MPH CANADA FALL 2015 APPLICANTS

[mapleleaf8899]

Great to find this thread for Canadians. I am currently working in the public health field, interested in pursuing a master degree through online learning. I have applied to LSHTM's Msc public health program distance learning learning and got accepted. I am still not quite decided on this yet with a few questions in mind and wonder if I can get any insight on this forum. Anyone have more idea/experience with this school? My limited knowledge is only from Internet search which showed the school is very well known in the area of public health. I am also not sure if a Canadian or even US program will be better for me considering I am working in the North America environment. One of the reason I applied to the LSHTM program was that it requires no on campus component or practicum which will impose minimum interruption to my work and family life, I am not sure if a practicum will be beneficial to get some more experience, although I am already in the public health field, practicum might not be that crucial to me anyway. I am also not sure why most Canadian programs requires a on campus component?

[canadianmph]

Did anyone on here apply to Memorial U? For those accepted, when is the deadline to accept or decline the offer?

[eeee927]

I need your help! Is it better to enter a MPH program that's in its first year (McMaster) or one that's been around for longer (Queen's ) ? 
 
I live much close to Mac, so I'm leaning towards there so I won't have to spend money for rent for the exact same program, but at the same time I'm iffy about going there since I feel like it'll be unorganized/have a lot of kinks as it is its first year 
 

[mph201516]

I need your help! Is it better to enter a MPH program that's in its first year (McMaster) or one that's been around for longer (Queen's ) ? 

 

I live much close to Mac, so I'm leaning towards there so I won't have to spend money for rent for the exact same program, but at the same time I'm iffy about going there since I feel like it'll be unorganized/have a lot of kinks as it is its first year 

 

As you said Queen's program is more established and i believe someone wrote a review about MPH program in one of the older threads 

i heard mostly positive feedback about Queen's program. in the other hand, McMaster is new but that doesn't mean it will be bad experience 

personally if i ever got an acceptance from Queens, i will take it in a heart beat lol you're so lucky!

the only reason i won't apply to Queens because one of their requirements is GRE test for international students like me

I live in Guelph but i commute to Kingston every other week for my classes in St.Lawrence college. 

​in my personal opinion Kingston is better than Hamilton, prices and rent are often reasonable in Kingston too.

[hellohopeful]

I need your help! Is it better to enter a MPH program that's in its first year (McMaster) or one that's been around for longer (Queen's ) ? 

 

I live much close to Mac, so I'm leaning towards there so I won't have to spend money for rent for the exact same program, but at the same time I'm iffy about going there since I feel like it'll be unorganized/have a lot of kinks as it is its first year 

 

 

wow..that's a tough decision...does tuition make a difference? What about the courses they offer, which ones are you most interested in and you think will give you a leg up to what you want to do in Public Health? Or if you're doing a thesis is there anyone that you're interested in working with? 

 

Maybe answering these questions might make your decision easier.

 

Queen's is an amazing school with a great program, but I also think it would be interesting to be part of a pilot program.

[mphcandidate2015]

do all schools tell you about waitlists or do you have to call and find out?

[hellohopeful]

do all schools tell you about waitlists or do you have to call and find out?

 

they should tell you

[hellohopeful]

So I received an email for recommendation today for McMaster!!

 

Does this mean "I'm in"?

[mph201516]

So I received an email for recommendation today for McMaster!!

 

Does this mean "I'm in"?

same here, i just received an email for recommendation!

hopefully we will going to be classmates.  

[hellohopeful]

same here, i just received an email for recommendation!

hopefully we will going to be classmates.  

 

Congrats!

[amanda5]

Has anyone heard back from UofT Health Promotion yet?

[syedm25]

Has anyone heard back from UofT Health Promotion yet?

 

I'm still waiting! I'm not sure when their planning on giving us an update

[hellohopeful]

Hi Hellohopeful! Thanks for the help!

 

I was wondering for your last year for your GPA for McMaster if you had any 2nd year courses? I have to take 2 in order to complete a certificate but I'm worried they will think I'm taking lower year courses when in reality they are tough classes. I'm not sure what to do, as I need these for my certificate..

