PublicHealth2020grad
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Posts posted by PublicHealth2020grad
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22 hours ago, emmaelizabeth30 said:
Hi guys!
I’m entering the fall of my senior year and I’ve just decided to no longer pursue medicine and get an MPH. Because of this I’ve taken all of the hard chem and bio classes and it’s really done a number on my GPA... my first question is 1) where can I find some statistics on MPH admissions? I’m curious on my chances of getting accepted into the programs I’m looking at and at most I’ve seen a few programs state their average GPA. And 2) what are some good ideas for work experience to get in between undergrad and the MPH? I’m very open minded but I am interested in epidemiology. I live in VA so should I pursue opportunities at organizations in DC? CDC/WHO?
Thank you! Anything helps!
I don't think you need to be too concerned about a low undergrad GPA. I have seen MPH programs- even in the top 10 of rankings- that say their students have an avg undergrad GPA of around 3.3-3.4 (and some are lower than that since it's an average). It will help if you can strengthen other parts of your application, statement of purpose, GRE (if needed) and public health work experience. I agree with @hopeful2020PhD on the work experience suggestions
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@jace_PH @HealthPolicyMgmtPhD Received my concentration letter tonight!
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19 hours ago, HealthPolicyMgmtPhD said:
I got my letter this past Thursday about my JHSPH committee and faculty advisor....did you get yours since your last message? I’m really excited with whom they fit me with, but I am still very torn about deciding between this and a tuition-covered PhD. I reached out and had the chance to talk to my potential faculty advisor via phone this Friday and I had good feelings about the call. Having recently talked to faculty at the other school I am considering, I do feel there’s a caliber difference. Justifying the cost difference is something I’m still weighing at this time though! The PhD program will let me work part time so I’m not sacrificing my career potential in either case. What’s your thoughts so far on your decisions?
On the call, my faculty advisor offered for me to talk to prior students that he advised, so I’ve set up some calls this week to get a sense of their experiences and how things went for them in my particular track. So far, I have chatted with two students. They expressed that financing through a combination of employer and personal funds was really the main way to fund the degree; overall they all had good things to say about their program experiences.
Would love to hear what you’ve been thinking! Let me know! We still have time to make a decision so I hope that my talking with everyone the next weeks will get me to a final decision.
That's great! It sounds like a good fit then! I'm still waiting to receive my letter. I'm really curious who my faculty advisor will be. I heard the implementation science track at JHU will be holding a concentration virtual information session on April 3. I'm planning to attend that- just wish it was sooner!
Question: Do you have any thoughts on DrPH vs. PhD in terms of whether the difference of degree matters for you? I work in implementation science research, and most people have said to go with the PhD (especially because of cost), but they are also biased as they have that PhDs. There are definitely some DrPHs doing the work I want to do, so I don't know how much this really matters. I think the distinction has been fading more and more.
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On 3/20/2020 at 3:47 PM, jace_PH said:
I haven't got mine as well. They told me earlier that since they are transitioning to a work from home arrangement, they would be able to send all concentration letters latest on Monday.
that's good to know. you are implementation science too, right? they must be going by concentration. hope to get it tomorrow.
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2 hours ago, 2020epi said:
I got my letter! Though honestly with the current economic state of the world and feeling less secure economically than before, I am now leaning towards the cheaper option.
Oh good! I haven't received mine yet. Also leaning towards the cheaper option (which is not this) though
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10 hours ago, jace_PH said:
Hi, I haven't heard from JHU DrPH too. Aside from the evolving COVID19 situation, I spoke to a current DrPG student (with the same ImpSci concentration) and I think this could be another cause of delay. While she praised a lot of aspects of the program, she was honest in telling me that "...Hopkins needs to hire more administrative support for the DrPH program, (and they are aware of this)..."
I hope the release of the letters won't get delayed that much especially for you guys on such situation!
I heard that the program will send out letters by the end of the week.
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2 hours ago, 2020epi said:
@PublicHealth2020grad @HealthPolicyMgmtPhD have either of you received follow up about who your DrPH advisor would be? And have you made any progress in making your decision? Still very conflicted over here!
