soylatte5

Applying earlier is a good idea but I don't think it is a huge determinant in getting accepted. How you present yourself and your experiences is more important. In terms of EHS programs, I suggest looking at the coursework offered and professors' research interests. Since you only have 1-2 years for the degree, carefully selecting an advisor who can offer you a research project fitting your interests is really important - you really don't have much time to explore. Also, think through courses you that will excite you (I regretted not having known about certain courses in my last semester, part of my reason for going back to school) since many things are only offered once a year so you can easily miss opportunities. Really, time flies! Doing this research will also help you write your personal statement. You might want to even exploring other departments beyond EHS because you can do EHS work without actually getting a degree in it, EHS encompasses a variety of topic areas but the technical knowledge will mostly come from other departments such as epi, biostats, behavioral sci. Good luck!

tips from my current career counselor: if it's relevant to the programs you're applying for, include it. headings should be specific to you and you can label how you wish as long as it highlights your experiences. also, try to focus on your accomplishments or results of your work rather than simply specifying the tasks you completed under each experience. I suggest not creating an entirely separate section for your thesis research, I did and recommend including it under research experiences. since it's a cv, maybe also include an awards section (scholarships/merit), relevant professional organizations you're a part of, and relevant community service. basically, include all things that present the skills/experiences you want your readers to get from reading the cv alone.

there's plenty of school, it all depends on what you're looking for. If you do a google search lots of programs will show up. are you applying for a masters or doctorate? if masters, the likelihood of getting fully funded is rare though not impossible. for masters students at uc berkeley, many take on graduate student instructor (gsi) positions that will pay a small stipend and 50% of tuition. with the current funding situation in the sciences your best bet is to apply for your own research grants/scholarships even for doctorate programs.

Wish I had known earlier... National Science Foundation for PhD and master's (phd students with a master's already cannot apply) http://www.nsfgrfp.org/how_to_apply/eligibility_guide successful apps, i hear, are those with focus on the hard sciences not on social sciences

For those that have received the Boren fellowship, 1. What is your proposed field of study/project idea? Is it to collect data towards your dissertation/thesis? 2. What do you think made your application successful? 3. How long is your projected stay in the foreign country you are going to? How are you using your time there (few months for language/rest of time for research, intensive language before going/all time in country for research, etc)? Thanks and congrats!

if you're planning on tutoring independently, i would highly NOT recommend wyzant! they start with taking 40% of what you charge and read every single correspondence between you and potential tutees - they will immediately flag you if you provide your email (they only want you to use their internal mailing system) and close your account if you try to arrange direct payment from tutees (yes, this was stupid of me to do it online but i wasn't aware that all my exchanges were being read line by line (i googled them after my account was closed and this method was disclosed by a former employee)) i haven't used this website but plan to since they don't take a percentage of what you make: http://www.universitytutor.com/faq/how-does-this-work-2 wherever you decide to advertise yourself for tutoring, i recommend looking up reviews of the company first to avoid getting shortchanged...

What type of policy are you thinking? Seems that a poli sci or public policy would be more versatile than an MPH in health policy/management (HPM). Based on my understanding of HPM at Emory, the focus is more on improving health systems and quality of care. As themasses mentioned, epi/biostats are marketable if you are interested in doing analysis work, more so than policy because those concentrations don't really focus on translating data into policy (at least based on my experience). As for prereqs, they will vary by department and, maybe schools. For enviro health, the focus is on the hard sciences so most of the prereqs are several years of bio/chem and lab experience. I suggest browsing websites of schools you're potentially interested in to get a full list.

Best suitable for anyone on the east coast since most (or all) offices are located there... ORISE fellowships are pretty prestigious and there are quite a few positions open right now (not so much 2 years ago...) across various govt entities including CDC. You might be able to do it while in school since there are several different types of opportunities like internships, jobs, etc. Go here for more details. Good luck!

