katethekitcat

There is a thread elsewhere in this forum entirely devoted to Canada MPH programs.

I visited a university after I was admitted, and I'm so glad I did. Doing so allowed me to meet professors, describe my interests, and discuss their research. By meeting them face-to-face, I found one who matched me very well and who offered me a graduate research assistantship in his lab if I attend. On the flip side, I met my assigned advisor and we both realized, almost immediately, we weren't a good fit research-wise. By knowing all of this ahead of time, if I choose this school, I've saved myself a semester - I'll know to switch advisors right away, instead of going through a whole term with someone I don't fit just to do things like register for classes. I will already have a GRA instead of spending a few months setting up meetings with professors, establishing contacts, etc. When you're a visiting student, the department goes out of their way to introduce you to people and suggest good matches - when you're a new, enrolled student, EVERYONE is trying to find spots in labs and establish contacts. Visiting gives you a jump on all of that. Plus, I really had no way of knowing prior to my visit that the university has a brand-new, gorgeous school of public health. Seeing it was definitely a plus! I also asked a lot of questions I wouldn't have thought to otherwise. Visiting, I met with students who told me they went straight from a master's to a PhD at the university - I never would have considered that was possible or something to ask about if I hadn't been there in person. However, this university was relatively accessible (3 hours away by car) to my current geographic location. I'm visiting one more when I'm visiting my hometown over the holidays, also because it's accessible, but I probably won't be flying anywhere to visit. The exception to this would be if my top choice ends up being the most expensive school - if I'm going to go into debt, I need to be 100% sure it's worth it.

I didn't apply for Global Health, but I applied for every infectious disease program I could find, and infectious disease is just going to land me in the global health field by virute of the fact infectious diseases and pandemics are global.

These are great - having them written by professors is invauable. My greatest fear is worrying I'm going to annoy professors to the point they will actively seek out my application and block my admission. Obviously, this is irrational, but hey, I'm a paranoid applicant (particularly enjoyed the comic halfway down on the second link - so true!) Hearing professors say straight out they not only receive but fully accept to receive these types of e-mails is very reassuring.

It depends on the programs you're applying to. Check if they have minimum GRE scores and if they release average scores. You can also look through the Results Search to see the stats of previous applicants who were accepted/rejected. Keep in mind it's your whole application that matters. If you have a weak GPA, GRE scores matter more.

livenlearn, just to clarify: I am talking about a master's in public health, not a PhD, so, in 90% of cases, funding/financial aid will be silm. GeoDUDE, as much as I would like to share that sentiment and still enter the field of study I wish to, it may not be possible. I'm assuming geodynamics is always funded - science programs almost always are - but MPHs and even MS degrees in public health usually aren't. Since I happen to be fascinated by infectious disease and want to pursue it as a career, if I said, "I'm never going to pay for graduate school," well, my career wouldn't involve infectious disease. I respect your standard to never pay tuition, but that's not particularly helpful to those of us who, by our very act of applying, have committed to paying tuition. I wouldn't ever take a class that involves geodynamics, because that sounds about as fun as punching myself in the face. However, there are some who would and the world needs them - similar to how your life strongly benefits because of suckers like me who will pay for a public health education. I wouldn't go to a forum discussing what type of research people want to do in geodynamics and post, "I would never go to graduate school for geodynamics. Period." It's not helpful to thsoe who are studying geodynamics. Someone in a different field who would never pay for graduate school doesn't help others figure out how to pay. And that's what we're trying to do on this conversation thread - make the process easier. Although, like I said, I would so love to not pay for graduate school!

Ranking is not a consideration for me. I don’t think it’s that important – faculty and research could be strong in a niche area even if the public health program isn’t ranked high overall. I also haven’t found what I consider to be a “good” list of public health school rankings. All I’ve seen is the U.S. and World Report, and they don’t have the best logic for why schools are ranked as they are. Ideally, I’d like to see a list similar to what’s done in the philosophy world – they have the “Philosophy Gourmet Report” in which philosophers rank faculty lists from various programs; the lists are blinded and do not include the university’s name. If anyone had heard of such a thing, let me know! My two most important factors are a.) the research being done by the faculty b.) cost. I want to focus in antibiotic resistance and infectious disease, so there pretty much have to be faculty working in that area, preferably with tuberculosis or MRSA. However, I really, really don’t want to go into debt. Sadly, these are contrasting values, as the programs with (A) are very expensive; for (, the programs that either give me in-state tuition or fully funded me don’t have the exact research priorities I want. I can possibly make it work, but it also has the potential to really steer me off track. So, basically I’ve got some decisions coming up.

