MPH Columbia MSPH Fall 2014

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Irikahsa said:
Unfortunately, I live in Australia so can't attend any of the admitted students days. I'm looking forward to hearing what others think of Hopkins though!

I got into the MSPH Global Disease Epidemiology and Control program, you?
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Oh wow yea that's kind of unfortunate. At least visiting would have helped you make a more informed decision. You got into some great schools though so you can't go wrong with any schools that you pick. I was accepted to the MHS program in clinical and cardiovascular disease epidemiology. I will be attending Hopkins! I will probably post my impressions of the school when I visit. Hopefully it won't be biased since I really like the school, the faculty (at least the person I have kept in contact with) the curriculum (seems really tough and rigorous which is great because I feel like I will come out of the program competent in research and Epi methods) and the opportunities. Now hopefully I won't have a problem with Baltimore although I won't have a choice anyway but to attend since I declined my other offer (I only applied to two schools) last week.
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NeurosciTMS said:
Oh wow yea that's kind of unfortunate. At least visiting would have helped you make a more informed decision. You got into some great schools though so you can't go wrong with any schools that you pick. I was accepted to the MHS program in clinical and cardiovascular disease epidemiology. I will be attending Hopkins! I will probably post my impressions of the school when I visit. Hopefully it won't be biased since I really like the school, the faculty (at least the person I have kept in contact with) the curriculum (seems really tough and rigorous which is great because I feel like I will come out of the program competent in research and Epi methods) and the opportunities. Now hopefully I won't have a problem with Baltimore although I won't have a choice anyway but to attend since I declined my other offer (I only applied to two schools) last week.
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I look forward to reading your thoughts, good luck!!
 
Is columbia going to hand out any more need-based scholarships? I've already received my financial aid that included only loans.
 
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So finally had a word with people from my department through the virtual fair. Was extremely disappointed though to find out that the Accelerated MPH students are not eligible to choose a certificate. I was really excited about the Global Health certificate and its practicum. Although I was offered to convert to the global health certificate, I don't think I would mainly because of the duration and the extra cost.

Turns out that the financial people forgot to send me the finaid email, meaning I didn't complete the supplemental (missing) information in time and was probably not eligible for funding (maybe I wouldn't have been shortlisted even if I did receive it in time).

The department representative and the finance department representative were VERY helpful though and the department representative was very nice as well, she apologized for not replying to my email and offered her advice (so at least I wont complain again about not feeling welcome).

Finances are still a b***h though and I am still waiting for the missing pieces of the finance puzzle. :confused:
 
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CrazySexyCool said:
So finally had a word with people from my department through the virtual fair. Was extremely disappointed though to find out that the Accelerated MPH students are not eligible to choose a certificate. I was really excited about the Global Health certificate and its practicum. Although I was offered to convert to the global health certificate, I don't think I would mainly because of the duration and the extra cost.

Turns out that the financial people forgot to send me the finaid email, meaning I didn't complete the supplemental (missing) information in time and was probably not eligible for funding (maybe I wouldn't have been shortlisted even if I did receive it in time).

The department representative and the finance department representative were VERY helpful though and the department representative was very nice as well, she apologized for not replying to my email and offered her advice (so at least I wont complain again about not feeling welcome).

Finances are still a b***h though and I am still waiting for the missing pieces of the finance puzzle. :confused:
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That's great to hear that they were nice and helpful! And I think because the accelerated MPH is very condensed, thus why they couldn't make it as flexible as the Columbia MPH. :/
 
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Hello all,
I also plan on attending Columbia (Sociomedical Sciences MPH) and am daunted by the cost. I am thinking I will take out PLUS loans for the total COA (minus the unsubsidized 33,000 loan they have provided) and do the PSLF program (public service loan forgiveness). For those of you who are not familiar with PSLF, please go here: http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/charts/public-service . Is anyone else considering this option? If any of you are, do you think it's advisable to still pay the interest accumulating during the year so that it doesn't become part of the principal. Also, there is talk of a cap on loan forgiveness, but I believe this would only apply to new loan borrowers after 2015, if it is approved (see here: http://educatedrisk.org/analysis/of...ed-budget-pslf-caps-paye-benefits-limitations). I will definitely bring up these matters during the FinAid chat tomorrow.
 
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I got this from the financial office in response to a query

"If you are given additional funds you will be notified via email."

What in the world do they mean by 'additional funds'?? I haven't received any funds to begin with. I'm almost afraid of asking them this question. :confused:

Could anyone please tell me whether your finaid portal show all the details i.e. awards, loans, messages etc.? cuz mine only shows the apply online and documents options.
 
CrazySexyCool said:
I got this from the financial office in response to a query

"If you are given additional funds you will be notified via email."

