2020 MHA: Applied, Interviewed, Rejected, Attending

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Thank you! After talking to some students and alumni, I was convinced. Yale really tries to intermingle the different graduate schools on campus so each department isnt silo-ed among themselves. (theres a bar on campus!) Also, HCM students get access to the b-school job listings and social outings, which provide even more opportunities for networking. I also liked the ability to take classes at the different graduate schools of business, law, and what not.

I would like to enter an Admin Fellowship post-school and noticed that Yale has sent a fair amount of fellows to the programs I was interested in. I also love how proactive the students, career services, department has been over these past few weeks. (I have received a at least 12 emails!)

I want to feel like a part of the whole University. I want to feel cared for, and Yale makes me feel that way 🙂

Sorry I kind of got carried away LOL
 
monkeym8 said:
Literally was in your same shoes!
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My main concern with Yale is the price and job placements -- I want to eventually come back to California but I'm nervous to spend that much money if it won't help me get a really solid job placement after I graduate. Do you know if they publicize the job placements for HCM students?

I guess I'll wait until I hear back about financial aid options for both schools... :nailbiting:
 
mha2 said:
If I want to do an Administrative Fellowship after graduation, would attending JHU put me at a disadvantage? Anyone else considering JHU and want to do an Administrative Fellowship?
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I'm also considering JHU and am interested in doing an Administrative Fellowship. During my interview I asked how JHU would help me with that and my interviewer basically said the residency is meant to replace doing a fellowship. My concern if I went to JHU and still wanted to do a fellowship after is that I wouldn't get as much support from the faculty and student services as I would at another school. I know someone who knows a lot about MHA programs and I am planning on asking her if she agrees that the residency is equivalent and if she has any advice for if I still wanted to do a fellowship after. I can let you know what she says if you're interested!
 
futuremha2020 said:
I'm also considering JHU and am interested in doing an Administrative Fellowship. During my interview I asked how JHU would help me with that and my interviewer basically said the residency is meant to replace doing a fellowship. My concern if I went to JHU and still wanted to do a fellowship after is that I wouldn't get as much support from the faculty and student services as I would at another school. I know someone who knows a lot about MHA programs and I am planning on asking her if she agrees that the residency is equivalent and if she has any advice for if I still wanted to do a fellowship after. I can let you know what she says if you're interested!
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From what I can tell, you can always apply for administrative fellowships yourself, after the residency/graduation. Honestly, I think having that year of experience in addition to a Hopkins education will help you land a really solid admin fellowship if you decide you still want to do it after a fellowship, though I have found that people's experiences between the two have been pretty equivalent. The main purpose is to land a job afterwards and have more experience, both of which (fellowships + residencies) often succeed in both.
 
futuremha2020 said:
I'm also considering JHU and am interested in doing an Administrative Fellowship. During my interview I asked how JHU would help me with that and my interviewer basically said the residency is meant to replace doing a fellowship. My concern if I went to JHU and still wanted to do a fellowship after is that I wouldn't get as much support from the faculty and student services as I would at another school. I know someone who knows a lot about MHA programs and I am planning on asking her if she agrees that the residency is equivalent and if she has any advice for if I still wanted to do a fellowship after. I can let you know what she says if you're interested!
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Yes please!!!
 
I have my interview for Minnesota tomorrow. Can anyone give me any insight into what it's like?
 
CEO-B said:
School: Brigham Young University-Idaho
GPA: 3.46
Major: Healthcare Administration
GRE: 143 V, 150 Q, 3.5 W
Experience:
Health Care Roles (3+ years experience)- Medical Receptionist, Patient Flow Coordinator, Project Manager, Area Director (managed 60 employees, financial responsibilities)
Currently: Healthcare Recruiter
Special Factors: International student born in Canada and raised in Dubai

Applied (11/13): University of Washington, Cornell, Columbia, Penn State, USC, University of Pittsburgh, Ohio State University, Texas A&M
Interview: Texas A&M (1/8), University of Pittsburgh (12/6)
Waitlist:
Rejected:
Accepted: University of Pittsburgh (12/6)
Attending:
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Oh wow congrats! I was just emailed about an interview from University of PIttsburgh too! Do you recall what kind of questions they asked?
 
hyjy97 said:
Oh wow congrats! I was just emailed about an interview from University of PIttsburgh too! Do you recall what kind of questions they asked?
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The interview at the University of Pittsburgh went great! I was very impressed with the program director. It was very conversational. He asked basic questions about myself and why PITT. The main part is what you want to get out of the program and your career goals. He then just let me know more about the program and healthcare in Pittsburgh. After that, he admitted me into the program and invited me to visit.
 
