niihla08

They said this to me too!!! I applied to 4 other schools and all the rest of them were more than happy to put me in touch with a current student!

That's wonderful! Congrats!

Anyone else on here attending berkeley? I just accepted my offer officially, so excited!

I saw this article posted on the SDN forum about MPH in global health and thought I'd share http://www.bdkeller.com/2014/02/is-there-a-global-health-bubble-or-should-you-get-an-mph/

According to the current students section for HPM SM2 website, looks like there is only 4-5 students per year. Within those students, there is a further breakdown between management vs policy vs research, so I believe it is very, very small.

UCLA has been very frustrating to deal with. After my phone call acceptance a month ago, my online status still hasn't changed. I emailed them the first time, no response. Second time, I got a super short response saying the approvals are still in process. When I asked over the phone regarding funding and RA/TA opportunities, she said she'd look into it and email me back (isn't this standard info that the director should know?!). I did get an email the next day which was very vague and basically said I'd be on my own in looking for these opportunities. Now compare this with Berkeley. I got accepted the same day as UCLA via email. 2 days later, my decision status was updated with all information. A few weeks later, I received a scholarship award. I was also contacted by a current student to ask if I had any questions. When I emailed the director asking about funding and RA/TA opportunities, she immediately put me in contact with several professors and current RAs as well as set up a phone call with me to discuss the process. If this is any indication of what the support will be like at UCLA, I'm really glad I'm going to Berkeley

I would email each of them and ask them to put you in touch with a current student or two from your program. Honestly, I found this the most helpful thing. Make sure to ask them what the weaknesses of their program. I find current students are super helpful and can also put you in touch with the right people if needed. Also consider where you'd like to live after graduation. Hopkins has a stronger network in DC and Yale in NYC. Good luck!

I don't know much about Yale. But here are the reasons I rejected JHU's offer (for MPH, so different program than yours): 1. After speaking to many students, one of JHU's big weakness is career support. You have to do a lot of the networking and legwork yourself when it comes to finding jobs. This is partly because many masters students get their Phds afterwards or are already MDs (at least in the MPH program). Going along with that, the program is more research based than practice oriented. Which is fine, it's just not what i'm looking for. 2. Not a fan of Baltimore. At all. I live in Chicago so I guess I'm spoiled with living in such a wonderful city. However, DC is only an hour away so you can get great part-time internship positions at great DC companies/organizations/gov't. 3. The program is huge. I know there are a lot of different masters programs in the SPH, but they all take many of the same types of classes so the class sizes are huge and you don't get much personal attention. 4. Cost

That time I got a full ride to Berkeley...could not be more thrilled!!

Ok spoke to soon. Just got a rejection letter in my email Oh well! I got into my top choice anyways

It may not be over yet...I emailed them and her response was: We anticipate this review period being complete within the next 6-10 days. Best of luck with the process!

If you call and ask, can you let us know what they say? Not sure what program you applied to, but the SM2 HPM class looks super tiny. Assuming their "current students" section includes all the students. Looks like 9 total..meaning only 4-5 per cohort. On top of that, further breakdown between policy vs management vs research. They must admit a very small amount of applicants.

I got in Feb 5th via phone call and my decision status is still not updated on the site! They are just super slow. I emailed them last week and her response was that my paperwork is proceeding through the system and it can take quite awhile until all the approvals have been entered.

I applied to HPM at Harvard SM2 and didn't hear back today I'm guessing that's a no?

haha this is amazing!

Congrats! Which dept did you apply to?

Where would you prefer to live post-graduation? Both are excellent programs, but their main networks are on opposite coasts. You should visit both cities if you haven't and decide which you like better, they are extremely different! Personally, I would never live in NYC (dirty! expensive! cold!) and i love the west coast (nature! weather! laid-back culture!) but that is just me

Hi, I actually think it might be better to not visit on an admitted students day and instead make an appointment with the director and email a few professors/current students to see if you could meet up on the date you plan on visiting. It might take more legwork, but it's way better to get that 1-on-1 time IMO. This is what I did when I visited berkeley last month and it was incredibly helpful!

I got into 4 schools so far for Health Policy & Management: UC Berkeley, UCLA, UW, and JHU. So far my top choice is Berkeley, but if I get accepted to Harvard this might be a difficult decision. I have seen threads comparing the epi programs, but none related to healthcare management. I'm interested in working in hospital management, city dept of public health, or start-ups. I visited Berkeley and loved it. However, I don't know much about HSPH. I have 5 years of relevant work experience already. However, since I don't have a graduate degree, I could only apply to Harvard's SM2 program. Does this program have mostly straight out of undergrads? Or people like me with 4-5 years of experience? What is Harvard's network like in the west-coast (I would like to live in SF after graduation)? How good is the career support/networking? I am not interested much in research or getting a PhD afterwards, which might be more the focus at Harvard. Thoughts Anyone??