anony2888

Someone who applied in December claims to have been admitted today on the results page, so maybe we will all be hearing soon. I hope so. Waiting is tough!

I also applied December 1 and have not heard anything. I check Wolverine Access multiple times a day, LOL. I'm a good candidate, so I don't think they looked at my application and said, "Let's see if someone better comes along." The probably have hundreds of applications to go through and people applied before December 1, which was only the first deadline. I doubt they have even gotten to those who applied on the deadline. I'm not going to start worrying unless another month goes by without any news.

How's everyone doing? My applications are all submitted. Final count: five, including SDSU, UCLA, WUSTL, Berkeley, and University of Michigan with some being dual degree with MPH and some MSW only. I am so happy to be done with this process. It's a massive amount of work with a demanding, full time job. My numbers are below average, but everything else is above average. I'm not counting on anything, but I am cautiously optimistic.

UCLA's MSW application isn't due until December 15th for fellowship consideration. It might be different for dual-degree applicants. I have submitted and am complete at Michigan and Berkeley (both for dual degree MSW/MPH). I need to finish WUSTL (MPH submitted and complete, need to finish MSW app), San Diego State (MSW only) and UCLA (MSW only) this weekend. My LORs are all in. I had to call and walk her through the process to get the last one submitted, but it's in and that's what counts.

Your GPA is just one factor they look at. Most programs want a minimum of 3.0. Since you are over that, you won't get screened out. Your GRE is really good and you have some experience. With a good SOP that explains why you are interested in public health and good LORs, I think you might be pleasantly surprised.

Now I have a new problem! One of my transcripts came from a community college district and shows all coursework from the different campuses, but SOPHAS says it received transcripts for one of those campuses, which is impossible. I have sent help a message. I've submitted but obviously can't be considered complete until these are all credited correctly. Sigh. My first deadline is December 1.

I have one they say they never received; I ordered one for myself at the same time and I had it within days. I just reordered a new one. All the others arrived very quickly.

I'm in the same boat with the math. I have a really analytical job and work with numbers all day long. But geometry? Algebra? Not so much!

I'm not looking at this from a strictly vocational standpoint. I have ideas about what I want to do, obviously. But first, I really want the intellectual exercise of being in class, having discussions, writing papers, and doing the field work. I've had a long career already. I've been in charge. I'm not in a hurry to attach myself to an outcome, nor am I concerned about getting a job afterwards because I am already a proven entity.

I'm also applying MSW/MPH for Fall 2016. I have too many schools: nine. I like them all for various reasons but a common problem I have is that I will really like the SW program but then the MPH program will be generalist or not have a concentration that excites me, or vice versa. I also think I should be applying broadly because my academic record is not that great. I'm working on my essays now. I am taking the GRE next month. My goal is to get micro/direct practice training on the SW side, along with the population perspective of the MPH. I will be going FT, am a career changer, and very worried about the cost as well! It seems only expensive schools offer the MSW/MPH. I have one cheap in-state that offers it, but they force you into administration and management for both. It would be cheaper for me to do the two degrees separately at this university over four years in the concentrations that I want. That's an option. There's no way I am going $100K + into the hole for this and I think it's ethically suspect to charge that kind of tuition for a social work degree! Subsequently, Columbia is not on my list, nor is USC (University of Southern California).

This is extremely helpful information. Of course it would be oversharing to go into detail what my experiences were, makes perfect sense. It's essentially served as the jumping off point, if you will, of my interest in improving survivorship and quality of life for adolescent and young adult cancer patients. I would be surprised if anyone from undergrad remembered me but it's worth a shot. I'm taking a health care finance class right now through a local university and will be asking that professor. I have noticed that some of the MSW/MPH programs are set up that way specifically- where you start in social work then apply to public health during the first or second year. Thanks for your thoughts!

I am planning to apply for Fall 2016 admissions for MSW/MPH programs. I finished undergrad over ten years ago and have enjoyed a successful full-time career in fundraising since that time. I have worked for a university that provides medical education as well as a university that mainly serves first gen and disadvantaged population. I am currently in a management position. My goal is to be a trained clinician in social work and to be on an oncology or transplant service working with young adults. I am not am not interested in being an administrator as my primary role. I have an interest in research. I am drawn to this program of study for personal reasons- I faced very serious health challenges as a young adult, including medical errors and I experienced a system that has no plan for serving this unique group of patients- too old for pediatrics and much too young for an adult system that is geared towards geriatrics. I have no obvious public health experience beyond my own illness (participated in various online communities, pointed other patients to resources and peer-reviewed research, filed complaint letters with hospital/medical board following my situation) and fundraising is my human services experience (yes it counts- I checked). I graduated from a less-competitive UC with a 3.2-ish GPA. I started a grad program in an entirely different field but was academically disqualified after I stopped going due to my illness. I took the old GRE many years ago and I scored in the 95th percentile in verbal and also very high on the writing. Math is my weakness. I am planning to take it again in early October, working on the math part now. I have many questions beyond "do I have a shot in hell." -How personal is acceptable in a personal statement? I fear being perceived in a negative way by saying out loud that I had x illness. -Do my personal experiences count as "public health experience?" -I don't think I can get a letter from a professor as I don't work with them directly and I haven't been a student in years. Can I submit three professional ones? -For many of the MSW/MPH programs, you apply to each department separately. If I only get in on the MSW side and not the MPH, can I go ahead and just do the MSW? -How many schools should I be applying to? I have nine currently. Thank you for reading this far and for any help you can offer!