Johns Hopkins 9-month MHS in Reproductive Bio

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rob14599

rob14599

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I just got accepted to the MHS in Reproductive Biology program at Johns Hopkins. It's a nine-month program, from Sept to May. Anyone here go through that program that can offer advice or opinions? Anyone else apply to it or get accepted?
 
I had never heard of that, but it sounds interesting. I'm hoping to hear some opinions as well...
 
Hey,

I'm in the program right now. I love it. Just handed in my thesis yesterday 😀 . Its actually changing a bit next year, I think it is going to be called reproductive and cancer biology or some thing like that. Its a challenging program though, especially with the 8 week terms, if you get behind, you're screwed. I've definetly had to work A LOT harder than undergrad, although i did very little work in undergrad, so take that with a grain of salt. And I slightly slacked after getting into one of my top choice schools in October and have continued to do well. I think its more of an adjustment of how to study when you have so much crap thrown at you, which should be good for next year. I really think not only can it help you get in, but it will really help with the first two years of med school, for example the classes I have taken are:

1st Term
Immunolgy I
Biochem I
Molecular Biology
Reproductive Biology

2nd Term
Immunolgy II
Biochem II
Physiology
Research in the Reproductive Sciences

3rd Term
Parasitology
Cell Biology
Mo Bio of Carcinogenesis
Molecular Endocrinology
Food & Water Borne diseases

4th Term
BMB Thesis
Mol & Cellular Repro
Inflammation, Tissue Injury, and repair
Toxicological Pathology

So I would say that I've covered a lot of the 1st and some of the 2nd year material. Actually, on interview day at Case I sat in on both 1st and 2nd year classes and had seen everything in both lectures in grad school. And the 2nd year lecture was on colon cancer and the guy who had discovered most of what was being lectured was actually one of my professors in carcinogenesis. The classes scheduling is very flexible though, you can take lots of public health or mental health or international health classes if you want, I decided to go with as many of the hard core sciences because I didnt take any of them in undergrad. Anyways, I've really liked the program but Baltimore leaves something to be desired.... PM me if you have any questions...

Jim
 
Is there a website for this program? And when is the application deadline? This is the first time I heard about it.
 
rob14599 said:
I just got accepted to the MHS in Reproductive Biology program at Johns Hopkins. It's a nine-month program, from Sept to May. Anyone here go through that program that can offer advice or opinions? Anyone else apply to it or get accepted?
Click to expand...

How long did it take you to hear about an acceptance? I just completed the pre-application, wondered how long the whole process takes. Also-what were your stats getting in? Thanks.
 
tbone91 said:
How long did it take you to hear about an acceptance? I just completed the pre-application, wondered how long the whole process takes. Thanks.
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It took a while to hear back from the pre-app, about 2-3 weeks if I remember correctly, but this was back in late Jan. If they like what they see on the pre-app, they will send you an e-mail with a link to the on-line regular application. After they got all of my LORs/MCAT scores/transcripts, it went to committee and it was another 3-4 weeks before I received a call from the program director to do a phone interview. After that, I got an acceptance by e-mail the next day.
 
So how generous are they with fin. aid? $30,000 for tuition and $25,000 for living expenses seems pretty steep! How will/did people who will be/are in the program manage financially? Are there pt jobs available?
 
how hard is the program/classes? Is a 3.6+ gpa doable... Also, how many people are in the program and has anyone applying to dental school ever done the program that you know of?
Thanks,
Cantstandya
 
rob14599 said:
I just got accepted to the MHS in Reproductive Biology program at Johns Hopkins. It's a nine-month program, from Sept to May. Anyone here go through that program that can offer advice or opinions? Anyone else apply to it or get accepted?
Click to expand...

how long was the phone interview you had and what was the nature of it. if you don't mind telling, what was your portfolio like, ie gpa, mcats and research experiences?

thanks!
 
