Fall 2012 MPH Applicants

[mochavee]

Thanks so much for your response, it really lifted my spirits! I do have to make one revision...scratch the 1200 GRE, I got a 1060 (took it back in 2009). With that being said I'm wondering if I should take the GRE again...I'm really trying to avoid that route!

No problem that's what we are here for!

As I kind of alluded to before, the GRE is a metric that can be used to assess many things. Some graduate programs use it as a weeder tool considering the high number of applicants they receive (upwards of 300-600+ depending on the program). The general notion for GRE scores is: Too low of a score (under 1000) will raise a red flag, a score above the cutoff (1000-1200) will not hurt you nor particularly help you, and a score in the high 1300s could possibly help to overcome deficiencies in GPA (assuming your GPA is low, under 3.2).

As a rule, I always tell people who may not have had the best scores on the GRE that it is easier to "explain away" to adcoms or through your personal statement a one-time, arbitrary test score than a trend over an extended period of time (like low GPA and lack of experience).

In your case, your GPA and experience more than overcompensates for a less than stellar GRE score. Especially in public health, your experience is weighed a lot more heavily than test scores. Of course, if you still feel uncomfortable about your score and don't mind shelling out the $160 and extra studying..feel free to take it again with the understanding that 1) Your score may not increase that much or not enough to make a difference in the minds of the adcoms and 2) Even if your score does increase, that will not guarantee admittance into graduate programs and/or funding. As I said before, my suggestion would be to focus intensely on your personal statement and try to get as many eyes on it as possible to critique it. It is your personal statement which gets you into graduate school---and sadly that is the most neglected part.

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[mochavee]

Are the SOPHAS GPA grades based on semesters? My number of hours are wrong as well as my cum. GPA. ... My GPA on SOPHAS is slightly higher than my GPA on my transcript.

Do you have a +/- scale on your transcript (meaning do you have A-'s or B+'s?) The SOPHAS numerical system is on a 4.0 scale based on semesters where A = 4.0, B = 3.0 , C = 2.0 and so on. It does not account for the variations of a +/- scale. It gives you the option to report the A- or B+ as it is on your transcript but it only calculates a A- as an "A" (4.0) and the B+ as a "B" (3.0). If you have a few minuses on your transcript, the GPA may be slightly higher on SOPHAS because it rounds up to the next whole point giving you a 0.3 point boost (so a B-, which is a 2.7 scales as a "B" (3.0) in SOPHAS). My university does not do +/-, so my GPA on my transcript is the same as it is scaled in SOPHAS.

 

[headstrong111]

Congrats!!

Did JHU offer funding upon your acceptance? Both are great schools and programs so the denominator would be funding--which school gives the best package. In that case, given you won't pass the accept deadline for JHU, I think its worth waiting on Harvard and compare (funding, strength of program, job placement, cost of living, etc.). My personal choice its hard to turn down Hopkins. At any rate, keep us updated!

Even I find bloomberg really hard to turn down..as far as funding goes, I'm only eligible for merit based scholarships. I've heard it's really tough at JHSPH. Any ideas?
Harvard too, is in a league of it's own but Boston being an expensive city, it'll probably come close to JHSPH anyways! Donno.. the mph at jhsph starts in late june, so i gotta start moving things at my front as well!!!

 

[vespa]

Congratulations! I would wait for HSPH but that's just me

 

[HSUReddie]

As I kind of alluded to before, the GRE is a metric that can be used to assess many things. Some graduate programs use it as a weeder tool considering the high number of applicants they receive (upwards of 300-600+ depending on the program). The general notion for GRE scores is: Too low of a score (under 1000) will raise a red flag, a score above the cutoff (1000-1200) will not hurt you nor particularly help you, and a score in the high 1300s could possibly help to overcome deficiencies in GPA (assuming your GPA is low, under 3.2).

Okay... so I kind of have a question based on this because I've been slightly concerned. I got my scores on the new test yesterday and, well, now I'm even more concerned.

GRE: 450 V ( 150) and a 680 Q (153). (Even though I know I could have studied more, it's still lower than I expected... especially verbal.)

Major: Biology / Minor: Chemistry

GPA: 3.83

Research: Undergraduate research dealing with coral reef ecology in Panama, as well as a research internship with Arkansas Children's Hospital. I worked under a PhD that was implementing school gardens in the Delta to reduce childhood obesity.

Honors and Awards: Outstanding Freshman Academic Achievement and Outstanding Creative Accomplishment in Biological Research from my university. Also Honor Roll or Dean's List every semester but one.

