CCOM or Public health

[Inkoate]

Hi everyone. I have to make a decision soon about where I should go to school this fall. It is between CCOM and three public health schools (UIC, Yale, and Michigan).

I am an Illinois resident now with around a 3.6 GPA and a 31 MCAT. I lived in SC throughout my schooling, all the way up to college. I actually was looking forward to going to MUSC this fall. I conducted summer research there three times. I had an MD/PhD interview last December. When I did not get accepted to thqt program, MUSC gave me an interview late in the interview season for MD, and unfortunately, I was not accepted this time for the MD program. It was disappointing. I applied to MUSC twice before this season with a lower MCAT. But after college, I improved my score, worked for a clinical research group, volunteered inthe hospital, and tutored for nearly two years. Anyways, I will find out tomorrow if I am on the alternate list.

I applied to public health schools and DO schools just in case this happened. I like CCOM mostly because it's very close to where I live now, and also, it's highly reputed among DO schools and the Midwest region in general. The thing is that after second year, there is very little time to study for boards (i think they said two weeks). Plus, it seemed like students constantly had tests, which seems a little counterproductive if you have to neglect one subject to study for a test in another subject.

I am considering the MPH programs in UIC, Yale, and Michigan. They are all in Epidemiology. The one problem is that I will be more than 80,000 dollars in debt if I go to Yale or Michigan. But I have a feeling that if I go to either school and do some really good research in Epi, I will have gained very useful skills which will help me as a physician in the future. Also, if I get a publication, that may help me get into an allopathic medical school.

Going to UIC School of Public Health may be the smartest option because then I can make connections with professors in the UIC medical school, and I have in-state status in IL, so I will have less loans.

Really the question is should I go to CCOM (which is more than 70000 dollars/year for tuition abd expenses), or should I go to one of the public health schools (basically, it's UIC vs. Yale/Michigan), then apply to MD schools for entering class of 2014? Obviously, this is a decision I will have to make in the end, but I would appreciate any advice or constructive criticism.

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[cougardiver]

I think the financial issue is nearly mute by the time you consider the additional cost of the MPH. The real question then becomes what do you want to with your career and if you need the MPH. If you need it anyway, do public health and try for a cheaper school next year. In the mean time, ask CCOM to defer your admission one year.

 

[Inkoate]

I think the financial issue is nearly mute by the time you consider the additional cost of the MPH. The real question then becomes what do you want to with your career and if you need the MPH. If you need it anyway, do public health and try for a cheaper school next year. In the mean time, ask CCOM to defer your admission one year.

The MPH programs are all two years, but I will see if I can do it in a year. Thanks for your advice!

 

[Catalystik]

Hi everyone. I have to make a decision soon about where I should go to school this fall. It is between CCOM and three public health schools (UIC, Yale, and Michigan).

I am an Illinois resident now with around a 3.6 GPA and a 31 MCAT. I lived in SC throughout my schooling, all the way up to college. I actually was looking forward to going to MUSC this fall. I conducted summer research there three times. I had an MD/PhD interview last December. When I did not get accepted to thqt program, MUSC gave me an interview late in the interview season for MD, and unfortunately, I was not accepted this time for the MD program. It was disappointing. I applied to MUSC twice before this season with a lower MCAT. But after college, I improved my score, worked for a clinical research group, volunteered inthe hospital, and tutored for nearly two years. Anyways, I will find out tomorrow if I am on the alternate list.

I applied to public health schools and DO schools just in case this happened. I like CCOM mostly because it's very close to where I live now, and also, it's highly reputed among DO schools and the Midwest region in general. The thing is that after second year, there is very little time to study for boards (i think they said two weeks). Plus, it seemed like students constantly had tests, which seems a little counterproductive if you have to neglect one subject to study for a test in another subject.

I am considering the MPH programs in UIC, Yale, and Michigan. They are all in Epidemiology. The one problem is that I will be more than 80,000 dollars in debt if I go to Yale or Michigan. But I have a feeling that if I go to either school and do some really good research in Epi, I will have gained very useful skills which will help me as a physician in the future. Also, if I get a publication, that may help me get into an allopathic medical school.

