seaturtles

I went to Emory and, while it was an excellent program, there weren't really connections to biotech. It was more geared to government/academia/NGOs. It is a perfect program for someone who wants to go into a job at CDC. For someone who wants to go into biotech, it would still be good preparation, but it might not be worth the extra loans.

I am still looking for funding for UW epi. I have also emailed a ton of professors and met with some on visit days as well. Everyone I talked to said that everyone finds funding, but I am still a bit nervous. UW is the only school that admitted me though (did not apply to enough schools), so I'm fine with paying the deposit and continuing to look. I am not going to move to Seattle or attend if I can't find funding beforehand though. I'd rather just go back to the drawing board and apply to more schools for next year... Of course, I'm hoping something works out, but I really don't want to put myself in the position of having to pay for PhD.

Honestly, I think you have a good shot at getting into a good MPH program, especially if you get a good quantitative GRE score. HOWEVER, as someone who went right into an MPH program after undergrad, I urge you to consider taking a year or two to get experience first. This is for a number of reasons: - You don't sound sure if you want to do nursing or just public health. It is possible to do public health nursing or some sort of combined MPH/MSN program, but I think you should be sure about your goals before you jump into that. - You also don't mention what concentration of public health you would be interested in. This would be important to know when considering which programs to apply to. - If you wait a couple of years and get research experience, you can improve your chances of getting some sort of FUNDING (merit scholarship or assistantship). MPH can be extremely expensive! However, if you are just concerned about getting in, I think you are good :-). Also, if you have answers to these questions that you didn't mention in your post, then feel free to ignore me.

Hopkins gives some sort of scholarship the second year if you keep your grades up, right? So it is a better decisions financially. And it is, of course, #1, and I personally think an MSPH is a bit more prestigious than an MPH. However, if you want to work at CDC, Emory gives great opportunities for that. And you'd have a better quality of life, I've heard that Hopkins is quite miserable.

I think that it depends on what your degree is in and what your career goals are. What is the purpose of getting an MPH? Would you have to pay any money to add on the MPH? If you want to join the public health service, I think you need an accredited MPH. But it sounds like your MPH will be accredited. That's the only situation I can think of in which accreditation matters. Otherwise, the choice would mostly be whether you want to spend an extra year getting an MPH.

One student I talked to said that she didn't find funding until late summer. My impression was that people usually (but not always) find funding before arriving on campus, but sometimes after April 15. UW is my only option currently, so I'm going to keep on looking and eat the deposit if it comes to that. But if I had full funding elsewhere, I would probably go with that... @luluLeaf, how were your visit days? Did you find some of this elusive funding??

I am still working on that myself... At visit days, it seemed like everyone I talked to was also having trouble. And yet, current students and professors all kept saying it always works out in the end. Does anyone have any insight?

I'm sorry! Which program at UW were you admitted to? Do you have funding? I am going to visit there for epi visit days next week and try to fool someone into giving me funding .

Got rejected from Michigan today...

I'm feeling the same way about UW funding... Don't worry about Atlanta! I am from the Northeast and got my MPH at Emory. Atlanta and especially the Emory area isn't really that different... And the cost of living is a lot lower.

Congratulations on UNC! I've still heard absolutely nothing from them, but hopefully a decision will be here soon. Glad I'm not the only one still waiting on Michigan. Now that I've experienced trying to find funding on my own, a guaranteed funding offer sounds reeeally nice.

In retrospect, I should have applied to some lower ranked schools . Live and learn!

From what I can tell, a number of "prestigious" schools are this way, sadly. I believe UNC, Columbia, and Johns Hopkins are the same (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

@FreeRadical, I applied to both Epi and Global Health Metrics at UW. Got accepted to epi, rejected from GH. The epi department doesn't offer funding with admission, so students have to find professors to work for on their own. Have you heard anything from UNC or Michigan yet? I saw on the results page that a couple of people were accepted to Michigan last week, but I've not heard anything from them yet post-interview. I'm starting to get a little concerned...

I've also heard nothing from UNC! So you're not the only one :-). ETA: Also, congratulations on your acceptances! I was also accepted at UW. Getting really nervous about funding though...