Leadership: President of Biology Club, Liaison for Chemistry Club, Treasurer and State Secretary of Gamma Beta Phi Honors Society, Student Representative for Sustainability Committee.

Other: I've worked as a work study lab tech for two years - responsible for setting up genetics and cell biology labs, etc. I'm also an undergraduate teaching assistant and completely responsible for teaching my own Intro to Bio Lab - three semesters under my belt so far.

LOR:
1) Dept. Chair of Biology/my advisor/research mentor.
2) Professor who supervises my work study and teaches genetics and cell
3) Dept. Chair of Pediatrics at UAMS/ACH, ID physician, President of the ACH Research Institute that I interned with this summer. I had the opportunity to shadow him several times as well.
4) Recently retired professor of biology, who is also the wife of our former university president. I know them both very well - they're like my stand-in grandparents.


I'm sort of at a crossroads of what I should do. My goal is to get into UAMS COPH for an MPH in epi (although I was going to apply to Tulane - for MSPH in tropical medicine - as well). I know UAMS is not ivy-league or a reach school, but I would like to go to medical school there too. I honestly enjoyed living in Little Rock this summer as well and feel like I made good connections there. The in-state tuition is great, and it just really feels like home. I'm scared to death about my GRE score though. My advisor and I talked about it this morning, and he's just got this crazy confidence that I'm going to get in. We came up with some options... 1) I could retake the GRE. 2) I could take the biology subject test (or take our standardized exit test early) to prove I'm not a ******* when it comes to biology. 3) I could just go with what I've got...

I'm calling the nice admissions lady at UAMS COPH tomorrow to get her opinion...

I just wish I didn't feel like this --->

Any advice?

 

[mystal]

Okay... so I kind of have a question based on this because I've been slightly concerned. I got my scores on the new test yesterday and, well, now I'm even more concerned.

GRE: 450 V ( 150) and a 680 Q (153). (Even though I know I could have studied more, it's still lower than I expected... especially verbal.)

Major: Biology / Minor: Chemistry

GPA: 3.83

Research: Undergraduate research dealing with coral reef ecology in Panama, as well as a research internship with Arkansas Children's Hospital. I worked under a PhD that was implementing school gardens in the Delta to reduce childhood obesity.

Honors and Awards: Outstanding Freshman Academic Achievement and Outstanding Creative Accomplishment in Biological Research from my university. Also Honor Roll or Dean's List every semester but one.

Leadership: President of Biology Club, Liaison for Chemistry Club, Treasurer and State Secretary of Gamma Beta Phi Honors Society, Student Representative for Sustainability Committee.

Other: I've worked as a work study lab tech for two years - responsible for setting up genetics and cell biology labs, etc. I'm also an undergraduate teaching assistant and completely responsible for teaching my own Intro to Bio Lab - three semesters under my belt so far.

LOR:
1) Dept. Chair of Biology/my advisor/research mentor.
2) Professor who supervises my work study and teaches genetics and cell
3) Dept. Chair of Pediatrics at UAMS/ACH, ID physician, President of the ACH Research Institute that I interned with this summer. I had the opportunity to shadow him several times as well.
4) Recently retired professor of biology, who is also the wife of our former university president. I know them both very well - they're like my stand-in grandparents.


I'm sort of at a crossroads of what I should do. My goal is to get into UAMS COPH for an MPH in epi (although I was going to apply to Tulane - for MSPH in tropical medicine - as well). I know UAMS is not ivy-league or a reach school, but I would like to go to medical school there too. I honestly enjoyed living in Little Rock this summer as well and feel like I made good connections there. The in-state tuition is great, and it just really feels like home. I'm scared to death about my GRE score though. My advisor and I talked about it this morning, and he's just got this crazy confidence that I'm going to get in. We came up with some options... 1) I could retake the GRE. 2) I could take the biology subject test (or take our standardized exit test early) to prove I'm not a ******* when it comes to biology. 3) I could just go with what I've got...

I'm calling the nice admissions lady at UAMS COPH tomorrow to get her opinion...

I just wish I didn't feel like this --->

Any advice?

I think your scores are fine! And you've got a ton of experience, which is what matters. Maybe if you find out what UAMS's average scores are, that might make you feel better.

 

[mochavee]

1) I could retake the GRE.