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lepetite said:
how long was the phone interview you had and what was the nature of it. if you don't mind telling, what was your portfolio like, ie gpa, mcats and research experiences?

thanks!
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The phone interview was with Dr. Zirkin, the program director. He asked me how I learned about the program, and wanted to make sure that I knew what the program exactly was. We discussed my academic record and my motivation in applying (plans for the future, etc.). Trust me, my record is not the best by any means. 29Q MCAT, 3.35 GPA, no formal research experience. If you have some issues in your academic record (I did), then the personal statement and phone interview is your chance to give a good impression of yourself.
 
rob14599 said:
I just got accepted to the MHS in Reproductive Biology program at Johns Hopkins. It's a nine-month program, from Sept to May. Anyone here go through that program that can offer advice or opinions? Anyone else apply to it or get accepted?
Click to expand...

I am also considering the program and trying to get as much as advice/opinions regarding it as I can. It definitely is very costly and besides worrying how to finance it, I am not sure how much of an impact the program would have versus maybe doing research for a year.
 
I've heard the program is awesome but tough. Is there anyone who's in the program or has been in the program that has worked a pt job while going to school? Is it manageable or are a combination of federal/private loans the best option? 😕 😀
 
phpodguy said:
I've heard the program is awesome but tough. Is there anyone who's in the program or has been in the program that has worked a pt job while going to school? Is it manageable or are a combination of federal/private loans the best option? 😕 😀
Click to expand...

I worked part-time 5-10hrs/week) at the NIH until about february when I got swamped with classes and my thesis. Some people do work in labs at hopkins while doing it. The program is challenging. It's not really that hard to get B's in most of your classes, but in some it is very difficult to get A's. I would say if you are trying to get great grades go with the loans and don't work. A 3.6 is definetly doable I currently have a 3.95 😀 (although that will go down a bit after 4th term) and have somewhat slacked since I got into school in the fall. There are certain classes that are just really hard. Both my immunology classes were very difficult, but the teacher is amazing and I learned a ton. I got some scholarship money, but not a ton, I think i'll have about 30K or a little less in loans from the year when you count my scholarship and the money I made at NIH. I lived in Reed Hall, which stinks but it's convenient and saves a lot of money. Any questions just ask.

Jim
 
Are any scholarships offered through JHU for the program or do you have to look for external sources?

JDWflash44 said:
I worked part-time 5-10hrs/week) at the NIH until about february when I got swamped with classes and my thesis. Some people do work in labs at hopkins while doing it. The program is challenging. It's not really that hard to get B's in most of your classes, but in some it is very difficult to get A's. I would say if you are trying to get great grades go with the loans and don't work. A 3.6 is definetly doable I currently have a 3.95 😀 (although that will go down a bit after 4th term) and have somewhat slacked since I got into school in the fall. There are certain classes that are just really hard. Both my immunology classes were very difficult, but the teacher is amazing and I learned a ton. I got some scholarship money, but not a ton, I think i'll have about 30K or a little less in loans from the year when you count my scholarship and the money I made at NIH. I lived in Reed Hall, which stinks but it's convenient and saves a lot of money. Any questions just ask.

Jim
Click to expand...
 
istream said:
Are any scholarships offered through JHU for the program or do you have to look for external sources?
Click to expand...

I got one from the BMB department. Was notified after my acceptance.

Jim
 
JDWflash44 said:
I got one from the BMB department. Was notified after my acceptance.

Jim
Click to expand...
It says April 15 for deadline? Are they still accepting apps?
 
Completely off topic, but I just thought that the title was ironic since it's 9 months doing reproductive biology :laugh:
 
trp2006 said:
It says April 15 for deadline? Are they still accepting apps?
Click to expand...

I have no idea, i applied at the end of may/early june last year, dont know if they changed it for this year. I think April 15th is suggested, but i believe they still take them until june 1, u should ask them though.

Jim
 
OK. I've got a ton of questions about the housing situation, specifically Reed Hall for anyone who's lived there or is farther along in the application process than me. I've been to the website but I like to hear people's opinions. Here goes:

-How is the on-campus housing at Reed Hall for anyone who's lived there? (room sizes, suitemate situation, "dorm room" living, etc.)
-Do you pay for everything up front or is it a monthly payment like an off-campus apartment?
-Also, what are some pros/cons in living there as opposed to off-campus?
-I imagine you can get studying done there, but how's the social environment? -Is it a good mix of PH and med students (are there a lot of people in the program living there)?
-How were rooms/suitemates assigned, and were there internet/cable connections for each room or are there computer labs available?
-Would you choose to live off-campus if you had the option to pick again?

