MPH Admissions

[freakaleke]

Hey all,

Thank you in advance for the advice. I am asking a question for my girlfriend. She is applying to MPH programs with a low GPA 3.2 and ok gre scores. 152Q and 159V. She has 5 years of international work experience peace corps, ESL teaching, research in health. What are her chances of getting into Harvard, Columbia, Hopkins, or Yale for their MPH programs??? Also, I am having trouble finding a thread for this year's MPH applicant statistics so feel free to post your stats in the comments:

GPA 3.2

GRE: 152Q 159V

other relevant factors:

[ewriad18]

Hey there, probably still has a pretty decent shot. When I applied to my MPH I sort of regret not applying to better programs as I saw a lot of my friends with lower stats and less experience get into much better programs than me.

When I applied to my MPH I was right out of undergrad with a 3.2 GPA, GRE was different back then but equated to 65% verbal, 75% quant, like 50% writing or something like that. I got into Tulane, GW, and South Florida and was rejected from Emory (who basically required 2 years of international work experience to apply for their program).

Also, tell her not to just focus on big name, ivy schools. My friend ended up at Harvard for her MSPH and didn't find a job for a year afterwards, I went to much less ranked GW and had internships and full time jobs that set me up amazingly for a fellowship with CDC after graduation. It's not all about name - it's about what you DO with your education that matter.

I think her international experience will stand out a lot, especially if it's health related. Tell her not to worry, but also look into applying to one or two lesser ranked schools/non ivys just in case anything goes wrong!

[freakaleke]

Thank you!