What in the world do they mean by 'additional funds'?? I haven't received any funds to begin with. I'm almost afraid of asking them this question. :confused:

Could anyone please tell me whether your finaid portal show all the details i.e. awards, loans, messages etc.? cuz mine only shows the apply online and documents options.
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Mine has nothing in there. Maybe that's why I haven't received any updates regarding finaid. LOL
 
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Flyinghippo said:
Mine has nothing in there. Maybe that's why I haven't received any updates regarding finaid. LOL
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Are you an international student as well?? It's been 20 days and we still don't have the most crucial information that can help assuage our concerns. Anyways, I'm good though, as long as I get some aid in the end. :)
 
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CrazySexyCool said:
Are you an international student as well?? It's been 20 days and we still don't have the most crucial information that can help assuage our concerns. Anyways, I'm good though, as long as I get some aid in the end. :)
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Didn't they say the scholarship was measly $5000? How's that gonna help?
 
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Anybody going to the admit day tomorrow? If so, see you guys there!!
 
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I'll be there - rain or shine.
 
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CrazySexyCool said:
Are you an international student as well?? It's been 20 days and we still don't have the most crucial information that can help assuage our concerns. Anyways, I'm good though, as long as I get some aid in the end. :)
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I'm an international student (from Canada, so not too far at all) and have no idea how to really tackle my finances. I think I'm going to call the school at some point next week and ask them my long list of questions.
 
Have a great time at Columbia's admit day, guys! Please post your thoughts/opinions on the admit day here for those of us who are unable to attend.

I'd appreciate that greatly.

Thanks! Have a good time in the city :)
 
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I don't know what anyone else thought of the admitted students day, but I loved it!! It swayed me to go to Columbia over Hopkins. The staff, professors, current, and admitted students were all so friendly, welcoming, and approachable!
 
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I agree. I really enjoyed it and the only part I felt was lacking was the housing section. Everyone was nice and had a sense of humor which I appreciated.
 
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I just wanted to echo everyone else and say that I loved the admitted students day! The faculty lunch was great, I was able to speak with 2 of my faculty of interest for nearly 1.5 hours by myself. They were extremely nice and were pretty interested in my work as well. That seemed to be the case, at least with the professors in HPM. I didn't interact with any of the faculty in other depts.

The staff was extremely nice and pretty accommodating. Especially HPM staff, some of the current students said they went above and beyond to help them out.

I was on the edge between umich and columbia but the event definitely swayed me over to columbia. I loved the city, wash heights wasn't bad either. I felt a great sense of community and pride of being at Columbia from the students and faculty, which I didn't expect. That was one of the biggest things for me.

Feel free to ask if you guys have any other specific questions!
 
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that's awesome to hear all these positive thoughts! I don't know if you guys have finalized your decision, but I sure hope to meet you all at Columbia!
 
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I went to the admitted students day, and got less excited about it as the day went on. I was basically ready to go there and now I'm reconsidering.
I was disappointed by the Epi section, which was basically only talking about the 2x2
project.
Talking with a finaid advisor, I was told that research positions and TA positions are very difficult to get (mostly saved for phd candidates--I had heard they invest a lot more resources into the doctoral students over the masters, seems to be true). So where does everybody work? Random jobs unassociated with public health?
I found the lecture to be unnecessary. Not a huge fan of the location.. So far from downtown!
Everybody seemed really sincere and helpful tho and the lunch was very nice.
Basically..Is it worth the money?!?!
 
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CrazySexyCool said:
I dunno...did they? I haven't heard anything from them about anything. And every dollar counts my man. :)
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Yea, the need-based scholarship is only 5k per year. I think the larger sums are for institutional scholarships and merit based.
 
bunkey said:
I went to the admitted students day, and got less excited about it as the day went on. I was basically ready to go there and now I'm reconsidering.
I was disappointed by the Epi section, which was basically only talking about the 2x2
project.
Talking with a finaid advisor, I was told that research positions and TA positions are very difficult to get (mostly saved for phd candidates--I had heard they invest a lot more resources into the doctoral students over the masters, seems to be true). So where does everybody work? Random jobs unassociated with public health?
I found the lecture to be unnecessary. Not a huge fan of the location.. So far from downtown!
Everybody seemed really sincere and helpful tho and the lunch was very nice.
Basically..Is it worth the money?!?!
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To be fair....it's 20 minutes from 14th street on the A trains....a lot of blocks but really not very far time wise
 
JQH said:
I emailed them asking them to reconsider me for merit aid (per the advice from the virtual day). They told me they'd get back to people this Tuesday/Wednesday. Unless they change their minds considerably, I'm likely withdrawing. Bummer, dude, but I just wouldn't be able to justify the debt.
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This is what I received...

"This has been printed for reconsideration. If you are given additional funds you will be notified via email. Reconsiderations will be processed on a day to day basis however it is likely to hear back from our office during the week of April 10th-15th if you are awarded additional funding."

So, April 10th... the wait continues
:dead::xf:
 
c0435 said:
This is what I received...

"This has been printed for reconsideration. If you are given additional funds you will be notified via email. Reconsiderations will be processed on a day to day basis however it is likely to hear back from our office during the week of April 10th-15th if you are awarded additional funding."

So, April 10th... the wait continues
:dead::xf:
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Do you mind me asking who you e-mailed? I finally got my CUID but it won't even work to sign in to fill out the supplemental application. They didn't answer my e-mail after I told them that. Feeling quite flustered...
 
c0435 said:
This is what I received...

