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eat.climb.love

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Everything posted by eat.climb.love

  1. That sounds good! Also, depending on how far you want to go with biostats - you might need to do the basic calculus sequence. While the MPH is mostly applied courses, if you ever want to continue onto the PhD, you would want to take Calc I, II &III as well as linear algebra. Try to get as much stats software experience as you can. While most software is pretty pricey, R is free and once you start writing in one it becomes much easier to learn the others.
  2. You definitely have a shot - had you not had any research experience, I would have suggested you do that. I had a similar upward trend in my application and didn't have any issues applying to similar programs. You mentioned graduating from NEU ... are you still in the Boston area? If so, I would suggest taking a biostats class at BU. There are several at night so you could still work and take that one class. Success in a graduate-level class would prove you have the chops and if you end up there would probably count towards your degree. What is your undergrad degree in? A 3.1 overall might be much more impressive in some fields compared to others.
  3. If you don't mind switching companies, there are also companies that do cheap monthly plans sans contract. VirginMobile and MetroPCS, come to mind but I am sure there are more. I know Virgin has this plan where you get 1500 minutes, 500 texts for $30. And the phone is ~30. There are other plans but that is the one advertised. (http://www.virginmob...paylo-plans.jsp) My dad has MetroPCS and it is GREAT but concentrated in certain areas of the country. I would totally switch to it if my future city actually had service. These companies actually do still sell regular phones! And since the hype is all about the Smartphone, the flips are about 30.
  4. Ah, sorry by "bombing out" she might have bombed a few classes but luckily did well enough her first two years that credit-wise, I think she is fine. (Accelerated math and science tracks worked to her advantage, I guess.) I think she is not getting credit for science (but she is taking a science class senior year and you tech only need 3 to graduate at my old HS) and maybe her foreign language (again, I think she can either retake this or take a first year of another language). It just eliminates her from her original top choice (SLAC in Massachusetts). We aren't really super-religious but there is a Unitarian church in town so I will have her check that out. She is definitely looking at SLACs eventually - probably somewhere up in New England. I was the big-university (and even BIGGER grad school - 3x size of undergrad and I went to a big undergrad =P) kid and it worked for me but she definitely would benefit from a school where you aren't a tiny fish in an ocean.
  5. I have a brilliant younger sister. She is one of those "has all the potential but does not achieve squat" kind of people. (Ugh, I wish I was that smart! What I could do with those brains.) Anyway, so basically it hasn't been a huge issue up until recently. She essentially bombed out of junior year (part of this might be due to some health issues). My mom freaked out - I told her there are a lot of other options besides going to university right away. The thing is, my sister really does not want to go to a local community college because it is seriously right down the street from our house (and it is tiny and she has already taken a lot of the classes there in HS). I have suggested the idea of doing a year of service in between high school and college (whether it be community or 4-year). She is young for her grade so it actually would be in her benefit to take a year off before college. So do any of you have any suggestions as to "gap year" programs? Honestly, they don't need to pay her anything. If they just house her and have her work for room/board, that would be fine. There seem to be tons where you pay to explore the world, but we aren't exactly in a financial situation where we can do that (or shoot, I would have done that after college =P). She is looking at AmeriCorps but anything similar would be great. It would be preferable to stay on the East Coast or perhaps venture as west as Indiana BUT if there is some sweet service opportunity in like Utah (or anywhere else in the country), then that's okay too. (Or anything in Canada. My sister loves Canada.) My sister is one of those "I'm down for anything kind of people" so the options are wide open. I've talked with the little sis' and she thinks it would be great to DO something for people for a year, figure her s**t out and then do the college thing (if that ends up being what she wants to do, who knows). If it ends up being near a CC, she might take one class a semester at night. Any anecdotal stories about not doing well in high school and then finding yourself will also be appreciated. =P (Also, I did not post this on that College Confidential site because it seems like the majority of those members are just moms of students. I figured you guys are way more chill and would quite frankly offer better advice. =))
  6. Honestly, unless you can find the books for reallll cheap now, I wouldn't bother. I mean if you were doing some radical field change, then I'd suggest doing some background reading but if you don't feel the need for it, then enjoy your summer! Personally, I will probably not do any background reading. I should since I have to take a bio class and have not taken once since my freshman year of college and had a miserable experience then. But two of the other classes I am taking, I sort of have already taken in a summer program so if I have to devote a little more time to bio, I think I can survive. That being said, I am one of those people who does not like to create work for myself (not lazy, I just already had an experience with burn-out and would not like it to happen again). I also have to figure out a lot of other stuff regarding my move so chilling with some public health textbooks isn't super-appealing at the moment. I am super-cheap too and had not even thought of buying books from people in my cohort. That is so clever. I would also probably forget the material from them too. =P Like when I started to "study" for the GRE three months in advance but really only learned material a few weeks before that.
  7. I am clueless on the attire thing.. Perhaps you could ask the department secretary? I DO think it is super-cool that you have a beach retreat.. That sounds like the best orientation that I have heard of!
  8. From a friend's experience, he has to research during the summers. He gets three weeks off and can choose those weeks. He does get university holidays and the week that the whole school is shut down off, I believe.
  9. A few of my favorite profs added me on LinkedIn. I added one of those profs on Facebook but that is because she is young/chill and has seen me in settings outside of the classroom. I love some of my other profs but fb would be a little awk for them. I am also huge on hello emails to my close mentors and send them cards when hear about something cool that they did. These people helped me so much with the app process and school that I wish I could do something cool for them. I do not live near where I went to school so snail mail and email will have to do!
  10. I would send them in around Thanksgiving. This way if something gets misplaced you can find out about it before winter break. I applied really early because public health has a tedious common app like process. I just remember some funding deadlines being like dec 1 whereas in public Health some apps were not due til March.
