MPH 2021 Canada

[elboujee]

12 hours ago, bbj said:

Hey guys,

Idk if this is the right place to ask this but maybe someone here will know ... 

If I take an extra year to a semester to upgrade as part of my degree, how is that looked at by universities? (this means I will be graduating in 5.5 to 6 years (total))

Is this an issue? is it better if i graduate then upgrade ? what are you thoughts please let me know

 

This sounds similar to my experience a few years back.

My grades were horrible my first 3 years of undergrad (too much partying, unfocused). By year 4 I had an epiphany that if I didn’t get my sh*t together I wouldn’t qualify for many opportunities after graduation. I re-took 9 (NINE!) courses to qualify for Honours thesis work. I ended up getting high grades, a departmental excellence award, and making life-long connections with my profs during the last 2 years. And I graduated with an Honours thesis under my belt. My undergrad took a total of 6 years to complete. AND I took 6 more ‘medically-related’ courses at Athabsca after graduation. 

I was accepted to UBC and McGill this year. In my opinion, upgrading while still in university is a wise idea. Don’t stress about how long it takes you. Your path is yours, and yours alone. The discipline to extend school to upgrade shows maturity and tenacity. Focus on getting that upward trend (in grades or experience). You GOT this!

Edited April 13, 2021 by elboujee

[kmph99]

hey everyone, I’m very late to this thread but I figured I should respond!

I applied to 4 universities (heard back from 3 - rejected ?) just waiting to hear back from Guelph. Has anyone received rejection letters from there? 
 
Also has anyone applied for the MSc in Population Med (Public Health) Rolling admission at Guelph? If so - I’d love to chat about it as I am interested too. 
 

Please cross your fingers for me for Guelph ahhhh

[Mai86]

9 hours ago, QualityNut said:

I'm in the same boat. I  think it's an automated message and doesn't mean much. I am an annoying person who sent an email mid March as I was getting impatient and on friday and I got the same exact message re: "cautious review". They also said Late March/Early April but we're not in "Early April" anymore so gawdddd knows when they'll get back to us.  

I am trying to be as positive as I can. Hopefully they will get back to us very soon

[crustbox3000]

51 minutes ago, kmph99 said:

hey everyone, I’m very late to this thread but I figured I should respond!

I applied to 4 universities (heard back from 3 - rejected ?) just waiting to hear back from Guelph. Has anyone received rejection letters from there? 
 
Also has anyone applied for the MSc in Population Med (Public Health) Rolling admission at Guelph? If so - I’d love to chat about it as I am interested too. 
 

Please cross your fingers for me for Guelph ahhhh

I applied to that program! And it's the last program I'm waiting on

[Maha M]

not quite sure if this is the right place to ask this but anyone who has gotten a public health job with their undergrad degree did you have previous experience?

also is it easier to get into mph programs once you've had a year of experience or do they prefer people going straight into mph from undergrad?

trying to decide if I should apply to other mph programs with later deadlines or spend the year working

Edited April 13, 2021 by Maha M

[Natasha7]

1 hour ago, kmph99 said:

hey everyone, I’m very late to this thread but I figured I should respond!

I applied to 4 universities (heard back from 3 - rejected ?) just waiting to hear back from Guelph. Has anyone received rejection letters from there? 
 
Also has anyone applied for the MSc in Population Med (Public Health) Rolling admission at Guelph? If so - I’d love to chat about it as I am interested too. 
 

Please cross your fingers for me for Guelph ahhhh

Crossing my fingers for you!!!  
it’ll work out!

What stats and experiences did you apply with if you don’t mind sharing

[Natasha7]

anyone with UofT Epi updates?! please share!!!

[khfish9726]

Hey I was just wondering if there is any additional forums or anything (like Facebook groups) that exist to connect with other future classmates? I am wondering about Guelph specifically  

[SunnyMPH]

23 hours ago, susume said:

I got a letter of acceptance to UofA MPH and I was told to wait on the portal and to confirm my intent to accept. While this was happening I was interviewing for a role at Public Health Toronto and I was successful in getting the permanent full time position. But last week I turned down the job offer because the position would be starting in 1-2 months before the UofA mph. I emailed UofA as to why my status has still not updated on the portal last week and they just emailed me that I'm no longer accepted upon further review of my application... that my gpa doesn't meet the cut off. Even though they had all my documents from the start. If anyone has any advice as to what to do... would be great. I'm really down right now because I turned down the job because of this and I have no school to go to either ?

