IntriguedStudent

I was actually in a similar situation as you (just so happens that we will be attending the same university!). While it's definitely possible to do all of it from a distance, I definitely suggest making a trip out there. Me and my fiance went to Chicago for 3 days a month before we were intending to move and spent the entire time on the ground looking at places. If you're not familiar with the city, you'll probably want to do this. We got lucky and found a place our last day there that we would have never found if we were just looking online. Additionally, as others have mentioned, you have to be very wary of who you are interacting with.

I also believe that Harvard is transitioning their SD programs to PhD. But as mentioned above, they are essentially the same degree.

It sounds like you should have no trouble getting accepted into a program. You have a lot of experience and appear to have a decent GPA. So just do well on your GRE and write a strong statement and you should be set for that aspect. In terms of not having a strong science course background, I definitely would not worry about that. Very few MPH programs require pre-requisites for entrance (barring maybe Biostats which tends to require stats/calc pre-reqs). Based on your interests, it sounds like ID Epi is the direction you seem to be heading. You could also look into health policy/management programs with a stronger focus on policy since you seem to have some experience with that. Although I am only just now matriculating into an MPH program, I am headed in the ID Epi/Global Epi direction myself. There are a lot of great schools out there for that, but in general you'll be able to find coursework in that area at most schools. What you should be looking at is professors that do research in your specific area of interest within infectious diseases. I'm very interested in HIV/AIDS research and was drawn to some of the research done at the school I chose to attend. Looking at your list, there are some pretty strong schools on there. Emory is great for infectious diseases if you're looking for more variety. Tulane would be very good if you're interested in tropical diseases. Obviously, Johns Hopkins is excellent overall. I see that you have McGill on your list. While they are a great school, keep in mind that they are not CEPH accredited. This accreditation is important if you plan to come back and work for governmental agencies such as the CDC, as many of the jobs require that your degree comes from an accredited school of public health. My biggest suggestion to you is to really look at the research and publications of the professors for various schools. It will give you the best idea of what school would be the best fit for you. Also consider location. A large portion of the network you form will reside within the area around your school.

I will be attending UIC. Preferably, it seems like I should live in the northern neighborhoods (along the Blue or Red lines possibly)? I'm actually going to be making a visit to the city next week, so I'll hopefully get a better idea of what neighborhoods would work well. I don't mind a bit of a commute, but I'd like to keep it under an hour. I will be leaving my car in Georgia, which is stressing me out a bit!

So you'd say living along the blue line is a big benefit? I've been struggling between deciding to live on the blue line or the red line. There seem to be pretty good options along both. How would you say the commute is from somewhere like Logan Square or Lakeview?

It depends on how many applicants are waiting on verification. When I submitted back in November, it took about 10 days for SOPHAS to verify. This late in the cycle, I can't imagine it would take more than a week for you to get verified.

Yes, I did see that my university provides us with CTA cards at a reduced price. Which is incredibly useful since I plan on getting rid of my car before I move. My move is officially in less than 2 months, so I'm planning to take a trip up there in probably a month. Hopefully that'll help settle some of my worries.

These are all great pieces of information. Thank you! I actually have used Google Earth to do some of my searching and it's proven to be very useful. Thanks everybody for the help. It's definitely overwhelming trying to move to a new city, but I'm looking forward to the adventure. Chicago seems like such an amazing city from all of the research that I've done so far.

MPH programs are not incredibly competitive, so you shouldn't have too much of an issue getting accepted to at least a couple. However, I strongly urge you to gain experience in public health first. Not only will this help you get into better schools, but it will give you a direction (something you are going to need to strongly convey in your SOP). Additionally, as mentioned above, you seem like you're torn between nursing and public health. These are two fields that can easily be utilized in conjunction with each other. But again, I suggest you gain experience in the field before you attempt to do so. Make sure this is something that you want. An MPH can be an expensive degree (especially at the top schools) and has relatively low monetary compensation coming out of it.

Both are strong programs that will likely be able to get you where you want to go. However, those are in vastly different locations. Which coast would you like to end up on long-term? Also, consider that one is an MPH and the other is an MS. Although there shouldn't be a huge difference between the two considering the schools that you're comparing, the MS will give you greater access to research opportunities. And finally, consider the tuition. There's a huge gap in tuition there. Is this something you'd be willing to take on if you went to Emory? It seems like you're doing a pretty good job with the pros and cons, and you really can't go wrong with either school. It really will come down to your personal preferences.

