Does anyone know how hard it is to switch programs at Columbia (or in general)? I was admitted into Sociomedical Sciences and (if I decide to go), am actually heavily considering switching into Population and Family Health.
Does anyone know how hard it is to switch programs at Columbia (or in general)? I was admitted into Sociomedical Sciences and (if I decide to go), am actually heavily considering switching into Population and Family Health.
I am in the same boat! From speaking with students, it seems like a relatively smooth process. The student I was speaking to from PopFam said she didn't know of anyone who tried to switch who wasn't able to. I am wanting to switch from Epi to PopFam and think I will request for a switch tomorrow (you can try and switch now or wait until first sem). I'd recommend emailing Chelsea Kolff if you haven't already, if you are wanting to switch and want more info!
me tooHello everyone, just stumbled across this forum. However, I'm super excited to be starting my MPH in the Fall! I will be attending Columbia in the Sociomedical Sciences dept. Does anyone know of any admitted student groups (Facebook, GroupMe, etc.) to network and meet people before orientation?
nope, nothing, did you?
They said during one of their virtual events that an admitted student's group would be made after april 15th!Hello everyone, just stumbled across this forum. However, I'm super excited to be starting my MPH in the Fall! I will be attending Columbia in the Sociomedical Sciences dept. Does anyone know of any admitted student groups (Facebook, GroupMe, etc.) to network and meet people before orientation?
I will never understand why some you apply to 8 - 10 schools. Such a waste of money. I applied to only 2 schools. One that I have a strong chance of getting into, and then Harvard. Got into both. SMH.
Good for you! You’re so smart!I will never understand why some of you apply to 8 - 10 schools. Such a waste of money. I applied to only 2 schools. One that I have a strong chance of getting into, and then Harvard. Got into both. SMH.
Hi, here's my experience with appealing with Columbia: if you don't have a 3.75 GPA and above 80th percentile on all sections of your GRE you aren't considered for merit scholarships. Also, $5,000 is the max for the need-based grant. I appealed and was told I didn't meet the criteria and wouldn't be considered. But I later received a $5,000 fellowship for my practicum. Maybe that was because I tried to appeal but who knows!Hi everyone! I just came across this page, and first want to say congrats to all! I'm curious to hear about anyone else's experience requesting more merit $ from Columbia - I requested a few weeks ago and was told I would receive an email if they chose to give me aid, but haven't heard from their fin aid department since. Not sure if it's better to wait it out or ask them again. Anyone have a similar experience?
I did hear back from Rutgers! They were very unresponsive, I emailed them a few times since I never got confirmation that my application was received and I never heard anything back. I called them and was able to finally get an answer. This was in January/February so before everyone was working from home.Has anyone heard back from Rutgers or Dartmouth? Rutgers in particular has been completely unresponsive to my emails.
I will never understand why some of you apply to 8 - 10 schools. Such a waste of money. I applied to only 2 schools. One that I have a strong chance of getting into, and then Harvard. Got into both. SMH.
For some people like myself, it's all about uncertainty. I applied to 8 schools because I have a pretty low GPA and didn't know where that would get me. I was rejected from 6 state schools and only got into my back up, along with a school I thought I had a 10% chance of getting in to. I spent a lot of money applying, but I'm glad I did because I almost didn't apply to the one school I actually got in to.I will never understand why some of you apply to 8 - 10 schools. Such a waste of money. I applied to only 2 schools. One that I have a strong chance of getting into, and then Harvard. Got into both. SMH.
For some people like myself, it's all about uncertainty. I applied to 8 schools because I have a pretty low GPA and didn't know where that would get me. I was rejected from 6 state schools and only got into my back up, along with a school I thought I had a 10% chance of getting in to. I spent a lot of money applying, but I'm glad I did because I almost didn't apply to the one school I actually got in to.
This was also my experience. I emailed to find out if they received my application. They were the only school who had not confirmed receipt. Ironically, they emailed last night saying they had received my application. Thank you for your response!I did hear back from Rutgers! They were very unresponsive, I emailed them a few times since I never got confirmation that my application was received and I never heard anything back. I called them and was able to finally get an answer. This was in January/February so before everyone was working from home.
Wow! Congratulations! Had you declined their acceptance and they reached back out? Or was your acceptance still open with them? And had you previously appealed them?When Columbia offers you $40k 2 days after the deadline...reconsidering now...
I hadn't declined them officially, not for any reason other than laziness lol. Guess my appeal to them worked!Wow! Congratulations! Had you declined their acceptance and they reached back out? Or was your acceptance still open with them? And had you previously appealed them?
