MPH Canada 2018

[kaktarua]

I have been wait listed in McMaster Global health. Finger crossed. Hopefully some people will decline their offer ?.

[kaktarua]

8 hours ago, stresseddepressed said:

Hi everyone, I got into the Global Health Program at McMaster. They offered $20,000 in scholarships so I will be turning down my Mph offers to Western and Guelph. Should open up some spots! Good luck guys

How long they gave the time to accept the offer. I am just curious as I am in the waiting list.

[taylormc]

Well I finally heard back from Lakehead epi.... rejected. I checked on my portal didn't get an email or anything.

Good luck everyone else!

[westcoast14]

Hi! I've been reading along with everyone's journey after I JUST found this forum. What a great idea. 

Last year I applied to UofT Health promo, UofA and Queens. Rejected from UofT (goal school), waitlisted at UofA and accepted at Queens, though I turned it down. Basically, I decided to wait out 1 more year and see if I could get into UofT. So that was the sole school I applied to for 2018. Seeing as I haven't heard anything, I'm almost positive I did not get an acceptance, which really hit me in the gut.

I don't think I'll be reapplying for 2019 considering there must be something lacking from my application..most likely my relevant experience. 

I applied with a 4.04 for my last 2 years and my references were 1) the Chair of Kinesiology and my professior multiple times and 2) my research mentor/ most Senior professor in Health Sciences who is a graduate of Health Promo at UofT and friends with current professors in the program. 

SO, in short, does anyone have any suggestions for a few gap years? I'm a HSCI and Kin grad with more of an arts background and think it's time to really settle into a back up plan with the hopes of doing my Masters down the road (hopefully getting it partially paid for by work?? haha)

Any insight would be so appreciated. Congrats to all of those starting in 2018!!!

Edited May 6, 2018 by westcoast14

[AniSabi]

On 5/5/2018 at 3:01 AM, taylormc said:

Well I finally heard back from Lakehead epi.... rejected. I checked on my portal didn't get an email or anything.

Good luck everyone else!

I am sorry to hear that. I still haven't heard from lakehead for mph epi. The wait is killing me.

[Healthpromotion]

On 5/4/2018 at 11:33 AM, AQ-MPH said:

What are your thoughts on Waterloo's program and UVic? I've been accepted to both but am curious on what others think of the programs being that they are relatively new. I'm on the wait list for U of A - really hoping I get into UofA. Anyone else still waiting? 

Also, if you aren't planning on going to u of a, please decline so waitlist applicants can get contacted!! ? much love!

I'm also waiting on the u of a waitlist! 

[neonlily]

19 hours ago, westcoast14 said:

Hi! I've been reading along with everyone's journey after I JUST found this forum. What a great idea. 

Last year I applied to UofT Health promo, UofA and Queens. Rejected from UofT (goal school), waitlisted at UofA and accepted at Queens, though I turned it down. Basically, I decided to wait out 1 more year and see if I could get into UofT. So that was the sole school I applied to for 2018. Seeing as I haven't heard anything, I'm almost positive I did not get an acceptance, which really hit me in the gut.

I don't think I'll be reapplying for 2019 considering there must be something lacking from my application..most likely my relevant experience. 

I applied with a 4.04 for my last 2 years and my references were 1) the Chair of Kinesiology and my professior multiple times and 2) my research mentor/ most Senior professor in Health Sciences who is a graduate of Health Promo at UofT and friends with current professors in the program. 

SO, in short, does anyone have any suggestions for a few gap years? I'm a HSCI and Kin grad with more of an arts background and think it's time to really settle into a back up plan with the hopes of doing my Masters down the road (hopefully getting it partially paid for by work?? haha)

Any insight would be so appreciated. Congrats to all of those starting in 2018!!!

Why do you want to get into U of T so badly? Queens has a very reputable MPH program and at the end of the day, all that matters is the degree.

[SwagMaster]

21 hours ago, westcoast14 said:

Hi! I've been reading along with everyone's journey after I JUST found this forum. What a great idea. 

Last year I applied to UofT Health promo, UofA and Queens. Rejected from UofT (goal school), waitlisted at UofA and accepted at Queens, though I turned it down. Basically, I decided to wait out 1 more year and see if I could get into UofT. So that was the sole school I applied to for 2018. Seeing as I haven't heard anything, I'm almost positive I did not get an acceptance, which really hit me in the gut.

 I don't think I'll be reapplying for 2019 considering there must be something lacking from my application..most likely my relevant experience. 

I applied with a 4.04 for my last 2 years and my references were 1) the Chair of Kinesiology and my professior multiple times and 2) my research mentor/ most Senior professor in Health Sciences who is a graduate of Health Promo at UofT and friends with current professors in the program. 

SO, in short, does anyone have any suggestions for a few gap years? I'm a HSCI and Kin grad with more of an arts background and think it's time to really settle into a back up plan with the hopes of doing my Masters down the road (hopefully getting it partially paid for by work?? haha)

Any insight would be so appreciated. Congrats to all of those starting in 2018!!!

