Washington University St. Louis MPH

[KPZ]

Hello,

At this point in the application cycle I am leaning towards WashU for an MPH with an epidemiology concentration. They have offered me a $25k scholarship, which is hard to pass up. I've gotten into other programs -- Emory, Pitt, Columbia, and Florida -- with little or no funding (Emory and Columbia are still up in the air with funding, but it's so late that it's not looking favorable). I do intend to go on to pursue a PhD or MD. WUSTL's program looks pretty great, but the catch is that it is a new program and is not ranked due to the program being in the school of social work, so it's very difficult for me to get a gauge of quality beyond that WashU has an outstanding reputation otherwise.

What is your opinion of this program, or what have you heard about it? What is the general reputation and would it be a bad move to turn down a brand name like Columbia or Emory for WashU?

Thank you in advance!!
K

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[SagiMaggi]

Hello,

At this point in the application cycle I am leaning towards WashU for an MPH with an epidemiology concentration. They have offered me a $25k scholarship, which is hard to pass up. I've gotten into other programs -- Emory, Pitt, Columbia, and Florida -- with little or no funding (Emory and Columbia are still up in the air with funding, but it's so late that it's not looking favorable). I do intend to go on to pursue a PhD or MD. WUSTL's program looks pretty great, but the catch is that it is a new program and is not ranked due to the program being in the school of social work, so it's very difficult for me to get a gauge of quality beyond that WashU has an outstanding reputation otherwise.

What is your opinion of this program, or what have you heard about it? What is the general reputation and would it be a bad move to turn down a brand name like Columbia or Emory for WashU?

Thank you in advance!!
K

Hey!!
I am also in the same boat. Not sure what to do? Did you decide?

 

[KPZ]

Hey!!
I am also in the same boat. Not sure what to do? Did you decide?

Not yet. I am leaning towards WashU but actually at Emory right now haha. Looking at the hard data, there is no difference in employment rates between the two and WashU actually has higher average starting salaries. I'm going to visit WashU and decide then. I also applied to their fellowships. What are your pro/cons? Maybe we can help each other with our notes!

 

[SagiMaggi]

Not yet. I am leaning towards WashU but actually at Emory right now haha. Looking at the hard data, there is no difference in employment rates between the two and WashU actually has higher average starting salaries. I'm going to visit WashU and decide then. I also applied to their fellowships. What are your pro/cons? Maybe we can help each other with our notes!

I stay at Boston so I am still waiting for BU admission decision. I have Hopkins option so I will attend the admitted students day and then decide. Even I applied for fellowship so lets see
By this weekend will know my pros and cons list of all colleges

 

[SagiMaggi]

Not yet. I am leaning towards WashU but actually at Emory right now haha. Looking at the hard data, there is no difference in employment rates between the two and WashU actually has higher average starting salaries. I'm going to visit WashU and decide then. I also applied to their fellowships. What are your pro/cons? Maybe we can help each other with our notes!

I do not think I can attend WashU admitted students day. Are you planning to attend? If you attend, can you share details with me please

 

[KPZ]

Yep I'll be going, I'll let you know!

 

[popop]

Oh hey, saw your post in the giant 2015 thread. Question for everyone that got accepted. I applied for a MPH with a concentration in epi, but in my acceptance email all it said was "Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that you have been admitted to the Brown School Master of Public Health (MPH) Program at Washington University in St. Louis for the Fall 2015 term." Is that just the general program then or what?

Edit: Never mind. I am so dumb. I just checked my SOPHAS designation and realized that I had marked MPH/MBA dual degree that landed me with health policy and management...which I no longer wanted to do but completely forgot about it. Does anyone know if you can switch or am I screwed now?

 

[SagiMaggi]

Oh hey, saw your post in the giant 2015 thread. Question for everyone that got accepted. I applied for a MPH with a concentration in epi, but in my acceptance email all it said was "Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that you have been admitted to the Brown School Master of Public Health (MPH) Program at Washington University in St. Louis for the Fall 2015 term." Is that just the general program then or what?

Edit: Never mind. I am so dumb. I just checked my SOPHAS designation and realized that I had marked MPH/MBA dual degree that landed me with health policy and management...which I no longer wanted to do but completely forgot about it. Does anyone know if you can switch or am I screwed now?

I think you can call them up and talk.. I guess they will be understanding and moreover first semester is basic classes so you might be to switch. Call them!! Good luck

 

[KPZ]

Oh hey, saw your post in the giant 2015 thread. Question for everyone that got accepted. I applied for a MPH with a concentration in epi, but in my acceptance email all it said was "Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that you have been admitted to the Brown School Master of Public Health (MPH) Program at Washington University in St. Louis for the Fall 2015 term." Is that just the general program then or what?

Edit: Never mind. I am so dumb. I just checked my SOPHAS designation and realized that I had marked MPH/MBA dual degree that landed me with health policy and management...which I no longer wanted to do but completely forgot about it. Does anyone know if you can switch or am I screwed now?

Hi -

I decided to go there. Are you definitely attending?

Their program is generalist in the sense of you can pick your own curriculum. You are not in a specific concentration with a specific track you have to complete like at other schools. You don't have to notify them of anything, except maybe that you're not doing the MBA. When you schedule your classes you will just choose which electives you want.

 

[KPZ]

I do not think I can attend WashU admitted students day. Are you planning to attend? If you attend, can you share details with me please

Sorry, hopefully this is not too late for you. I went to their admitted students day and it is a good fit for me because of the cost and the flexibility of the program, as well as the relationship with the medical school. If the MPH is your terminal degree and you do not want to live in St. Louis, and the cost is comparable, I'd probably say go to BU or Hopkins unless there are specific professors you want to work with or WashU is significantly cheaper. If the MPH is not your terminal degree and you want to get research experience and it's less expensive, I'd go to WashU. The main pros of the WashU program are that it's small (so you get a lot of individual attention), they have relationships with other WashU schools (like the medical and business schools) that are top ranked, you can customize your curriculum much more than in other programs that are very rigid with their tracks, and Saint Louis has a low cost of living. The cons are that it's smaller and newer, so you're taking a certain level of risk, but it doesn't seem like that will be very inhibitory because of the level of connections the university as a whole has. They seem to be very concerned with giving their students plenty of opportunities, so I am comfortable with that risk. Let me know what you decide!!

 

[SagiMaggi]

Sorry, hopefully this is not too late for you. I went to their admitted students day and it is a good fit for me because of the cost and the flexibility of the program, as well as the relationship with the medical school. If the MPH is your terminal degree and you do not want to live in St. Louis, and the cost is comparable, I'd probably say go to BU or Hopkins unless there are specific professors you want to work with or WashU is significantly cheaper. If the MPH is not your terminal degree and you want to get research experience and it's less expensive, I'd go to WashU. The main pros of the WashU program are that it's small (so you get a lot of individual attention), they have relationships with other WashU schools (like the medical and business schools) that are top ranked, you can customize your curriculum much more than in other programs that are very rigid with their tracks, and Saint Louis has a low cost of living. The cons are that it's smaller and newer, so you're taking a certain level of risk, but it doesn't seem like that will be very inhibitory because of the level of connections the university as a whole has. They seem to be very concerned with giving their students plenty of opportunities, so I am comfortable with that risk. Let me know what you decide!!

Hey!! I made my decision yesterday! I will attending Hopkins! Thank you so much for writing this though good luck

 

[KPZ]

Hey!! I made my decision yesterday! I will attending Hopkins! Thank you so much for writing this though good luck

Good choice! Thanks and good luck to you as well!