Does rankings of MHA programs really matter?

[gpome1]

I would think that for those applying to administrative fellowships at various hospital systems, that what truly matters is whether a school was CAHME accredited or not. That's it! And then the rest of about an applicant to an administrative fellowship would fall upon his or her resume showing experience and classes taken. This is not like a Law Degree or a Medical Degree where there are as many students in those fields as there are in Health Care Administration and where numbers matter. Please confirm if I am correct or not?

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[Excision]

In theory that's how it should work, but it's not entirely true. The business side of healthcare is pretty insular.

The US News Rankings are based almost entirely on peer evals. The faculty of various programs network with each other and put in a lot of face time with other department heads. The top programs will then rate/rank each other, and that's what gets published. So it's based on who you know... That's why it's important to go to a program that has a strong alumni network and a internship component, because the aforementioned dynamic also comes into play when obtaining the fellowship/internship.

Obviously, you need to be driven and a high performer. But all else being equal, relationships matter a lot and you can't rely just on CAHME accreditation status or your GPA.

I'm not saying that there isn't any hope for obtaining a fellowship/internship if you don't attend a "top" program. There are plenty of opportunities out there. But, it is much more difficult to get an internship with an HCA, Tenet, PwC, etc, if you don't attend a top program because they only recruit from a few schools.

 

[InquiringStudent]

I agree with Excision.

Relationships do matter quite a bit. Reputation of a particular school also definitely helps as they have relationships built with particular organizations and firms to a certain degree. However as stated above, it's not set in stone. You can still be in a program that may not be the "top" one and still achieve these things, it's just the availability of said opportunities may not be as high.

 

[joshua22897]

I believe you're right. Relationships that the school has are much more important that the US News ranking. For example, I'll be going to Cornell's program, which ranked outside of the top 10, however Cornell has very strong connections and alumni in most major organizations that I'd consider pursuing a fellowship with.

I think with an MHA program, whats important is entirely up to your professional goal and preferences. Top programs are obviously at the top for a reason, but schools that aren't shouldn't necessarily give you a disadvantage. I believe the most important factor when choosing an MHA program is where alumni are working. It's those connections and relationships that will give you an advantage outside of your resume and transcripts.

If the rankings were really that important, I'm sure they'd be updated more often. The last one is from 2015.

 

[gpome1]

Excision, InquiringStudent, and Joshua22897, so here is my strategy based on the schools that I have gotten into. I am only looking to do NYC or Long Island on the east coast metropolitan area. I have gotten into all six schools I applied for. New York University (MPA in Health Policy & Management CAHME accredited since 1985), Columbia University Part-Time MHA (CAHME accredited since 2009), Hofstra University MHA (AUPHA accredited since 2002 and the program has been around since 1986 and in the process of applying and being considered for CAHME accreditation), LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post MPA in Health Care Administration (NASPAA accredited National Association of Schools of Public Affairs & Administration and in the process of applying for CAHME accreditation), and SUNY Stony Brook MHA (MSCHE accredited and program started brand new in Fall 2017 and will have CAHME accreditation most likely come Spring 2020).

I think that NYU would be the best choice and here's why. NYU is on a top 10 list of most power alumni networks in all of the United States. Penn State is 1, Indiana is 2, and UMICH is 3, and NYU is 10. I went to UMICH for my undergrad which is pretty cool. But I'm thinking, especially when trying to find a Hospital Administration type job (LONG TERM DREAM JOB GOAL: Administrative Director of a Clinical Department like Surgery) in NYC for after graduating, that my chances are a lot higher if I stick with NYU, because chances are, I have UMICH and NYU on my resume, and it gets handed over to someone else who went to either school. Again, there are no guarantees, and I am interested in hospital administrative fellowships after I graduate, but I'm thinking, like a roll of dice in a casino, that my odds are higher bumping into a fellow alum if I do the Master of Public Administration in Health Policy & Management at NYU.

MHA vs. MPA. especially when it comes down to Columbia vs. NYU. The program director of the MPA program at NYU told me that he personally started the MHA program at Columbia, around the time it became accredited back in 2009. Also, he said, since he switched to working for the NYU program, but not based on him alone of course, that grads from the NYU Wagner Health Policy and Management Program (with the MPA degree) are indeed running the major hospital systems in New York City. He also stated that "The difference with the MHA (which, by the way, I created at Columbia before I moved to NYU) is slight and doesn't matter for your long-term dream job goal".


So in conclusion, I still have a few more weeks to decide, but I'm thinking of NYU. NYU also has over 12,000+ living alumni from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service living all over the United States. What that means specifically for the MPA in Health Policy and Management program specifically, I don't know just yet, but it's gotta be a huge network like University of Minnesota MHA program.

 

[deleted462159]

For what it's worth, I went to San Diego State University and landed admin fellowship interviews with 2/3 of the hospitals I applied for. I reached final interviews for 4 of them. A couple of my colleagues also landed admin fellowships. But it was the exception, not the norm. When I speak with colleagues from, say Ohio State or UNC, the majority of their cohorts landed admin fellowships.

 

[gpome1]

For what it's worth, I went to San Diego State University and landed admin fellowship interviews with 2/3 of the hospitals I applied for. I reached final interviews for 4 of them. A couple of my colleagues also landed admin fellowships. But it was the exception, not the norm. When I speak with colleagues from, say Ohio State or UNC, the majority of their cohorts landed admin fellowships.

Right which is why CAHME accredited programs like MPA in Health Policy and Management at NYU and MHA at Columbia are good places if i wanted to pursue fellowship afterwards, cause of reputation and possibly ranking, and alumni connections/networking too.