Columbia MPH/MS/PHD Fall 2016

[mimiQ]

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Just want to start a thread for those of us who have committed to attending Columbia this fall. 🙂

 

[Sophiafrolic]

Hi there~I'm international student who will attend Columbia this fall.
I'm curious where do most of MPH students live? Or is it convenient to live near Morningside campus can go to classes at Mailman?
Anybody knows?

 

[mimiQ]

Hi there~I'm international student who will attend Columbia this fall.
I'm curious where do most of MPH students live? Or is it convenient to live near Morningside campus can go to classes at Mailman?
Anybody knows?

I think most people try to live within/close to Washington Heights, but Columbia does provide free shuttle service between Morningside and the medical campus. International students get priority when they apply for on-campus housing. I heard that the apartment complex in the medical campus are actually not bad.

 

[elephantpantz]

Currently deciding between here and a few others, but leaning (more and more) heavily towards Columbia!🙂

 

[moonwave89]

I haven't committed yet but I am also leaning toward Columbia! I was accepted to the SMS program and Public Health Research Methods certificate but I'm considering switching to Health Promotion Research and Practice.

 

[jash14]

I'm committed too!
And I live in New York, so if anyone has any New York based questions I can try to answer them as best I can 🙂

 

[elephantpantz]

They're all such wonderful programs, but I do love how Columbia allows you to both specialize in a Certificate but also get a strong foundation thru the intense "Core." However, my worry is that if I choose, later on, to not follow a career path in that certificate, will this hurt me by having less of a "generic"/broad background.

 

[Jimi_john]

Hi there, I am an international medical graduate I applied for MPH in Health Policy and Management at Johns Hopkins and Columbia for this year due to delay in WES evaluation Hopkins rejected my application but I got appointment email from Columbia regarding my decision. I am little bit confuse? Is it any kind of acceptance for admission or any thing else?

 

[dubiousraves]

Hi there~I'm international student who will attend Columbia this fall.
I'm curious where do most of MPH students live? Or is it convenient to live near Morningside campus can go to classes at Mailman?
Anybody knows?

You can live near Morningside if you apply through the main Columbia housing department. You will be offered whatever apartments are leftover after everyone in the main graduate school has been placed. You might have to wait a few months and must be willing to move immediately when you get an offer. The housing at Mailman is OK, not great, and the neighborhood is nothing like Morningside. The shuttle never seems to run at convenient times and the subway is slow. I actually found that when the weather was nice, riding my bike was the pretty fast.

Good luck to all of you. I kind of hated Columbia while I was there but I am applying to back for my doctorate so I guess that says something

 

[moonwave89]

They're all such wonderful programs, but I do love how Columbia allows you to both specialize in a Certificate but also get a strong foundation thru the intense "Core." However, my worry is that if I choose, later on, to not follow a career path in that certificate, will this hurt me by having less of a "generic"/broad background.

I don't think it will. I see the certificate like an undergraduate minor and your department as the major. I'd assume you'd want to do a certificate in something that you're interested in, whether it's a career interest or general research interest. But even if you don't end up pursuing a career related to your certificate, you'll still have the core education and classes from your department and you don't have to list the certificate on your CV if it's not relevant.

You can live near Morningside if you apply through the main Columbia housing department. You will be offered whatever apartments are leftover after everyone in the main graduate school has been placed. You might have to wait a few months and must be willing to move immediately when you get an offer. The housing at Mailman is OK, not great, and the neighborhood is nothing like Morningside. The shuttle never seems to run at convenient times and the subway is slow. I actually found that when the weather was nice, riding my bike was the pretty fast.

Good luck to all of you. I kind of hated Columbia while I was there but I am applying to back for my doctorate so I guess that says something

Were you in the MPH or another master's? What did you hate about it? Happy to PM you if you feel more comfortable talking that way but I think many of us would appreciate the not-so-sunny perspectives. I haven't submitted my deposit yet so maybe you'll change my mind in the next 2 days lol

 

[moonwave89]

Also, I haven't seen a FB group for accepted students yet. Does one exist, or do they only have it for students who have committed to attending?

 

[jash14]

Also, I haven't seen a FB group for accepted students yet. Does one exist, or do they only have it for students who have committed to attending?