This was extremely helpful. I reached out to BU today and was placed on their reconsideration list for more aid. I had another school match BU’s scholarship and wanted to see if BU would be open to reconsidering funding. But they said it would be a few weeks before I would hear anything.For those wondering about scholarship appeals, I was just offered an additional $10,000 from BU. I’ve already put down my deposit at another school, but wanted to share in case anyone is nervous as they are waiting on an appeal or just thinking about requesting one. Good luck!
This was extremely helpful. I reached out to BU today and was placed on their reconsideration list for more aid. I had another school match BU’s scholarship and wanted to see if BU would be open to reconsidering funding. But they said it would be a few weeks before I would hear anything.
Would you mind sharing how long it took for you to hear back? I think this other school will likely give me about a week to decide.
This was extremely helpful. I reached out to BU today and was placed on their reconsideration list for more aid. I had another school match BU’s scholarship and wanted to see if BU would be open to reconsidering funding. But they said it would be a few weeks before I would hear anything.
Would you mind sharing how long it took for you to hear back? I think this other school will likely give me about a week to decide.
I accidentally put my deposit down at 3 schools to hold my seats, how do I withdraw them now that I've gotten in my top choice?
I accidentally put my deposit down at 3 schools to hold my seats, how do I withdraw them now that I've gotten in my top choice?
What made you decide to make the switch from pre med to MPH? I'm kind of strongly considering right now but am pretty confused.I had a couple of people DM me about my academic/work background so here it is:
Undergraduate School: UC Davis c/o 2014
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 3.04 (last two years under 3.0... oops)
Major/minor: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (B.S.)
Grad GPA (if applicable): 3.98 Post Bacc
Grad studies (if applicable): Post Baccalaureate Certificate at CSU East Bay 2018 (aka 5th year undergrad)
GRE (Aug/Sept 2019): V 161 (88th) Q 160 (73rd) AW 5 (92nd)
Experience/research:
-4 years leadership for various pre-health, professional organizations
-2 years research in academia and healthcare at UC Davis
-2+ years HIV Epi research for transgender community in greater Bay Area
-2 years health education/health promotion in underserved community in Oakland.
-1+ year in data analytics, medical panel management at non-profit FQHC/Health Center in San Francisco
-1+ year HIV Test counselor, harm reduction counselor, substance use counselor
-2 years medical shadowing & volunteering
-Career changer: switched from pre-med to public health in 2017. after some deep introspection. I withdrew my medical school applications.
Letters of Rec:
-current supervisor at health clinic
-mentor and prior epidemiology professor (played a huge role in career change)
-PI of HIV research and former virology professor
Interested in: STI/STD epidemiology in underrepresented POC women, women health, sexual health.
Application (ordered by preference): UC Berkeley, UCLA, UW, Emory, Johns Hopkins, UNC, Columbia, UMich, Boston, OHSU-PSU, UT-Health Houston, SDSU (withdrew app)
Accepted: JHU-ScM (12/13) +75% yr 2/25% yr 1 & 50% yr 2 & 12K, UMich (12/20), UT-Houston (1/13), UWash-MPH(1/28), OHSU-PSU (1/29), Emory+ 10k+10kREAL (2/3), BU (2/18) +35%, Columbia +5k (2/28), UCLA (3/20), UC Berkeley (3/30)
Rejected: UNC - Chapel Hill (4/9)
Waitlisted: none
Attending: UC Berkeley! (All declines sent out 4/13)
My grades weren't all that impressive and my essays had a fair amount of typos, but I still made it! Work hard, write strong & meaningful statements, and have clear intentions. Also, follow up if you got a rejection and find out why. It may suck, but it will give you valuable insight on how you present yourself (or unveil systematic and administrative error!!). Best of luck in your future programs everyone. Make a difference in the world!
That’s amazing! I will also be attending Brown this fall in the Epi department. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you go about appealing for more merit scholarship funding?Officially committed to Brown after a successful appeal for more merit funding. I’m so excited!! I wanted to thank everyone for all of the helpful advice. Lurking in this group made me feel like I wasn’t alone in making the tough decision about where to go in the fall. Please, message me if you will be joining me in Providence. I would love to connect!
i switched from pre-med to MPH my junior year before taking the MCAT and am still considering to attend medical school after my MPH (MS, technically) depending on my experience. I decided to do my MSPH as a stepping stone to see what niche of the health sector I want to work in. I personally was not ready to take on the commitment of medical school and was interested in public health anyway (was planning to apply MD/MPH) so I figured I would gain experience in the field of public health and gain more exposure from the MD/MPH perspective to help me gauge my decision more.What made you decide to make the switch from pre med to MPH? I'm kind of strongly considering right now but am pretty confused.