Going to UIC School of Public Health may be the smartest option because then I can make connections with professors in the UIC medical school, and I have in-state status in IL, so I will have less loans.

Really the question is should I go to CCOM (which is more than 70000 dollars/year for tuition abd expenses), or should I go to one of the public health schools (basically, it's UIC vs. Yale/Michigan), then apply to MD schools for entering class of 2014? Obviously, this is a decision I will have to make in the end, but I would appreciate any advice or constructive criticism.

What is your real goal? What is the purpose of getting the MPH at all? Do you need research and teaching to make your application to med schools better? (There are cheaper ways to get these, which include a funded masters.) Making connections with professors at a med school won't help you that much unless you are desperately in need of good LORs, which can also be obtained in other ways. Do you want to go into public health or do you have a special interest in this area of study? That's the only reason you should get an MPH and there is no reason to go into a lot of debt for it when your state school has an excellent reputation in this area.

If you already have excellent ECs that don't need augmentation, your current stats are fine as they are, assuming a good BCPM for a med school admission. CCOM is a fine school, but I understand it's expensive. Do you want to put your life on hold for another year while you take a shot at UIC, Rush, Loyola, and Rosalind Franklin? Cougardiver has a great idea of deferring for a year while you give it a shot. Have you applied to these schools before?

And have you checked last year's MUSC thread to see how fast their alternate waitlist moves?

 

[Inkoate]

Thanks for your advice Catalystik! I want to use an MPH to get a broader view of healthcare. I would like to have the ability to analyze my patient population by using epidemiology. I want to treat underserved populations of people, identify public health problems, and tackle the problems. I am particularly interested in the Chronic Disease Epi division at Yale because they have strong research in neuropsychiatry and cancer, both of which are my interests. Michigan is great, too.

I have good EC's. I applied to UIC, Loyola, NW, and Rush this year along with many other schools around the country. However, I definitely applied to many schools that were out of my reach as well. If I decide to take a year off and apply early without changing anything on my application, do you think that may help me? Do you know of any OOS-friendly schools that may suit my interests? If I take a year off, would doing Americorp help out?

 

[Iswhatis]

Thanks for your advice Catalystik! I want to use an MPH to get a broader view of healthcare. I would like to have the ability to analyze my patient population by using epidemiology. I want to treat underserved populations of people, identify public health problems, and tackle the problems. I am particularly interested in the Chronic Disease Epi division at Yale because they have strong research in neuropsychiatry and cancer, both of which are my interests. Michigan is great, too.

I have good EC's. I applied to UIC, Loyola, NW, and Rush this year along with many other schools around the country. However, I definitely applied to many schools that were out of my reach as well. If I decide to take a year off and apply early without changing anything on my application, do you think that may help me? Do you know of any OOS-friendly schools that may suit my interests? If I take a year off, would doing Americorp help out?

IMO ditch the public health route. It sounds like you only have a minute interest in it, but your real, long term desire is to become a physician. Sitting at a computer running SAS is not exactly fun and exhilarating. If you want to delve into public health, you can do so after residency for a couple of classes.

Don't bother with Americorp if you're approaching it as a resume builder. You already said your EC's are solid.

If you really want to go to UIC for financial reasons, I'd suggest checking to see if they have a grad special program in public health. This way you're not shackled to finish a degree (but you are still accumulating credit hours toward one should you decide to stay), you get to make the connections at the medical school, and you can save money while doing it.

Turning away an opportunity to attend an American medical school is pretty ballsy. 300k is a hell of a lot now, but if you're smart about repayment and budgeting, you can have that bad boy paid off within 10 years of graduation. Also don't forget there are A LOT of loan repayment contracts available from hospitals, so check in your area of interest to see what is offered.

Also, don't let the prestige bug affect your decision here. It's tempting to let the sucker in, but don't! Yale MPH is still a masters while CCOM DO is definitely dooooooooooooctor!