You certainly could. But before you consider, answer yourself this one question: Do you honestly feel that this test is indicative of your abilities to further succeed in graduate school given all of your research, leadership and professional experience? Really think about it. If you answer yes, then you probably shouldn't be applying to graduate school...in my opinion. I scored a 500 V and 560 Q and refuse to take that test over again! A friend of mine applied to medical school, Yale actually, w/ pretty horrible MCAT scores. Along with his application he sent an addendum w/ copies of all of his major standardized test scores (some EOGS, SAT, ACT, etc.) which were likewise, pretty bad. Point being he got in because he demonstrated how that metric (MCAT) was not indicative of his performance in medical school because he is notoriously not the best test taker. Now I am not suggesting to go that far but my larger point is that even w/ professional schools in which scores REALLY matter---it is always up to the individual person to prove to the adcoms precisely WHY they should be in that program. Again, if you reason that your worthiness and preparation for graduate school is tied up in a few point increase, I would take it over again with the understanding that it may not help you w/ admissions and/or you may in fact get a lower score the next time.

2) I could take the biology subject test (or take our standardized exit test early) to prove I'm not a ******* when it comes to biology.

Did I read this correctly?

Major: Biology / Minor: Chemistry
GPA: 3.83

Research: Undergraduate research dealing with coral reef ecology in Panama, as well as a research internship with Arkansas Children's Hospital. I worked under a PhD that was implementing school gardens in the Delta to reduce childhood obesity.

Honors and Awards: Outstanding Freshman Academic Achievement and Outstanding Creative Accomplishment in Biological Research from my university. Also Honor Roll or Dean's List every semester but one.

Leadership: President of Biology Club, Liaison for Chemistry Club, Treasurer and State Secretary of Gamma Beta Phi Honors Society, Student Representative for Sustainability Committee.

Other: I've worked as a work study lab tech for two years - responsible for setting up genetics and cell biology labs, etc. I'm also an undergraduate teaching assistant and completely responsible for teaching my own Intro to Bio Lab - three semesters under my belt so far.

LOR:
1) Dept. Chair of Biology/my advisor/research mentor.
2) Professor who supervises my work study and teaches genetics and cell
3) Dept. Chair of Pediatrics at UAMS/ACH, ID physician, President of the ACH Research Institute that I interned with this summer. I had the opportunity to shadow him several times as well.
4) Recently retired professor of biology, who is also the wife of our former university president. I know them both very well - they're like my stand-in grandparents.

Either you are being highly pretentious or just plain ole' delusional. These factors are overwhelming more than enough to account for your non-suckiness, or more like high ability in biology--way more than a subject test!! C'mon re-read this over again and give yourself some damn credit!!!! Wish I could feel bad for you but I don't! Please believe me when I tell you You are going to completley BLOW your chances of getting into your dream program because of your blatant disregard for your diligence and hard work in undergrad---and if I can discern your lack of confidence and trust in yourself from my 18 inch computer screen with all the time in the world on my hands what in the HELL do you think EXPERIENCED adcoms who are overburdened with applications as it already is are going to think when deciding to admit YOU to be a reflection of THEIR program? Again sorry for the e-harshness but I have to be exceptionally clear on this.

3) I could just go with what I've got...

Well, you know what I think at this point. Work hard on your statement and good luck!

 

[mochavee]

Even I find bloomberg really hard to turn down..as far as funding goes, I'm only eligible for merit based scholarships. I've heard it's really tough at JHSPH. Any ideas?
Harvard too, is in a league of it's own but Boston being an expensive city, it'll probably come close to JHSPH anyways! Donno.. the mph at jhsph starts in late june, so i gotta start moving things at my front as well!!!

Well don't let "toughness" be a factor, lol. It's going to be so wherever you go. When do you have to accept for bloomberg? I would suggest waiting it out for HSPH if you can in order to make the best decision. Certainly you can't go wrong with either school and that should give you some flexibility in terms of considering other non-program related factors (cost of living, will you be happy in boston or baltimore, etc.)

 

[HSUReddie]

You certainly could. But before you consider, answer yourself this one question: Do you honestly feel that this test is indicative of your abilities to further succeed in graduate school given all of your research, leadership and professional experience? Really think about it. If you answer yes, then you probably shouldn't be applying to graduate school...in my opinion. I scored a 500 V and 560 Q and refuse to take that test over again! A friend of mine applied to medical school, Yale actually, w/ pretty horrible MCAT scores. Along with his application he sent an addendum w/ copies of all of his major standardized test scores (some EOGS, SAT, ACT, etc.) which were likewise, pretty bad. Point being he got in because he demonstrated how that metric (MCAT) was not indicative of his performance in medical school because he is notoriously not the best test taker. Now I am not suggesting to go that far but my larger point is that even w/ professional schools in which scores REALLY matter---it is always up to the individual person to prove to the adcoms precisely WHY they should be in that program. Again, if you reason that your worthiness and preparation for graduate school is tied up in a few point increase, I would take it over again with the understanding that it may not help you w/ admissions and/or you may in fact get a lower score the next time.



