It is not impossible to get into MPH programs even if your transcript is, shall we say, less than perfect, but it's probably not a sure thing, either. Some schools mandate a minimum 3.0 GPA for eligibility, but not all do. There are definitely people who have been accepted to programs with <3.0, but it really helps if you have some kind of work or volunteer experience in public health or a related area, as well as a strong commitment to the field; these can sometimes help make up for less-than-stellar grades. If there are mitigating factors that could explain, say, a semester of poor grades, or if you had a rough first year but then improved, it probably wouldn't hurt to describe that in your application and explain what steps you've taken to overcome any difficulties you may have had. Finding a college professor (or two or three) who is familiar with your academic work and your situation and who can write a good letter attesting to your strengths would help, too.
In any case, you would probably want to start looking into some of the less-selective programs, several of which will still give you a good education. Some people on this board have had good things to say about their programs; if you look around, you can find those threads.
If you're just thinking of applying now, you'd probably have to scramble a bit to put your application together, since many deadlines are very soon (or past), and most schools require you to take the GRE and get 3 letters of recommendation, along with their forms and your personal statement. Another option you might want to consider, if you can afford the time and money, would be to work part-time next year (ideally in a public-health related job, or a science lab, or something else public service-oriented) and take some additional classes (particularly in things like statistics or math, physiology, social science, etc.) to try to bring up your GPA and to get in some coursework that you could then apply to your MPH studies in a future year.
Good luck!
JRMDR said:
I am about to graduate with a BS in Biology with a 2.7 cum, 2.4 sci, is it possible to get into any MPH programs with these scores? Any input would be very helpful, thanks!
