michelleh

@amanda5: I am hoping that you would get in your first choice of MPH program at UofT too. otherwise congratulations and welcome classmate . @fallingup13: I guess that it depends on the individual. I feel that any graduate program should be one that you have strong interest to pursue and feel that this is the right environment to not only excel but grow. So, I definitely think it is ok to take up one offer and later rescind it to accept another. This is a big financial and personal investment in your education . Though I do not understand why some programs across the country vary so significantly in deadline. It luckily worked out for me but otherwise I feel that it is another way that certain mph programs are making money by too much demand and I guess limited supply in spots. This should be a happy time when acceptance in mph program arrives...Not so stressful worrying about admission deadlines for various programs.

@amanda5: Yes, I would assume that you would lose your $500 deposit if you accept an offer to Lakehead and then decide to go to another school. Also on the Lakehead admission letter, it states that you can accept only one offer at an Ontario university and to let graduate studies know if you decide to accept admission to another university. Sounds like they know their March 20 deadline is earlier than other schools and they are profiting from the waiting game. After some thought, I decided to accept the offer from Lakehead as this program is one of my top ranked programs and I really doubt that I would hear back from the other programs that I applied to by March 20 (going by past discussion threads) . I got a response back from Grad Studies confirming my admission response and deposit and that they will let me know when registration is starting for the MPH program in September. After hearing from a few that Waterloo is already letting some know of application rejections, I checked my application status and am continuing to wait to hear back from the department for both the MPH and health informatics programs. I am also waiting to hear back from MUN as well for the on campus offering of MPH program.

Congratulations Amanada. I also got email acceptance offer from Lakehead University for online course based MPH epidemiology program on February 25. Leaning towards accepting the offer once I get an official offer in Lakehead email as I want to complete a program that combines my interests in public health and epidemiology. Sorry did not apply to UofT mph programs but it seems like they hear back in April and May from the grad café discussion threads. Unsure how it works regarding interviews. I know that it is hard to get in touch with mph admissions office staff at different schools but I would also direct the question to UofT as it is important to know if you are waiting for a reply back. Also applied to online mph course based programs at University of Sask, University of Waterloo, and MUN and two online masters in health informatics program at waterloo and university of Victoria as back ups in areas of related interest. Rejected by email from University of Sask mph epi stream in February 2015 as GPA in last 2 years of full time studies did not meet the 3.7 GPA requirement and recommended to take more courses (completed a medical degree in Ireland where grading system is quite different). Waiting to hear back from mph programs at Waterloo and MUN. Expecting to hear from Waterloo by end of March/early and hear back from MUN by April-May based on previous threads from grad café.