Hi, no I haven't. Last I heard they were delayed and needed to rework the letters based on current events (not sure exactly what would be changing?). I will reach out to see if they can provide an update. Still very conflicted over here too. Today and tomorrow I have been speaking to professors and current students from the 2 other programs I'm considering. I wanted to know my advisor for JHU DrPH and try to arrange a call before making a decision... so hopefully they let us know soon.
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8 hours ago, HealthPolicyMgmtPhD said:
Will you be attending today’s Hopkins admitted students webinar? I’ll be in flight so I’ll miss it! If you have anything to share from today, please post!
The webinar was a helpful overview of the following: accepting the admissions offer, orientation and summer institute, waiver process, prereqs (biostats and epi - must take free waiver exam offered 3x year if didn't take these at JHSPH within the past 5 years), and a description of other resources that will be given to us between now and orientation. The main thing to note now is that the concentration letters will be sent this week and we will be sent the names of our advisors. They tried to accommodate based on the names of faculty that we sent them during the application process. The letters will also have a link to the recording of today's session. If you have any burning questions I can tell you if they answered them
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9 minutes ago, 2020epi said:
Sounds like we are all in similar situations! I listened to the webinar today but it didn’t help me much. I’m thinking talking to current students at both schools will be more useful. I’m just a little worried about not getting the same level of mentorship from my Hopkins advisor since i will be remote. And also the high cost. If we finish the coursework in the first two years it comes out to a little over 30k per year for those two years. I really don’t know if I can swing it.
I was in the webinar too. If it helps - I talked to a current student yesterday who said that the level of mentorship from your advisor really depends on the advisor and advisee. Generally the advisor needs to sign off on your course plan. She said that she knows some students that never hear replies from their advisor on any of their emails so they switched advisors. She said she knows some people who talk to their advisor every couple of weeks to check in. Since we find out our advisors this week, maybe you could feel it out a bit? And if I do this program, I plan to spread the coursework out over more than 2 years due to the cost burden. Are you in a rush to finish in 4 years or could you consider the same?
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3 hours ago, HealthPolicyMgmtPhD said:
Will you be attending today’s Hopkins admitted students webinar? I’ll be in flight so I’ll miss it! If you have anything to share from today, please post!
Yes I'm registered and plan to attend the session today at 12pm Eastern time. I will share what they discuss!
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6 hours ago, HealthPolicyMgmtPhD said:
@2020epi - I am in the same boat! I am trying to decide between the Hopkins DrPH and a PhD at a less prestigious program. I plan to stay full-time at work too, but the PhD is giving tuition support if I can give between 10-20 hours as a GA, so it is something I'd have to consider. I was hoping for the Bloomberg fellowship, but having not gotten it, I am trying to decide the best option. Would love to hear others in a similar situation, and what you might end up deciding!
I am in this situation too! Hopkins DrPH vs. tuition-covered PhD. I am really unsure at this point. I am attending the upcoming virtual Q&As/info sessions and trying to talk to current students to help with the decision
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14 hours ago, DrPH2025 said:
I was rejected. To say I'm bummed is an understatement. The Hopkins program is so specific to my interests that I was dying to get in and fairly confident of my odds. I foolishly had planned on it. I'm already at a very advanced position, had solid GREs, and I thought a strong essay. I applied for the leadership track.
@jace_PH @PublicHealth2020 @PublicHealth2020grad @2020epi @LeMarie Do you mind sharing thoughts on your success? Were your quant GREs high? I had super high verbal but settled for quant in the 60s because they said 50 was good. Maybe I should have worked more on that, but who knows.
I'm debating if I wait and take another run at Hopkins next year or go with another program.
Congrats to all who got accepted!
@DrPH2025 I'm sorry to hear this : / FWIW, I know the program had a large increase in the number of applications this year.
Quoting where I answered a similar question (but about a different program).
On 2/26/2020 at 9:55 PM, PublicHealth2020grad said:Hi and thanks for your kind words. They interviewed me two weeks ago. I have a bachelors in a social science and MPH from good but not top universities. Lower undergrad GPA and higher MPH GPA. My GRE scores were also good but not great. I have been working in research for 6 years full-time, so I do have an extensive publication record, with 8 publications, (no first-authored), 2 under review including 1 first-authored, 12+ conference abstracts of which 1/3 were first authored. I think I have more publications/conferences than a typical admit though, so don't let my numbers discourage you. Also this particular program also seems to value demonstrated leadership, and I have been fortunate to have a great boss over the past 2 years who gave me opportunities to lead our work. That was the most motivating factor for me when deciding to apply to this program. I would be happy to chat more if you want to direct message me. Best of luck to you on your applications.
