upatthestars

Thanks for the feedback, Sryahmay, MammaD and VBD, it's definitely helped me reframe the decision-making process in my mind. It sounds like I still need to do some soul searching to figure out exactly what I want out of my degree, look at the course requirements/curriculum at both more closely, and talk to students about Berkeley's methods/quant training.

I heard back from UC Berkeley on March 1 by e-mail from the program I applied to. I got another follow up message from the Grad Division (which I'm guessing is the "Official" Notification) the following week. I would suggest getting in touch with them. I had an e-mail mix up with one of the schools I applied to (UCLA) where they apparently sent the message to my e-mail and I never received it. Maybe something similar happened with you?

I've been having a hard time weighing my options for next year and I was thinking maybe you guys have some insights. I've been accepted to the Berkeley DrPH program and Harvard SD with comparable funding at both (neither even remotely close to what I was hoping for, which was as close to fully funded as possible). I feel like the Berkeley program would be a stronger interdisciplinary training (and is 3 years as opposed to 4, which is nice) but Harvard would be a stronger methodological training (and...Harvard is Harvard. The ability to cross reg at the Kennedy School and School of Ed is also appealing to me). I want to choose a graduate program that will both leave me with a strong skill set but also make me a competitive candidate for jobs in the public health work force (preferably policy/advocacy or program implementation) in the long term. If you were choosing between these two programs, what would you lean towards? I'm trying to make a decision now because the Berkeley Open House is on Monday and it will cost way more than I can reasonably afford to fly across country and visit. Of course I'll bite the bullet and go if I really feel like I need to visit to make a decision, but part of me feels like it would be crazy to turn down Harvard and there's really no contest... What do you all think? Does reputation really carry as much weight as pop culture makes us believe?