Thanks for the advice, both of you! I'll definitely look into those options. @<ian>, it's funny that you mention Promove. I currently live in ATL. Maybe I can find something like that in Chicago?

I'm working full time until May when I move. After that...I'll hopefully find some sort of part time job to fill the rest of the summer. Although I think most of my time will go towards exploring my new home and spending lots of time outside.

I've finally accepted an offer to attend graduate school! However, the school I'm attending is in Chicago. I have never been there and live a few states away. I'm planning to move up there in about a month and a half and have started looking at apartments, but am feeling completely lost. I do plan on visiting roughly 2 weeks before I move to visit some apartments, but even narrowing down a list is difficult right now. Given the city's reputation and the variation between neighborhoods, I'm doing all of the research that I can. Has anybody else had to do something like this? Where did you begin? Any advice?

Congrats! That's great news.

You've pretty much answered the only questions we could answer for you. As you said, the LSHTM is obviously the best choice academically. They are largely considered the top school of public health in the world and place a large amount of their research emphasis on infectious diseases (which it appears are your interests as well). The difference in cost that you're looking at comes to roughly £10,000 (as I believe both programs are 1 yr? I may be wrong on this). How significant is that to you? In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't seem like much. Especially if you end up attending medical school. However, that does bring us to your last point: location. Location is a huge factor. Although I have never been to either city, I'd imagine they are very different with distinct cultures. I don't know you personally so I cannot speak to whether or not London would be a good fit for you. It's only a year and it could be an adventure if you're up for it.

Most Global Health programs do not have any pre-requisites. The best thing you could do for your application is getting involved in a public health organization. It doesn't have to be a global organization, but that would help for global health programs. Other than that, it seems that you'll have a pretty competitive application, assuming you don't have terrible scores (which I'm assuming you don't).

Thanks for your input, everybody! I had considered Lenovo's, so I'm glad that other people also suggest them.

What is everybody's opinion on a good laptop to get for epidemiology coursework and modeling? I do not currently have a laptop, so I'm planning to buy one before classes begin in August. I'm looking for something that will be able to sufficiently handle programs such as SAS, GIS, etc. I don't have any particular preference for a "brand", but I do need it to be relatively cost effective. Any input would be greatly appreciated and hopefully this thread can be helpful to others in my situation!

You have a great GPA and it sounds like you have very good experience. I don't think you would have too much trouble getting accepted into an MPH program. All MPH degree programs require that you take at least one semester of biostatistics. Before you apply, I definitely suggest you do a little bit of research on the degree. Is it something you want to invest the time and money into?

Unless you're trying for HPM programs, most schools do not offer interviews. It is usually a straight accept/reject (sometimes waitlist).

I did not get any confirmation from Mt Sinai saying that they received my application. The first correspondence I received from them was my acceptance e-mail.

I guess I'm the exception then. My wife makes almost twice my current salary, and will likely always make more than me (public health isn't known to be an exceptionally lucrative field ). I will probably end up with a more advanced degree than her (she's in business), but that's of her own choosing and I don't view success by degree level anyways. If she decides she wants to continue on and get an advanced degree, I would fully support her. I personally love having a successful and intelligent wife.

1. I can't speak for their distance program specifically, but The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is an excellent school and widely considered to be the one of the top (if not THE top) school for public health in the world. 2. I am not doing an online/distance MPH, but from what I've come across during my search, there are some programs out there that do not have a practicum requirement or allow you to use your current position (if applicable to public health). 3. Not applicable to my situation.

I definitely wouldn't worry yet. Just because the application deadline was December 15th, it doesn't mean that schools give out acceptances that early! Most schools tend to give out their acceptances from late January to early March. I have only heard from 4/10 schools that I applied to so far.

This is incorrect. Most schools do not give interviews for MPH programs. A few exceptions to this would be Health Policy and Management programs. A few schools do interview for those. As far as the schools you mentioned, I only applied to Mount Sinai and I was accepted without an interview.