 

Hey, 

 

No I didn't take any second year courses, my last year was a mix of 3rd and 4th year. Do you know if the certificate will appear on your transcript? I think that you may be OK considering that you also have a CV and a Letter of Purpose to talk a bit about your certificate. I would definitely list it under Education with the year that your started and finished it and then maybe give an example of a few courses that relate to public health, and then in your Letter I'd just write a little bit about how you certificate "gives you an advantage"/ how it can be applied to the program. Personally I'd give you extra bonus points for doing it at the same time! 

 

I know for most graduate programs they want to see the highest grades in courses that relate to that graduate degree, but as long as you meet the minimum average they won't reject you right away.

[mph201516]

Hi Hellohopeful! Thanks for the help!

 

I was wondering for your last year for your GPA for McMaster if you had any 2nd year courses? I have to take 2 in order to complete a certificate but I'm worried they will think I'm taking lower year courses when in reality they are tough classes. I'm not sure what to do, as I need these for my certificate..

hello there! i'm currently taking a certificate program and i had to retake some courses as well in order to finish the certificate 

i believe your transcripts will show that anyway. i advise you to put the certificate under the academic experience in your resume. explain why you took this certificate in your letter of intent plus how it's related to MPH.

good luck. 

[mphfall015]

Hi all,

I have been a long time follower of this forum, but writing here for the 1st time...a bit disappointed by my rejections...!!

I belong to India its been my 2nd attempt this time and then too I was rejected..

I applied to lakehead, Sfu, Uvic,Guelph and Uot

The first 3 uni have rejected my application Don't know why hence sharing my stats below. Suggestions from rest of the forum members are welcome as it will help me upgrade my application for the next time.

Gpa 3/4

Work exp 2 Years and 8 months of voluntary experience as a dental health educator and promoter in an Ngo.

1 epidemological research published.

2 certificate courses one in statistics and the other one in monitoring and evaluation.

While working with the Ngo I have given lectures on dental health promotion in various rural areas in my city.

Please suggestions are welcome from everyone

[charliemarlie]

Hi all,

I have been a long time follower of this forum, but writing here for the 1st time...a bit disappointed by my rejections...!!

I belong to India its been my 2nd attempt this time and then too I was rejected..

I applied to lakehead, Sfu, Uvic,Guelph and Uot

The first 3 uni have rejected my application Don't know why hence sharing my stats below. Suggestions from rest of the forum members are welcome as it will help me upgrade my application for the next time.

Gpa 3/4

Work exp 2 Years and 8 months of voluntary experience as a dental health educator and promoter in an Ngo.

1 epidemological research published.

2 certificate courses one in statistics and the other one in monitoring and evaluation.

While working with the Ngo I have given lectures on dental health promotion in various rural areas in my city.

Please suggestions are welcome from everyone

Mphfall015, your stats look good, given that ypu npt only have voluntary wrk experience but also a published work. alot of emphasis is placed on letter on interest which ypu submit to universities. Give emphasis to it and in case English is not your first language, get help from native english speaker. Also, if you have done your undergrad from outside canada, how good are your toefl/ielts results. Your CV should also be well presented to make an impact.

Did your hear anything from Guelph and UofT yet?

[eo92]

Just got an official acceptance from U of T Health Promotion! I believe this is the first round for the acceptances since we have a deadline of responding by May27! I'm sure they will be sending out the second round soon!

I will be accepting U of T, and rejecting Queens! So for anyone who is still waiting on Queens - there will be a spot opening up!

Anyone else get into Health Promo at U of T? I would love to meet my future classmates this has been my top choice for my MPH since I was in my second year so I'm super excited to start in Sept

Edited May 17, 2015 by eo92

[mphfall015]

Mphfall015, your stats look good, given that ypu npt only have voluntary wrk experience but also a published work. alot of emphasis is placed on letter on interest which ypu submit to universities. Give emphasis to it and in case English is not your first language, get help from native english speaker. Also, if you have done your undergrad from outside canada, how good are your toefl/ielts results. Your CV should also be well presented to make an impact.

Did your hear anything from Guelph and UofT yet?

[mphfall015]

Hi my ielts score is 7.5 bands forgot to mention that earlier

No i didnot receive any news from Guelph nor uot.though i called guelh a few days back they told that they would be sending out 2nd round of admission offers soon...they usually wait for almost 21+15 days for the students to accept the admission offer, they also mentioned that the program is highly competitive and there are almost 300 applications n 30 seats.

