Fall 2016 Applicants

[easybreezy]

Happy Friday, everyone!! Has anyone heard from their prospective schools yet?  I know I'm waiting around until the end of this month to the middle of next month.  I just wanted to see who else was playing the waiting game for their Master's of Public Health program.  Good luck to everyone 

[J. R., MPPA]

I got two denials.. but my 3rd choice accepted me.  I'm probably going to go to U of South Carolina if Chapel Hill is a no go.

Speaking of which, has anyone heard from Chapel Hill's Health Policy phd program?

[ejs813]

I've only received interview invites from Brown and Georgia State. No word for me on status for brown post interview yet unfortunately.

still waiting to hear from VCU and UF.

oh rejection from USF but def didn't like the program based on my phone interview so that was a blessing.

[hes.mph]

Hello everyone!

I've heard back from three out of my seven schools. I've been accepted into the Emory MPH in Global Health (I hope to concentrate in Infectious Disease) and George Washington for the MS in Public Health Microbiology and Emerging Infectious Diseases. Denied from UCLA.

I'm so torn at this point- Emory was my #1 and GW my #2! I don't know how to choose between them; I assumed that I wouldn't get into either and would just go with whatever school I was accepted at. I think I'm going to have to wait until I see the campuses and get a financial aid package. 

 

Anyone else apply/been accepted at these schools? 

[easybreezy]

On 2/7/2016 at 9:15 PM, hes.mph said:

Hello everyone!

I've heard back from three out of my seven schools. I've been accepted into the Emory MPH in Global Health (I hope to concentrate in Infectious Disease) and George Washington for the MS in Public Health Microbiology and Emerging Infectious Diseases. Denied from UCLA.

I'm so torn at this point- Emory was my #1 and GW my #2! I don't know how to choose between them; I assumed that I wouldn't get into either and would just go with whatever school I was accepted at. I think I'm going to have to wait until I see the campuses and get a financial aid package. 

 

Anyone else apply/been accepted at these schools? 

Congratulations on Emory and George Washington!  That's a tough one, I'd be torn too! I've heard amazing things about Emory and the campus is gorgeous! Not to mention the CDC is right around the corner.

Edited February 8, 2016 by easybreezy

[easybreezy]

I only applied to two schools - Georgia State and Georgia Southern.  Completed and submitted my SOPHAS app on1/29 and Georgia Southern contacted me almost immediately.  Now, I'm just playing the waiting game.

[hes.mph]

9 hours ago, easybreezy said:

Congratulations on Emory and George Washington!  That's a tough one, I'd be torn too! I've heard amazing things about Emory and the campus is gorgeous! Not to mention the CDC is right around the corner.

Thanks! I think I'm leaning more to Emory at this point because of the CDC. I've always wanted to work there! But I think I'm going to have to wait until I see what kind of financial aid package I get. The idea of that much debt is slightly terrifying. 

[easybreezy]

Just now, hes.mph said:

Thanks! I think I'm leaning more to Emory at this point because of the CDC. I've always wanted to work there! But I think I'm going to have to wait until I see what kind of financial aid package I get. The idea of that much debt is slightly terrifying. 

You're welcome! I want to work there too! The tuition definitely scared me away lol.  That's why I chose Georgia State and Georgia Southern. 

[hes.mph]

Just now, easybreezy said:

You're welcome! I want to work there too! The tuition definitely scared me away lol.  That's why I chose Georgia State and Georgia Southern. 

If you don't mind me asking, how is the Atlanta area? I've never been. Just chose the school on a whim! One of my best friends is currently attending Emory and loves it, but I am a bit nervous about moving across the country. I'm a West Coast girl! The cost of living looks great compared to where I am now (SF Bay Area) and where I grew up (Seattle) AND GW. And the weather looks great too. But I would love to hear what the area around Emory is like from someone who lives there.