Hi everyone, I would like to help clarify some concerns that I've read about JHU's program (I'm a 2nd year MHA student at JHU right now).

You won't be at a disadvantage for applying to fellowships. I'd argue that you would be at an advantage compared to other students coming from a traditional 2 year didactic MPH/MHA program as you have a years worth of a residency experience under your belt that can attest to real life work experiences you've accomplished. It is however true that the vast majority of students DO NOT pursue a fellowship as the residency is designed to help mirror the experience you would gain from a fellowship. However, every year we have a couple students who do decide to do a fellowship upon graduation for various reasons such as wanting to be in a specific geographic location or knowing they want to work a long time at a particular organization.

There are some differences between residencies and fellowships so ultimately the decision will come down to what you feel is the best step to you. I have a close friend from the program that decided he wanted to still pursue a fellowship and ended up getting one at Kaiser Permanente (he wanted to be back in California), so it is entirely possible. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

By no means am I pushing you to consider or accept JHU, I just believe in providing as much information as possible as this is an important decision for everyone. I'm excited for all of you and it is wonderful to hear about all of you getting interviews, being accepted, and which programs you have committed to. I wish you all the best of luck. 🙂
 
InquiringStudent said:
Hi everyone, I would like to help clarify some concerns that I've read about JHU's program (I'm a 2nd year MHA student at JHU right now).

You won't be at a disadvantage for applying to fellowships. I'd argue that you would be at an advantage compared to other students coming from a traditional 2 year didactic MPH/MHA program as you have a years worth of a residency experience under your belt that can attest to real life work experiences you've accomplished. It is however true that the vast majority of students DO NOT pursue a fellowship as the residency is designed to help mirror the experience you would gain from a fellowship. However, every year we have a couple students who do decide to do a fellowship upon graduation for various reasons such as wanting to be in a specific geographic location or knowing they want to work a long time at a particular organization.

There are some differences between residencies and fellowships so ultimately the decision will come down to what you feel is the best step to you. I have a close friend from the program that decided he wanted to still pursue a fellowship and ended up getting one at Kaiser Permanente (he wanted to be back in California), so it is entirely possible. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

By no means am I pushing you to consider or accept JHU, I just believe in providing as much information as possible as this is an important decision for everyone. I'm excited for all of you and it is wonderful to hear about all of you getting interviews, being accepted, and which programs you have committed to. I wish you all the best of luck. 🙂
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How helpful would you say Hopkins' career center is? Do many students use it to find jobs post-grad?
 
doubtfox said:
Congrats on all the Yale acceptances!!

For those who have been accepted to Yale's Health Care Management department-- what day did you receive confirmation of your application being "complete" and sent for review?

I submitted 11/20 but wasn't sent for review until 12/11. I know they're rolling admissions so I wanted to know if the first couple of "waves" of acceptances that were sent came from people who were completed before 12/11??
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Application was recieved on 11/25 sent for review on 12/6/19
 
CEO-B said:
School: Brigham Young University-Idaho
GPA: 3.46
Major: Healthcare Administration
GRE: 143 V, 150 Q, 3.5 W
Experience:
Health Care Roles (3+ years experience)- Medical Receptionist, Patient Flow Coordinator, Project Manager, Area Director (managed 60 employees, financial responsibilities)
Currently: Healthcare Recruiter
Special Factors: International student born in Canada and raised in Dubai

Applied (11/13): University of Washington, Cornell, Columbia, Penn State, USC, University of Pittsburgh, Ohio State University, Texas A&M
Interview: Texas A&M (1/8), University of Pittsburgh (12/6)
Waitlist:
Rejected:
Accepted: University of Pittsburgh (12/6)
Attending:
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How did the Texas A&M interview go? Any tips you would like to share?
 
