I'm a Canadian undergrad student, and I've recently been accepted to both the MSc Public Health programme at the LSHTM and the MPH programme at the University of Edinburgh, which were my top two choices. I'm having a really tough time deciding between them, so hopefully some of you can give me some advice.
My ultimate goal is medical school, but I also want to conduct international public health research on malaria (specifically, pregnancy-associated malaria and cerebral malaria in children) and HIV (specifically, increased risk of HIV infection in women who experience intimate partner violence). Clearly, the LSHTM would be a better fit for my research interests and has a greater international reputation in public health, but the cost of tuition (£20,000) and accommodation in London, England, (£12,500) is terrifying. As well, the school year runs from late September 2015 to late September 2016, meaning that I would not be able to reapply to medical school in Canada immediately. Finally, I'm worried that living in London might be overwhelming, and that being in a class full of older professionals at LSHTM from all over the world would be intimidating.
On the other hand, I went on exchange to the University of Edinburgh two years ago, so I'm familiar with the city and still have many friends there. The tuition (£16,500) and accommodation (£6,000) are more reasonable, and the programme finishes in August. However, I'm not sure I would have the same opportunity to focus my studies on my particular research interests.
Does anyone have experience at either of these schools and could give me advice?