So I'm outing myself as a frequent lurker on the philosophy forums. I was a philosophy/biology major in college and very nearly made the plunge into a PhD program for either philosophy of art or philosophy of bioloy. Insetad, I did my senior research on a species of amoeba that demonstrates biological altruism and am throwing my hat into the ring of epidemiology. However, as a fellow field-switcher, I have been made curious enough to inquire: why do you think this major should go to graduate school for philosophy, rather than medical school? Your statement also seems to imply that one cannot be a philosopher if the choice is made to go to graduate school - or did you just mean academic philosopher?

Started a new topic to discuss this. I'm really curious to hear everyone's thoughts.

Now that the first joy of, "I've been accepted somewhere!" is starting to wear off, we - or at least I - am beginning to search universtities' "finance and tuition pages." Of course, I looked when I was applying, but it didn't mean as much then, and it was definitely less exciting than the department pages. So, the question arises: how is everyone planning to finance their degree? Most programs I've seen run at least $20,000 a year - not including living expenses. Despite many universities claiming, "Our students often have part time jobs or TAships," we're all cogniscent adults aware of the fact a part-time job may not even covering just living expenses and that TAships/graduate assistantships are coveted by all, held by few. And closer inspection into the line, "We have many generous scholarships," usually means one or two with incredibly specific requirements for consideration. Thoughts on this question? How will you finance your degree? To what role do you expect finances will play a role in your decision of where to atend? Do you expect to take on debt? And, perhaps most importantly: do you think the post-graduation job market makes it worth what we'll be paying? Is public health school really just a money-maker for universities? Are we just there to fund the PhD students?

That was incredibly helpful - thanks so much!

Did you guys contact professors prior to applying (or just after) or have plans to do so?

Hi guys, My apologies, as I’m sure this question has been asked a thousand times, but: what exactly does one say to a professor whom you’re interested in working with for graduate school? I’m coming late to the PhD bandwagon – I was originally going to apply only for master’s programs – and so I haven’t yet contacted anyone. Do you just ask if they’re taking graduate students in the next year? Should we be commenting on their research? (I have at least read papers by professors I’m interested in working with – it was necessary for personal statements). Essentially, I’m awful at networking, cold-e-mailing a professor leaves knots of terror in my stomach, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Accepted at University of Minnesota!!!!! and they tell you in a super cute way, so I won't spoil it

My applicated was mailed by SOPHAS on 10/17...I got an e-mail from BU a few weeks later (unfortunately can't find it) confirming my application receipt. This was right around the time I was expecting to hear going by the admissions timeline they lay out on their website.

Accepted to MPH Program at Boston University - notifcation by e-mail, but official notifcation sent in January (they didn't specify if by e-mail or mail).

Your essay is making claims not supported by the memo. The memo does not claim current police officers are less likely to work overtime. The memo directed a larger budget for overtime, but that simply means people are working more hours so they earn more pay. The memo never actually states that Smithvile has a high crime rate, only that increased visibility will lower the current crime rate. The reader may assume a high crime rate, but never, ever assume anything on the GRE. Personal anecdotes are not a strong form of argument. All I have to do in order to rebut this is say, "Well, I would personally feel safer if an officer were outside my house." Use specific examples. I don't know what you mean by "it could make it more intense." You say the memo "neglects other factors" - what types of potential factors? I would also suggest checking your grammar throughout. In general (for everyone posting essays to be graded on this board): your best bet, rather than to post an essay and wait for people to argue over whether it's a 2, a 3, a 4...just WRITE. Sit down and write essay after essay. Read up common types of logical errors - circular reasonings, fallacies, false assumptions, etc - and be able to explain them backwards and forwards. Practice outlining an essay and coming up with specific, real-world examples. Learn to proof-read your own work. Grad school applicants aren't going to help you nearly as much as actual writing is - especially because there is a strong correlation between long essays and high scores.