I'm very interested in this program but I'm trying to get some logistics out of the way before I continue with my application. 😀 😎
 
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phpodguy said:
OK. I've got a ton of questions about the housing situation, specifically Reed Hall for anyone who's lived there or is farther along in the application process than me. I've been to the website but I like to hear people's opinions. Here goes:

-How is the on-campus housing at Reed Hall for anyone who's lived there? (room sizes, suitemate situation, "dorm room" living, etc.)
-Do you pay for everything up front or is it a monthly payment like an off-campus apartment?
-Also, what are some pros/cons in living there as opposed to off-campus?
-I imagine you can get studying done there, but how's the social environment? -Is it a good mix of PH and med students (are there a lot of people in the program living there)?
-How were rooms/suitemates assigned, and were there internet/cable connections for each room or are there computer labs available?
-Would you choose to live off-campus if you had the option to pick again?

I'm very interested in this program but I'm trying to get some logistics out of the way before I continue with my application. 😀 😎
Click to expand...

I lived in Reed Hall this year and would not recommend it. Ilived on the singles side in a "medium" size room. (Approximately 20X10) These rooms are somewhat livable, but the small rooms (12X9) are miserable. They roll the payment into your tuition, so its easy to pay. Each quarter you pay approximately 2 months rent. Supposedly the suite side is better but I cant tell you too much about that. A little known fact, until you move in, is that there is NO cable connection in any of the rooms. There's one TV in the TV room and that's it, for everyone. There's high speed internet in every room and a computer lab with a printer in the building.

The pros to living there are it is less than a 10 minute walk from your bed into the school/classroom, literally I can leave my room like 8 minutes before class and be on-time. And it's cheap and saves $$$$. The biggest cons for me is that there is very little social interaction and I have no kitchen on the singles side. There are many very very weird people that live here. It's kind of like a social wasteland. I cant wait to move out in 10 days 😀 . That being said if I were to do it again I would have found an apartment in the homewood/charles village area or mount vernon and taken the shuttle service to school everyday. But I lived through it and saved some $$$, so i guess it is doable for 9 months.

My $.02,

Jim
 
You should probably live by Homewood. Or you could live in Towson like the Dulaney Valley Apartments. Then getting to school is not that hard but it does take awhile, you can take the Goucher/Hopkins Shuttle across the street from Goucher (right next to the apartments and there are several other apartment complexs nearby) to Homewood and then take the Homewood-JHMI shuttle to JHSPH. Otherwise I know there are quite a few apartment complexs down by UMMC or in Canton too
 
Hope that helps? Any other questions about Hopkins let me know?
 
ZAZA67401 said:
Hope that helps? Any other questions about Hopkins let me know?
Click to expand...

I am in a predicament as I do not which of the two programs to atttend. I applied to med school this year (3.4, 26t) and I am currently waitlisted at one MD school. I don't know if I would get off the waitlist or not. I applied to the programs at Hopkins and Dartmouth so that I can strengthen my application to med school for next year. Having been accepted by both, I do not know which one would be more beneficial in strenghening my application. I always wanted to get an mph but I figure it might best after medical school anyway.

For those that have done the MHS at hopkins did you find it helpful in your medical school apps? How reputable is the program besides the fact that it is Hopkins? I am also wondering what the job prospects are with a masters in cancer bio in the event I don't get into medical school after reapplying. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated as I have to decide between the two programs asap.
 
lepetite said:
I am in a predicament as I do not which of the two programs to atttend. I applied to med school this year (3.4, 26t) and I am currently waitlisted at one MD school. I don't know if I would get off the waitlist or not. I applied to the programs at Hopkins and Dartmouth so that I can strengthen my application to med school for next year. Having been accepted by both, I do not know which one would be more beneficial in strenghening my application. I always wanted to get an mph but I figure it might best after medical school anyway.

For those that have done the MHS at hopkins did you find it helpful in your medical school apps? How reputable is the program besides the fact that it is Hopkins? I am also wondering what the job prospects are with a masters in cancer bio in the event I don't get into medical school after reapplying. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated as I have to decide between the two programs asap.
Click to expand...