For any recent grads in PH, my past academic advisor forwarded us all these opportunities for an ORISE fellowship through CDC and other govt entities. Good luck to anyone applying!

Most helpful for me were likely the SOP, strong LORs, and research experience. I found this guide (posted elsewhere here) to be super helpful for the SOP, especially since i found it hard to get started and had a little less than a month to get it together. Have as many people as you can review your SOP because often (at least for me) my thoughts got muddled in too many words even though I thought I was being clear and concise. My reviewers also had various backgrounds so they were able to offer me various perspectives and help me revise ideas/grammar in multiple ways. Transitions are one of the most important elements since everything in your essay should flow together. Looking at online examples won't be too helpful since the best ones (likely) aren't posted online, don't waste your time and start with your own clean slate. DO NOT list out all of your experiences or try to squeeze in as many as possible. FOCUS on 1-2 at most and show how they exemplify your qualifications/shaped your reasons for going to grad school/research interest. Hook readers at the beginning with an interesting anecdote (seemed to work for me). Experience is invaluable and will put you ahead of the game. Just because you don't have actual work experience and are coming directly from undergrad/master's, you can still gain experience while in school whether it be working with a professor on campus or getting an internship, etc elsewhere. Most of my experience actually came from my activities while in school and I worked on diverse projects so I was able to show in my CV different skills gained/applied for each. Diversifying seemed to have helped me a lot. Good luck to future applicants!

go for the phd if you are genuinely interested in getting it whether you plan on staying in academia or not. in my field, school counts towards work experience depending on how you present the skills you've gained whether though class projects or thesis. i labeled my experience section as research experience rather than work since i wasn't paid to do most of them and organized them by projects. if you do end up going for the phd, it's highly likely you'll be working on various research projects throughout your time so you should be able to put all that on paper. i suggest getting an internship or 2 (free/paid) while completing your masters, whether you're doing a thesis project or not. it could potentially help you decide whether you really want or need to go for the phd (in my case, i realized i need the doctorate to get where i want to be professionally after interning/working post-masters).

maybe give him benefit of the doubt, but if you meet him and he's still like that, ask yourself if this is the type of person you can truly work with. personally, his behavior would be red flags to me and i would immediately seek out a different primary advisor. maybe he's an expert that can advise in certain regards but he can simply be on your committee rather than your primary advisor. sure, words can be misinterpreted vibes you get from someone since you can't see/hear the emotions expressed in their words but the exchanges I had with POIs clearly indicated that they were very kind, interested in working with me and willing to answer any questions before i had decided even though i didn't speak with them live. personalities don't change so if you don't immediately hit it off with someone, it's a clear sign that you shouldn't work with them because you're not going to have much fun while doing it. not sure if you're doing a masters or phd but, regardless, having a healthy/good relationship with an advisor is key to success in your career. my master's advisor had and continues to support me in many ways (especially with my rec letter which was likely solid because we genuinely liked each other). i've also developed a great network because of him. if you're ok with dealing with certain personality types, do as you like. just my 2 cents, good luck!

the berkeley housing website is a good place to start looking for housing ($20/3 mo if want to use services like looking for roommates): http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/livingatcal/graduatestudents.html still have yet to receive my funding offer but at least i've been able to officially accept the offer go bears!! ^^

yes/no to the above posters comment.. it really depends on where you want to end up..if you're aiming to go to any school as opposed to a particular, maybe higher ranking, school then gpa does matter because it's part of your first pass through the process. this is the reality. as long as you plan on doing well, it shouldn't matter too much where you plan to gain those credits. taking more credits isn't going to vastly improve your gpa because the credits are all summed up on SOHPAS. i suggest doing it at your home school because SOPHAS will report your overall gpa from your home school. https://portal.sophas.org/sophasHelpPages/frequently-asked-questions/the-application-process/verificatio/

Just when I almost gave up hope, I heard back early Apr from one of my top choices and had to make a super tough decision within about a week... in the end I selected the best fit overall and I'll be heading to Berkeley this fall!!