Am I on the right track? PLEASE help!!

[MIS2MPH]

Hi everyone,
I am working on my statement of purpose right now and am doing pretty miserably.

I've tried answering the questions like why do you want to do public health? What experiences led you to it? But I don't really have any one event that led me to public health or made me realize that PH is what I want to do. I've just always known that I wanted to work internationally and provide health care in places that did have it and research how to reduce the prevalence of diseases that were caused by the living conditions. I'm stupid and just didn't realize that this could be done without being a doctor and could be considered public health until really recently (I was talking with my sister about how I was disappointed that I didn't study something health related and she told me about healthcare administration and that eventually led me to discovering public health) which is why I didn't study something health related in college. I was planning on finding some administrative job in a non profit to at least remain involved in that way.

I've been reading example SOPs and I'm extremely discouraged that I don't have anything like all those people to say.

I have a short (extremely choppy) draft and I was wondering whether anyone could look it over and see if I am on the right track? I would greatly appreciate it!

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[ConfusedAsUsual]

Hi everyone,
I am working on my statement of purpose right now and am doing pretty miserably.

I've tried answering the questions like why do you want to do public health? What experiences led you to it? But I don't really have any one event that led me to public health or made me realize that PH is what I want to do. I've just always known that I wanted to work internationally and provide health care in places that did have it and research how to reduce the prevalence of diseases that were caused by the living conditions. I'm stupid and just didn't realize that this could be done without being a doctor and could be considered public health until really recently (I was talking with my sister about how I was disappointed that I didn't study something health related and she told me about healthcare administration and that eventually led me to discovering public health) which is why I didn't study something health related in college. I was planning on finding some administrative job in a non profit to at least remain involved in that way.

I've been reading example SOPs and I'm extremely discouraged that I don't have anything like all those people to say.

I have a short (extremely choppy) draft and I was wondering whether anyone could look it over and see if I am on the right track? I would greatly appreciate it!

If you feel as if you don't have any particular formative experiences in Public Health, you can always speak to your education (was there a class you took that you liked, what introduced you to PH?) or some related experiences (research, maybe a club) and how that influenced your decision to pursue this degree.

I think you can also speak to the transferable skills you've developed and what exactly an MPH can give you and help you strengthen as well and how it'll help you reach your professional goals.

 

[MIS2MPH]

If you feel as if you don't have any particular formative experiences in Public Health, you can always speak to your education (was there a class you took that you liked, what introduced you to PH?) or some related experiences (research, maybe a club) and how that influenced your decision to pursue this degree.

I think you can also speak to the transferable skills you've developed and what exactly an MPH can give you and help you strengthen as well and how it'll help you reach your professional goals.

I studied Management Information Systems so I was planning on writing about how everything I've learned about data analysis software and programming will be especially helpful in epi since it may help to develop new or more efficient research methods or something like that. I'm taking an epi class right now (first ph class I've taken), could I talk about that? Also, I did a fundraiser in highschool which sparked my interest in the topic that I hope to research during the program (water scarcity and health issues due to unsanitary water), but can I talk about that since it was during highschool and not undergrad?

 

[She-Hulk]

My advice would be:

1. Don't be discouraged, people who post gpa's and GREs here are often stellar candidates, especially this year for some reason. Yet there a lot of public health schools of reasonable quality that accept tons of students.

2. Have you done International work? If you're sure you want to do it, then maybe that would be good experience to get before pursuing an MPH?

3. It's never to late to get experience, volunteer at a local health department.

4. I think it would be a mistake to pursue an MPH, or any degree, without getting some experience first.

5. MPH programs are relatively easy to get into, so you can make it happen, but it might be a good idea to get 1-2 years Public Health related experience first, while working your current job, and research programs and career paths well. Maybe then you'd get into a better program, find one more tailored to yourself, or get a scholarship.