CarissasWeird said:
How helpful would you say Hopkins' career center is? Do many students use it to find jobs post-grad?
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That's a really good question. I honestly am not certain. I don't want to say it isn't helpful since I haven't asked or utilized it. I can say that it isn't "advertised" to us as first or second years. But I'm sure if we asked we would be put in touch with alumni. However you can always look up alumni via Linkedin etc. I've done that and connected with quite a few and spoken to those individuals over the phone for how they approached post-graduation etc.

I'm not sure how helpful this answer was but I haven't had to reach out yet for detailed career advice. I may need to as I look into jobs post residency (this upcoming June) so I'd have a better answer around March.
 
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@InquiringStudent , thank you for all your insight into the jhu program. I was admitted into their program a few weeks ago and have some questions. You’ve indicated in the past that you’re open to chatting privately , how can we go about that if that is still the case? Tia
 
mhacandidate11 said:
@InquiringStudent , thank you for all your insight into the jhu program. I was admitted into their program a few weeks ago and have some questions. You’ve indicated in the past that you’re open to chatting privately , how can we go about that if that is still the case? Tia
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Sure, glad to help any way I can. you can privately message me here. I'll send you a message, if you are unable to access, just let me know in this thread and we can figure out a different way.
 
yuhao12 said:
Congrats, I am still looking forward to hearing from JHU, it has been 15 days since I submitted my application.
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Thanks!! Good luck, I've heard it sometimes takes some time to hear back. Is Hopkins your first choice?
 
School: UW-Madison
GPA: 3.47
Major: Biology Minor: Global Health
GRE: V: 158 Q: 159 W: 5.0
Experience: Summer Job wedding planning company, a year as an administrative assistant at a non-profit Dental Clinic, Tutor at Community Center for underserved community, CNA certification with clinical hours, 2+ years as a Research Assistant in a Dermatology Lab, 1 year as Research Assistant in Patient self efficacy research, Cultural Students Association, 2 Dance teams (co-founded one), Habitat for Humanity Volunteer, Bone Marrow Drive Volunteer.
Applied: Dec 24(Verified): UIUC, Rush, UIC, Minnesota, Michigan, SLU
Interview: Minnesota (1/17), UIC, Michigan, Rush
Rejected:
Accepted: UIUC (1/9), Minnesota (1/24), UIC

Anyone have any interview tips? 🙂
 
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yuhao12 said:
Congrats, I am still looking forward to hearing from JHU, it has been 15 days since I submitted my application.
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I wouldn't read into how long it takes them to respond. It can take as little as a few days to a month or longer from past experience. It just depends when they get around to viewing applications!
 
Just got my first rejection from Michigan and felt like I performed horribly in my Cornell interview.

@monkeym8 You were right about Cornell. Those were some really difficult behavioral questions to answer in the spur of the moment. Questions were pretty fair tbh, just tough. This was by far one of my hardest interviews with any given school.

Here's to hoping :xf:
 
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A question for anyone who applied to Rush:

For the personal essay, if the answer is no to all of those questions (grade inconsistencies, plead guilty, surrendered license) did you still include an answer or did you just not address them. Thanks!
 
gat8r said:
A question for anyone who applied to Rush:

For the personal essay, if the answer is no to all of those questions (grade inconsistencies, plead guilty, surrendered license) did you still include an answer or did you just not address them. Thanks!
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Not sure about others, but I just took the time to copy/paste them onto word, manually typed out the answers and attached that to my application. Just thought it's always better to specifically address it if asked than to have them guess and be confused about your answer and then ultimately put your app on hold b/c of it. Hope it helps
 
gat8r said:
A question for anyone who applied to Rush:

For the personal essay, if the answer is no to all of those questions (grade inconsistencies, plead guilty, surrendered license) did you still include an answer or did you just not address them. Thanks!
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Hi! I didn't address them at all in my essay since it didn't apply. I just got accepted to Rush last week so I don't think that affected my application in any way!
 