Did I read this correctly?

Major: Biology / Minor: Chemistry
GPA: 3.83

Research: Undergraduate research dealing with coral reef ecology in Panama, as well as a research internship with Arkansas Children's Hospital. I worked under a PhD that was implementing school gardens in the Delta to reduce childhood obesity.

Honors and Awards: Outstanding Freshman Academic Achievement and Outstanding Creative Accomplishment in Biological Research from my university. Also Honor Roll or Dean's List every semester but one.

Leadership: President of Biology Club, Liaison for Chemistry Club, Treasurer and State Secretary of Gamma Beta Phi Honors Society, Student Representative for Sustainability Committee.

Other: I've worked as a work study lab tech for two years - responsible for setting up genetics and cell biology labs, etc. I'm also an undergraduate teaching assistant and completely responsible for teaching my own Intro to Bio Lab - three semesters under my belt so far.

LOR:
1) Dept. Chair of Biology/my advisor/research mentor.
2) Professor who supervises my work study and teaches genetics and cell
3) Dept. Chair of Pediatrics at UAMS/ACH, ID physician, President of the ACH Research Institute that I interned with this summer. I had the opportunity to shadow him several times as well.
4) Recently retired professor of biology, who is also the wife of our former university president. I know them both very well - they're like my stand-in grandparents.

Either you are being highly pretentious or just plain ole' delusional. These factors are overwhelming more than enough to account for your non-suckiness, or more like high ability in biology--way more than a subject test!! C'mon re-read this over again and give yourself some damn credit!!!! Wish I could feel bad for you but I don't! Please believe me when I tell you You are going to completley BLOW your chances of getting into your dream program because of your blatant disregard for your diligence and hard work in undergrad---and if I can discern your lack of confidence and trust in yourself from my 18 inch computer screen with all the time in the world on my hands what in the HELL do you think EXPERIENCED adcoms who are overburdened with applications as it already is are going to think when deciding to admit YOU to be a reflection of THEIR program? Again sorry for the e-harshness but I have to be exceptionally clear on this.



Well, you know what I think at this point. Work hard on your statement and good luck!

Well. This is definitely the kick in the ass I needed. I think you just expressed just about everything my advisor and half of my friends want to yell at me on probably a regular basis.

Seriously, thanks. I think it's definitely what I needed to hear, and I'm going to try to work on giving myself more credit where it's due.

 

[Veggie Monster]

You certainly could. But before you consider, answer yourself this one question: Do you honestly feel that this test is indicative of your abilities to further succeed in graduate school given all of your research, leadership and professional experience? Really think about it. If you answer yes, then you probably shouldn't be applying to graduate school...in my opinion. I scored a 500 V and 560 Q and refuse to take that test over again! A friend of mine applied to medical school, Yale actually, w/ pretty horrible MCAT scores. Along with his application he sent an addendum w/ copies of all of his major standardized test scores (some EOGS, SAT, ACT, etc.) which were likewise, pretty bad. Point being he got in because he demonstrated how that metric (MCAT) was not indicative of his performance in medical school because he is notoriously not the best test taker. Now I am not suggesting to go that far but my larger point is that even w/ professional schools in which scores REALLY matter---it is always up to the individual person to prove to the adcoms precisely WHY they should be in that program. Again, if you reason that your worthiness and preparation for graduate school is tied up in a few point increase, I would take it over again with the understanding that it may not help you w/ admissions and/or you may in fact get a lower score the next time.



Did I read this correctly?

Major: Biology / Minor: Chemistry
GPA: 3.83

Research: Undergraduate research dealing with coral reef ecology in Panama, as well as a research internship with Arkansas Children's Hospital. I worked under a PhD that was implementing school gardens in the Delta to reduce childhood obesity.

Honors and Awards: Outstanding Freshman Academic Achievement and Outstanding Creative Accomplishment in Biological Research from my university. Also Honor Roll or Dean's List every semester but one.

Leadership: President of Biology Club, Liaison for Chemistry Club, Treasurer and State Secretary of Gamma Beta Phi Honors Society, Student Representative for Sustainability Committee.

Other: I've worked as a work study lab tech for two years - responsible for setting up genetics and cell biology labs, etc. I'm also an undergraduate teaching assistant and completely responsible for teaching my own Intro to Bio Lab - three semesters under my belt so far.

LOR:
1) Dept. Chair of Biology/my advisor/research mentor.
2) Professor who supervises my work study and teaches genetics and cell
3) Dept. Chair of Pediatrics at UAMS/ACH, ID physician, President of the ACH Research Institute that I interned with this summer. I had the opportunity to shadow him several times as well.
4) Recently retired professor of biology, who is also the wife of our former university president. I know them both very well - they're like my stand-in grandparents.

