becca17

I think it's important to keep in mind your end goals and the type of degree - thesis vs course based. If you're looking to get in to research, then school reputation might matter more. However, if you want to work for the federal government (Health Canada, PHAC etc.) or a local public health unit, then I don't think reputation matters as much. I worked for the government and they could really care less about where you did your degree. My managers said that they just look for someone who has an MPH and has taken a core group of courses (e.g. social determinants of health, program evaluation etc.).
Also, SFU has a highly regarded MPH program, Queen's is well known for cancer epidemiology, and Waterloo is well known for their public health research, especially tobacco control. While McMaster and Western are highly regarded schools, their MPH programs are also quite new, so I would be wary of the "kinks" that need sorting out in these programs. So, I also think that it's important to consider the strengths of each individual school/program as well. 
That's just my perspective!

I think it's important to keep in mind your end goals and the type of degree - thesis vs course based. If you're looking to get in to research, then school reputation might matter more. However, if you want to work for the federal government (Health Canada, PHAC etc.) or a local public health unit, then I don't think reputation matters as much. I worked for the government and they could really care less about where you did your degree. My managers said that they just look for someone who has an MPH and has taken a core group of courses (e.g. social determinants of health, program evaluation etc.).
Also, SFU has a highly regarded MPH program, Queen's is well known for cancer epidemiology, and Waterloo is well known for their public health research, especially tobacco control. While McMaster and Western are highly regarded schools, their MPH programs are also quite new, so I would be wary of the "kinks" that need sorting out in these programs. So, I also think that it's important to consider the strengths of each individual school/program as well. 
That's just my perspective!

Yeah, I had a similar GPA but less "health promo" related experiences, but a lot of other ones that had transferrable skills? I am also out of province. I am pretty disappointed about it, oh well! Who knows what they are looking for. 

Hey other U of T hopefuls. 
I emailed the MPH department asking if I could hear a decision on my application before March 31, since I had a deadline to accept another offer + scholarship before that point. 
They told me THE FIRST ROUND OF U OF T MPH OFFERS WILL BE SENT OUT APRIL 30TH. So now we have a specific date. *nail-biting*
No worries for me though - the school that gave me my other offer allowed me to have until May 15th to accept. If I don't hear from U of T by then, I'll just accept the backup and change my offer later (though I really don't want to do that because that seems so unethical...).
Sending positive thoughts to everyone <3

They did for me. I didn't receive an email.