Good luck mate.

 

[Catalystik]

I want to use an MPH to get a broader view of healthcare. I would like to have the ability to analyze my patient population by using epidemiology. I want to treat underserved populations of people, identify public health problems, and tackle the problems. I am particularly interested in the Chronic Disease Epi division at Yale because they have strong research in neuropsychiatry and cancer, both of which are my interests. Michigan is great, too.

I have good EC's. I applied to UIC, Loyola, NW, and Rush this year along with many other schools around the country. However, I definitely applied to many schools that were out of my reach as well.
1) If I decide to take a year off and apply early without changing anything on my application, do you think that may help me?
2) Do you know of any OOS-friendly schools that may suit my interests?
3) If I take a year off, would doing Americorp help out?

If you applied to all those schools and didn't get any nibbles, what do you think the reason is? Your stats are fine this time and you say you have good ECs (hopefully by a definition that many schools would agree with). Were the LORs solid, did you apply late? Any IA or legal issues? Did you call schools that rejected you and ask how you can improve your application?

1) No. When you reapply, your application must reflect improvements from the last cycle. Since I don't know what you already have, I can't make suggestions about holes to fill. And not to make you nervous, but if you've had no new coursework in greater than two years, some schools will have concerns that you won't be able to get back into an academic groove.

2) Tulane?

3) More than an MPH would. If you have no/little nonmedical community service, Americorps could fill that hole nicely. If your clinical experience is weak, it could also bolster that, depending on the service you chose.

UIC, BTW, has a 5-year MD/MPH program. And just as they have a RuralMed track, they also have a specialized Urban Med track (which encourages one to get an MPH, last I looked).

 

[Inkoate]

I have had two medical internships, one with Physical Med and Rehab doctors and the other one with a plastic surgeon. I have tutored in five different schools during one semester in college, and I also worked on creating a tutoring organization specifically for high school students. I am still working on that project with a friend of mine in SC. After college, I worked as a Community Coordinator/recruiter for a clinical research group in Chicago. I workd with physicians, researchers, patients and their families, and community mental health centers. I gave presentations at these centers to inform people about our research and progress in the field. I could also do Americorps if it helps. As you can see, I have a fair amount of community involvement and clinical experience.

I gave in my AMCAS by late June, but secondaries went out by August and some in September. I was waiting on my MCAT score till August, so I wanted to make sure I send secondaries only when I knew I earned a competitive score. If I apply again, I will definitely do everything much earlier.

I am Asian, and I know that Asians are usually held to higher standards in terms of MCAT and GPA. I was thinking about doing the Loyola MAMS program.. That would at least ensure I got an interview there if I do it this coming year and maintain a 3.5 GPA, which I am confident I can earn. And it may reassure med schools I am still up to doing the coursework.

I am planning on calling schools as soon as next week to get an idea of how I can improve my application. And my LOR's were solid..I had a committee eval, my research mentor's LOR, my boss' LOR, a LOR from a doc I shadowed, and a LOR from my volunteer work at the hospital.

 

[Catalystik]

What is your BCPM GPA?

 

[Inkoate]

It's a 3.5.

 

[Catalystik]

Wouldn't the MAMS program be at least $30-40 K? Really, your GPAs would not warrant the expense, solely for the reason that one interview would be guaranteed at Loyola (which won't translate into an acceptance if your interview skills are poor and you don't have a history of consistent service to the poor). You'd get as much mileage from taking postbac upper-level undergrad Bio and getting straight As.

What have you heard from UIC this application cycle? If you weren't Complete there until after 9/1, that might have been the death knell for your application there, but they do seem to interview much later than most other schools (as late as June in one year I recall). If you were to apply there again, be sure to get that application sent in early in June.

 

[Inkoate]

I haven't heard a definitive answer from Rush, UIC, or Loyola. Although I have not interviewed there either, and I doubt they have many interviews to give out at this point.

Thanks for your advice, everyone. I feel like I will make a good decision due to your help!