  11. Ah I meant to type in "where" and not "were" .. Darn smartphone!
  12. Look for programs at schools were funding is awarded on the university- level in addition to department. (This happens at big state universities like Purdue, OSU. I assume it might happen at private schools but after doig private undergrad I did not apply anywhere private.) I am funded by the university in a field that rarely if ever gets any funding. Sure I am not in a top 10 school but I will not leave grad school with debt. Also the deadlines for funding consideration are generally a little earlier so just try to get your stuff in early.
  13. What subfield of the mph did you concentrate in? Also, what did you get those B's in? Were they challenging upper-level classes or part of the mph core? It also depends on how intense your school's program is perceived to be. Honestly, with some decent research experience, the GPA won't be a huge deal. When I was looking at programs, they cared way more about experience and papers published than GPA (although to make it on the review table I assume you need a decent GPA). So my advice is try getting a job as a research associate and get your name out there! Also picking up SAS and R wouldn't hurt you if you haven't fiddled with them yet!
  14. I used two websites Family Watch Dog and Spot Crime (I think those were their names?) to check out the areas. You would be surprised how quickly an area goes from nice to spotty so I would Google Map it and use websites like those to check it out if you can't see it. (Also I have no idea about the area - will be new so I have no advice on that. Hopefully it is pretty safe!) A question to those of you from Columbus: how bikeable is it? I am thinking about just biking to class since I am looking at places in that awkward distance where driving is sort of silly (considering the parking passes I can afford are pretty far from my building) but walking might get tedious every day. (The 1.5-2 mile range so fairly quick trip via bike.)
  15. I was wondering if anyone knew of any decent realtors around the OSU area. I would love to live within a walking distance of campus (<1.5 miles) and feel completely lost in this housing search. I have heard to stay away from Buckeye Real Estate but are there any realtors that anyone has had fabulous experience with and could recommend?
  16. Au Bon Pain Black Bean Burger - it's listed under the sandwiches section of the menu so I consider it a sandwich! =P BLACK BEAN BURGERBlack Bean Patty on Feta Flatbread, Feta Spread, Tomatoes, Guacamole, and Romaine
  17. There is also a way to make your blog so that only certain people see it. I just set up my WordPress to be semi-private.
  18. I had to check that you were not one of my fellow classmates! He did the same thing and it worked out really well for him too. I can't believe I didn't remember this!
  19. Sperry Topsiders. I have collected a few and wear them with jeans, shorts, work pants etc. There are a few variations on the style but the ones with the soft leather are the best. If you check the Macys sale section, you can sometimes find them for real cheap! I used to walk to and from class and around campus and was fine (3 miles a day!)
  20. I will echo the women's shelter idea. A lot of times they have people to come in to read with the kids. I worked with Habitat to help clean one out but never got much people interaction. If there are any Big Brother/Big Sister-like programs in your area, then you should look into them. If you are interested, there might be service groups at your college that have lots of one-time service opportunities that can turn into something long-term if you like. Also - if you have the opportunity to be a resident assistant, you might look into that as well. You would be surprised what your peers go through and this could land you free housing as well. A sort of unrelated job but the two people I know who are currently in MSW programs were RAs.
  21. Two to ask if they would take people straight out of undergrad (1 year out of school but I mean really, essentially I am still a young pup!) and three for a recommendation. One actually e-mailed ME to tell me about the program once I applied. This prof was actually a POI that I neglected* to mention in my SOP. Oops! (And by neglected I mean I was interested in her research but just FORGOT to include it in my SOP. I thought I had but I guess the billion proofreads missed that one.)
  22. If this had just been part of the rejection letter, then hmm I'd be skeptical but since they took extra time out of their day, I am sure that this is not unfounded. The DrPH is very practice-oriented, perhaps they just want a year or two out of work with that MPH to see what you can do! You should be encouraged, they took extra time to let you know that you were a strong applicant. =)
  23. I'm really considering it! Visiting in a few weeks. =)
  24. I actually made some changes in plans so that I am not at the Greyhound station at midnight. (Phew!) But that is great to know! I am really excited about visiting OSU. I went to a city school with relatively NO campus so I am excited to visit a school WITH a campus and with COLLEGE SPORTS!
  25. I have one school visit left and finally booked tickets, got everything set and realized that I know NOTHING about how to get around Columbus. I am flying in for the day into CMH and then taking a Greyhound bus out at midnight. I know there are some Ohio State students on this forum, so I figured you may be able to help. First, do you happen to know a convenient way from the airport to the school? I am not staying in a hotel, so I cannot utilize their shuttles (although if I could sneak on, I'd be ok with that =P). I tried using the COTA trip planner but it has be going a weird route that takes 1.5 hours! And then there are cabs which I want to stay away from because this school is only partially subsidizing the trip (and I know they can get pricey). I assume that I will be wandering around campus until 5ish. Then I suppose things will start to close and I have nothing to do until I catch a Greyhound out at midnight. Any suggestions as to places I could hang out (coffee-shops that stay open late, bookstores, dive bars) would be great. And finally, as I mentioned before, I will be taking a Greyhound bus out to visit a friend. Here's the deal: it leaves at midnight. I am not aware of how "good the neighborhood is" or anything like that. I am leaving from the Greyhound station that is not at the airport, btw. (I work in a very sketchy neighborhood but I am familiar with it. I am not opposed to wandering sketchy 'hoods as long as I or someone that I am with is familiar with the area! But since I am alone, that might not be the best idea.) I would maybe cave in and take a cab here since it is late, but if COTA runs near here, then I am down to walk a block. Is there anything around here that could possibly amuse me for a few hours? So as you can see, I am totally in the dark. I am talking to the grad administrator of my program but it also is nice to hear opinions from people actually going to school there.
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