Wow that is terrible. I hope you can get one or the other but always remember for the future. Always pick a job before school. You can always try to defer school to the next year but the experience of a job is priceless.

[SunnyMPH]

Anything more from Lakehead, UWaterloo, or Queens?

[SunnyMPH]

1 hour ago, Maha M said:

not quite sure if this is the right place to ask this but anyone who has gotten a public health job with their undergrad degree did you have previous experience?

also is it easier to get into mph programs once you've had a year of experience or do they prefer people going straight into mph from undergrad?

trying to decide if I should apply to other mph programs with later deadlines or spend the year working

Its challenging to get a Public Health job with an undergraduate degree (especially in the pandemic) unless the undergrad is in something tangible like nursing or computer science but from what others have told me, experience will always go a long way in getting you into grad school. You may need yo volunteer if you can't get your foot in the door.

[AlChuck]

23 hours ago, susume said:

I got a letter of acceptance to UofA MPH and I was told to wait on the portal and to confirm my intent to accept. While this was happening I was interviewing for a role at Public Health Toronto and I was successful in getting the permanent full time position. But last week I turned down the job offer because the position would be starting in 1-2 months before the UofA mph. I emailed UofA as to why my status has still not updated on the portal last week and they just emailed me that I'm no longer accepted upon further review of my application... that my gpa doesn't meet the cut off. Even though they had all my documents from the start. If anyone has any advice as to what to do... would be great. I'm really down right now because I turned down the job because of this and I have no school to go to either ?

I'm so confused by this.  What was your GPA?  Isn't the cutoff like 3.0?  Additionally, isn't that one of the major criteria that they look at?  UAlberta does things weird.... and they aren't transparent at all about their system.  

[Natasha7]

Guys I’m legit going mad just waiting for answers!!! 

[kmph99]

1 hour ago, Natasha7 said:

Crossing my fingers for you!!!  
it’ll work out!

What stats and experiences did you apply with if you don’t mind sharing

Thank you! ?

Honestly, my stats are very very low compared to everyone else on here, due to my first year. (This is totally off topic, but basically I suffered severe mental illness episodes and had no idea. Additionally, I wasn’t given the option to drop courses I was already failing.) This is one of the many reasons I want to go into Public Health, for Mental Health and Health Promotion of students because we are treated very poorly. I think my cGPA is maybe a 72 or so now, but my sGPA is around an 78, again this is very low, but I stay in high spirits!
 

However, I have experience volunteering at a health unit doing health promotion jobs, with hockey and skating clubs, I considered PT/OT at one point so I volunteered alongside them. I actually got to lead an exercise group for a few months for LTC patients. I currently am a peer/student mentor and I also volunteer alongside children that have learning disabilities. As for work, I have had a few jobs but the one that stands out the most is my job at my local hospital. I worked in the health records department and as an administrative assistant, where I dealt with patient files and health policy, etc. I’ve seen up close the daily job of someone who does Health Policy & Procedure and it’s honestly very interesting to me. 
 

Should I not get into the Master’s of Public Health at Guelph, I am still looking into the MSc in Population Med (Public Health) as another option (I had no idea it existed until I found this forum the other day I was caught off guard!!) And should that not work out, I’ll do my Kinesiology exam and become a Registered Kinesiologist and try again next year. 

[Natasha7]

Just now, kmph99 said:

Thank you! ?

Honestly, my stats are very very low compared to everyone else on here, due to my first year. (This is totally off topic, but basically I suffered severe mental illness episodes and had no idea. Additionally, I wasn’t given the option to drop courses I was already failing.) This is one of the many reasons I want to go into Public Health, for Mental Health and Health Promotion of students because we are treated very poorly. I think my cGPA is maybe a 72 or so now, but my sGPA is around an 78, again this is very low, but I stay in high spirits!
 

