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do you know how many you got wrong? did you check the diagnostic report?

How much should I talk about why I want to study at the particular college? Wouldn't saying that the SOPH has x program and y research be obvious to the adcom? Or does it show that I am serious and know about the programs? Thanks.

Wow. Thank you. I'll be working on some drafts.

Thanks again for the response. Okay, how is this. Italics are not part of the paragraph: I was always a bright student. From ------ high school (super prestigious high school), I enrolled in the -----prestigious program----- (that I ultimately got kicked out from) at ------ College with free tuition and prodigious scholarships. I finished my first 40 credits with a 3.7 GPA while participating in extra curricular 1 in the fall, extra curricular 2 in the spring and extra curricular 3. And during the beginning of my darkest depressive episode, I gathered the courage to finish my last 20 credits with a 3.50. I'd rather not make excuses for what happened to my grades in between, but I was ignorant, immature and also lacked the fortitude to handle my mood episodes effectively. The next two paragraphs, I explain my mood symptoms, treatment and experiences being arrested and hospitalized. My closing paragraph is: I didn't write this essay to invoke pity or divert responsibility, because I would like to be judged by my merit and ability. It has taken years of failures and effort to finally get my act together and manage my illness. I've encountered many mentally ill people throughout my experience, and I can say that I am fortunate for many reasons. I don't want to squander my talent with meaningless pursuits or inaction. My aim is to fully utilize my potential in public health, preferably psychiatric epidemiology, so that I can benefit society. Should I mention that I can't travel outside my city, so I'm limited in options of MPH programs to apply to? That's basically saying, "I'm not applying anywhere else, accept me and I'll enroll." Is that bad? Should I mention that I want to go to a particular school because they have classes specific to psychiatric epidemiology? Or that they are affiliated with many research centers linked to psychiatry or psychology? I'd like to go to Columbia's Mailman SOPH. Their average GPA and GRE scores were 3.4 and 581 V - 671 Q. Enrolled vs. Accepted vs. Applied is 516 to 1254 to 2015 My GPA is 2.66 (B.S. in Math), and I'm scoring on the GRE practice exams ~500-600 V and ~700 Q. Thanks.

Thank you for your response. I'll look into ways of moving around the bipolar issue. GPA-wise, I did very well in the first 3 semesters of college. And I finished my last 20 credits well, too. Should I make a special mention of that in my essay, or is it evident to the adcom from my transcripts? I just want to highlight that I do have the academic ability, but if they will see it from the transcript and GRE, then there is no point in putting it in the essay. Thanks again.

CUNY Hunter has an MPH program with concentrations in Epi and Bios. Anyone have information on this program? Thanks.

For review. I'd like to apply to Biostatistics or Epidemiology MPH programs. Thanks. I was involuntarily committed to a “suitable facility” a few months after I graduated college. I have Bipolar Disorder Type I with psychotic features, and it went undiagnosed until my final semester of college. I always attributed my low GPA – W's and F's littered across my transcript – to stress, lack of discipline and laziness. There is some truth to that, but my mental illness, left untreated, slowly affected my life in real and increasingly severe ways. My journey, though unpleasant, has increased my patience and maturity. Going to clinics, attending day treatment programs, being hospitalized and arrested (no convictions) has given me a first hand look into public health as a consumer. I've always gravitated toward service-oriented work, and my experience and illness has sparked a desire to work in Public Health. Also, what direction do you think the body of the essay should take? GPA 2.7 PowerPrep Practice: 590 V / 720 Q 510 V / 700 Q No work experience Some volunteer work in service based organizations - not health related.

Personally, I think the severity matters. If you needed medication to "get your shit together," then it would be unfortunate for the committee to think you were lazy and just unwilling to get it together otherwise. Plus, an uptrend in GPA because you stopped being lazy is different from one because you finally got medication. I don't know anything about ADD/ADHD; only you know how much it affected you. And perhaps you will ask yourself to write honestly about it and your academic career. I have bipolar disorder with psychotic features. I barely graduated from college in 5 years. I was ultimately committed to a psychiatric hospital for 2 years a few months after I graduated. I am definitely going to disclose it. My illness affected my entire life during college, the few years after it and even today. I am still slowly getting my shit together. It went undiagnosed until my last semester (at the college clinic), and I have a whole slew of withdrawn classes, F's and a GPA of 2.66. I have my fair share of A's on my transcript in the beginning and some at the end, but none in the middle - mostly just W's and F's. I want to do well on the GREs and write a good essay that doesn't sound like a "woe is me" story. I did make mistakes, and I didn't always deal with my problems with maturity. I also misdirected my energy when my mood was good towards other non-academic pursuits because I wanted to escape the "stress of school." It's a mixed bag.

Thanks for the replies. That makes sense - to get the first few questions correct. I have 5 months, so I want to spend some time doing rote memorization of vocabulary. I get more RC questions right compared to the analogies and SC. Happy New Year!

I've been finishing my exams with extra time left on the clock - more than 5 minutes for each section. Is there anything I can do to improve my score and make use of the extra time? Thanks. Powerprep scores were 590 V / 720 Q 510 V / 700 Q My vocabulary is weak, and I'd like to try for an 800 Q.