I think Dartmouth would be the way to go if it were me. I'd rather have a MPH than MHS, though both are very good schools. I have applied to both with complete applications within the last 2 weeks. How long did it take you to hear from both? If I get in to either I'll be very excited, but like I said I prefer Dartmouth because I think the MPH will take you farther in the medical field.
 
I have read all the posts about the MHS program and it sounds like a great program. I got into both the MHS program and Boston MAMS program and I am having a hard time deciding which program is better if I want to strenghten my application for medical school. How many students apply to medical school during the program and what kind of MCAT scores amd GPAs do they have? I have been told by med school advisors that a graduate degree in a general science program is not as good as the G'town SMP, Drexel IMS, and Boston MAMS for students that need to strengthen their science GPA and prove they can do well in the medical school ... does anyone have any comments on this? Thanks soo much for all your help and good luck to everyone waiting to hear back from programs !
 
tbone91 said:
I think Dartmouth would be the way to go if it were me. I'd rather have a MPH than MHS, though both are very good schools. I have applied to both with complete applications within the last 2 weeks. How long did it take you to hear from both? If I get in to either I'll be very excited, but like I said I prefer Dartmouth because I think the MPH will take you farther in the medical field.
Click to expand...

I heard from both 3-4 weeks after I was complete but I kept calling both programs just to check. You should he hearing from them soon-MHS via email and dartmouth was through regular mail. I don't know if MPH would help me get into medical school as much as the MHS but it would definitely be more useful in the event that I don't get into med school. I really don't know which to choose. Thanks for your suggestions though.
 
ZAZA67401 said:
Hope that helps? Any other questions about Hopkins let me know?
Click to expand...

ZaZa,

How many students are in the MHS program? 20-80-120? Just waiting to hear from them, wondering how many the program takes.
 
Does anyone know how many students apply to medical school from the program and what kind of stats the students that get into medical school have?
 
I was in the Biochem MHS program last year 05-06. There were 29 of us in the Biochem program last year but there are also MHS programs in the other departments as well. Only 4 of us I think applied to school while in the program. Many of the other students will be applying in this cycle. I am attending the Cleveland Clinic, the others are attending U of Kansas, One of the NJ state schools(forget which), Nova Southeastern(DO) and an ScM student is headed to U of Nebraska. I think the person accepted to the NJ school was also accepted to George Washington and I was also accepted to U of Pittsburgh. I got 9 interviews and the program was a topic of conversation at most of my interviews and I got into my top two choices (Pitt and Clev Clinic). With a full-ride at CC and a half-ride at Pitt. I dont know about other's stats but I had a 3.7 UGrad GPA (3.9 Science), 34 MCAT and finished with a 3.9 in the grad program. Dr. Zirkin, who runs the program, said to me that almost all of the students that wanted to get into med school when entering the program eventually got in. Alright thats all I got.... Hope this helps...

Jim
 
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Everbody I know who did the MHS program, that wanted to still go to med school from my class got in within a year. I think there where 20 in my class (all were pre-med) but that was several years ago. But there are other great reasons to do this program too. First,The Bloomberg School of Public Health is the best school in the world for public health and for a good reason. I learned a great deal more about so many different aspects of medicine/public health, usually from the people who came up with them. The school has one of the most diverse student populations from all over the world. You can take courses in anything you are interested in. But hands down the best reason would be that the teachers I had were always helpful and available to help you understand. I know I am really trying to sell you all on Hopkins, but it really is an awesome place. Before I went there I was starting to become a little disenchanted with medical school from being in the pre-med world at a large university, but that school opened my mind and really changed my perspective of medicine in a positive and proactive way. Hope that helps.
 
ZAZA67401 said:
I know I am really trying to sell you all on Hopkins, but it really is an awesome place. Before I went there I was starting to become a little disenchanted with medical school from being in the pre-med world at a large university, but that school opened my mind and really changed my perspective of medicine in a positive and proactive way. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Hey, I'm already sold. I'll be attending Hopkins in the Fall. Any suggestions on good off-campus housing?

Yeah, I hear ya about the disenchantment. Undergraduate pre-meds are the biggest a-holes in the world (present company excluded).
 
rob14599 said:
Hey, I'm already sold. I'll be attending Hopkins in the Fall. Any suggestions on good off-campus housing?