For the people who had the Columbia interview, how fast did they let you know if you were accepted or rejected? I just had mine last night and I'm curious how long I have to wait haha
 
Does MHA degree have good job prospects for international students??
 
Has anyone applied to UAlabama Birmingham’s MSHA program and heard back yet?
 
School: University of Washington, Seattle
GPA: SOPHAS 3.0, 2.97 official transcript, took a Stats course (Grade: A) at UCBerkeley after graduating
Major: Public Health
GRE: 155Q, 157V, 5.0W
Experience (professional or otherwise): 3.5 years work experience (Amazon Operations, then HealthTech startup with leadership experience as a program manager), 3 internships during undergrad (one at Amazon and the other two are health organizations)
Special Factors: My Amazon internship project was implemented throughout the Amazon warehouse network and I was extended a full time job offer, my focus will be in HealthTech

Applied: JHU, GWU, Columbia, University of Washington, USC (California), BUSPH w/ HCM (Dec) all others around Jan 10-15
Interview: Columbia, UW
Waitlist:
Rejected:
Accepted: GWU, BUSPH + 25% Scholarship
Attending:

Good luck everyone! Im wondering if I should apply to a few more schools that are easier to get into given my GPA. I think my personal statement is pretty good, but I did not reference my low GPA (I really didn't want to give any excuses and wanted to focus on my professional accomplishments and career plans). I did write a letter in the Columbia supplemental questions addressing the GPA (I do have a reason why it's low but again, don't want to give excuses, want to focus on growth).
Any advice here? Should I apply to a few more schools?
 
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bonbonsdogmom said:
School: University of Washington, Seattle
GPA: SOPHAS 3.0, 2.97 official transcript, took a Stats course (Grade: A) at UCBerkeley after graduating
Major: Public Health
GRE: 155Q, 157V, 5.0W
Experience (professional or otherwise): 3.5 years work experience (Amazon Operations, then HealthTech startup with leadership experience as a program manager), 3 internships during undergrad (one at Amazon and the other two are health organizations)
Special Factors: My Amazon internship project was implemented throughout the Amazon warehouse network and I was extended a full time job offer, my focus will be in HealthTech

Applied: JHU, GWU, Columbia, University of Washington, USC (California), BUSPH w/ HCM (Dec) all others around Jan 10-15
Interview:
Waitlist:
Rejected:
Accepted:
Attending:

Good luck everyone! Im wondering if I should apply to a few more schools that are easier to get into given my GPA. I think my personal statement is pretty good, but I did not reference my low GPA (I really didn't want to give any excuses and wanted to focus on my professional accomplishments and career plans). I did write a letter in the Columbia supplemental questions addressing the GPA (I do have a reason why it's low but again, don't want to give excuses, want to focus on growth).
Any advice here? Should I apply to a few more schools?
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There's nothing wrong with referencing your GPA to explain it. My personal statement had about 2 sentences explaining it. Sometimes it's beneficial to explain especially if theres been a gap or it has been remedied or learnt from.

Other than that your GPA wasn't much lower than mine, however some schools do have a cut off below 3.0 so they may not view your application if they have hard cuts. Was your major GPA different? How was your GPA towards your last 2 years compared to first two? Schools factor that in as well.

I think your experience definitely helps, seems really interesting!

EDIT: I misread, if your SOPHAS GPA is 3.0 then you should be fine. Programs don't look at your transcript GPA, only the one SOPHAS calculates.
 
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Has anyone interviewed with Michigan and can talk a little about what the interview is like?
 
CarissasWeird said:
I'm deciding between Yale and Hopkins-- why is Hopkins your first choice?
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Well, probably because I am a student at Hopkins now and I dont wanna go somewhere else lol.
I think you should choose Yale since they give you a scholarship. I mean if I were you, that is a lot of money.
 
Has anyone interviewed at OSU yet? I am going Feb 7th and was curious of others experiences or impressions.
 