[mphfall015]

Mphfall015, your stats look good, given that ypu npt only have voluntary wrk experience but also a published work. alot of emphasis is placed on letter on interest which ypu submit to

universities. Give emphasis to it and in case English is not your first language, get help from native english speaker. Also, if you have done your undergrad from outside canada, how good are your toefl/ielts results. Your CV should also be well presented to make an impact.

Did your hear anything from Guelph and UofT yet?

I submitted my applications in 2nd week of jan asi was waiting for provisional acceptance of my research paper..

N on writing to lakehead about the reason for my rejection i was simply told that its the department decision... Nothing more than that..!!

Edited May 17, 2015 by mphfall015

[mphfall015]

Just got an official acceptance from U of T Health Promotion! I believe this is the first round for the acceptances since we have a deadline of responding by May27! I'm sure they will be sending out the second round soon!

I will be accepting U of T, and rejecting Queens! So for anyone who is still waiting on Queens - there will be a spot opening up!

Anyone else get into Health Promo at U of T? I would love to meet my future classmates this has been my top choice for my MPH since I was in my second year so I'm super excited to start in Sept

Hi.. Congratulations

I am waiting for mine too!!

Hope u dnt mind sharing ur stats

[eeee927]

I ended up not accepting Queen's so a spot should be opening up for one of you on the waitlist  
 
I will be seeing whoever accepted MPH at McMaster in the Fall ) 
 

[hellohopeful]

I ended up not accepting Queen's so a spot should be opening up for one of you on the waitlist  

 

I will be seeing whoever accepted MPH at McMaster in the Fall ) 

 

May I ask, did you already get your official offer from SGS? If you did, how long did they take between the recommendation and the official offer?

[out.to.sea]

Hi all,

I have been a long time follower of this forum, but writing here for the 1st time...a bit disappointed by my rejections...!!

I belong to India its been my 2nd attempt this time and then too I was rejected..

I applied to lakehead, Sfu, Uvic,Guelph and Uot

The first 3 uni have rejected my application Don't know why hence sharing my stats below. Suggestions from rest of the forum members are welcome as it will help me upgrade my application for the next time.

Gpa 3/4

Work exp 2 Years and 8 months of voluntary experience as a dental health educator and promoter in an Ngo.

1 epidemological research published.

2 certificate courses one in statistics and the other one in monitoring and evaluation.

While working with the Ngo I have given lectures on dental health promotion in various rural areas in my city.

Please suggestions are welcome from everyone

 

Hello!

 

I am not Canadian, but I was accepted to the U of A. My story is a little different from yours however, because I am from the US so I did not have to take any sort of English exam. 

 

 It sounds like you have great stats and I'm also puzzled as to why you haven't been accepted. Other than getting great scores on your English exams, having more than one person review your application, essays, and CV, there might be a few other things you can do.

 

I had to interview for U of A. The man asked me at least three questions that pertained to why I chose Canada. Why not the US? Why not Europe? Why that program specifically? I had also looked up information about Edmonton, about how my degree would transfer back to the US. 

 

Now, I may be completely wrong about this, so please don't take this the wrong way. When I applied, I made it very very clear that I was not going to try and stay in Canada and become a permanent resident. I'm sure you mentioned in your application how you want to return back to India to work, or at least work outside of Canada, but in case you didn't, you might want to try that next time. 

 

I read that suggestion somewhere online and I used it with my application. Apparently students come to Canada and then use it as a way to become citizens. Now, the universities may not care at all what you want to do after you graduate, but maybe they do? I don't know. 

 

I called the U of A. If I attend full-time, I can work full-time. However, if I attend part-time, I CANNOT work full-time. Basically, from what I understand, if you work full-time in Canada for one year in a skilled job and you accumulate enough hours, you can apply to become a permanent resident. 

 

So, from what I understand, U of A has made it to where you can't study part-time and then work full-time to attempt to count those hours towards your application to become a permanent resident. 

 

Again, I don't know how things work but I would make yours reasons for choosing Canada very clear and then your future path outside of Canada very clear. 

 

Good luck!! 

[out.to.sea]

Now, If I just happen to meet a hunk of a Canadian and we happen to decide to settle in Canada, I would love that! But you know, it sounds like you have a great career ahead of you in India, so I don't know really. 

 

Have you asked the universities?