I'm actually regreting that I applied early enough that I'm hearing back from schools. I'm adding one last-minute application, and in writing my personal statement, it's SO much stronger than anything else I submitted because, at this point, I've written so many. If I had slowed down and submitted some of my top-choice applications later in the cycle, I probably would have had a better application. It's so much easier to clearly define my research interests with even just a few more month's reading of the literature. I also got promoted at work after I'd already e-submitted (early in September), but it was too late to change it. So, a warning to future applicants: as long as you're hitting the first-round deadlines, write your safety school applications first so the practice makes your top-choice statements all the stronger. Or maybe everyone else had that figured out

Not silly at all- it DOES need to be considred. When I visited the University of Iowa, a professor told me, straight out, that location affects how happy you're going to be. If you're applying to graduate school, it means you're at the age where it wouldn't be completely unrealistic to be married within a few years, and that means it automatically becomes harder to relocate. You have other people to plan for. I didn't explore Iowa City extensively while I was there, but the impression I got from talking to other students (including a few close friends who go there) was there's a lot going on both at the university and within the larger community that you can get involved with. U of Iowa is the number one party school in the nation, so there's definitely nightlife, but it's much more of an undergraduate thing - grad students have their own bars they tend to frquent and are obviously more focused on research and classwork. The university is in a rural area overall, but there's plenty to do within the city itself.

Go to the top of the page - right under the huge "thegradcage.com" logo, on the left, are several navigation tabs; the one furtherest right is a "submit results" that lets you enter whether you were accepted/rejected, your program, the date you heard back, your application stats, etc (all anonymous) and then posts them for other users to see. You can search results from past years and get a sense of what GRE scores, GPAs, etc, got people admitted or rejected, and when they can expect to hear back. Obviously it's not perfect - it can't express things like personal statements and resumes - but it's fun to obsess over.

Heard back from Tulane today - accepted for M.S. in Tropical Medicine/Parisitology.

Look at the work the professors are doing and the projects they're involved in - which university has professors (plural - having more than one is imporant). This is the work you'll be helping out with for the next few years and the people you'll establish professional connections with. School ranking matters less than finding a program that's a good fit for you interests. A school might be lower ranked overall but be incredibly strong in a niche in the field.

You're a Fulbright and a finalist for Rhodes? Why are you worrying about your GRE scores? You should be absolutely fine. The GRE is not a large component of your application - it's a tiny factor - and so many other things matter more. Clearly you've already got the resume, the personal statement, and the letters of recommendation. In addition, your scores don't really seem to be fluccuating that much. One of your scores went up 2 points, one dropped 2 points, and that's it - it basically cancels out. This seems to suggest that, even with studying, your scores aren't going to change significantly. Your practice scores ranged from 158 - 164 - but each of your actual scores, at some point, were in that range. There's also no way to predict what third section you'll get - it totally depends on what the GRE is testing that day. There's a possibility that third quantitiative section wasn't even the one being scored and actually had no impact on your results. From what you've been saying, re-taking the test doesn't seem like it will change much - but you already suond like such a strong applicant, is it really worth it to keep stressing out about scores?

Hey everyone, please remember to post your decisions using the "Submit Results" tab, with stats if possible...it's really helpful information to other people who are applying.

Your biggest challenge here is going to be grammar. There were numerous grammatical errors throughout both of your essays, and unless these can be fixed, it's going to be quite difficult to raise your AW score above a 3.0. It's not impossible, but it's something that you might want to focus on improving. You should focus on using specific examples. You make statements such as, "Being competitive gives prospective leaders the opportunity to compare with other," but you don't follow it up with any facts or examples. For example, you could say, "The CEO of Amazon has had to constantly compete with other businesses - such as Barnes and Noble and Borders - and, as a result, has developed innovative business practices that made them the leader in book sales." Giving a specific, real-world instance that supports your point makes it stronger than simply throwing out an assertation. In your first essay, your entire first paragraph is simply re-stating the prompt. Don't waste space repeating what they've already told you.