Gonna post my stats here now that I've committed to Yale-- hopefully it helps someone in the future reading through all these posts like I did! I initially wasn't even going to bother applying this cycle, since I thought my GPA would mean I'd be rejected everywhere. Goes to show that these admissions are pretty holistic. If I went back, I wouldn't have applied to so many schools, especially since I realized I didn't really want to attend some of them.

School: UCLA
GPA: 3.08 (I didn't mention my GPA in my personal statement, but did stress that I was working throughout undergrad)
GRE: 163V, 159Q, 6AWA
Majors: Molecular, Cell, Developmental Biology & Russian Language and Literature
Experience:
-Manager at a non-profit art museum (2 years)
-Grant-writing intern at a women's health center (6 months)
-Sex-ed teacher (1 year)
-Pharma-related/biochem research (2 years)
-Intern at a marine environmental non-profit/aquarium (3.5 years)
-Radio DJ (4 years)

Special Factors: Stage-four cancer as a teen, financially independent throughout college/worked full-time, first-gen American, applying out of undergrad

Applied: Yale (MPH in HCM), JHU (MHA), GWU (MHA), Columbia (MHA), USC (MHA), Dartmouth (MPH)
I rescinded my applications at the last three schools before hearing back, since I was sure I wouldn't want to attend after doing more research/weighing options at the schools I had already been accepted to.

Interview: JHU, Columbia, Dartmouth
Definitely ask a lot of questions during your interview-- not only to show interest for the schools, but to actually know if you want to go there. Interestingly, I had a really great and motivating interview with JHU faculty who really convincingly sold the school to me. Had I not spoken to actual students and alumni, I likely would have attended based on just how good the interview was at selling the school. It ended up not being the right program for me personally, primarily because I want to return to California after grad school and get involved in health tech. The skills needed for the jobs I want are not as stressed in JHU's curriculum, which was made apparent to me after actually speaking with students. The latter two schools conducted interviews via alumni/current students, who highlighted some aspects of their program that were not compatible with what I was looking for. I think actual students vs. faculty are incredibly helpful in illuminating what that school is actually like. The best resource for me was just messaging people on LinkedIn, so I could get an opinion from someone not paid by the school to sell it! Additionally, the responsiveness from alumni upon me messaging them was also a good indicator of what networking with alumni from those schools would be like-- Yale alumni were incredibly responsive, thorough, and genuinely interested in me as a potential student which already made me feel connected to the school.

Rejected: n/a
Accepted: JHU, Yale, GWU
Attending: Yale!

I realize I committed pretty early. Part of this was for my own sanity because thinking about which school to attend was on my mind 24/7 once I had gotten into my two top choices (JHU and Yale). I did the bulk of my research on the schools once I was actually admitted. I applied with a basic understanding of how long the degree is, overview of classes, and cohort size, but that was basically it. Actually talking to students and looking at apartment listings and looking at job requirements for future positions I'd be interested in eventually made my decision pretty clear.

I realized Yale's split between the public health and management schools was perhaps the most valuable asset to me as someone who wants to go into the start-up industry as opposed to traditional pathways of hospital admin or consulting. I was interested in a super small cohort/school, taking business classes with Yale MBA students, and also getting the chance to take computer science/engineering classes from other schools. I also found that there is a good amount of alumni from my undergrad school and that many people end up going to California following graduation, so I'd have a good alumni base to work with in my area, despite going to school on the opposite coast. I also realized I liked the idea of a program that is two years long, since I enjoy working while also going to classes, as opposed to one class-packed year and then a separate work-year. Yale really stressed that students are able to (and typically) work while getting their degree, and I value having that balance and extra experience for my resume.

I didn't take committing early lightly (seriously, I've been doing hours and hours of research all day lol...) and I don't regret it (at least not yet...). That being said, I could have narrowed down my list before applying. Nonetheless, for my personal circumstances, Yale was the clear choice for me! They've also just been the most responsive and nice to me in the process, and with financial aid it became a feasible option for me. :clap:
 
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CarissasWeird said:
Gonna post my stats here now that I've committed to Yale-- hopefully it helps someone in the future readings through all these posts like I did! I initially wasn't even going to bother applying this cycle, since I thought my GPA would mean I'd be rejected everywhere. Goes to show that these admissions are pretty holistic. If I went back, I wouldn't have applied to so many schools, especially since I realized I didn't really want to attend some of them.

