Competitiveness of MHA?

[icedblackcoffee]

How competitive is it to get into an MHA program for schools like Columbia, John Hopkins, Berkeley, UDUB? (just a few of the schools I'm interested in). Do they all require interviews? If my GPA is on the lower side should I even bother? I don't want to risk an acceptance and then start the whole application cycle again. I'm interested in other concentrations as well so it's not like I'm being pessimistic (just want to be realistic here).

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[southpaw509]

How competitive is it to get into an MHA program for schools like Columbia, John Hopkins, Berkeley, UDUB? (just a few of the schools I'm interested in). Do they all require interviews? If my GPA is on the lower side should I even bother? I don't want to risk an acceptance and then start the whole application cycle again. I'm interested in other concentrations as well so it's not like I'm being pessimistic (just want to be realistic here).

Hey I just started an MHA program about a month ago. Not all schools require an in person interview. Of the schools you mentioned I only applied to JHU. It was a pretty easy Skype interview. On site interviews do seem to be required at most of the “top” schools though. There are some that don’t require any type of interview, however, my personal take is that shows the program isnt really invested in their students. You should be interviewing the schools as much as they are interviewing you. As far as your low GPA question, I think that would depend on how “low” it is. That being said it seems that your personal statement, LOR, and experience are weighted more heavily, then probably GRE, and GPA is probably last. I know a person in my cohort with a GPA that was below a 3.0 and the program we are in is well respected. I think more important than your GPA is being able to answer why you want to do this program. Hope that helps.

 

[SandyEggo]

Hey I just started an MHA program about a month ago. Not all schools require an in person interview. Of the schools you mentioned I only applied to JHU. It was a pretty easy Skype interview. On site interviews do seem to be required at most of the “top” schools though. There are some that don’t require any type of interview, however, my personal take is that shows the program isnt really invested in their students. You should be interviewing the schools as much as they are interviewing you. As far as your low GPA question, I think that would depend on how “low” it is. That being said it seems that your personal statement, LOR, and experience are weighted more heavily, then probably GRE, and GPA is probably last. I know a person in my cohort with a GPA that was below a 3.0 and the program we are in is well respected. I think more important than your GPA is being able to answer why you want to do this program. Hope that helps.

Hi Southpaw!

How did you/do you like JHU's program? I am deciding between there (70K plus the paid residency), USC (46K after scholarship), or UW (62K). What do you think about those options? (If you know anything about the schools) Feel free to DM me!

Thank you!

 

[southpaw509]

Hi Southpaw!

How did you/do you like JHU's program? I am deciding between there (70K plus the paid residency), USC (46K after scholarship), or UW (62K). What do you think about those options? (If you know anything about the schools) Feel free to DM me!

Thank you!

So I ended up choosing another school over JHU. I still think JHU is a fantastic program though, especially for someone interested more so in public health and policy administration. It really depends on what you plan on doing after the program though. The reason I ultimately chose another school over JHU was the price and I felt that I wouldn’t be able to retain as much of my learning in the one year didactic portion of JHU’s program. For others these things aren’t much of a concern though. Since this is one of the biggest investments you’ll be making into yourself you may benefit from determining what your entire cost (including opportunity cost) would be with each program. Cost was one of the biggest factors for me.

I don’t really know much about USC’s program. My perception of UW is that it is generally a solid program, I know a few people that graduate from their MHA and they mostly seem to be happy with their decision.

Let me know if you have any more specific questions. Happy to help.