Emory vs Yale vs Michigan

[astroshot]

Well it is decision time now. I was accepted to the epi programs at all three and now have 5 weeks to choose.

I have some questions, maybe someone can help me out.

Firstly, I know rankings and prestige aren't too important...but I am curious which school would look best on paper.

Secondly, does anyone know how big Yale's school of public health is? How many students in the epi of microbial diseases? I would prefer a smaller program.

Right now I am leaning towards Yale (even though i'll be in debt forever), mainly because of the faculty interests. Also, my current plans are to attend a good phd program after my degree, would any school help in that regard more than the others?

If anyone has any other advice, it would be appreciated. Thanks

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[namazu]

They're all good schools, with good reputations, so name-recognition doesn't really need to be a consideration. Choose one based on the strength of the specific program that interests you, the place that will give you the most resources (faculty expertise, funding, atmosphere, etc.) to do your best work, and the place you think you'll be happiest for the next year or two. (And if you think you want to get a PhD at one of those institutions, you might see whether it's to your advantage to have done a master's there.)

 

[Coclean]

I'm at Emory. So if you have specific questions PM me, or if you are coming to visit Emory....look me up!

But in general....talk to the professors at your school. See if they have projects for you, think about what the emphasis of the school is...etc. Your subdiscipline is really going to change where you might want to go (ie Epi, Behavioral...etc.) I chose my location over other big name places because it really was the best for my very particular field. if you know your particular field....great! Go to the best place for that. If you want to do a PhD later, the best thing to do is be passionate about your research and get a recommendation from good faculty (which at any of your options there would be) annotating this passion.

If you want to ask about particular professors or programs...just let me know!

 

[astroshot]

Thanks for your responses, they were helpful. Coclean, I sent you a PM.

Another question, does anyone know why exactly the peer review of yale isnt that great? I have emailed some epidemiologists.

One response from an older epi (been out of academic epi for 15 years

I called an old colleague who worked at Yale for several years (XX, now at Duke). She said that epidemiology at Yale was small (actually a division, not a department when she was there) meaning that they were pretty slim faculty-wise. There were no "programs" as such where teams of epidemiologists and statisticians and whatever worked on large, multi-year grants.

Yet a repsonse from a person newly in the field indicated that Yale is Yale and it has a great reputation.

I am just curious are things changing at Yale? Was there something wrong 10+ years ago that now has been corrected?

Honestly, I was really excited after getting my acceptance letter, but after reading these forums (someone said 70% acceptance rate?!) and other info I am slightly dissapointed.

 

[jasmine2018]

At the master's level, you definitely want to be in a strong epi program, though as has been mentioned, it helps if your interests match that of the faculty. Just based on strength of the dept though, Michigan and Emory rank much higher and are regarded MUCH better than Yale. Though I don't know of Yale's acceptance rates, let's just say that getting accepted by Michigan or Emory is much more worth the kudos than getting in at Yale. The depts at Mich and Em (and I don't work for either have much more funding, are more productive research-wise, and back their programs with solid epi training for their students so you will come out of their programs as a well-trained epidemiologist. The resources available to students at these 2 programs are substantial as well (exposure to ongoing trials, access to data, great internship opps, etc). So anyway, unless there is a specific faculty person you want to work with at Yale, I would really recommend giving Michigan and Emory another hard look - don't think you can go wrong with those programs (speaking as an employed epidemiologist).

 

[Death]

Well just the thread I was searching
I am a Foreign Medical Graduate [ yet another!!] and I have applied to for MPH fall 2007 session . My main idea to do MPH is to get some research experience , some good LoR s and overall strengthen my application when I apply for residency positions [ surgery , if possible] .

I applied to several places and got accepted at Epidemiology programs at Emory and University of Pittsburgh both.

Now, I have some background regarding Emory's public health school and have a presumption that research opportunities are more in Atlanta due to CDC , American Cancer Society etc. Also few close pals are studying at Emory so sort of peer support is also available.

I don't have much background about Uni of Pitt except that it's a good uni and the MPH program is good.

Now I am confused as to where should i go , Emory or Pitt. The fact that I am going to apply for residency adds some quandary to the entire situation.

An info about Uni Of Pitt's Epidemiology program and a comparison between Pitt and Emory will be helpful .

I have also applied to Harvard's MS in Cardiovascular epidemiology [ 1 year] program but decision is not out yet.

Any thoughts on impact of these places and programs on the future prospects of a good residency match are awaited.

Awaiting your replies!

 

[astroshot]

Thanks Jasmine, for the response.

Death, congrats on your acceptances too. You have also offered a perfect example of a hijacked thread too, haha. In all seriousness, it would probably be worth your while to start a new thread about pittsburg as opposed to hoping someone comes into this thread who knows what you are looking for.

 

[Death]

I intended to post a new thread only , but since this thread was available i didn't wanna start a new one and add to the congestion. Anyways gotta start new one it seems

 

[Doctorphilic]

I am also in the Yale's epi of microbial disease. Congra and good luck

 

[Erica]

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[AndrewJ42]

I talked with Carl Marrs from Michigan (He's the Dean of Admissions for the Epi program) and he was saying that they have quite a low acceptance rate. I didn't get any numbers, but I'm assuming that Michigan Epi is a fairly competitive program. I've also had many talks with the Health Management & Policy department, and they are one of the only schools who actually has an interview process for their HMP students, so I think that it is fairly competitive to get a spot in that program. Epi and HMP have seats for 80 students each, and Michigan SPH has about 350 new students each year (about 300 MPH/MHSA/MS students and 50 PhD students)

The above post about Policy could be correct, as Yale does have a strong connections in overall policy. But, in terms of health policy, I have been told by a lot of various faculty that other schools: Hopkins, Harvard, Michigan and Emory have stronger policy due to the connections that they have in the policy field.

Michigan, Emory and Yale are all great schools...in terms of rankings (which doesn't REALLY matter unless you're going into Health Admin) Michigan>Emory>Yale...but then again, Yale is Yale...so it's basically like you're picking which color Benz you want...you might like Blue/Maize, whatever color Emory is, and Blue/White

I don't think you can go wrong by choosing any of the three programs. I am partial to Michigan (my new school yay) because of the notability of the policy faculty (e.g. Ken Warner..he's now the Dean of Michigan SPH) and also their strength in Social Epi (e.g. Prof. Kaplan)

So good luck it'll be hard,but i'm sure you'll find the perfect match for you!