School: UCLA
GPA: 3.08 (I didn't mention my GPA in my personal statement, but did stress that I was working throughout undergrad)
GRE: 163V, 159Q, 6AWA
Majors: Molecular, Cell, Developmental Biology & Russian Language and Literature
Experience:
-Manager at a non-profit art museum (2 years)
-Grant-writing intern at a women's health center (6 months)
-Sex-ed teacher (1 year)
-Pharma-related/biochem research (2 years)
-Intern at a marine environmental non-profit/aquarium (3.5 years)
-Radio DJ (4 years)

Special Factors: Stage-four cancer as a teen, financially independent throughout college/worked full-time, first-gen American, applying out of undergrad

Applied: Yale (MPH in HCM), JHU (MHA), GWU (MHA), Columbia (MHA), USC (MHA), Dartmouth (MPH)
I rescinded my applications at the last three schools before hearing back, since I was sure I wouldn't want to attend after doing more research/weighing options at the schools I had already been accepted to.

Interview: JHU, Columbia, Dartmouth
Definitely ask a lot of questions during your interview-- not only to show interest for the schools, but to actually know if you want to go there. Interestingly, I had a really great and motivating interview with JHU faculty who really convincingly sold the school to me. Had I not spoken to actual students and alumni, I likely would have attended based on just how good the interview was at selling the school. It ended up not being the right program for me personally, primarily because I want to return to California after grad school and get involved in health tech. The skills needed for the jobs I want are not as stressed in JHU's curriculum, which was made apparent to me after actually speaking with students. The latter two schools conducted interviews via alumni/current students, who highlighted some aspects of their program that were not compatible with what I was looking for. I think actual students vs. faculty are incredibly helpful in illuminating what that school is actually like. The best resource for me was just messaging people on LinkedIn, so I could get an opinion from someone not paid by the school to sell it! Additionally, the responsiveness from alumni upon me messaging them was also a good indicator of what networking with alumni from those schools would be like-- Yale alumni were incredibly responsive, thorough, and genuinely interested in me as a potential student which already made me feel connected to the school.

Rejected: n/a
Accepted: JHU, Yale, GWU
Attending: Yale!

I realize I committed pretty early. Part of this was for my own sanity because thinking about which school to attend was on my mind 24/7 once I had gotten into my two top choices (JHU and Yale). I did the bulk of my research on the schools once I was actually admitted. I applied with a basic understanding of how long the degree is, overview of classes, and cohort size, but that was basically it. Actually talking to students and looking at apartment listings and looking at job requirements for future positions I'd be interested in eventually made my decision pretty clear.

I realized Yale's split between the public health and management schools was perhaps the most valuable asset to me as someone who wants to go into the start-up industry as opposed to traditional pathways of hospital admin or consulting. I was interested in a super small cohort/school, taking business classes with Yale MBA students, and also getting the chance to take computer science/engineering classes from other schools. I also found that there is a good amount of alumni from my undergrad school and that many people end up going to California following graduation, so I'd have a good alumni base to work with in my area, despite going to school on the opposite coast. I also realized I liked the idea of a program that is two years long, since I enjoy working while also going to classes, as opposed to one class-packed year and then a separate work-year. Yale really stressed that students are able to (and typically) work while getting their degree, and I value having that balance and extra experience for my resume.

I didn't take committing early lightly (seriously, I've been doing hours and hours of research all day lol...) and I don't regret it (at least not yet...). That being said, I could have narrowed down my list before applying. Nonetheless, for my personal circumstances, Yale was the clear choice for me! They've also just been the most responsive and nice to me in the process, and with financial aid it became a feasible option for me. :clap:
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Really well said, glad you were able to find the program that best fits what you are looking for! You'll do amazing, congratulations!
 
Does anyone know what the cohort size for Columbia is? How challenging is it to get Columbia for MHA?
 
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