Let's Complain About SOPHAS!

[Kayla123]

oh!  so glad to find other people hated it as much as me... I thought I was doing something wrong.  A ton of my deadlines were early Feb, so I submitted the applications by Jan 14.  SOPHAS literally just processed them a few days ago and finally "mailed" them out.  I'm hoping the schools will accept them because they were submitted before the deadline...but serious pain in the butt.

[Kayla123]

I was super excited when I saw it because I thought it would be less hassle and cheaper than filling out the individual applications.  It was just as expensive and the fact several important instructions were unclear (like...where you're supposed to be sending transcripts and GRE scores) just made it more trouble than it was worth.

[VBD]

I mean the theory of it is fine, a centralized app. Common app made applying to undergrad easier and AMCAS makes applying to med school easier (so I'm told, I would never go that route). So then, why is SOPHAS failing with decently successful predecessors? 

[Kayla123]

I think it was something to do with the fact that the instructions weren't clear AT ALL on several important topics, and again the long processing time...also the fact that there was no nice college guidance counselor to run to with questions.  flying solo on this one

[billie1991yss]

I hate SOPHAS also!!!

They never gonna listen to your complain until you send your complaining mail 100 times!

They never gonna update your status until it is almost toooooooo late..I sent my TOEFL score as early as november 2012, but until this Feburary I keep receiving mails from my schools asking for my scores!

I wrote many mails asking for help in order to have my status updated, and only receive their feedback just on time to update those files--right before the application deadline!

I couldn't complain more,,I just had enough..to think that one day if I tend to apply for a doctoral degree of public health is a torture!

[Hobaboba]

Hi,

1. What is priority early application

2. Is there anyway to waive application fee in general not to SOFHaAs

[HoneyRoasted]

SOPHAS and ETS (company that runs the GRE) are now colluding to fleece aspiring public health professionals even more. They now require a separate GRE score report for each school to which a SOPHAS application is sent.  $25 each time your SOPHAS application - yes, the same common application (that cannot be changed once it's finalized) - is sent to another program.  This fee charged by ETS is in addition to the $120 or $45 that SOPHAS charges for each submission.  It is uncanny how the last letter in 'SOPHAS' stands for 'service'.  It is a disservice...  Much like how CEPH (council for education in public health) accreditation does not correlate to quality pedagogy for public health scholarship; and how CPH (certified in public health "professional credential"), has in reality absolutely zero value.  (Consider this: every profession one can name has people working in some way in the field of public health - physicians, allied health specialists, engineers, mathematicians, virologists, lawyers, financiers, teachers, etc., etc., and none of them necessarily needed specialized training in "public health" (as defined by CEPH).  Yet, with a CEPH-accredited graduate degree and the CPH credential, one could never expect to be permitted to practice in any of those other fields.)  Indeed, rare are instructors in the top tier of public health programs whose own training was had at a school of public health, much less an 'accredited' one.

 

Although I digress from the topic of SOPHAS, the trend evident in how that "service" operates is inseparable from other visible manifestations of ongoing strategic machinations undertaken to increase growth in the economic industry we know of as academia.  Any doubt that public health education is first, a new marketplace created for the industry of academia to grow into, and then secondarily about anything related to scholarship or meaningful learning for population health, should at this point be disabused.

Edited February 11, 2014 by HoneyRoasted

[sharonnyc]

OK, I am getting antsy and waiting for decisions to come through, so I'll bite.  Yes, the GRE is a ripoff, but compared to the exams I had to take to get a medical license and the costs for getting those scores reported it's a bargain.  Also I was allowed to report my score to several schools (and SOPHAS) for free on the day I took the GRE, though of course that is only helpful if the timing is right.  

 

Many (though not all) professors at my MPH program had degrees in public health - from schools of public health, so I'm not sure where that comment is coming from. 

 

Agree that CPH doesn't mean a whole lot right now - but it may in the future.  Public health is an evolving and growing field, and that's a good thing; it's been neglected for too long.

[weiwentg]

I applied to a PhD program via SOPHAS and on the SOPHAS website it said for this particular program my application had to be in to the school by 1/15 so the application should be e-submitted 5-10 business days prior to 1/15. Then on the school's website it said deadline of 1/1- with no mention of SOPHAS. I e-submitted to SOPHAS on 1/1 thinking that 1/1 was the e-submit deadline and 1/15 was the mailing deadline, but now I'm so confused because I'm reading that it takes SOPHAS a month to process things. I called them and they were of no help tell me that my application should be "mailed" in 4-6 weeks, yet, they acknowledged I followed the directions correctly by e-submitting 5-10 business days before 1/15. and that I shouldn't be worried. They were also kind of mean.

 

For PhD applications, two out of the eight schools I applied to were on SOPHAS. With all the time I wasted manually entering courses and grades, it would have been better if none of them accepted SOPHAS applications.

 

I seriously question the value of entering grades manually for any program. Is it to prevent fraud? The admitting school will or should be checking your attendance with your alma mater in any case. 

[katethekitcat]

For PhD applications, two out of the eight schools I applied to were on SOPHAS. With all the time I wasted manually entering courses and grades, it would have been better if none of them accepted SOPHAS applications.

 

I seriously question the value of entering grades manually for any program. Is it to prevent fraud? The admitting school will or should be checking your attendance with your alma mater in any case. 

 

I think it saves a lot of time on the school side. Instead of having to go through 500 transcripts, interpret each one, calculate GPAs, figure out course names and course level, SOPHAS standardizes it all for them. For example, I went to a college that used trimesters and awarded 1 credit for every single course - SOPHAS did the work of standardizing that type of schedule to make it directly comparable to other applicants. It was frustrating, but if it saves time in getting me an admissions decisions, I'm ultimately ok with it.

[PeaceCorps17]

This is my first time applying for grad school and I dislike with a passion that the application process is through SOPHAS. Sure I like that I get notifications that my transcripts and evaluations were received but then why does it take an additional 4 weeks to verify my application when each of sections are completed?!

I just hope this doesn't hinder my chances of my application getting reviewed by UVA

Edited March 6, 2016 by PeaceCorps17
None

[Saksit]

Could anyone tell that need I send my transcript to SOPHAS again? However, I have already submitted and sent to verify by WES and  WES sent my transcript directly to SOPHAS.

[Saksit]

On 3/7/2016 at 4:31 AM, PeaceCorps17 said:

This is my first time applying for grad school and I dislike with a passion that the application process is through SOPHAS. Sure I like that I get notifications that my transcripts and evaluations were received but then why does it take an additional 4 weeks to verify my application when each of sections are completed?!

I just hope this doesn't hinder my chances of my application getting reviewed by UVA

You are the same boat with me because I have some problem like you now please help me!  22/12/2018

[Saksit]

On 12/6/2011 at 2:49 AM, pomo said:

 

I should have planned for the delay -- I had no clue how the system worked, since this is my only SOPHAS application (other programs use embark and applyyourself) and I guess I screwed myself? Though I e-submitted AGES ago, and SOPHAS only told me last week that they needed another copy of one of my transcripts, which I then had to frantically overnight. But now they have everything and it's just...sitting there. I find it quite frustrating!

I am an international student. Now, I have some problem with sending my transcript. However, I have already submitted my official transcript to verify with WES. SOPHAS said that I need to "You must use a copy of your transcripts to properly complete this section. Do not attempt to enter your courses from memory. Please click on e-submit as soon as you have made the appropriate changes. You will not have to make a new payment" How can I do?