Either you are being highly pretentious or just plain ole' delusional. These factors are overwhelming more than enough to account for your non-suckiness, or more like high ability in biology--way more than a subject test!! C'mon re-read this over again and give yourself some damn credit!!!! Wish I could feel bad for you but I don't! Please believe me when I tell you You are going to completley BLOW your chances of getting into your dream program because of your blatant disregard for your diligence and hard work in undergrad---and if I can discern your lack of confidence and trust in yourself from my 18 inch computer screen with all the time in the world on my hands what in the HELL do you think EXPERIENCED adcoms who are overburdened with applications as it already is are going to think when deciding to admit YOU to be a reflection of THEIR program? Again sorry for the e-harshness but I have to be exceptionally clear on this.



Well, you know what I think at this point. Work hard on your statement and good luck!

INTENSE

O YEAH! GO TEAM!

 

[Inkoate]

..

 

[MsRen]

Any pointers on formatting SOP for Maternal/Child Health. I'm applying to Emory, Columbia, etc, but I'm having a hard time staying focus on the topic since I have interest in HIV/AIDS, which doesn't necessarily correlate to Maternal/Child Health. Does a lack of specificity hurt?

 

[MolBio]

Any pointers on formatting SOP for Maternal/Child Health. I'm applying to Emory, Columbia, etc, but I'm having a hard time staying focus on the topic since I have interest in HIV/AIDS, which doesn't necessarily correlate to Maternal/Child Health. Does a lack of specificity hurt?

HIV <--> PMTCT, AIDS OVC, gender-based HIV rights, sex trafficking of women and children <--> MCH

 

[mwdl4life]

.

 

[mystal]

I guess my main concern is my experience seems a little non-conventional compared to other applicants.

I bet you have a really interesting personal statement!

 

[mwdl4life]

I bet you have a really interesting personal statement!

Heh, hopefully interesting = and not !

 

[mystal]

Heh, hopefully interesting = and not !

Haha yes !

 

[Inkoate]

....

 

[Inkoate]

...

 

[HopefulCJ]

.

 

[BAJUNIGIRL]

Is anyone planning to enroll at Tulane for Fall 2012 ?

 

[pratsuhg]

Okay, so I am applying to MPH programs as an international applicant. I am worried about my undergrad gpa (after WES evaluated the same). It is 2.7 according to WES, but my under grad university percentage is actually 67% which is the 1st division as per Indian standards (I am from India). SOPHAS requires WES evaluations which is why I got it converted in the first place. These are my overall credentials:

Undergraduate: Bachelors of science (Chemistry major)- 2.7 GPA according to WES, 67% according to the normal Delhi University evaluation. Graduate study : did an MBA as well (post graduate diploma in management) - 3.34 GPA according to WES / 8.82 out of 10 GPA according to the university evaluation. Work experience: first 2 years in a leading IT firm , then close to 3 years with UnitedHealth Group as a researcher associate in the healthcare domain One independent public health volunteering initiative involving the boat clinics and also wrote an article for their website blog. GRE score : 312 (154 - verbal , 158 - quantitative). Yet to take the TOEFL and expecting above 110 out of 120 on that. What are my chances of getting admitted ? Is there any hope ?

 

[bullmood]

Okay, so I am applying to MPH programs as an international applicant. I am worried about my undergrad gpa (after WES evaluated the same). It is 2.7 according to WES, but my under grad university percentage is actually 67% which is the 1st division as per Indian standards (I am from India). SOPHAS requires WES evaluations which is why I got it converted in the first place. These are my overall credentials:

Undergraduate: Bachelors of science (Chemistry major)- 2.7 GPA according to WES, 67% according to the normal Delhi University evaluation. Graduate study : did an MBA as well (post graduate diploma in management) - 3.34 GPA according to WES / 8.82 out of 10 GPA according to the university evaluation. Work experience: first 2 years in a leading IT firm , then close to 3 years with UnitedHealth Group as a researcher associate in the healthcare domain One independent public health volunteering initiative involving the boat clinics and also wrote an article for their website blog. GRE score : 312 (154 - verbal , 158 - quantitative). Yet to take the TOEFL and expecting above 110 out of 120 on that. What are my chances of getting admitted ? Is there any hope ?

Hello!
Could you tell me from where did you convert your grades from your home country to the US grading system to calculate your GPA accurate? is it from Scholaro Grade Conversion ? Also which is you country and what was the most common grade in your diploma?
Thanks in advance!