Yeah, I hear ya about the disenchantment. Undergraduate pre-meds are the biggest a-holes in the world (present company excluded).
Click to expand...


There are a lot of places to live in Baltimore. There is no one good spot, it really depends on what you are looking for. Most of the kids live in one of the many apartment complexes next to Homewood (the undergrad campus) along Charles Street. Its a mixed area. Some places are extremely nice, some okay, it is a college town and Some of these tend to be older and a little run down, but or maybe I was just too picky, plus it has been a few years since I was there so things may have changed. Other kids live downtown in highrise apartment complexes, there a few big name ones but these can be pretty pricey. Also some live in an area just south and a little east of the JHMI campus near the water in an area called Canton. These apartments tend to be pricey too though. All of these are really close to school or just a shuttle ride away (10 minutes).

I ended up living in Towson which is about 8 miles north of JHMI. I chose Towson cause I could get a nicer place for a little cheaper than areas in Canton or downtown. I liked it overall, although it is quite a trek to school. There is a shuttle between the colleges in Baltimore http://www.baltimorecollegetown.org/asp/home.asp I used to ride to I homewood from Towson and then I would ride the JHMI shuttle to school. It sounds complicated and it was kinda, usually took a long time to get to school like an hour and half some days. And you can drive to school kinda quick on the 83 because Towson is right off the 680. Just a suggestion. I lived in the Dulaney Valley Apartments across from Goucher College, pretty nice (~800/month), lots of college kids there cause Goucher is across the street and Towson U. is not very far away.

I wouldn't recommend counting on the lightrail system (it was always my experience that it was way slow and not that great). I don't know about the subway (I have never riden it). It runs from JHMI to Owenings Mills (which is a really nice place, but really, really far away) and I am not sure about the areas it also stops at along the way.

Other places to check-out might be finding a row house to rent in the inner harbor, canton, or butcher's hill area (all close to school). Roland Park seems like a really nice place, but you might be able to find some place to rent ( I never really checked it out). Also you can check out places near the monument area/peabody, most of the places I looked at were really bad, but it is a nice area and maybe they have redone some stuff. Lastly, some people even commute from DC everday on the commuter train between DC/Baltimore that stops at Penn station (there is also a JHMI shuttle stop there).
Hope that helps. Maybe JDFlash has some suggestions too you could use.
 
If you live off-campus, try to find something on the hopkins shuttle route. It's a pain in the butt parking in Baltimore. Some of the popular apartment complexes my classmates lived in were: The carlyle, hopkins inn, and the broadview, and the dell house (super close to the shuttle stop at the undergrad campus).

Rob, you're so going to love this program 🙂 All the good things Zaza and Jim have said are true. I think this program really teaches you a lot and the classes (especially immunology) will give you a leg up once you get to med school (med school immuno was a joke compared to the mhs course). I know JDW posted the classes he took, but if you do a search, I'm pretty sure I wrote a post a while back about the good and bad things about each class.

Jim- congrats again on the awesome acceptance/scholarship 😀

Does anyone know how many students apply to medical school from the program and what kind of stats the students that get into medical school have?
Click to expand...

Jim had awesome stats, but a lot of us have lower stats and still got multiple acceptances. I had a ~3.4 undergrad gpa, ~3.5 gpa in the program, and a 31 on the MCAT. I some people in the program had lower stats. Like Jim said, most of us got into medical school... but I don't want you to think that EVERYONE gets in (because some of my classmates didn't get in, despite having high grades in the program).
 
A few quick questions:

How many students (roughly) are there in the MHS program for Reproductive Bio?

Also, are the professors accomodating when it comes to writing letters of recommendation? I did not go to Hopkins for undergrad, I will be coming from out of state and I would much rather have 3 letters of rec from Hopkins SPH professors whose classes I did well in than from the professors at my run-of-the-mill undergraduate institution.
 
I think there is about 20-25 or so. And there are four professors that run the program and you will get to know them very well. They are very cool and easy going. They will definitely write you a great letter of rec. Other teachers are willing to help you too, it takes a little more effort getting to know them, but I am sure they too would be happy to help you out. It will far exceed your expectations. Good luck
 
I know that this thread is from awhile ago, but does this program accept medical school recommendation letters, or should I get all new letters for the program?
 
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