My quant GRE was not good - lower than yours - I considered retaking until I heard that anything above 50th pctile would be fine for this program. Though I have worked in research / data analysis for multiple years so I knew my quant skillset would be well represented on my application. For JHSPH I will say that I have both personal and professional connections to the school and through those relationships I have come to understand the mentality of the school and what they might be looking for. I prepared my application with this in mind.
All the best to you in your decision. Happy to help further if you want to reach out via direct message.
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24 minutes ago, 2020epi said:
Congratulations! I was accepted too! I applied to custom track. Any word on Bloomberg or when we might hear?
Congratulations!!! I'm not sure as I didn't apply - my work is internationally focused
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Just now, ParttimeHopeful said:
@PublicHealth2020grad congratulations! Did you also apply for implementation science?
Yes I did apply for implementation science. No email notification, just checked my portal a few mins ago after seeing the posts here.
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Congrats!!! Mine has been updated too to show my acceptance!
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2 hours ago, Aman_Ratta said:
Thanks for the elaborate reply. That's really helpful. Sure I ll need more insights on application process. Please let me know how do I apporach you for direct messaging.
I direct messaged you. You should see a notification at the top.
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2 hours ago, Aman_Ratta said:
Hi.. Congratulations on getting accepted to such a prestigious university.. just wanted to know when did they interview you.. would also like to know about your academic background, work experience and publications status. I am hearing from many of my friends that publications is one of the most important factors.. just asking so that I can prepare myself for the next year.. thank you
Hi and thanks for your kind words. They interviewed me two weeks ago. I have a bachelors in a social science and MPH from good but not top universities. Lower undergrad GPA and higher MPH GPA. My GRE scores were also good but not great. I have been working in research for 6 years full-time, so I do have an extensive publication record, with 8 publications, (no first-authored), 2 under review including 1 first-authored, 12+ conference abstracts of which 1/3 were first authored. I think I have more publications/conferences than a typical admit though, so don't let my numbers discourage you. Also this particular program also seems to value demonstrated leadership, and I have been fortunate to have a great boss over the past 2 years who gave me opportunities to lead our work. That was the most motivating factor for me when deciding to apply to this program. I would be happy to chat more if you want to direct message me. Best of luck to you on your applications.
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I received my first DrPH acceptance today! Heard back from Columbia Mailman that I was accepted to their DrPH program in Leadership in Global Health and Humanitarian Systems. Would love to connect to anyone else admitted to this program.
I am also interested in hearing from anyone weighing DrPH vs PhD programs. I am interested in leading implementation science research and I can see myself in either type of program. The professors who interviewed me also expressed the same sentiment. Another consideration is that I want to maintain a connection with the organization where I currently work. Would love to hear what others in a similar position are considering when weighing options. Thanks!
- SrirachaC and AlphacentauriC
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3 hours ago, liz2019drph said:
Hi there! I also only applied to JHU DrPH. Can I check if the portal for reviewing status is "[name].goapp.ly/jhsph/landing"? There is only one section named "checklist for application" which requires password for login, the rest are pretty generic. I'm asking because I was asked by JHU to fill in potential supervisors name in early December, and I've been told results will be out in early March, but I was not told which portal to check for results so basically I assumed this is the one.
Yup that's the one!
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2 hours ago, BM_DrPH said:
I learned that I was accepted to the DrPH programs at UC Berkeley and Tulane SPHTM this week and was asked to interview with Colorado SPH. Still anxiously awaiting for any information from GW and BU!
Congrats!
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Has anyone heard from JHU regarding the implementation science track?
PhD/DrPH Applicants: Fall 2021
in Public Health Forum
Posted
That would not be too ambitious. You sound like a competitive candidate for top programs in Health Systems. I would not worry about a lower grad GPA given the quantitative nature of the program and prestige of the school - plus since you did well on the advanced quant coursework. Make sure you have good recs and statements of purpose.