Oxford Population Health chances? Canadian student.

[jayzpole]

tl;dr Want to apply to Four Year (Fully) Funded DPhil in Population Health at Oxford. 3.5 Canadian GPA (translates to above 3.5 US GPA minimum requirement). Strong upward climb in grades. Plenty of healthcare work experience, but no publications (yet). Lots of volunteer activities throughout undergrad. Strong writer, good interviewer, good LORs (all academic). Should I get in, I'll accept if I receive >80% of tuition covered + some money for stipend.

I know, I know, I know...some of you hate "what are my chances" threads, but I find writing them very cathartic in the middle of a hectic applications season.

I'm studying in a (supposedly) prestigious and competitive program at a Canadian university. I took a 5th year to boost my GPA. I'm currently sitting at a 3.48, and will likely graduate with a 3.52/3.53. My grades suffered during my freshman and sophomore years due to parents divorcing + an eating disorder. Neither of these issues have fully subsided, but I learned how to cope effectively. Thus, my grades have been climbing steeply since junior year. I'll have a ~3.9 GPA in my last two full-time years of study.

Although my end goal is medicine, I always planned to do a degree in Public Health either before medical school or part-time during clinical practice. I think having clinical experience and knowledge is essential to properly inform health policy. Furthermore, public health seems like a great way to combine my interests in both medicine and the social sciences. 

I've completed 3 years of part-time work on a few different studies; I worked for 1 year as a paediatric research assistant, and 2 years on a national aging study. Although both experiences were extremely valuable, they didn't provide many opportunities for publication. I mostly helped out with research ethics submissions, drafting SOPs, training other research assistants, completing scoping reviews, coordinating appointments with participants, and in-clinic/telephone consenting. My biggest takeaway was developing an appreciation for all of the administrative work that goes into running a study. Currently, I work as a private tutor and a teaching assistant for an environmental science course.

I've done a lot misc. volunteer work: founder/co-president of university club, participated in language circles, hospital volunteering, clinical observership, distress line volunteer, helped develop course + club about translational medicine, went abroad for a month to volunteer/teach english at an orphanage.

My research experience is limited: an independent study course that led to my paper being selected for presentation at a very minor, probably insignificant conference, an upcoming independent study in bioethics, and a thesis project for which I wrote a play, had it performed in front of faculty + students, and presented my research process to my faculty. My supervisor and I are working on developing the play and getting some papers ready for publication by the end of the school year. 

If it helps, I'm fluent in English, French, and Croatian, and I have basic knowledge of Spanish. I have over a decade of martial arts training and have participated in many activities related to my heritage. 

I want to apply to the Four Year Funded MSc+DPhil program in Population Health. It appears to be a new program, and its requirements are lower than that of many MSc outside the Department of Medical Sciences (I found this really surprising...why is history harder to get into?!). According to U. of Cambridge, a 3.3 Canadian GPA is equivalent to a 3.5 US GPA or upper 2.1 honours in the UK system. This puts me slightly above the minimum requirements of a 3.5 US GPA. I have completed courses in statistics and math, which is something valued in applicants for this program. They prefer work experience, which I have, but make no mention of research. The program is supposedly fully funded, but overseas students might have to make up the difference in tuition if they are not offered full funding. I'm aware that my grades are my achilles' heel, and I hope that my lack of substantial research experience will be overlooked since I'll have to first complete the MSc before starting the DPhil. I've been told I'm a decent writer and, not to toot my own horn, but I've gotten every position I've ever interviewed for (don't worry, I know that student research opportunities are nowhere near the calibre of Oxford graduate applications). Do you guys think it would be helpful to contact potential supervisors if I've more or less decided on my research proposal? The website states that plans for DPhil research will be made throughout the MSc, but I can't help but wonder if contacting supervisors would show my motivation and interest in the program.

 

Edited October 21, 2015 by jayzpole

[vancouverrunner]

Any update on this? How did it go?