[easybreezy]

2 minutes ago, hes.mph said:

If you don't mind me asking, how is the Atlanta area? I've never been. Just chose the school on a whim! One of my best friends is currently attending Emory and loves it, but I am a bit nervous about moving across the country. I'm a West Coast girl! The cost of living looks great compared to where I am now (SF Bay Area) and where I grew up (Seattle) AND GW. And the weather looks great too. But I would love to hear what the area around Emory is like from someone who lives there.

I like it a lot!! I've been here since 2005, but have lived 20-30 minutes away in the suburbs.  There's definitely a lot to see and do when it comes to culture and entertainment.  There's plenty of job opportunities with the Georgia Department of Public Health as well as other county public health officies.  It's usually warm here, minus this week lol (it's freezing here).  It is definitely cheaper than other places, but it depends on what side of town you decide to live on. 

[hes.mph]

Just now, easybreezy said:

I like it a lot!! I've been here since 2005, but have lived 20-30 minutes away in the suburbs.  There's definitely a lot to see and do when it comes to culture and entertainment.  There's plenty of job opportunities with the Georgia Department of Public Health as well as other county public health officies.  It's usually warm here, minus this week lol (it's freezing here).  It is definitely cheaper than other places, but it depends on what side of town you decide to live on. 

Thank you! That's great to hear that there are plenty of jobs in Public Health. That makes me feel good about moving there for a few years. 

[Demeter]

Just chiming in to say that I have not yet heard from anyone. I applied to Penn State, NYMC, and Maryland. They're pretty strong fits for me in health literacy research, which is my focus. I trained previously as a biomedical agriculturalist, which are, I'm told, pretty rare in public health. Glad to have some field specific GC'ers waiting with me! 

[kma19]

Hi! I've heard from three of my five programs so far, all acceptances (yay!): UNC Gillings (Health Behavior), Johns Hopkins BSPH (Schoolwide MPH), and Yale SPH (Social & Behavioral Sciences). My remaining two (Harvard Social/Behavioral & Columbia Sociomedial) both explicitly stated decisions released in mid-Feb and again in mid-March...so I'm playing the waiting game. No word on funding yet, which will ultimately make the decision for me.... 

I'm trying to get visits planned to all the programs that accept me, which is turning out to be a scheduling nightmare! Most have overlapping admitted students day. Are y'all going to those, scheduling your own visits, or...? My official admitted students days are all April 1 or later, which for me seems too close to decision day, but if I'm missing out on something by organizing my own visits, I'd consider waiting. Thoughts?? (Or point me to another thread?)

[storm_jonas]

Sometimes I wonder if school's overlap on purpose. When I was applying for my masters I had to choose which schools to visit.I ended up going to the Hopkins day and canceling my plans to visit others.  I was lucky enough to know a few current students and talking with them helped me get a sense of culture at the schools I didn't visit.

[L265]

@kma19, I've also been accepted to UNC, and I, too, am concerned about waiting until April 1 to visit. Are other people considering scheduling their own visits? 

[moka1512]

Hi guys! I have been accepted into BUSPH, GW, UW SPH, Michigan Ann Arbor, Columbia University and Minnesota for the MPH in Epidemiology program! Was looking at Mich and Columbia as my top choices. Anybody has inputs that would help me make a decision between these two? They have sound Epi departments.  

[kma19]

23 hours ago, L265 said:

@kma19, I've also been accepted to UNC, and I, too, am concerned about waiting until April 1 to visit. Are other people considering scheduling their own visits? 

@L265: I spoke with a current student yesterday who recommended going (though of course that may be biased). She did mention that many students at her admitted students day were leaning toward UNC or had already decided to attend -- so if a visit factors more into the decision process, I wonder if it makes more sense to go earlier...though trying to squeeze several other visits in between now and then is proving to be a challenge, so I may end up having to wait until April 1 regardless! 

[HermoineG]

@moka1512 - Congratulation!! What about the tuitions and funding? I think that would be my biggest concerns when making a decision about masters program. Talk to the current students in all of these programs and ask them if they receive any tuition waiver and other stipend to support their education. Some of the programs, like Columbia and GW are situated in cities that are very expensive to live in. If you are coming from India as an international student, I think start by looking at tuitions, funding, rents for apartment, public transport systems in the cities to make your decision. Good luck!