I was told (by someone on SDN) they send it out once they have the entire class finalized

 

[dubiousraves]

I don't think it will. I see the certificate like an undergraduate minor and your department as the major. I'd assume you'd want to do a certificate in something that you're interested in, whether it's a career interest or general research interest. But even if you don't end up pursuing a career related to your certificate, you'll still have the core education and classes from your department and you don't have to list the certificate on your CV if it's not relevant.


Were you in the MPH or another master's? What did you hate about it? Happy to PM you if you feel more comfortable talking that way but I think many of us would appreciate the not-so-sunny perspectives. I haven't submitted my deposit yet so maybe you'll change my mind in the next 2 days lol

I started my MPH and MS in nursing there but wound up transferring and finishing at UC Berkeley/UCSF. There were three major issues: all administrative but they really affected my quality of life. 1. Columbia was a completely unresponsive landlord when it came to basic maintenance ( broken elevators in tower apartments, pest infestations, serious electrical and plumbing problems ) 2. At that time they often withheld financial aid from the student for "processing". I was on an NHSC scholarship and I needed that money. 3. I was in a dual degree program and could not coordinate my classes so that I would graduate on time. If I'd stayed it would have been an extra year. None of this happened at UC. Though I have heard that after alot of student protest all of these issues have improved.

Columbia has also had a contentious relationship with the Upper Manhattan community over its never ending expansion for at least the past 20 years.

That said, I liked my profs and plan to apply for my doctorate there but I won't live on campus or ask for aid this time.

 

[Sophiafrolic]

I started my MPH and MS in nursing there but wound up transferring and finishing at UC Berkeley/UCSF. There were three major issues: all administrative but they really affected my quality of life. 1. Columbia was a completely unresponsive landlord when it came to basic maintenance ( broken elevators in tower apartments, pest infestations, serious electrical and plumbing problems ) 2. At that time they often withheld financial aid from the student for "processing". I was on an NHSC scholarship and I needed that money. 3. I was in a dual degree program and could not coordinate my classes so that I would graduate on time. If I'd stayed it would have been an extra year. None of this happened at UC. Though I have heard that after alot of student protest all of these issues have improved.

Columbia has also had a contentious relationship with the Upper Manhattan community over its never ending expansion for at least the past 20 years.

That said, I liked my profs and plan to apply for my doctorate there but I won't live on campus or ask for aid this time.

Glad to know some of these not so good perspectives. I plan to apply for campus housing tomorrow and the housing problem you mentioned kinda worries me. I intend to put the towers apartments as my first choice in housing preference. I really hope the bad maintenance problems have improved because from the pics I saw on website it look pretty good. And may I know when did you study in Columbia before transferring? Is it a long time ago? Thank you!

 

[mimiQ]

Also, I haven't seen a FB group for accepted students yet. Does one exist, or do they only have it for students who have committed to attending?

I know for a fact that the FB group for last year's cohort was created in early April and anyone could join (whether they committed or not). I am not sure why it is taking so long to create the FB group for this year, but maybe the administration is going to limit the group to the committed students only.

 

[moonwave89]

I started my MPH and MS in nursing there but wound up transferring and finishing at UC Berkeley/UCSF. There were three major issues: all administrative but they really affected my quality of life. 1. Columbia was a completely unresponsive landlord when it came to basic maintenance ( broken elevators in tower apartments, pest infestations, serious electrical and plumbing problems ) 2. At that time they often withheld financial aid from the student for "processing". I was on an NHSC scholarship and I needed that money. 3. I was in a dual degree program and could not coordinate my classes so that I would graduate on time. If I'd stayed it would have been an extra year. None of this happened at UC. Though I have heard that after alot of student protest all of these issues have improved.

Columbia has also had a contentious relationship with the Upper Manhattan community over its never ending expansion for at least the past 20 years.

That said, I liked my profs and plan to apply for my doctorate there but I won't live on campus or ask for aid this time.

I've also heard that the administration is difficult to work with and my personal (although somewhat limited) experience has been the same. It's a shame that that is what sours students' experiences at what seems like an otherwise fantastic institution, at least in terms of academic and professional opportunities. Can you explain a bit more about what issues you experienced in coordinating your dual degree classes? The reason I'm asking is because I'm really interested in taking classes in the urban planning school (I was accepted to a dual MPH and urban planning program at another institution) but I've heard that it's difficult to cross-register. I didn't even bother applying to a dual degree after hearing how onerous the separate application process was, but I'm still interested in taking classes in the other school if possible. Are the issues primarily within Mailman or did you experience them across both schools? Did you experience difficulty with the academic coordinators, the registrar, or professors?

