPH before coming to SGU. No, it's not from SGU (wasn't available in my time anyways). It has proven very valuable and marketable, at least for me. If you ever want to be involved in clinical trials, MPH will dramatically sharpen your epidemiology skills to help with study designs and such. And, an MPH has helped me to look at medicine from a broader perspective. I am seriously thinking about going back to graduate school and finish my DrPH (or PhD public health). BTW, just in case you asked, I did my MPH at San Diego, and it took me a full two years, including taking some graduate level courses in molecular biology, and some doctoral courses in the joint MPH-PhD program -- my alternate career goal had medical school not worked out. Looking back, I enjoyed it tremendously. BTW, a masters degree will NOT help your applications into a state-side medical school if your undergrad GPA is low to begin with. It will not do anything to help your undergrad GPA. I have friends who went as far as finishing a Ph.D., hoping to get into a state-side medical school with undergrad GPA's of 2.8 to 3.0 -- well, they are all PhD's now working in their perspective fields, some doing fairly well and happy, but... none of them got into state-side medical schools.

So, I don't know what to say in your situation. You have to decide for yourself what will work for you. Personally, if coming to SGU is the ultimate goal for you, then I'd say go to the MPH program as it's offered now and work your butt off to matriculate into the Aug 04 medicine class. But that's jus my opinion.

Best Wishes.

P

__________________
Jean Luc Picard
Academic Hospitalist/Assist. Professor of Medicine, Star Fleet Medical, Earth, United Federation of Planets
Borg-Certified... Resistance is Futile.

In Glock, We Trust... Everyone Else... Keep Your Hands Where I Can See Them.

http://www.odmp.org/search.php?searc...=2001&cause=27
http://www.nypdangels.com/wtc.htm
http://www.hampsteadnh.us/police/A%2...ica%20Died.htm
http://longmontpolice.com/MEMORIAM.HTM

Couldn't agree more. As it sounds, you wouldn't be thinking MPH if it wasn't offered to "prove" yourself. *#&* that. Prove yourself to who ? Their bank account ? PSSSST Whatever. Listen, as stated above, do you REALLY think you are going to apply it ? I'm placing my bet on the purple square of no. Most people in my PA program that got "sucked in" to the speech by the dean, signed up for the class. Most all that I talked to wished they hadn't taken it. Most didn't even use it for what it's intended purpose is. They spent so much extra money and it made no difference with regards to being even hired or salary, as some may have thought based on the "speech" . Not that this is the issue at hand, but this clown wanted to pass it off as being vital. Yeah, to the private institution where it's all about money. But again, whatever.

I think it's 38K of unecessary money spent. Can you do it ? If you think you can, apply to ROSS And no, I don't go there and won't be.

I can't speak from an educated stance on the advantages of the MPH, but from what I know, is it has it's purpose and application. If that's not what your application is going to be, look else where or other avenues as other responses have mentioned.

Best wishes!

__________________
Sometimes in life we have to be honest with ourselves in what it is in our best interest, even though it goes against our "want's" or egos.

..................