 

[soc13]

Go to the MPH program that gives you the most funding. Go into as little debt as possible. Spoken as an MPH... who went into debt (and on behalf of most of my friends from the program as well)

[I'm serious. There's very few types of positions that will care whether you went to X school over Y school. You'll find once you graduate and are looking for jobs that they all value experience much more than where your degree is from.]

If your plan is to go on to get a Ph.D. in anything other than public health... don't bother getting an MPH at this point unless it's absolutely debt-free (it won't increase your admissions chances; you'll end up getting another master's in passing, etc.). Use the time to gain research experience, raise your GRE scores, refine your writing sample, etc.

If you are dead-set on going into an MPH program, focus on the opportunities available to you there - not just the name. Do you have good chances of getting a research assistantship and close mentorship from a professor? Will you gain meaningful experiences that will lead to strong references/networking within the field so that you'll obtain a job quickly? Again, it depends on if you want to go into research or community-based or govt work, but you need to make sure the program has enough built in for you to really make those connections and do the work so you have something tangible to show employers.

Just wanted to throw in a perspective from someone who's gone through it already!

[Demeter]

@mm3733 Thank you very much! That advice helps me to put this process in perspective. I've heard through the grapevine about loan forgiveness programs, and done a little research on those and external scholarships, but I'm not banking on anything. I'm crossing my fingers for a good funding package.

[easybreezy]

On 2/12/2016 at 5:00 PM, mm3733 said:

On 2/12/2016 at 5:00 PM, mm3733 said:

Go to the MPH program that gives you the most funding. Go into as little debt as possible. Spoken as an MPH... who went into debt (and on behalf of most of my friends from the program as well)

[I'm serious. There's very few types of positions that will care whether you went to X school over Y school. You'll find once you graduate and are looking for jobs that they all value experience much more than where your degree is from.]

If your plan is to go on to get a Ph.D. in anything other than public health... don't bother getting an MPH at this point unless it's absolutely debt-free (it won't increase your admissions chances; you'll end up getting another master's in passing, etc.). Use the time to gain research experience, raise your GRE scores, refine your writing sample, etc.

If you are dead-set on going into an MPH program, focus on the opportunities available to you there - not just the name. Do you have good chances of getting a research assistantship and close mentorship from a professor? Will you gain meaningful experiences that will lead to strong references/networking within the field so that you'll obtain a job quickly? Again, it depends on if you want to go into research or community-based or govt work, but you need to make sure the program has enough built in for you to really make those connections and do the work so you have something tangible to show employers.

Just wanted to trow in a perspective from someone who's gone through it already!

@mm3733 that is extremely reassuring! All I've seen on this forum is people talking about exclusive schools and I honestly felt so intimidated because I'm pursuing my MPH in the state I live in rather than relocating to a prestigious school (not that there's anything wrong with that, just not for me at the moment).  Thanks for the advice!! 

[Demeter]

Just wanted to let anyone applying to Maryland's MPH that I got an email from the chair basically saying that they'd recommended me for admission. This seems the best place to put this info. Have any of you applying to MPHs heard from your schools of choice lately? 

[kamber]

Just wanted to let anyone applying to Maryland's MPH that I got an email from the chair basically saying that they'd recommended me for admission. This seems the best place to put this info. Have any of you applying to MPHs heard from your schools of choice lately? 

I was accepted to BU's  Public Health Social Work program and UCLA's CHS program last week!

Edited February 16, 2016 by kamber

[Demeter]

@kamber Congratulations on both of your acceptances! As an aside, one of my friends went to BU for her MPH and she loved it, absolutely loved it. She's working at a health organization in the midwest now, but loved Boston, as well as the school. 

[easybreezy]

@kamber and @Demeter congratulations!! I was recommended for admission for Georgia Southern's MPH Community Health program last week.