 

[nycstdnt]

has anyone had a hard time getting in contact with the admissions office? I REALLY need to speak with someone high up in admissions on the phone, but it's been over a week and like five emails, and ZERO response. I'm freaking out.

 

[elephantpantz]

has anyone had a hard time getting in contact with the admissions office? I REALLY need to speak with someone high up in admissions on the phone, but it's been over a week and like five emails, and ZERO response. I'm freaking out.

Yeah, I called and they told me to send an email. Also no response yet via email. I suggest calling, though, they answered and maybe you can just let them know that you haven't been able to get through with emailing alone.

 

[elephantpantz]

Has anyone taken a look at the Housing application that we'll submit tomorrow for those interested in graduate housing? The ranking seems odd- each category you rank, so how do they know which category you want most?

 

[mimiQ]

Has anyone taken a look at the Housing application that we'll submit tomorrow for those interested in graduate housing? The ranking seems odd- each category you rank, so how do they know which category you want most?

Perhaps you are supposed to just rank them across all categories instead of ranking them within each category?

 

[elephantpantz]

Perhaps you are supposed to just rank them across all categories instead of ranking them within each category?

Yeah, guess you simply get what they give you, rather than ranking which you want most between Bard/Towers/Georgian. Strange but oh well!

 

[moonwave89]

Do you guys know whether you have to accept the housing placement if they assign you to a room, or can you decline it if you decide you don't want to live on-campus afterall?

 

[mimiQ]

Do you guys know whether you have to accept the housing placement if they assign you to a room, or can you decline it if you decide you don't want to live on-campus afterall?

You can decline it. They give you some time to think about it and if you decide you want the room, you submit your deposit then.

 

[dubiousraves]

I've also heard that the administration is difficult to work with and my personal (although somewhat limited) experience has been the same. It's a shame that that is what sours students' experiences at what seems like an otherwise fantastic institution, at least in terms of academic and professional opportunities. Can you explain a bit more about what issues you experienced in coordinating your dual degree classes? The reason I'm asking is because I'm really interested in taking classes in the urban planning school (I was accepted to a dual MPH and urban planning program at another institution) but I've heard that it's difficult to cross-register. I didn't even bother applying to a dual degree after hearing how onerous the separate application process was, but I'm still interested in taking classes in the other school if possible. Are the issues primarily within Mailman or did you experience them across both schools? Did you experience difficulty with the academic coordinators, the registrar, or professors?

The problem was that required intro courses for each program were offered in a single section that always seemed to conflict or overlap. For example, the intro epi class, a pre-req for higher level PH classes, was offered at the same time as an intro class in the midwifery program. There was no coordination between the schools in scheduling. I really liked my professors though. Each program thought I should do the dual degree consecutively and stop complaining.

 

[dubiousraves]

Glad to know some of these not so good perspectives. I plan to apply for campus housing tomorrow and the housing problem you mentioned kinda worries me. I intend to put the towers apartments as my first choice in housing preference. I really hope the bad maintenance problems have improved because from the pics I saw on website it look pretty good. And may I know when did you study in Columbia before transferring? Is it a long time ago? Thank you!

It was a long time ago - early 2000's. I think they have renovated since then. I lived in the apartments at 154 Haven. The Towers are nice but expensive for what you get. I moved down to Teacher's College apartments on 122nd st mid-year. They had nicer housing in a nicer neighborhood at the same price.

 

[moonwave89]

So I've finally made the leap and committed to Columbia! See you guys in the fall?!

 

[mimiQ]

Official facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MailmanSchool2018/

 

[JDGBruin1317]

Hello! Congratulations for everyone who committed to Columbia! I'm interested in applying for Columbia's MPH program in epi either next year or the year after and I was wondering if anyone can describe what kind of candidates or applicants is Columbia looking for? I don't have a lot of research experience in public health, but I'm currently an Environmental Health Intern and plan on working at a Health department or clinic after college. Any information about Columbia will be appreciated!

 

[625233]

Hi guys, I'm planning to apply to MPH programs this fall. What's the easiest of the programs to get into in terms of GRE averages/acceptance rates? (Epi, health policy, etc.)


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