Chances for Columbia MPH?!

[jay28]

Hello!

I will try to make this as short and sweet as possible.
I am a senior at the University of Michigan:
Major: Psychology, Minor: Gender and Health
GPA: 3.6/4.0, major GPA: 4.0/4.0
Activities: President/co-coordinator of leadership club for 3 years, member for 4 years.
member of following clubs: Clean energy club, students for choice, (one year) dance marathon
Volunteer: church youth leader for 7 years, participated in World Congress of Global Leadership (hosted by UN Women)
Experiences: worked as a server consistently for 4 years, research assistant for ross business school for one semester (supply chain analysis)
Others: peer adviser, won numerous scholarships, coordinated workshops for A/PIA high school conferences (leadership focused). (don't know if this matters, but went abroad for a semester)

THE BAD: 1)I was pre-med for a while and those classes brought my GPA down (have a W from withdrawing from physics, a couple C+, B-). made it back up with psych classes (all As).
2)I went abroad to the Netherlands and due to the grade conversion and everything, the grades came back much lower: B+, B, B-, B, C+. These grades don't count in my GPA, but they do appear on my transcript.
3)I have volunteered quite a lot, but I hardly have any public health experience in research. (--> Why do I want to go into PH then? It's actually all because of my participation in the world congress this summer. I was always interested in health, but after meeting people from all over Asia/Africa, hearing about each others health problems made me want to get into a position to implement change, hence PH.)

Columbia MPH is my dream/reach school. I'm taking the GRE in a month, and thus my application will be after the 'preferred' deadline of Dec. 1. Does this strongly affect my chances by applying 'late'? Do I realistically even stand a chance at all!? Thanks!

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[BPW1088]

What area of PH, I do not think you specified. From what I read, it sounds like Health Policy & Management? Regardless, I think you have a very strong shot at Columbia. Your GPA is above average for MPH programs, even including top programs like Harvard and Johns Hopkins, and I think your lack of public health experience can be overlooked if you're able to effectively deliver your message and express your passion in your personal statement.

When it comes to professional degree programs like MPH, admission counselors realize that they're going to get applicants who come from all academic areas, each with different strengths and experiences. While you may not have direct experience in health care policy, a lot of the skills and knowledge that you gained in your coursework, volunteer activities, and internships are transferrable to PH.

As long as you're able to explain your reasoning for wanting an MPH and tie-in your experience with the World Congress, then I think with your academic achievements and experience that you stand a very good chance at being admitted to Columbia. Best of luck on your GREs!

 

[jay28]

What area of PH, I do not think you specified. From what I read, it sounds like Health Policy & Management? Regardless, I think you have a very strong shot at Columbia. Your GPA is above average for MPH programs, even including top programs like Harvard and Johns Hopkins, and I think your lack of public health experience can be overlooked if you're able to effectively deliver your message and express your passion in your personal statement.

When it comes to professional degree programs like MPH, admission counselors realize that they're going to get applicants who come from all academic areas, each with different strengths and experiences. While you may not have direct experience in health care policy, a lot of the skills and knowledge that you gained in your coursework, volunteer activities, and internships are transferrable to PH.

As long as you're able to explain your reasoning for wanting an MPH and tie-in your experience with the World Congress, then I think with your academic achievements and experience that you stand a very good chance at being admitted to Columbia. Best of luck on your GREs!

Thanks for the reply! Yes, I want to focus on global and management health, but I will be applying for the health policy and managemnt track. I guess what I was going for was someone's realistic view of my situation, and your response definitely helped. Now I just have to focus on getting a good GRE score and making sure my hopes don't get too high

 

[IntriguedStudent]

Like BPW1088 said, I think you definitely have a chance of getting in! Your GPA is in a great range for upper-tier MPH schools and you have some good ECs. Just make sure to score decently on the GRE and write a good SoP. Do those and I think you'll have a great shot.