However, I have experience volunteering at a health unit doing health promotion jobs, with hockey and skating clubs, I considered PT/OT at one point so I volunteered alongside them. I actually got to lead an exercise group for a few months for LTC patients. I currently am a peer/student mentor and I also volunteer alongside children that have learning disabilities. As for work, I have had a few jobs but the one that stands out the most is my job at my local hospital. I worked in the health records department and as an administrative assistant, where I dealt with patient files and health policy, etc. I’ve seen up close the daily job of someone who does Health Policy & Procedure and it’s honestly very interesting to me. 
 

Should I not get into the Master’s of Public Health at Guelph, I am still looking into the MSc in Population Med (Public Health) as another option (I had no idea it existed until I found this forum the other day I was caught off guard!!) And should that not work out, I’ll do my Kinesiology exam and become a Registered Kinesiologist and try again next year. 

Honestly you have the passion so don’t let the rejections get you down, just keep at it!!! Which schools, other than Guelph, did you apply to?

[kmph99]

11 minutes ago, Natasha7 said:

Honestly you have the passion so don’t let the rejections get you down, just keep at it!!! Which schools, other than Guelph, did you apply to?

McMaster, UofT & Waterloo. What about you??

[bbj]

6 hours ago, elboujee said:

This sounds similar to my experience a few years back.

My grades were horrible my first 3 years of undergrad (too much partying, unfocused). By year 4 I had an epiphany that if I didn’t get my sh*t together I wouldn’t qualify for many opportunities after graduation. I re-took 9 (NINE!) courses to qualify for Honours thesis work. I ended up getting high grades, a departmental excellence award, and making life-long connections with my profs during the last 2 years. And I graduated with an Honours thesis under my belt. My undergrad took a total of 6 years to complete. AND I took 6 more ‘medically-related’ courses at Athabsca after graduation. 

I was accepted to UBC and McGill this year. In my opinion, upgrading while still in university is a wise idea. Don’t stress about how long it takes you. Your path is yours, and yours alone. The discipline to extend school to upgrade shows maturity and tenacity. Focus on getting that upward trend (in grades or experience). You GOT this!

Thank you and the others who replied to my post so much! Your thoughts and experiences were super helpful! 

[BEN29]

Hey everyone, not related to programs or anything but I would sincerely appreciate any advice or suggestions for my situation. I have applied only to two programs and have been waitlisted at both. Hearing how only 3-4 students have a chance at getting off the waitlist broke my heart but I figured it would be better to just have back up plans in case the worst comes to worst. My initial back up plan was to work and gain more experience in public health should I not get an offer this year at all. I am really struggling figuring out where to search for work since everything is pretty much dried up. I have zero real life health care experience (i.e. hospitals, clinics), but have a lot of community based research experience and volunteering with public health organizations (which I just started this year). I am not looking for a particular position, just something that can give me some data analysis experience or help me develop other important skillsets related to public health (preferably remote until I can get a vaccine - which I think is July in the best case scenario). Thank you all in advance. Hopefully your replies help others in my situation as well. Take care!

 

TLDR; Need advice for preparing for worst case scenario (no offers this cycle) and finding public health related job opportunities

[4everepi]

18 hours ago, bbj said:

Hey guys,

Idk if this is the right place to ask this but maybe someone here will know ... 

If I take an extra year to a semester to upgrade as part of my degree, how is that looked at by universities? (this means I will be graduating in 5.5 to 6 years (total))

Is this an issue? is it better if i graduate then upgrade ? what are you thoughts please let me know

 

I know someone who is finishing their MSc Epi after doing two undergraduate degrees (second attempt after a rough time during their first undergrad degree).  He just finished his thesis, is one of the smartest people that I work with and is going to U of T for med next year.  AND he's my go-to person for advice because he has been successful given unique circumstances.  Just because taking more time to complete something is not normalized within the academic community doesn't make it wrong! Time = experience = maturity  best of luck and don't lose faith!!!