6. You need to research what programs are good in the sort of international work you want to do, what concentration you want. There is a difference in what programs offer. Probably if you went all the way to a DrPH that would mean you could do high-level consulting for setting up healthcare systems.

7. You probably have some good transferable skills with MIS and doing healthcare management, might be different from international health stuff.

Hi everyone,
I am working on my statement of purpose right now and am doing pretty miserably.

I've tried answering the questions like why do you want to do public health? What experiences led you to it? But I don't really have any one event that led me to public health or made me realize that PH is what I want to do. I've just always known that I wanted to work internationally and provide health care in places that did have it and research how to reduce the prevalence of diseases that were caused by the living conditions. I'm stupid and just didn't realize that this could be done without being a doctor and could be considered public health until really recently (I was talking with my sister about how I was disappointed that I didn't study something health related and she told me about healthcare administration and that eventually led me to discovering public health) which is why I didn't study something health related in college. I was planning on finding some administrative job in a non profit to at least remain involved in that way.

I've been reading example SOPs and I'm extremely discouraged that I don't have anything like all those people to say.

I have a short (extremely choppy) draft and I was wondering whether anyone could look it over and see if I am on the right track? I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[MIS2MPH]

Thank you for your reply!

What would you consider a school of reasonable quality?

I haven't done any international work. Would it be a necessity to do that before pursuing the MPH? My family is from India so I've heard plenty about the lack of proper healthcare in areas and what not.
I am volunteering at the local hospital right now ( and have been for a few years) and plan to call the health department this week!
So, you wouldn't recommend getting a higher degree right out of college? Why so?

I am applying to UWash, UT-Houston, Ohio State, OregonHSU, Uni of WI-Madison, and Uni of OK. Based on what I've researched about the programs, the first 3 that I listed probably align the best with what I want to research and do later on. UWash has the aspect of being renowned for having connections to many international non-profits, however is waaayyy out of my price range (but I'm still gonna apply). UT-Houston and Ohio State both have professors conducting research which I'm very interested in (having to do with water borne illness--diarrhea diseases). Uni of WI and Uni of OK I'm applying to due to cost (in state tuition in OK) and proximity to family (parents now live in WI).

I was thinking the same thing about transferable skills and was trying (and struggling) to write about that in my SOP. I'm certain that the skills I've gained from MIS will definitely help me in the methodological side of Epi (the concentration I plan to apply to, for this very reason), but my research interests seem to be aligned closer with Global Health and Environmental Epi, so I was wondering whether that would be bad to write about?

SO after that huge long spiel, my basic questions are these:
1. What would you consider a school of reasonable quality?
2. Why not get a higher degree right out of college?
3. Do the schools that I'm applying to seem at all doable? (My stats: 3.3 GPA, 156V/152Q/4.5 for now, retaking it soon)
4. Is it okay if my research interests are slightly more aligned with a different concentration that epi? Even if they are aligned, I can't figure out how to portray that on my SOP.

My advice would be:

1. Don't be discouraged, people who post gpa's and GREs here are often stellar candidates, especially this year for some reason. Yet there a lot of public health schools of reasonable quality that accept tons of students.

2. Have you done International work? If you're sure you want to do it, then maybe that would be good experience to get before pursuing an MPH?

3. It's never to late to get experience, volunteer at a local health department.

4. I think it would be a mistake to pursue an MPH, or any degree, without getting some experience first.

5. MPH programs are relatively easy to get into, so you can make it happen, but it might be a good idea to get 1-2 years Public Health related experience first, while working your current job, and research programs and career paths well. Maybe then you'd get into a better program, find one more tailored to yourself, or get a scholarship.

6. You need to research what programs are good in the sort of international work you want to do, what concentration you want. There is a difference in what programs offer. Probably if you went all the way to a DrPH that would mean you could do high-level consulting for setting up healthcare systems.

7. You probably have some good transferable skills with MIS and doing healthcare management, might be different from international health stuff.