Hi there,

I got into UofT health promo this year although I declined my offer. Here are my two cents. I'm sure you've looked at the program's website before, and there is a particular part of the website that answers the question: How do we assess applications to the MPH Program in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences (Health Promotion)? I read this part a million times and made sure work on my application according to this answer. 

You have a very strong GPA and your references come from reputable sources, which is great! However, my suggestion is to look beyond who is writing your letter, and focus more on what they are writing. Yes, having a reputable person write your reference letter is great, but is not enough to make your entire application great. My two references were not nearly as "reputable" or well-known as yours. Mine came from a fairly new assistant professor at my undergrad institution and my former supervisor (with no experience in public health) when I worked in a social services organization. I have a great relationship with both of them, and they both assured me that they gave me glowing recommendations. 

I also want to draw your attention to the line on the program website that says, "experience with marginalized populations and social justice issues within health care settings is given considerable weight." I've been working as a social worker for 1.5 years and with the knowledge that they want people who work with marginalized populations, I really milked this point hard on my resume and letter of intent. In your gap year, I encourage you to volunteer or find work working with marginalized people. Then, find a way to relate these experiences back to social determinants of health, health inequities, social justice issues, health interventions, public health policy, evidence based-practice in health, etc., and talk about this in your letter of intent. 

There really are no easy tricks into getting the program. It's really just about figuring out exactly what they want, and do everything you can to present yourself from that angle. This was very long, but I hope this helps. 

Edited May 7, 2018 by SwagMaster

[MphPg]

Anyone accepted to Lakehead Mph Epi program?

[westcoast14]

2 hours ago, SwagMaster said:

Hi there,

I got into UofT health promo this year although I declined my offer. Here are my two cents. I'm sure you've looked at the program's website before, and there is a particular part of the website that answers the question: How do we assess applications to the MPH Program in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences (Health Promotion)? I read this part a million times and made sure work on my application according to this answer. 

You have a very strong GPA and your references come from reputable sources, which is great! However, my suggestion is to look beyond who is writing your letter, and focus more on what they are writing. Yes, having a reputable person write your reference letter is great, but is not enough to make your entire application great. My two references were not nearly as "reputable" or well-known as yours. Mine came from a fairly new assistant professor at my undergrad institution and my former supervisor (with no experience in public health) when I worked in a social services organization. I have a great relationship with both of them, and they both assured me that they gave me glowing recommendations. 

I also want to draw your attention to the line on the program website that says, "experience with marginalized populations and social justice issues within health care settings is given considerable weight." I've been working as a social worker for 1.5 years and with the knowledge that they want people who work with marginalized populations, I really milked this point hard on my resume and letter of intent. In your gap year, I encourage you to volunteer or find work working with marginalized people. Then, find a way to relate these experiences back to social determinants of health, health inequities, social justice issues, health interventions, public health policy, evidence based-practice in health, etc., and talk about this in your letter of intent. 

There really are no easy tricks into getting the program. It's really just about figuring out exactly what they want, and do everything you can to present yourself from that angle. This was very long, but I hope this helps. 

Thanks so much for your detailed answer! 

After reading my own post I can see that I did not elaborate on much. 

I too read that webpage hundreds of times, and know the exact details you're mentioning. My experience in mental health, working with youth and indigenous youth is where I focused my letter of intent and tied it to the social determinants of health. I know that my references wrote meaningful and specific letters, regardless of how reputable they are. All in all, I know that it is my experience that is comparatively lacking on my application. So I'll be using this gap year to be doing just what you mentioned, and involve myself as much as possible. Thanks again! 

[westcoast14]

3 hours ago, neonlily said:

Why do you want to get into U of T so badly? Queens has a very reputable MPH program and at the end of the day, all that matters is the degree.

A few personal reasons keeping me home, and school related - I am very interested in pursuing one of the Collaborative Programs that the MPH program offers at UofT, specifically Environment and Health, and I could not find an offering like this at any other MPH programs. If anyone knows if another Canadian school offers collaborative programs like this, let me know!

[sheisgreat]

4 hours ago, SwagMaster said:

Hi there,

I got into UofT health promo this year although I declined my offer. Here are my two cents. I'm sure you've looked at the program's website before, and there is a particular part of the website that answers the question: How do we assess applications to the MPH Program in Social and Behavioural Health Sciences (Health Promotion)? I read this part a million times and made sure work on my application according to this answer. 

You have a very strong GPA and your references come from reputable sources, which is great! However, my suggestion is to look beyond who is writing your letter, and focus more on what they are writing. Yes, having a reputable person write your reference letter is great, but is not enough to make your entire application great. My two references were not nearly as "reputable" or well-known as yours. Mine came from a fairly new assistant professor at my undergrad institution and my former supervisor (with no experience in public health) when I worked in a social services organization. I have a great relationship with both of them, and they both assured me that they gave me glowing recommendations. 