[4everepi]

45 minutes ago, BEN29 said:

Hey everyone, not related to programs or anything but I would sincerely appreciate any advice or suggestions for my situation. I have applied only to two programs and have been waitlisted at both. Hearing how only 3-4 students have a chance at getting off the waitlist broke my heart but I figured it would be better to just have back up plans in case the worst comes to worst. My initial back up plan was to work and gain more experience in public health should I not get an offer this year at all. I am really struggling figuring out where to search for work since everything is pretty much dried up. I have zero real life health care experience (i.e. hospitals, clinics), but have a lot of community based research experience and volunteering with public health organizations (which I just started this year). I am not looking for a particular position, just something that can give me some data analysis experience or help me develop other important skillsets related to public health (preferably remote until I can get a vaccine - which I think is July in the best case scenario). Thank you all in advance. Hopefully your replies help others in my situation as well. Take care!

 

TLDR; Need advice for preparing for worst case scenario (no offers this cycle) and finding public health related job opportunities

Hey! I graduated from undergrad last year and worked full-time in epidemiology research for the past year (and worked there the last 1.5 years of my undergrad part-time).  My major was wet-lab oriented and I wanted a "dry lab" experience.  If you have community-based/PH organization experience, I think that would be helpful in finding an academic research position!  I've learned so much from assisting different master's and PhD students on their projects (and sticking around long enough has allowed me to be co-author on a couple of publications).  An academic (non-hospital based so I'm able to work remotely because of COVID) posting as a research assistant has been a great learning experience for me, personally.  

Edited April 13, 2021 by pbchocolate

[Natasha7]

Just now, pbchocolate said:

Hey! I graduated from undergrad last year and worked full-time in epidemiology research for the past year (and worked there the last 1.5 years of my undergrad part-time).  My major was wet-lab oriented and I wanted a "dry lab" experience.  If you have community-based/PH organization experience, I think that would be helpful in finding an academic research position!  I've learned so much from assisting different master's and PhD students on their projects (and sticking around long enough has allowed me to be co-author on a couple of publications).  An academic (non-hospital based so I'm able to work remotely because of COVID) posting as a research assistant has been a great learning experience for me, personally.  

What programs and schools have you applied to this cycle?

[AlChuck]

UAlberta "pre-screening" folks: is there any hope left or are we all just waiting for a rejection?  Have our applications even been reviewed by the admissions committee?  Will they ever?  Will we go directly from pre-screening to rejected?  Did we get our references to write those letters for nothing?  Will anyone even read them?  I'm getting a tad bitter about this.

[MPH0921]

For those of us waiting for UofT Epi, there's a good chance we may hear back tomorrow. Looking through last year's posts, I noticed that 2nd/3rd round of offers went out the second Wednesday of April. ? Could be totally wrong but fingers crossed!!!

Edited April 13, 2021 by MPH0921

[lmarph]

5 hours ago, Maha M said:

not quite sure if this is the right place to ask this but anyone who has gotten a public health job with their undergrad degree did you have previous experience?

also is it easier to get into mph programs once you've had a year of experience or do they prefer people going straight into mph from undergrad?

trying to decide if I should apply to other mph programs with later deadlines or spend the year working

My job isn't directly in public health but its closely related. I work in knowledge translation research and I was able to get my job out of undergrad. I had previous research positions (summer internships mostly). I think my research/work experience definitely helped me get the job and also definitely helped with my MPH applications (got into all 4 schools I applied to despite not having a high cumulative GPA). 

I've really enjoyed my year working. It gives me really great perspective on the field, i've gained a ton of applicable skills and I think working between undergrad and my MPH will make me a more desirable hire once I finish my degree. 

[BEN29]

24 minutes ago, pbchocolate said:

Hey! I graduated from undergrad last year and worked full-time in epidemiology research for the past year (and worked there the last 1.5 years of my undergrad part-time).  My major was wet-lab oriented and I wanted a "dry lab" experience.  If you have community-based/PH organization experience, I think that would be helpful in finding an academic research position!  I've learned so much from assisting different master's and PhD students on their projects (and sticking around long enough has allowed me to be co-author on a couple of publications).  An academic (non-hospital based so I'm able to work remotely because of COVID) posting as a research assistant has been a great learning experience for me, personally.  

Thank you for sharing your experiences! I thought about working as a research assistant as well but its just that most of them require me to have knowledge/skills in particular things (i.e. data analysis using specific softwares, platforms, etc) that I didn't use at all in my undergrad. I'm trying to learn some of them but not sure if that would give me an edge over applicants who've used it consistently in previous research/jobs. Anyhow, will continue to search for positions that fit with my skills and experience.