NovaTerra

Someone on the public health subreddit got an offer. https://old.reddit.com/r/publichealth/comments/12htk5y/which_mph_program_should_i_go_with_uoft_or_umass/

Congrats! I got rejected from UofT epi in late-May a couple years ago. I hope you hear back from UofT soon.

Just a general question about UofT MPH epi... What do you think about it so far? Could you list a couple things that you like and dislike about the program?

UofT doesn’t have any official plans yet. Though each department seems to have different unofficial plans. Public health dept told instructors to get ready to deliver online classes in fall.

Sorry, I don't know what they looked at or how they weighed my grades from undergrad and MSc. I don't have any prior research that relates to Fisman and Burchell. I just found their research interesting. I've met both of them before too, and they seem like decent human beings to work with. I took 1 intro epi course in undergrad. I can't remember the exact grade I got, but I'm sure it was below 80 ?. I took a bunch of other non-epi, health science courses though. And no prob. This is one of the reasons why this thread was made ?

I mentioned a couple profs that I’d like to work with because their research looked interesting. If I remember correctly, it was Fisman and Ann Burchell I don’t know the average grades of all applicants but I was in academic probation for an entire year because of bad grades lol. You’ll probably competitive if you spice up your CV with research and/or public health experience. Most grad school applicants don’t actually have any research and/or work experience at all.

I submitted my app a day before the deadline and I got in the first round of acceptances. I don't know exactly how it works but the admission process apparently ranks people using a round robin format, and at least 3 people will review your application. I guess that people with higher "scores" on round robin get an offer earlier?

I couldn't find one for epi. Idk about other MPH programs.

Congrats!!

Is the MSc a research-based program? If so, you'll learn very specific things in an MSc compared to MPH. A research-based MSc also gears you for a PhD or a career in research/academia. I have a MSc and I don't expect to use a lot of the stuff I learned in my MSc again if I enter a career in public health. And I'm also not interested in the "publish or perish" nature of academia. MPH is broader and teaches more practical skills that allow you to enter the workforce shortly after graduation. I honestly applied for an MPH because of the job prospects. I know UofT tends to get their PhD students from their MPH pool so there's still an opportunity to do a PhD after (but I doubt I'll go for it).

This might not be the right place to ask this, but have you guys heard from your schools/programs about how they’re going to proceed with the fall sem with regards to COVID-19? Like is it going to be all online, or a mix or online and in-person, or some other option. Apparently, UofT wants to wait until May/June to discuss the fall sem, which sounds reasonable. But I’m just curious if other unis have started planning and what they’re doing.

I just resubmitted my GRE scores from ~2 years ago. I can't remember my scores, but I definitely didn't do well in it. All I remember is I got >80th percentile in all sections. I know someone who got under 50th percentile in the quant section and still got in. I have a lot of data analysis experience, but with genetic data and not population health data. I learned a lot of stuff in my MSc that are too advanced/specific to teach for the MPH program, and stuff that I will probably never use if I land a career in public health. This is the guide I followed to write my LOI: https://www.gradschools.com/get-informed/applying-graduate-school/essay-writing/sample-letter-of-intent-for-graduate-school Don't include an address/return address, date, header, etc. Just start with the content right away to save space. My LOI is literally just 2 full pages of paragraphs, single spaced. One advice I got from a prof is to acknowledge anything that looks bad in your transcript and say how I grew from that mistake. For me, I talked about the time when I was in academic probation due to bad grades, then I said that I improved and fixed my bad study habits (some people have flawless transcripts, so this probably doesn't apply to everyone). Also talk about the major points in your CV on the LOI.

Thanks!! Got my BSc from UofT. Double major in health sciences and neuro. I think I had 3.4 gpa in my last year, but I can’t remember the exact number. I also took several upper year stats courses on top of the required courses. I just finished my MSc in Cell Systems Bio this month (also UofT). Finished with 4.0 gpa. Several talks at conferences, 0 public health experience, 0 publications. Honestly, I got rejected when I first applied to the MPH. So I took an offer from another department and decided to re-apply for the MPH at some point.

You also have to send your official transcript to the department. If you graduated from UofT, then you only need to sign the confirmation form. Hey, I replied to your message, but I'll try to answer these questions too. How are the Professors? I've only met 3 profs in a social/casual setting. They all seem like nice people. I've had several interactions with David Fisman, the division head, and he's a pretty chill guy but always has a million things going on in his head. Are grades hard to come by? I've heard stories and know people who successfully asked their profs for extra credit, to retake an exam because they didn't do well, and to ask for extensions due to trivial reasons. Based on my experience at UofT, people tend to be more lenient on grad students compared to undergrads. Some departments will literally refuse to fail you because it looks bad on department.

April 8

See you two in September!

I just looked at his post history. He got accepted to Indigenous Health. I got nervous for a sec, I thought I got cut on the first round of epi results ??

Congrats! What stream? And do you mind sharing your credentials? I applied for epi but haven't heard back yet.

She didn’t tell me when, she just told me that it’s likely not going to happen in late March. I found it confusing since she also said there’s a lower pool of applicants ?‍♂️ On a similar note, I got rejected from their PhD program earlier than expected lol. Idk what’s up with their schedule. I’m just blindly believing her since she’s a bit high up on the ladder and I have no other source of info.

UofT MPH epi pushed the deadline for apps by a week because they had a lower number of applicants compared to previous years. My prof (on the admissions committee) said the first wave of results will most likely come out some time in April, not late March according to their website. Good luck and hope yall get in! edit: UofT MSc biostats results got released yesterday (or 2 days ago?) if anyone's interested in that

The person I replied to specifically asked, "is it reasonable to assume that if I haven't heard back yet it's likely a rejection?". And I answered their question. I don't work in the admissions committee and nor do you, but preparing for the worst outcome is the best thing anyone could do in this situation. Talking about stuff like this is literally one of the main purposes of this entire forum. Sorry, I have no clue. I'm guessing it might be different since different programs have different student quotas, so some programs may be stricter or more liberal with sending out offers.

According to my epi prof who sits in the admissions committee, they send out offers of admission to a few applicants (early admission), and those applicants have to make a decision by a certain date (they give applicants 2 weeks to decide, but lets use April 1st as an example). After April 1st, the admissions committee will count how many spots they have left in the program and send more offers based on the space they have left. Then they keep doing this until they get the amount of students they want in the program. Official rejections will come afterwards. That is to say that you haven't been rejected yet. But my advice is that you should assume that you've been rejected and start planning your summer and fall to improve your CV (e.g. find employment related to your field, get published, etc.). I'm doing the same since I didn't get in the first wave of UofT epi

Congratulations! I hope I get an offer too some day Do you mind sharing your credentials and if there are any conditions for your offer?

They send more than 42. They expect some people to drop/reject the offer of admission and some people get waitlisted