MPH Harvard or MSc Public Health LSHTM or MPH Birmingham

[blackstar2]

Hi,

I am a medical doctor from Ghana planning to study Public Health this year. I have gained admissions and scholarships to top schools and making a choice has become a headache. . Will appreciate your views and suggestions.

 

1. Harvard University, MPH Global Health. Presidential Scholarship, full tuition approx. 55K and an approved loan for 24k.

 

2. Chevening scholarship, which is a full ride to study in UK. I have the option of MSc Public Health, LSHTM or MPH, University of Birmingham.

 

I intend to work with International Organizations for a couple of years after my studies and then go on to do a PhD or DrPH. Harvard is big in my part of the world. It has so much brand recognition. LSHTM is only know by Public Health professionals. It's not ranked in most publications and is not a Russel Group school. The average academic has never heard of LSHTM.

 

I will have to make a decision within the coming week. Will appreciate your views given the information above. Where will you go? Thanks.

 

[sumsun]

Hello Decaf,

 

I am a Ghanaian doctor too and currently doing MSc. Tropical Medicine and International Health in LSHTM. Congratulations on getting such top admissions and scholarships! I'm excited for you. Like you, I wish to work with an International Organization after this and I really am excited about the future prospects.

 

I can at least share some of my experiences in LSHTM with you and hopefully, that can help you make a decision. First of all, do check out the rankings of the school featured in US News (Sorry but WE ARE KNOWN BEYOND PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS:-) We rank highly on the list of top global universities!

 

http://blogs.lshtm.ac.uk/news/2014/11/04/rankings-update/

 

I chose LSHTM because it had incredible recognition in Global Health and for me, living in London was a strong draw. I was lucky to get full scholarship for it and I could not have made a better decision. At the time, Ebola was, sadly, getting out of hand and the school, led by our Director, who happens to have co-discovered Ebola, was among the institutions at the helm of affairs, with regards to research and hands-on support (the school even had a free online module on Ebola). I have learnt so much about it, among a lot of tropical and international diseases. I have had the opportunity of listening to Margaret Chan (WHO) when she gave a lecture in LSHTM, met and had dinner with a Professor who happened to have contributed immensely to the medical school I attended in Ghana (and he lectures in LSHTM!), been lectured by people whose text books and articles I have read, had interactive sessions with top people from International organisations like UN and MSF, among a host of opportunities that I would probably not have had the chance of experiencing had I not chosen to study here.

Living in London has been amazing, apart from the odd weather, and I am truly enjoying my academic and social life here.

 

Do fell free to send me a message if you have any particular questions about LSHTM and I will do my best to help. In the mean time, I hope the dumsor situation improves back home. A pity, really!

[sumsun]

Edit...Do feel free to send me a message if you have any particular questions about LSHTM and I will do my best to help.

[blackstar2]

Hi Sumsun!

I am thankful for your information. I have followed your links and I have learnt a lot more about your school. I hope we can stay in touch.

[juilletmercredi]

This thread makes me suspicious, but on the off chance that it's real:

 

Maybe I'm biased because I am in public health, but the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is a pretty well-known program and is well-reputed within the world of health and medicine.

 

But the thing is, if you already have a full scholarship to Harvard (which you say is well-known in medicine, whcih it is) and you have concerns about the reputation of LSHTM and Birmingham...then why not go to Harvard? It seems that you have a clear choice here, so I'm not sure what's holding you back.

 

Personally, I'd choose Harvard.

[blackstar2]

Thanks Juilletmercredi! I'm grateful for you view. I will however like to know why you think this is suspicious if you don't mind. Nice day.

[juilletmercredi]

Because one person from Ghana who just joined and has no posts comes on to ask about (in part) a very particular program at a specific school. Then another person, who is also brand-new and coincidentally also a doctor from Ghana, comes in to sing the praises of one of those very particular programs. They include information about the London School's rankings in USNWR (a common marketing tool for colleges) but instead of linking directly to USNWR's list, they link to the blog at the LSHTM.

 

Also a lot of the very positive things that sumsun had to say kind of ping with the common marketing spiel that a lot of recruiters at schools tend to use (great speakers at lecture series, consult with the experts who write the text books, opportunities...)

 

I mean, it could all just be a grand coincidence.

[blackstar2]

Ok, I get your view. I, blackstar2, have been a member since 13th July, 2014. I can't speak for "sumsun" but I personally have no doubts about his/her submission. S/He talks about "dumsor situation"........you must be a Ghanaian or read a lot about Ghana, a small country in West Africa to know what that means.

 

Anyways, I am trying to expand my network of Public health practitioners. Glad to interact with anyone who is interested. Thanks and have a great day.

[Leonestar]

Hey Blackstar 2! I'm curious about what decision you made and your reasons for doing so. 

I'm an Ophthalmologist, originally from Sierra Leone, did my training in the US, but wanting to go back to work in Sierra Leone. I'm planning on getting an MPH and trying to decide which institution to obtain it from. 

Would love to hear your thoughts. 

[blackstar2]

Hi, sorry for long delay. I think a private message would have been forwarded to my email. I have been so busy with school work. I just graduated from Harvard. I sent you a message, let us get talking. Wish you all the best.