UCLA vs. Michigan?

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Marisa3

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Hi Everyone!

I am having a tough time deciding between University of Michigan and UCLA. Michigan's program is Health Behavior and Health Education (HBHE) and UCLA is Community Health Sciences (CHS). Is anyone else in this same predicament?

Michigan is ranked higher than UCLA, and seems to be more well-known nationally, but I am trying to determine if it is worth the extra money. Michigan's out-of-state tuition is 10K higher than UCLA's out-of-state per year. I had a chance to go to Michigan's admitted student day, and was impressed with the quality of faculty, skills-based curriculum and the perceived attention that the faculty and university as a whole dedicate to graduate students. Also, it seems like there are many opportunities for grad part-time RA jobs (which I want). I'd love to hear from anyone who has the chance to attend UCLA's admitted student day.

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks for the help!

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Internationally UCLA is actually more well known than Michigan.
 
Hi Everyone!

I am having a tough time deciding between University of Michigan and UCLA. Michigan's program is Health Behavior and Health Education (HBHE) and UCLA is Community Health Sciences (CHS). Is anyone else in this same predicament?

Michigan is ranked higher than UCLA, and seems to be more well-known nationally, but I am trying to determine if it is worth the extra money. Michigan's out-of-state tuition is 10K higher than UCLA's out-of-state per year. I had a chance to go to Michigan's admitted student day, and was impressed with the quality of faculty, skills-based curriculum and the perceived attention that the faculty and university as a whole dedicate to graduate students. Also, it seems like there are many opportunities for grad part-time RA jobs (which I want). I'd love to hear from anyone who has the chance to attend UCLA's admitted student day.

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks for the help!

Just came back from UCLA's Admitted Students Day. Overall, I didn't feel particularly impressed nor turned off.

Faculty
Quite a few faculty members showed up and we had a chance to speak almost one-on-one with them in round tables. However, the professors I'm primarily interested in working with weren't there. It sounds like the faculty are super busy. If you want to speak with them, you need to sign up for office hours. An advisor will be assigned to you, based on your personal statement; you can make that relationship what you want it to be. I heard some students just have their advisor to sign off on paperwork, though they've developed stronger relationships with other faculty members.

Graduate Student Researcher Positions
It sounds like graduate student researcher positions are available, but competitive; you really need to take the initiative to reach out to faculty since not all positions are publicized. Also, if you work a minimum of 10 hours on campus (TA, GSR, or Special Reader... Special Readers are TAs for graduate classes), you get tuition remission AND salary. If you want to work more than 20 hours, you have to file some paperwork.

Graduate Student Resources
They mentioned a graduate student/faculty/staff gym (no undergrads!) and a graduate resource center.

Curriculum
The curriculum is very skills-based within the first year (program planning in winter quarter and evaluation in the spring). The second year, you get to focus on your interests (populations or more focused skills). They kept saying how the classes are focused on the community, but it didn't sound like they actually work with the community in any of the classes (other than practicum). They also kept emphasizing the opportunity to take classes in other departments or schools.

Hope that helps.
 
Thank you! This is helpful. Where are you deciding between?
 
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