MPH_Hopeful_2020

Hi everyone, I'm a current first year MPH student at SFU, so feel free to hit me up if you have any questions about the program

Yes! https://www.facebook.com/groups/SFUMPH2020/

I received an offer a couple weeks ago, but I turned it down last week. Hopefully you hear back soon They're great at responding to inquiries about the status of things, so maybe email them about whether a new round of offers will be coming out soon?

I spoke with the program assistant at UVic a couple days ago, and they said that they should be sending out some letters today. Best of luck to all waiting to hear!

Ah, glad to know I won't be alone in that haha, I'm definitely leaning towards SFU. Where are you flying in from if you don't mind me asking?

Hey, basically I dislike how the streams at UofA pigeon-hole you a little bit. If you know for sure that you want to go into epi, health promo, ect, then I think it's great. I personally want to get a more broad degree that touches on all of the aspects of public health, so that I'm not pigeon-holed into one thing. I know that you can broaden your degree through options, but it still feels quite limiting to me. I just feel like the SFU program is a better fit for what I want out of my degree I'm also very interested in mental health and addictions, and BC does some really interesting public health work with those sorts of issues. But I'm super apprehensive about moving during such an uncertain time, so I'm really trying to weigh the pros and cons.

I am very strongly considering SFU over UofA because I dislike how the streams at UofA pigeon-hole you a little bit. If you know for sure that you want to go into epi, health promo, ect, then I think it's great. I personally want to get a more well-rounded degree that touches on all of the aspects of public health, so that I'm not pigeon-holed into one thing. I know that you can broaden your degree through options, but it still feels quite limiting to me. Also, I've wanted to move to BC for the last five years, so this the perfect opportunity! Only thing holding me back from accepting the offer right now is COVID-19, since I am from Alberta. Both schools are great, and I know I'd have a wonderful experience at either one. SFU's program just feels like a better fit for what I want

Hi everyone, I was wondering what your take on moving during a pandemic for grad school is. I am trying to decide between SFU and UofA, and I'm from Edmonton. I want to move to Burnaby/Vancouver, and I think the SFU program is better suited for what I want. I'm having a lot of apprehension about moving during all of this though. Any perspective would be greatly appreciated

Hi everyone, I also just received an offer of admission to SFU! I received an email, weird that not everyone has!

Gotcha, that makes sense. Have you tried to call? I feel like given the current situation, it's feasible that emails could get lost. Best of luck to you, I hope that you hear back soon

Update for people waiting for SFU. They are apparently done reviewing applications, and said the first round of offers will continue to be sent out over the next two weeks.

Hey, so I received acceptance to the Health Policy and Health Promo streams at UofA a few weeks ago. We have until April 18th to reply. I declined my health promo offer and am waiting on my Health Policy offer because I'm still waiting to hear back from UVic and SFU. My guess is that they'll be sending out the next round of offers for sure after April 18th, but offers will be trickling in up until then as well. I would contact UofA, if your status is still prescreening, just to be safe.

Thank you! I received an email asking me to clarify if I was applying for online or in-person, and received an acceptance email within the hour. My status still has not changed on the portal.

Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone had any idea how USask's program is. I received acceptance to the online stream this morning, and I'm currently trying to decide between UofA and USask (also still waiting for UVic and SFU).

I think probably, but some people are also probably sitting on their acceptances. I got accepted to two streams (health promotion distance & health policy and management), and I'm having troubles choosing between the two. I'm sure a lot of people are also waiting on other universities before they make their final decision. So some spots will probably open up into April (I have until April 18th to accept or decline). Best of luck

Hi all, I received an offer from UofA Health Promotion (distance) yesterday. Waiting to hear from a couple other universities before I make a final decision.

Hi all, I received acceptance to UofA's Health Policy and Management stream this afternoon. Still waiting to hear back from their Health Promotion stream (distance), UBC, SFU, UVic, and USask (distance). Congrats to all who have received acceptances, and good luck to those still waiting A friend of mine said they contacted UofA, and they expect to have all offers out by the end of the month, with epi being the last to go out.

Huh. No one I've seen on the forum has heard back, so they have probably pushed that back haha. When did they say that?

Just contacted Uvic, they said they're now looking at mid-March to mid-April for admissions decisions.

Same here. I spoke with someone from the department at Uvic and they said HOPEFULLY by the beginning of March. So maybe this week

I believe someone earlier in the thread said they talked to someone in admissions at UofA and they are estimating mid March to April for admissions. Maybe they're running a bit behind.

They put the most weight in your latest 60 credits and upper level classes.

GPA (last 60 credits): 3.88/4.0 Degree: BA in Honours Psychology (completed an undergraduate thesis and involved in several research projects; working on publishing right now) Stats: B-, but I'm upgrading it right now and currently sitting at an A+ after my midterm (way easier the second time around/after doing research lol) Volunteer/work experience: volunteered on a distress line, as an education volunteer for sexual violence and consent, as a research assistant, and at a homeless shelter; currently working at a shelter with individuals impacted by homelessness and poverty and involved in harm reduction; learning A LOT about the barriers people face in accessing the proper supports References: pretty strong I think? Not 100% sure what was said about me because only one of my referees shared their letter with me haha LOI: who knows, I think it's pretty decent? Goal: I'm hoping to focus in mental health and addictions, and focus (even further) into homelessness and poverty, if possible (though will be happy being involved in mental health and addictions more broadly as well) Applied at: UofA (health promotion & health policy and management), UBC, USask, UVic (health policy), and SFU. I think where I fall short is the professional experience, but I'm hoping what I've done will be enough :) The wait is killing me too!! I just want to know so I can figure out my next steps haha. Hopefully we find out soon, last year UofA application starting finding out early Feb I believe, but a friend told me that they were really ahead of the game last year, whereas years prior they were way behind. I guess we'll see!

Thank you so much! This process is really anxiety provoking, but it's really comforting getting feedback from those who have been through it :)

Hi there, thank you so much for posting this, it's really helpful! I'm not personally applying to UofT's program, but I imagine most programs have a similar ranking system. Did they by chance talk about the typical profile of a successful applicant, especially in regards to volunteer/work experience? For myself, I feel very strong everywhere but there. I have volunteered on a distress line, as a fundraising and education volunteer, as a research assistant, and at shelter for individuals impacted by homelessness, but these experiences are not directly related to public health ? Thanks again!