I also want to draw your attention to the line on the program website that says, "experience with marginalized populations and social justice issues within health care settings is given considerable weight." I've been working as a social worker for 1.5 years and with the knowledge that they want people who work with marginalized populations, I really milked this point hard on my resume and letter of intent. In your gap year, I encourage you to volunteer or find work working with marginalized people. Then, find a way to relate these experiences back to social determinants of health, health inequities, social justice issues, health interventions, public health policy, evidence based-practice in health, etc., and talk about this in your letter of intent. 

There really are no easy tricks into getting the program. It's really just about figuring out exactly what they want, and do everything you can to present yourself from that angle. This was very long, but I hope this helps. 

Great post. When did you receive admission, what was the deadline to get back to them? When did you reject the offer and why did you reject it?

[SwagMaster]

2 hours ago, westcoast14 said:

Thanks so much for your detailed answer! 

After reading my own post I can see that I did not elaborate on much. 

I too read that webpage hundreds of times, and know the exact details you're mentioning. My experience in mental health, working with youth and indigenous youth is where I focused my letter of intent and tied it to the social determinants of health. I know that my references wrote meaningful and specific letters, regardless of how reputable they are. All in all, I know that it is my experience that is comparatively lacking on my application. So I'll be using this gap year to be doing just what you mentioned, and involve myself as much as possible. Thanks again! 

It definitely sounds like you're on the right track, and I agree that the additional experience will help your application tremendously. I've previously applied to graduate schools and got rejected across the board, so don't give up!

[SwagMaster]

37 minutes ago, sheisgreat said:

Great post. When did you receive admission, what was the deadline to get back to them? When did you reject the offer and why did you reject it?

I received admission to the MPH in mid-March. I had about a month to respond, and I responded sometime around the deadline. 

I turned down the offer so that I could do my Masters of Social Work at UofT. 

[ANSH MUKESH ARORA]

On 4/4/2018 at 3:42 AM, cmh_MPH said:

Thanks! I'm graduating my undergraduate degree this June so my application still says incomplete since I haven't been able to send in an official transcript or proof of degree yet, I know some schools send conditional offers and some send to only complete applications first, so I'm just going to have to patiently wait to see I guess. 

 

Edited May 8, 2018 by ANSH MUKESH ARORA

[schjay]

On 4/24/2018 at 4:32 PM, goalsforgradschool said:

I've accepted Western  this is very EXCITING  

I have also accepted my offer to Western! Congrats!! ?

[schjay]

On 5/1/2018 at 5:45 PM, nkachouh said:

Those are great reasons! I'm also going to be accepting UWO! Let's be friends! hahaha

No but in all seriousness, I think thinking about it as a 2 year program condensed to one, and then you'll only have to be somewhere else for a year is a huge reason for me as well. Plus I took a look at the current program, and honestly the class looks so diverse and that's super important when thinking about public health as well, so that's a huge draw for me too.

I also accepted Westerns offer! I also chose Western over my other offers because of the condensed program. I am coming right out of my undergrad so today the sooner I can make it into the working world the better lol! Also, would toltally love to be friends Hahhah! 

[rapschem]

16 hours ago, schjay said:

I have also accepted my offer to Western! Congrats!! ?

I have also accepted my offer at Western! SEE YOU ALL THERE :)!!!

[schjay]

Hi everyone!! I have recently accepted my offer to Western and am looking into living at the LUXE apartment building beside the the Public Health building. I believe they are 3-4 bedroom apartments. Would anyone be interested in sharing an apartment? Thanks!! 

[mphcanada]

Does anyone know if there is a fb group for western mph students? Thanks! 

[nkachouh]

1 hour ago, mphcanada said:

Does anyone know if there is a fb group for western mph students? Thanks! 

I think they said there will be one started in June! 

[nkachouh]

On 5/8/2018 at 8:51 AM, schjay said:

I also accepted Westerns offer! I also chose Western over my other offers because of the condensed program. I am coming right out of my undergrad so today the sooner I can make it into the working world the better lol! Also, would toltally love to be friends Hahhah! 

Nice! Where are you coming out of undergrad from? Also yay friendships!!

Edited May 9, 2018 by nkachouh

[nkachouh]

2 hours ago, schjay said:

Hi everyone!! I have recently accepted my offer to Western and am looking into living at the LUXE apartment building beside the the Public Health building. I believe they are 3-4 bedroom apartments. Would anyone be interested in sharing an apartment? Thanks!! 

Whoa those look FANCY! Totally down. I think there’s also 2 bedroom options and they’re 1 year leases.

[schjay]

7 hours ago, nkachouh said:

Nice! Where are you coming out of undergrad from? Also yay friendships!!

I just finished my BScN at York U ! What is your background? 

[MacPanther]

Does anyone know when UofT will send their official letters for Health Promo?