"This has been printed for reconsideration. If you are given additional funds you will be notified via email. Reconsiderations will be processed on a day to day basis however it is likely to hear back from our office during the week of April 10th-15th if you are awarded additional funding."

So, April 10th... the wait continues
:dead::xf:
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I got the 1st 2 lines from them as well but what I don't understand is what do they mean by "additional'' here cuz in my case I haven't received a single penny from them. :confused:
 
brittmtl said:
Do you mind me asking who you e-mailed? I finally got my CUID but it won't even work to sign in to fill out the supplemental application. They didn't answer my e-mail after I told them that. Feeling quite flustered...
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This was [email protected].

What issues are you having with your CUID? ... I had an error once after signing in successfully and it was because my password expired. Try clicking on forgot password and creating a new one. Best of luck! Let me know if you need help with anything else.
 
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CrazySexyCool said:
I got the 1st 2 lines from them as well but what I don't understand is what do they mean by "additional'' here cuz in my case I haven't received a single penny from them. :confused:
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That may be because you are an international student, if I'm not mistaken? :unsure:
What sources are you looking into for funding? If you don't mind me asking.
 
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c0435 said:
This is what I received...

"This has been printed for reconsideration. If you are given additional funds you will be notified via email. Reconsiderations will be processed on a day to day basis however it is likely to hear back from our office during the week of April 10th-15th if you are awarded additional funding."

So, April 10th... the wait continues
:dead::xf:
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I got the exact same thing...
 
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c0435 said:
That may be because you are an international student, if I'm not mistaken? :unsure:
What sources are you looking into for funding? If you don't mind me asking.
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Yes I guess that might be it. They have been taking their sweet time in updating my finaid info, wish they would just hurry up with it.

I have saved some money in the past few years (30%) and the rest I would take as a loan (that is if my cousin agrees to co-sign).
 
CrazySexyCool said:
Yes I guess that might be it. They have been taking their sweet time in updating my finaid info, wish they would just hurry up with it.

I have saved some money in the past few years (30%) and the rest I would take as a loan (that is if my cousin agrees to co-sign).
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Hey 30% is pretty good! Good for you. Good luck... have you made a decision on where you will attend?
 
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c0435 said:
Hey 30% is pretty good! Good for you. Good luck... have you made a decision on where you will attend?
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Thanks. :) I applied only to Columbia, HSPH and Yale (god knows why I applied there) and was only accepted at Columbia so I guess I don't have a choice. But that's okay, I wouldn't have it any other way cuz I was pretty clear that it was either Columbia or HSPH for me.

I still would like some funding though. :(

But hey one thing I know for sure is that if I do come to Columbia I would definitely swing by to meet you cuz you are the most supportive and nicest person on this forum. :)
 
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CrazySexyCool said:
Thanks. :) I applied only to Columbia, HSPH and Yale (god knows why I applied there) and was only accepted at Columbia so I guess I don't have a choice. But that's okay, I wouldn't have it any other way cuz I was pretty clear that it was either Columbia or HSPH for me.

I still would like some funding though. :(

But hey one thing I know for sure is that if I do come to Columbia I would definitely swing by to meet you cuz you are the most supportive and nicest person on this forum. :)
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Haha, thank you! Would love that actually! I hope to see you in the fall :)
 
JQH said:
When did you guys email them? I did it the same day the lady from chat advised me to (last wednesday, I believe) and haven't heard anything back.
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I did so on Wednesday as well. They should be getting back to you soon. I got that email this morning. Sometimes if I feel like making sure, I resend the email.
 
JQH said:
When did you guys email them? I did it the same day the lady from chat advised me to (last wednesday, I believe) and haven't heard anything back.
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I would check in with them again to make sure they received your email. I emailed them twice (last thurs and yesterday) and I received confirmations the next day letting me know they've received my request.
 
JQH said:
When did you guys email them? I did it the same day the lady from chat advised me to (last wednesday, I believe) and haven't heard anything back.
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I emailed them this morning, and got a response about 20-30 mins later.
 
JQH said:
They got back to me sans a reminder. Received a modified package that included a merit scholarship. Not comfortable posting the amount, but, for future applicants, I'll put it in my profile after I make a decision.
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Wow, that's great!!

Would you mind sharing your stats?

Thanks!
 
Flyinghippo said:
What's wrong with Yale? just curious.
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Nothing. Its just that the courses/curriculum at Yale was not very appealing to me. I only applied cuz it was a 1 year program and it was easy to apply through SOPHAS. Plus I was also very clear that I wouldn't go anywhere other than Columbia or HSPH, so the decision of applying to a 3rd school now seems unnecessary. :)

Anyways, I didn't get in so maybe I shouldn't bitch about it. :p
 
c0435 said:
Wow, that's great!!

Would you mind sharing your stats?

Thanks!
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Admitted students day last Friday said merit based were considered if were above 90% gre and 3.8ish for gpa
 
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